Page 10 of Do You Right

“KC! You’re finally home.” I heard a voice that made my blood run cold. Of course, this was his doing.

“Yo, JoJo, what the fuck is going on? What is this?” Kaizi questioned him without any of the friendliness that JoJo spoke with.

I peeked around KC’s towering frame to see the living room was full of naked women. There was money floating through the air, and questionable things happened all over his furniture. JoJo stood up and walked over to Kaizi. “Whatchu mean, broski? It’s thirsty Thursday . . .”

KC shook his head and ran a hand down his face. “Dawg, you could’ve asked if I was cool with you doing this here before you came. This is OD. Niggas are using my vases as places to dump their blunt ashes and dry humping on my furniture. I’on like that shit. Y’all got to go.”

“Kaizi! You’re finally back.” A shrill voice I’d grown to loathe hollered after entering the house from the back patio. I watched her rush toward KC with a smile on her face that said she was happy to see him, while his muscles tensed from indifference. He held up a hand to stop her from coming closer.

“Why are you here too?” he questioned darkly. “I thought I told you to stay away.”

JoJo reached for Ty’s hand and snatched her closer. “Come on, KC. You know I invited her. Y’all always break up then get back together again. I don’t know why you’re acting like that’s not the way y’all work.”

Kaizi shook his head adamantly. “Nah, I’m done with her, and I meant it, but fuck all that. I need y’all to dip. This is not the house party spot no more. This is my only rest day this week, and I want a quiet evening.”

Kaizi took a step forward, revealing me standing behind him, and it was like all hell broke loose. Tycelyn saw me and immediately charged at me. I didn’t even have a chance to prepare for the slap she delivered to my face. “Bitch, what the fuck are you doing here? I know you didn’t come home with him.”

Bop! I decked her in the mouth without any warning. She didn’t have a chance to recover because I continued to swing until she fell backward on the couch. “Bitch! You gon’ stop fuckin’ playing with me. Tired of letting you slide.” A punch followed every word until someone snatched me off her and placed me back on my feet.

Kaizi held me with my arms secured by my sides, but it did nothing to calm me down. “Chill, Chai. She not worth it,” KC whispered in my ear.

Tycelyn was on the couch crying like she didn’t start with me first. “Kaizi, really? You going to let this bitch attack me and do nothing?” She hopped up like she wanted to go another round with me.

“Aye, grab her,” Kaizi said to JoJo, who wrapped his arms around Tycelyn’s waist. KC escorted me toward the front of the house and unlocked the front door to usher me outside. “Do me a favor and go for a walk while I get all these people out of here.”

I shot daggers at him with a frown. He reached out to touch me, but I snatched away quickly. “Don’t fucking touch me, Kaizi. I told you I didn’t want to be around that damn girl, and you promised I would be safe here.”

“I know, I know. I had no clue JoJo was going to do this shit, though. You can’t be mad at me, because it’s not like I invited her here.”

“Yes, the fuck I can. That’s your damn friend and your ex. If you made better choices, this would’ve never happened.” He reached for me again, but I backed away. “Just leave me alone, Kaizi.”

“I promise it will never happen again!” he yelled from behind me, but I kept walking because there was nothing he could say to me right now. I was better off on the streets than staying with him and being subjected to attacks at any moment in time.

Without another word or a glance, I began to walk down the block, figuring a walk would help me cool off. I should’ve known Tycelyn wouldn’t be easy for him to get rid of. I couldn’t understand why she kept going so hard for KC when we both knew she was fucking JoJo behind his back. A part of me felt like it was probably the reason she kept coming for me. She was afraid I’d tell KC what I knew, but I was still standing on the fact it wasn’t my business. Plus, since moving in, I’d kind of forgotten about them.

Another reason I had yet to tell him was because over the two weeks I’d been living with him, I could tell Kaizi was a good man. I honestly did not want to hurt him like that. From what I’d gathered, JoJo was a childhood friend he loved deeply, and Tycelyn was his high school sweetheart. He was not going to handle it well when he found out they weren’t trustworthy, and if I could help it, that information wouldn’t come from me. He was more likely to hate the messenger, and we were cool. I didn’t want there to be any issues between us.

All I wanted to do was take advantage of his kindness, by teaching his sister and stacking my money until I had enough to rent my own apartment. I knew I couldn’t depend on Kaizi forever nor did I want to. A few times, I’d gotten the silly idea in my mind that there was chemistry between us, but today was the reminder I needed that Kaizi Carter was way out of my league.

“Ican’t believe you’re acting funny for a bitch,” JoJo spat from where he casually leaned on his car.

“First off, why you gotta disrespect her? It’s not even about Chai; it’s about the fact that the shit we used to do doesn’t excite me anymore. I know we used to party hard, and in the past, I didn’t care about a pop-up like that, but times are different. That can’t happen again.”

I watched a head full of locs shake back and forth in response. “So, you really standing on that?”

I nodded. “Hell yeah, I am. Plus, this is Chai’s home right now too, and I have to consider her feelings. She should feel comfortable and safe at the place where she’s laying her head.”

His head spun around so quickly you would think it was controlled by a remote. “You really got this bitch living here too? You hittin’ that?”

My expression turned serious, hearing him refer to her as a bitch for the second time. “I know we’re cool and all, but make that your last time referring to her as a bitch. Her name is Chai.”

He chuckled softly and shrugged. “I don’t give a fuck what her name is; I can’t believe you’re switching up on me for a stray you decided to take in.”

I got ready to reply when a flash of movement caught my eye. When I glanced up, my eyes collided with those doe eyes I often went to bed thinking about. Even though she didn’t say anything, I saw her body jerk from the impact of his words. I got ready to say something to her, but she rushed up the steps past us to let herself in the house. Since everyone had already cleared out, including Tycelyn, I knew it was safe to go in.

“That wasn’t cool, JoJo. I’m trying to keep in mind that we have a friendship, but you have to respect her or stay from around my crib. She’s not a stray. She’s a person with real shit going on, just like me and you, and that doesn’t give you the right to look down on her.”

I stood quickly, really annoyed with the way he was handling this conversation. It was rubbing me the wrong way and removing any desire to even be around him. Although I hadn’t crossed any lines with Chai, she was cool in my book, and I was at the very least beginning to see her as a friend. I wouldn’t let a random person disrespect her, so why would I let JoJo do it.