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“I want it, but I don’t need it, so I’ll leave you alone.” Malay stood, but instead of letting her walk away, I pulled her onto my lap. “Aspen…”
“I told my brother I was gon’ let you break up with ya man on your own. How much time you need to do that?”
Her eyes blinked as a slow grin lifted the corners of her mouth. “Who said I was breaking up with him?”
“It’s either you break up with him or you cheat, and I know you don’t want to do that.”
Malaysia scoffed. “Why would you want me to cheat with you anyway? Wouldn’t you be worried I’d do the same thing to you?”
My head shook as I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her closer. “Nah. I ain’t got to worry about that because when I get you, you won’t have a reason to cheat. I’m who you supposed to be with—not him or anybody else.”
“It’s your turn, sissy,” Enjell said.
Malay stared at me for a while before standing and walking away. She didn’t deny what I’d said or say she wasn’t going to break up with him, so I took that as a win. I didn’t want to make it seem like I didn’t care about her being unfaithful, because that wasn’t the case. If she was truly happy with her man, there was no way the things that had been transpiring between us would have been happening. Whatever was going on between them was lessening her commitment and confidence in their relationship, and those cracks were going to be the opening I needed inside of her heart.
5
Malaysia
The Next Weekend
The meeting was already off to a bad start. My teeth were chattering, and that was a clear indication that it was getting harder and harder for me to hold back my words. What was supposed to be a weekend alone for me and Peyton turned into a sit down with Jereka. Jereka, apparently, was Brooklyn’s father’s old assistant at the church.
We’d just been informed that Brooklyn’s father, Spencer, had no idea where she and the baby had been. He’d been ranting on social media about his daughter being a runaway and calling for the church and city of Memphis to help him find her. I found it funny that he was so concerned yet hadn’t bothered to come look for her himself or actually filed a damn police report. However, that was a drop in the pond of drama her and her baby being with us had caused to overflow.
Peyton told Brooklyn to tell her parents where she was, but she didn’t want to. When he couldn’t tell me why, I asked her myself, and she said she didn’t want them to try and make her leave. I understood that, so I told her she needed to let them know she was somewhere safe. I didn’t want them thinking she was a runaway and causing us to be in any legal trouble for housing her and the baby.
Brooklyn told us she felt comfortable meeting with Jereka, who was supposed to have the power to assure her father that she and the baby were okay. We’d been seated at the restaurant table for less than five minutes, and already, Jereka was getting on my damn nerves. She had an attitude and wasn’t listening to comprehend. She also didn’t seem like she was here because she cared about Brooklyn and Destined, but instead, to do Spencer’s bidding.
“As you can see, she and the baby are fine,” I said, ready to go. “Do you want to take a picture or something for her father?”
Jereka’s eyes lifted toward the ceiling as she sat back in her seat. “I’m not talking to you. I’m not even sure why you’re here. This is a family matter.”
Peyton sat up immediately. He grabbed my hand under the table, fully aware of what was about to happen. If I was known for anything, it was for beating a bitch up if she disrespected me. I hated fighting and hurting people, but my temper was quick. On a logical level, I understood letting people get a rise out of me meant I wasn’t as emotionally intelligent as I could be. Knowing that didn’t matter when someone made me mad. It didn’t keep me from blacking out and feeling like I had no control of myself.
“You must want to snack on your teeth talking to me like that,” I said, sitting up in my seat. “If this was strictly a family matter, your ass wouldn’t be here either. I don’t know why in the fuck they got you talking to us like you’re Brooklyn’s handler, but I’m not the one to talk crazy to.”
“Clearly, you have no home training to talk to a complete stranger so vulgarly and with such disrespect, but I’m going to ask you nicely—if you plan to be involved in this, keep silent unless you are spoken to, and talk to me with respect if I address you.”
My eye twitched as I chuckled. Before I could stop myself, I was hopping up from my seat, wrapping my arm around her neck, and repeatedly hitting her in her smart-ass mouth. I wasn’t sure how long it took Peyton and two other men who were seated by us to pull me off her, but when I finally did release her, her mouth was a bloody mess.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Peyton roared, carrying me out of the restaurant. “Do you want to go to jail? Did you see her fucking mouth? If she presses charges—”
“I don’t care about that!” I yelled, fighting to get away from him. “This ain’t even my battle to fight! I was there for you and Brooklyn. Since we sat down, she’d been catty and disrespectful! I shouldn’t have had to even say anything to the bitch. That’s your fucking responsibility!”
“Everything don’t have to be addressed, Malaysia. Damn! You act like a fucking child. You need to get that shit in check.”
My head tilted as I stared at him. Yet again, my hand was lifting without my consent. This time, it was to slap the shit out of him.
“How dare you! You brought this girl into our home and allowed her situation to disrupt our peace. Now her daddy going around making it seem like she’s a runaway, and there’s no telling what will happen legally when they find out where she is. This gap-toothed bitch in there talking crazy to us like we’re in the wrong, and you’re sitting there on mute, and you got the nerve to tell me I act like a child? Fuck you, Peyton! Fuck all this shit!”
My intuition told me to drive, and I was glad I listened. The moment I was in my car, I pulled out of the lot to see where my sister was. She was the only person who could calm me down, and if she didn’t, I feared what I would do next.
6
Aspen
I let myself inside of my brother’s apartment without a key like I always did. Under different circumstances, I would have knocked since Enjell was here, but knowing Malay was here and upset had me wanting to quickly get to her side. Dejvi and I were on the phone when she called Enjell to see where she was at.
