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“Everything is all good, baby. Go back to the room and make sure that pussy is ready for me cause a nigga is stressed the fuck out, and I need somebody to take this frustration out on.”
Yaya observed him for a moment, and I could see the worry in her eyes. She glanced in my direction and asked if I was okay, but all I could offer was a nod.
“Don’t keep me waiting too long,” she told him and then slid the door closed.
“Look, I know you think I’m being hard on you, but I don’t have a choice. You hid the abuse Rondell put you through, and he could have ended your life. Now, there are people out here trying to get revenge for his pussy ass, and I’ll be damned if they catch us slipping again.”
“I’ll make you a compromise. I’ll take you to the shop in the morning, so you can get the materials you need for these projects. You can work on them from home, so I suggest you get everything you need. As far as any new clients, my stance hasn’t changed. I don’t feel comfortable with you meeting with anyone new because you don’t know who they are connected to. It’s better to be safe than sorry while we’re trying to figure out who is behind all of this.”
His solution was better than the original, and I was grateful he was at least willing to meet me halfway.
“Thank you, bubs!” I got up from my seat and threw my arms around him.
He stood there for a moment before finally reciprocating and wrapping his arms around me. We stood there for a few minutes as I relaxed in his arms and listened to his heartbeat. When we separated, his demeanor seemed more relaxed as he retrieved his gun from the table. He headed towards the door, and I followed him inside.
I reclaimed my spot on the couch as he headed towards the hallway. I assumed he was going to bed, but he paused for a moment. When he turned back around, his eyes landed on me. I could tell there was a lot on his mind, and he was trying to sort it all out.
“I love you, Honesty. Even when I’m upset, or we don’t agree on something, my love for you will never change. There is nothing you could ever do to make me stop loving you. We’re family, and I’ll be in your corner until they bury a nigga six feet under. Don’t ever forget that.”
Siah walked down the hallway, and I sat there deep in my thoughts. After attempting to watch TV, I gave up and decided to try to get some sleep. I curled up in my blanket and said a prayer over myself and the people I loved. My eyes grew heavy, and within no time, I was fast asleep.
At some point in the middle of the night, I felt my body being lifted from the couch. His scent revealed who it was, and with me having to open my eyes, I kept them shut and pretended to be asleep.
Once we got to the bedroom, Solomon pulled the covers back and got into bed with me still in his arms. He laid me beside him, placed the comforter over us, and then cut off the lights. I took advantage of the moment and snuggled my body into his. My head rested on his bare chest, and I instantly felt at peace.
His fingers raked through my hair as silence loomed over us. When he kissed the top of my head, I wanted to jump for joy, but I didn’t want to ruin the moment.
“I know you aren’t asleep,” Solomon spoke in a low voice.
I lifted my head and our eyes connected. Like Messiah, his expression was much softer than before, which made me feel a lot better.
“I’m sorry about earlier. You needed me, and I was too angry to be there for you.” He acknowledged.
“You don’t ha—”
“Let me finish.” He took a deep breath as I waited for him to continue.
“I felt like less of a man because I couldn’t protect you. Then I started to feel like you didn’t trust me to protect you, because why else would you lie next to me every single night and not mention the fact that someone was stalking you? Do I not make you feel safe or something? You don’t trust me to be your man?”
His questions caught me off guard, and I immediately sat up in the bed.
“Solly, no. You couldn’t be further from the truth. I trust you with my life.” I vowed.
“Then why the fuck was I the last to know? Do you have any idea how scared and helpless I felt as your man? Your whole family sat in that living room, and it made me feel like less of a man because I promised them I would protect you with my life.”
“I messed up, but my poor judgment doesn’t reflect on you and your ability to keep me safe. My family doesn’t blame you for what happened, and you have to know that I never kept this from you because I thought you couldn’t help me.”
“Then what’s the problem? Because I’ve spent the entire night, racking my brain, trying to figure out why you didn’t feel comfortable enough to come to me. I’m tough when it comes to a lot of shit, but that really fucked me up.”
“Baby, it wasn’t about you.”
“Then explain it to me because none of this makes any sense.”
I sat up and placed my back against the headboard.
“When I was in middle school, I had a classmate named Nyasha. She was one of those quiet kids who kept her head down and barely talked. Our teacher put us together for a group project, and I remember being annoyed because I thought she wouldn’t pull her weight.”
“One night, she came over to work on the project at our house, and surprisingly we actually had a good time. She was nothing like I originally thought, and I started to see there was more to her than I originally thought. After a couple of weeks, I noticed her shutting down again, so I stopped her in the hall to try to talk to her. I grabbed her wrist to get her attention, and she winced in pain. It turns out that her father had recently returned home from prison, and he had been beating her and her mom.
