Chapter 23 #2
Standing in front of the mirror, I gave myself a quick once-over.
Ever since Shio had come by, I’d made more effort with my appearance.
The closet wasn’t full of clothes like it was back at his house, but the drawers did have plenty of lounge wear, and many of them still had tags.
I washed my hair after Shio left and plaited it into ten braids.
Once the braids dried, I took them out, and my hair was now puffy and wavy, instead of my usual matted ball.
Today, I wore a green-and-tan striped tube top and matching pants.
I went braless because it was more comfortable, and the tube top worked fine without it.
I could use a pedicure since the Shellac on my toes was beginning to grow out, so I had on a pair of tan fuzzy socks.
Satisfied with my look, I turned off the bathroom light and entered the bedroom, which was still tidy from when Mahzeyah had cleaned it.
The trash was overflowing with food bags and needed to be taken out, though.
The bed wasn’t made either, but everything else was in place.
“Who is it?” I asked again.
It didn’t matter who it was, anyway, because I couldn’t let them in.
The door was locked from the outside, and only two people that I knew of had a key.
Remembering I had the perfume Shio brought over, I picked it up from the dresser, drenched myself in it, and turned around to spray the sheets.
I then fanned the air so it wouldn’t look like I’d just sprayed it.
As soon as the mist settled, a shudder ran down my spine in memory of the day Shio came into my makeshift rehab.
Would he use his mouth again? Would he let me use mine?
The moment I had stopped craving Shio, he did things to my body that made me crave him worse than before.
“Italian! Italian?!” someone shouted on the other side.
Drawing my head back, I walked to the door, pressing my ear against it. It wasn’t Shio, but the voice was muffled. The steel was cool on my face, but I stayed still, trying to recognize the voice as they yelled again.
“Italian! Open this door!”
“Yeah, open the door!”
“And why it smell like smoke in here? Who been sleeping on my couch?”
The door groaned before the lock clicked as I stepped back. When it opened, a rush of cool air spilled in. I knew the voice wasn’t Shio’s, but he wasn’t standing with the crowd staring at me. My heart hurt at the realization.
“Dasani?” I asked.
Dasani was hopping around while hunched over.
“Damn, that’s all you see?” Pia turned her nose up.
“Right! A bitch done come to rescue you, and you talkin’ ’bout some Dasani! It wasn’t even her idea!” Mocha shifted her legs but grabbed the wall as she nearly fell.
“Hi, Solana. How are you?” Scarlett asked, sincerity in her voice.
“I’m… Wow. I wasn’t expecting you. Any of you…” I responded, baffled that the girls were even standing here right now.
“Yeah, well, move on out of the way. I gotta piss. Ain’t it a bathroom in here?” Dasani pushed past me.
“Yes. Right through that door,” Jisei called behind her while still grilling Italian, who had his arm around her shoulder.
“We ain’t fuck up the couch. We ain’t been doing nothing we ain’t ’posed to be doing, Auntie. Ain’t that right, Mexi-Mami?”
Italian’s handsome face mischievously grinned while Jisei gave him the cold shoulder.
“Umm hmmm. This ain’t no fucking clubhouse. So it bet not be no fucking going on.”
He cackled. “Tell Shio that…”
My face heated as Jisei playfully punched Italian, who was trying his best to dodge her fist.
All of the ladies filed in, and Italian closed the door behind them, winking at me. I’d hoped I wasn’t loud that day, but from his response, I must have been.
“So, this where you been this whole time?” Mocha slid out of her gold strappy heels while Pia set her light pink Christian Dior bag on the dresser.
Jisei was already barefoot and was pointing the remote at the TV while Scarlett was still looking at me as if I were a sick puppy.
The door to the bathroom opened, and Dasani came out, drying her hands before placing her purse on the nightstand.
It was a gorgeous blue Birkin 30. I had a couple of Birkin and other Hermès bags back in México, but I preferred Chanel.
“Whew, shit! Them mimosas ran right the fuck through me,” Dasani said before plopping on the bed and crossing her leg over her thigh. She attempted to unbuckle the strap on her blue heels without putting her shoes on the bed.
“You shol’ been pissing a lot. Let me find out…” Jisei murmured as she typed into the YouTube search engine.
Dasani successfully removed one heel and worked on the next one. “Let you find out the fuck what?”
“That my brother put that son in you that he won’t stop whining about.” Jisei snickered.
“Yo’ brother trapped me once, and I gave him that. But he gone have to pay me to have another baby.”
“Oh God, really?” Scarlett giggled.
