Chapter 1
Chapter
One
Zander Gough (Go)
Over One Year Later
Sweet Girl: I’m okay. It’s just my allergies. This damn pollen is beating me TF up already.
Are you at least fighting back? You got some medicine and vitamin C?
Sweet Girl: No. My pills expired last year. I’m going to get some after I leave work.
Shaking my head, I didn’t even respond to Navy’s text.
Knowing her, she was going to leave the school and go straight home.
Her mom would likely get her what she needed, but there was no point in her suffering for the rest of the day.
I decided to spend part of my lunch break grabbing her some allergy medicine and getting her a medicine ball tea from Starbucks before I went back to the office.
It was mid-April and bouncing from cool to slightly warm, but the pollen was already acting crazy this year.
I wasn’t surprised to hear she was struggling with her allergies already.
If she had normal allergies, it wouldn’t have been too bad, but if she didn’t get it under control, her breathing would be affected, and she’d need breathing treatments or steroids. I hated when she suffered in any capacity, so if there was something I could do to avoid that, I would.
After I grabbed the medicine, a container of kiwis, and Starbucks, I headed to Rose Valley high school, where she taught tenth grade English and Creative Writing.
Since I didn’t plan to be there long, I parked in front of the building before heading inside.
While I checked in, I flirted with the receptionist whose eyes always lit up at the sight of me.
If I didn’t care about creating drama where my sweet girl worked, I would’ve been fucked Shawday, but she looked like she lived for drama, and I wouldn’t bring that to Navy’s workplace.
Once Shawday had me checked in, I made my way to Navy’s classroom.
She was in the middle of administering a test. The sight of her sneezing and blowing her nose further irritated me because she was the kind of person to willingly suffer without having to.
The sound of my loafers had her turning in my direction, and she smiled.
Her cocoa brown nose was red at the tip, and so were her eyes.
Sniffling, she stood and reminded her students to keep their eyes on their own papers as she stood and made her way over to me.
She used her hand on my forearm to lead me out of the classroom.
After closing the door, she peeped inside to make sure no one started cheating before giving me her attention.
“Hey, bookie,” she spoke.
“Wassup? You downplayed the hell out of your allergies, Navy,” I reprimanded, handing her the bags and tea.
“I didn’t want you yelling at me since I wouldn’t be able to leave work to get the medicine. Plus, it will make me drowsy, and I can’t be up here falling asleep.”
I sucked my teeth and shook my head. “Do I need to stand here and watch you take the medicine, Navy?”
She groaned. “No, and stop saying my name like I’m in trouble.”
That made me chuckle. “You are.”
“Mhm. Thank you, Z. I’m going to take it right now. I promise.”
“You better. I’ma check on your later, aight?”
“Okay. Thanks again.”
Nodding, I headed down the hall as my phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out, and the sight of my sister’s name and her contact photo put me on high alert. For her to be calling me now when she knew I’d usually be at work, something had to be wrong.
“Wassup, Sis?” I answered.
She was yelling so loud I had to pull the phone from my ear as she said, “Nah, fuck that! I’m already calling my brother, and he gon’ fuck your ass up!”
The sound of her threat had my steps increasing as I yelled her name to get her attention. “Who you talking to? And where you at?”
“Eric’s dumb ass! I caught him cheating with the girl he works with. The one he swore I didn’t have to worry about. When I smacked the bitch in her smart ass mouth, he grabbed me and yanked me back. My reflexes kicked in and I punched him. This nigga had the nerve to hit me the fuck back!”
I stopped walking so abruptly my shoes squeaked. Head tilting, an alarm went off in my ears, and my mind went completely blank.
“He hit you?” I repeated, slowly. Quietly.
“Yes! Well, he pushed me and I fell down. He didn’t hit me with his fist but—”
“Where you at?”
“At his job. I’ma send you my location.”
“Bet.”
After disconnecting the call, I jogged to my car.
I sent a 911 text to the group and told them to have my bail money ready.
I also told Kaos to get ready to represent me in case I decided not to do it myself.
I didn’t give a fuck about the chance of there being people watching, and I also didn’t give a fuck about getting arrested.
The only thing that would keep me from laying hands on Eric’s bitch ass was if he wasn’t there.
I broke all kinds of laws flying to the address Twyla had sent me.
By the time I arrived, she was standing outside pacing with two security guards standing in front of the door.
As serious as the situation was, I couldn’t help but laugh.
Knowing my sister, she’d probably been dragged out of the office.
She was a firecracker when she was angry but sweet as pie otherwise.
That’s why her and Navy got along so well.
As I made my way over to her, relief washed over her and her entire frame relaxed.
The sound of tires told me one of my brothers had pulled up, but I didn’t bother turning to see which one it was as I gripped Twyla’s face and looked her over for any marks and bruises.
“He only pushed me,” she repeated. “I fell on my ass but that was it.”
“Take me to him. Now.”
“I’m sorry, but we’ve been told not to let her back in,” one of the guards said. “We’ll have to call the police if—”
“You might as well call them now,” I said, stepping between them and opening the door. “Come on,” I demanded, motioning for Twyla to step inside.
“Aye, let me talk to y’all real quick,” Tristan said as Kaos hopped out of the car.
I knew he was following behind me as I trailed Twyla. Two long halls and three turns later, she pointed toward a closed door. I kicked it down, then made my way inside.
“Who the fu—”
Before Eric could finish whatever he was trying to say, I’d picked him up, dropped him on his desk, and connected my fist with his face about three times.
I didn’t care that his eyes had sealed shut.
I didn’t care that his head was bobbing wildly while he was unconscious.
I didn’t care that his nose and mouth were bleeding.
I heard voices behind me, but they were muffled and blurred.
Nothing was able to pull me off his body until I felt arms wrap around mine.
“That’s enough, brotha,” Kaos said, almost picking me up and dragging me out of the room.
My wiggling against him did nothing to loosen his hold, so I surrendered and tried to calm down while he escorted me down the hall.
I didn’t realize how much I’d zone out until my heart stopped beating wildly and Twyla unballed my fists.
Tristan must have been paying the guards to not call the police because they were huddled around him while he nodded and did something in his phone.
I’d ask what he paid them once I’d completely calmed down.
For now, I just wanted to make sure my sister was straight.
“You good?” I checked as Kaos headed toward Tristan.
“Yes,” she almost whispered with watery eyes. “Physically. My heart hurts a little though.”
That shit broke me.
I pulled her into my arms and held her close.
Later, I’d remind her who she was and that he wasn’t worth her pain or her tears.
Right now, I knew she was in her feelings, and there was nothing I could say logically to pull her out of that.
She’d have to feel the feelings in order to process them, so I held her while she cried and expressed how angry she was over trusting him.
Once she was all cried out, I dried her face and thanked Tristan and Kaos for pulling up before they hopped in the car and left.
Twyla’s sneaky ass had followed Eric up here in an Uber so he wouldn’t see her, so I offered to take her home, but she wanted to go to our parents’ house instead.
I already knew when Pops found out what happened that he’d want to see Eric too, but I did enough damage for the both of us.
Between wanting to make sure my sister was okay emotionally and Navy physically, I decided to call my executive assistant and have her to clear my calendar for the rest of the day.
There weren’t too many things that came before my work, but my family and Navy were definitely at the top of that list.