Page 12 of Delirium 2

Her mentioning it was laughable. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe in Big G. She just didn’t have a relationship with Him. And with that, I was okay. What I wasn’t okay with was her pretending to want to do something she didn’t fuckin’ do. She’d come into the room because she was sad. Because she was needy and wanted to be in my space. She wanted a hug. She wanted comfort and because she was impatient—like most fuckin’ women—she couldn’t wait.

“You’re not going to talk to me, Exodus? After what happened yesterday?”

I looked over my shoulder at her. “What happened yesterday?”

With dipped brows, she backed away and tilted her head to the side. “You know what happened⁠—”

“We don’t talk about what happened,” I interrupted, taking in another spoonful of cereal.

Princess approached and I ran my hand over her head. She leaned into my touch, and I looked away from Jada.

“Okay,” she said under her breath, sitting next to me. “I need to talk about it tho’.”

“No. You don’t. What you need to do is remember. Never forget about the way it made you feel. Do everything in your power to make sure you’re not put in that position again.”

She was quiet for a bit.

Scratched at the side of her head, staring off. “She cut my face.”

“Skin heals.”

“That’s not the point.”

“Wouldn’t have cut it had you been yo’ ass in the fuckin’ house like you were supposed to be.”

“I had to⁠—

“Don’t give a fuck,” I cut in, finishing my cereal off, pushing the bowl aside before standing.

Stretching, I said, “Get yo shit together. Redd gon’ be here in a couple hours to help you.”

“Help me with what?” she asked, pinched brows.

“Move. The house on Lanchester. It’s yours, remember? You wanted it so bad, go back to it.”

“You putting me out?” she asked, mouth open, jaw dropped, shocked.

“I’m putting you out,” I said, arms crossed over my chest, glaring down at her. “You love the hood so much—stay there.”

With that, I walked away. She followed behind me. Cried. Pled. Asked for forgiveness. Went into hysterics. I didn’t give a fuck. I let her let loose though. She had the right to. She’d just experienced something traumatic and not even twenty-four hours later, I was sending her back to the place she didn’t want to be. It was a shock. I understood. So, when she got to falling out and shit, I let her have it. Didn’t threaten her. Didn’t snatch her up. Just let her feel.

3

SEREIA

I looked up at the leaking ceiling and took in a deep breath before snatching toilet paper from its roll.

I was back home.

In The Woods, dealing with a leaking bathroom ceiling. Something happened upstairs last night. It was loud for a couple of hours before it went completely silent. I had half a mind to go up there and check on Sabrina. Especially since there was water leaking from their apartment down into mine. I just didn’t want to deal with Sean’s disrespectful ass. Approaching them now, with Meech being gone, wasn’t really a good move. But what was I supposed to do? Deal with the leak? Not say anything?

I wiped, flushed, and got up from the toilet. I had to be at work in an hour. Rocc was picking me up. Yesterday, when I left, I met Genesis Christ. The infamous Genesis Christ. She was often talked about and never seen. Not unless it was on social media. She was popular with hundreds of thousands of followers. When she walked in, wearing a pair of Celine shades, carrying a big ass Chanel bag, I just knew she was about to be every bit of bougie. She wasn’t though. She was surprisingly down to earth and silly as hell. We talked for a good hour and a half before Rocc took me home. It was refreshing meeting her, honestly. She was nothing like what I would’ve expected. The whole Christ family seemed to be cool as hell.

After drying my hands, I adjusted my yoga pants, put on some lotion and left the bathroom. Instead of sitting on the couch to wait for Rocc, I grabbed my tote bag, draped it over my shoulder and walked out of the apartment.

“What up doe, Rei-Rei?” Spoke Hood, passing by in his chair. He extended his hand and I shook hands with him.

“Hey,” I said, looking towards the stairs. “You heard Sean and them last night?”