Page 32 of Stand on That

“Stay out of trouble. You’re too damn pretty and smart to ever come back in here,” Davis stated as we walked side by side.

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” I mumbled.

Everything was a blur though time seemed to be moving extremely slow at the same time. It was weird. The moment that gate popped loudly before it opened, and I was able to walk through it, my heart swelled with relief, and tears filled my eyes. Finally! I was free. My eyes darted around the parking lot. There were a few cars parked in the front, but none of them were running. There was no telling how long Lo had been waiting if she was even there.

“Bitch!” she screamed hopping out of an emerald, green BMW.

I took off running toward her, and we collided seconds later. “You thick thick,” I stepped back to get a good look at her. “And where did you get this fye ass BMW?” I knew she couldn’t afford such a car. I didn’t want to get out of prison preaching to her, but if Lo wasn’t turned off from fast money after seeing what happened to me, I wasn’t sure if anything could be done to put her on the right path.

“From Darius,” she replied with a straight face making me frown.

“Darius who?”

“What other Darius would I be referring to? And it’s not mine. It’s yours. He got you a car, clothes, shoes, a phone, jewelry, cash, a crib. He went all out for you, sister! You don’t have to want for shit, and he said there are no strings attached.”

My lips twisted to the side. “And you believe that ‘cus I don’t,” I continued to ogle the car.

She was a beauty. Fresh out of prison, I didn’t feel I was in the position to turn anything down, but thinking Darius would set me up and not want anything in return wasn’t fathomable.

“He said it so hold him to it,” Lo instructed. “You can be smart without being a fool. Take everything, he has to offer. Jared’s dumb ass sure can’t do anything for you,” she rolled her eyes and placed the key fob inside my hand.

A year after I was arrested, Jared got picked up on drug charges. Crazy thing was, I kept it solid and didn’t tell on him, but he snitched on a few people. Even though I didn’t rat him out, he didn’t hesitate to turn informant, and he was still sentenced to six years. Slowly, I walked to the car beyond grateful that Darius had thought of me, but I needed to make my own money. The moment he went back on what he said, I was giving everything back.

I wanted to say I completely understood why Darius didn’t come visit. Yes, he was a drug dealer. But I didn’t get caught with his stuff. I guess there was no way to know for sure if he would have brought attention to himself by coming to visit me. And honestly, we weren’t even together when I got arrested. He didn’t owe me a visit. But it still hurt. Especially when I found out he had Bree’s bitch ass pregnant. He was never beating the allegations when it came to her. Somehow, some way, she was going to find a reason to be around. When he admitted that she was pregnant, he may as well have reached inside my chest and pulled my heart out with his bare hands.

A relationship was the last thing on my mind, but I did want to have sex. Bad. It wouldn’t be with Darius though. In the car, I settled into the soft leather and started the engine. It came to life so quietly and effortlessly that I almost thought I hadn’t started it. The dash read 121 miles. Damn. Darius was still out there doing the damn thing. Lo opened the center console and removed an Apple box. “Here’s your phone.”

It had been years since I had spoken to Darius or seen his face, but he came through for real. To not thank him would be rude, but I wasn’t going anywhere near that man. Out of sight out of mind didn’t work for three years. I still loved him. Still cried for him. Body still ached for him so if I saw him, yeah, it would be hard. There was no need for me to lie to myself about it.

“You good?” Lo’s voice snapped me from my thoughts after we’d been in the car for about ten minutes.

“Yeah,” I sighed. “Just thinking. As soon as I shower and get dressed, we can head to ma and daddy’s house. I am starving, and I just know she threw down.”

“Think she didn’t?”

Lo had put an address in the GPS that I wasn’t familiar with, so I assumed it was the address to my new home. “Does he have a key?” I glanced over at her.

“I’m not sure. He paid his aunt to put it in her name. I met her the day she signed the lease. She was in here cleaning, but she gave me two keys.”

That brought me a little comfort. Lo informed me on how school was going, how she was mad about not transferring to Charlotte, and her volatile relationship with Tyriq. She claimed that it had been six months since the last time she had sex with him, but I doubted she was done. I didn’t know what kind of hold Tyriq had over Lo, but I didn’t like it. She was grown though. What could I do?

“You going out tonight? I know Hailey wants to be extra as hell. You need some fun in your life before you start braiding hair and slaving at the restaurant. Tonight, we turn up.”

“I guess.” I wasn’t certain.

On one hand, I wasn’t interested in the club, but they had a lot of nice lounges and bars in Diamond Cove. “Tonight is going to be a movie! My girl is back!” Lo turned the volume on the radio up, and I had to say I felt good.

I was cruising in a new car on my way to my new home. I had a job lined up already and was confident that my braiding clientele would pick back up. If I was depending on jobs to help me get back on my feet, I knew it would take some time. I was still willing to put the work in, but not having to start over completely from scratch was a major blessing. I just had to hope that Darius really meant what he said about there not being strings attached.

After almost an hour in the car, the GPS led me to a beautiful subdivision. I turned onto a street that had four finished houses and four that were in the process of being built. When I pulled into the driveway of a home with chocolate paneling, my jaw slacked.

“Who lives here?” From the outside, the home looked massive.

“You do! I need a tour.” Lo hopped out of the car while I stared after her in disbelief.

I had spent most of the last few years operating in a season of isolation. Even with a celly, I only spoke to her when I felt like it. Living alone would be a wonderful and welcomed experience. Excited, I opened the car door and followed Lo to the front door.

“Wow,” I stepped inside the home and inhaled the new scent. There wasn’t any furniture in the living room, and I didn’t care. Hopefully, he left it empty, so I could decorate myself.