“Exactly what I said. You gon’ tell me what happened or not? I ain’t got all day.” Royce seemed aggravated with my responses, and I couldn’t help but reciprocate the annoyance.
I looked up at Nesh and she nodded. I guess I had no choice but to tell him what happened. Black was his brother after all.
“Fuck it,” I said throwing my hands up. “So, me and my bestie were in the mall blowing a bag as usual.”
“Okay!” Klarity interrupted cosigning our activities. She was able to get us to chuckle with her outburst.
“Any who, we were shopping and all of a sudden, we hear shots go off. We made our way back to our cars but when I got in mine Bla… Genesis was already there in my backseat. He held me at gun point and told me to come here. We got here, he helped me inside because of my health condition flaring at that moment and that was that. The next day he made a transaction with someone named Zeus giving him the jewelry that was stolen from XXIV Carats and took the money. I called the cops the following night and got him gone. This is my home, and I’m not going to walk on eggshells or allow someone like him to stay here and threaten me nonstop with a fuckin’ gun.” My story was quite simple leaving out all the details. That was my business, and I didn’t have to reveal that if I didn’t want to.
Royce laughed at my response and was now sitting on the edge of the sofa. He took a swig of his water and said, “Ain’t you leaving some shit out?”
Oh, he knows exactly what happened. He just wants to see if I’ll tell him the truth or not.
“You’re minding business that’s not yours already. Don’t you think you should be satisfied with what you’re getting?” I was talking shit to him the way I would to Black. I learned being nice would get me nowhere with them.
He stared me down but eventually sat back getting comfortable beside Klarity once more. For the first time since he’d been here, I saw a genuine smile. “I like you, Ms. Afor.”
“Cheyonne, just call me Cheyonne.” If those pregnancy tests came back positive, we would be more than strangers.
“It’s obvious he treated you with some kind of respect or else you wouldn’t have fucked him. Your fibromyalgia, did it flare when he was here?”Tuh. They said you were one of the smartestmen in Sage Springs, and I see why. Good job on doing your homework, Royce Atkins.
“You have no right digging into her background like that. That’s her personal business,” Nesh chimed.
“Didn’t I just tell you I don’t need permission to do shit in my city, that includes tapping into your medical records. Answer me, Cheyonne,” he demanded.
“It did and he helped me through it, surprisingly. He’s really caring and gentle despite of his hotheadedness. He listens to me even if he complains at times. He caused my episode, but I got through it faster than I would if I was alone,” I disclosed.
“Cheyonne, why you send my brother to jail? Sounds like he was nice to yo’ ungrateful ass and now he got a record.”
“Royce, you need to speak to her with some respect. You are in her home and wanting information on Genesis, not the other way around. Cheyonne, do you mind if I use your bathroom? I’ve been trying to hold it, but I’ve reached my limit,” Klarity interrupted.
“Yeah, sure. It’s down the hall to your right,” I said pointing in the direction she should walk.
“Thank you.”
Nodding, I gave my attention to her husband. He was quite pushy and if answering him would get him up and out my face, then I might as well tell him what he wanted to hear. “Royce, I called the police because he held me hostage in my own home, pulled a gun on me several times, and threatened my life. The news also reported that the security guard was placed in ICU. At the time, I assumed it was him. I only learned that it wasn’t today. There’s slight regret but once again, at the time, I thought justice needed to be served. If I could help the security guard get that, then it was what it was.”
“The hell you fuck him for?” Royce was repeatedly asking the question I didn’t want to answer.
So, this is what you meant when you said I was leaving something out. I guess no stone goes unturned around you, huh?
“How else was I supposed to get him vulnerable enough where I could take my freedom back? Niggas drop their guard for pussy every day. Why not take advantage of that?”
“So, you snitched on the nigga you fucked?” Royce was getting upset. You could visibly see his eyes shifting from calm to irate.
“Baby, calm down. She might be pregnant,” Klarity commented walking back into the room holding a pregnancy test in her hand.
Dammit. I completely forgot I left those on the sink.
“You and your husband don’t know how to mind your business do you?” Nesh inquired walking over and snatching the box from her.
Klarity ignored Toneshia’s rudeness and took a seat beside Royce. She looped her arm with his and got comfortable yet again. Neither one of them seemed bothered by our shit talking or aggressive attitudes. I would be comfortable too knowing the man I was married to held the city in the palms of his hands, especially with no one being able to do shit with him even if they tried.
“Take the test, Cheyonne. We’ll wait,” Royce demanded.
“Excuse me? You’re really entitled, and my business is not yours. How many more times do I have to say that?” I shouted. I was annoyed as hell, but I couldn’t determine if it was because of him or the possible hormone change. He kept butting in things that didn’t concern him, but I was just as curious to know the results.
He kissed the back of his teeth and exhaled deeply letting me know that he too was annoyed. “I’m really trying to keep my cool and practice these breathing techniques, so I don’t endup back in jail, but you and yo’ fuck ass homegirl got one more time to talk to me crazy and I’m gon’ start making funeral arrangements. Go take the fuckin’ test, so I’ll know whether or not to add Atkins to your tombstone,” he threatened.