“Hell yeah, really! That nigga may be Don to y’alls niggas but he ain’t shit to me. Having his baby ain’t no muthafuckin’ privilege. The one we got barely fuck with me as is.”
“Girl, please! Delicate crazy as hell about you.” Pia waved her off, taking a seat on the bed but on the opposite side. She even peeled back the covers and fluffed a pillow to get comfortable. Her belly had grown since I’d last seen her, and I said a quiet prayer she didn’t go into labor down here.
“Yeah, that is my baby. But she’s enough. Scarlett, you can’t talk. When you having another one? Give Matteo’s crazy ass a son.”
“Matteo is constantly saying that when Princess asks for a sibling, he will give her one.” Scarlett shrugged. “She hasn’t asked yet, I guess.”
Dasani scoffed. “And you just gonna let him nut in you and make it happen?”
“Yes, I am, Dasani. I mean… What choice do I have?”
My eyes kept bouncing from one woman to another. They were all dressed up, just like they had been every time I’d seen them, but I was still trying to process the fact that they were actually here.
The room went silent as everyone pondered Scarlett’s last statement.
“I mean, you got a point, best friend. I’m still scared of Matteo’s ass. If he say, ‘It’s baby time,’ that means—”
“It’s baby time!” the woman chanted in unison before bursting out in laughter.
Jisei settled on something to play on YouTube, but a phone ad came on before the actual video could play.
She also took a seat on the bed, curling up near Mocha.
Scarlett climbed in soon after, leaving me the only one standing.
As I looked over everyone, I could feel the burn in my eyes.
Blinking, I took a deep breath and steadied my hands that felt like they wanted to tremble.
I could feel my nose running, but I knew it was phantom drops, so I refrained from swiping them.
The women were all comfortable on the queen-sized bed and had fallen into conversation as if these circumstances were natural. They were acting as if I were a part of them, and it was one of our typical girls’ nights out.
“Solana… You—Solana!” Scarlett hopped from the bed as tears rushed down my face. She gently grabbed my shoulders before pulling me into her. “It’s okay. It’s okay. You’re okay.
“I-I… I can’t believe you’re all here.”
I didn’t know how the next time I saw them would go.
I had somewhat accepted that I would never see them again with the way Shio had isolated me from the world.
These women were not only beautiful but also bosses.
I didn’t think I fit in with them and knew they would have nothing to do with me once they found out about my nasty habit, as Shio called it.
It had crossed my mind more than a few times because they inspired me.
Pulling back from Scarlett, I let her lead me to the bed where there was a spot left in the middle for me. Grabbing a pillow, I crossed my legs and hugged it into my chest.
“I… Thank you all for coming.”
Dasani scoffed. “Girl, we’ve been trying to get to you for days, but them niggas have been being all secretive and shit.”
“I told y’all she was okay!” Jisei fussed.
“That’s because your pillow-talking-ass brother kept you in the loop. Case in point, why I barely fuck with that nigga now. And y’all talking about a baby. As a matter of fact, I might need to have another one just so the nigga can be stuck. He got way too much time on his damn hands.”
“He runs a whole mob, Dasani,” Jisei defended.
“And he gone be running from my foot up his ass if he keep thinking he bigger than my fucking program. This. My. Shit.” Dasani clapped with each word.
“Girl, whatever. He didn’t tell me anything. This is my house, Dasani. I have access to the cameras, and I have neighbors who keep me in the loop. Mr. Joe texted me as soon as she came.”
“Yeah, whatever.” Dasani rolled her already sleek eyes from her Asian features.
Pia chuckled. “Y’all be coming like real-life sisters.”
“And do. But how you been, Solana? They treating you good in here?” Mocha asked.
“Not you asking her like she been locked up.” Jisei shook her head.
“Shit, she have been. Real Nigga Rehab. Look around, Jisei,” Pia said with a wave of her arm.
“Real N—?” I asked but was cut off by Scarlett patting my thigh. I’d heard Italian use that more than once but shrugged it off.
“Yeah, Real Nigga Rehab. Let us say it, boo. But that’s what the sign say outside the door.”
“He has a sign?” I asked Scarlett, grabbing my chest.
“Italian ’nem childish as hell. Don’t mind them!” Mocha waved both hands.
“I can’t wait to tell Neltz I saw you today. Between you and Grind, y’all keep my boy stressed.”
I faced Pia to respond. “Grind… That’s Pearla’s ex? Right?”
The girls had sat outside the door plenty of days, just having girl talk with me, and Grind had come up in conversations a few times. I knew he was in some sort of a coma, and I knew he’d hurt Pearla, who, might I add, was a sweetheart.