“Uh, hell no, nigga!”
I was stunned when Sparkle suddenly reached out and covered Kairi’s lips with one hand while pushing me back with the other.
“No, you’re not about to fuck up my best friend’s head again, Havoc!” she snapped at me. “She’s been crying and talking about you for hours.”
I frowned at her words.
“Here, bitch, put this in your mouth and not that nigga,” she told Kairi and handed her another shot.
“Sparkle, you know I wouldn’t do anything to hurt her,” I said, looking at her.
“And what about Ocean? That girl’s been messing with Kairi for years, and it will only get worse if she finds out about y’all,” she said, humbling me. “And there’s no way you can protect her, is there?”
I looked at Sparkle, seeing the love and worry she had for Kairi.
“Then leave her be, Havoc. Please,” Sparkle begged me. “She’s not strong enough to stay away from you, but you can.”
I turned my eyes to Kairi. She had taken the shot that Sparkle gave her and was leaning back on the barstool.
For a brief moment, I sat there in silence. All my thoughts were colliding in my mind, making it hard for me to find a definitive answer. I didn’t know anything, I just knew that I cared about this girl and couldn’t let her go, even though it was the right thing to do.
I took her hand in mine, which made her look my way.
“Kairi—”
“Kairi,” I heard behind me, and I turned to see it was her brother. He narrowed his eyes at me and shook his head.
I released Kairi’s hand and sat back to watch him.
“Kairi, let’s go,” he said, pulling his sister up to her feet.
Sparkle turned and gave me a sympathetic look as she followed him outside.
My body stiffened as I watched him take her. I wanted to object. I wanted to protest. I wanted to fight, but I didn’t. Helplessly, I sat there andlethim take her.
My chest tightened as I watched him take her to a world that didn’t want me in it.
CHAPTER TWENTY
KAIRI MOORE
ONE MONTH LATER
“Kairi, there’s someone in booth two, go and take their order,” Mr. Blair instructed me. I turned in the direction of the booth and froze. That was Havoc’s booth. It had been a whole month since I last saw him. Even though that time I was drunk out of my head. It was never my intention to call him. I’d gone out hoping to have a good time, get a little drunk, and get rid of any thoughts of him, but that wasn’t the case. In my drunken state, I called him, and he showed up.
After that, everything else was a blur, but Sparkle had let me know what went down, and of course, Shakur had a whole lot to say about it too. He cussed me out the whole ride home and for days later.
He made me promise again that I’d stay away from Makari. And even though I meant it, I just didn’t expect us to never see each other again. A month was a long ass time.
It had been affecting my moods, making me feel stressed all the time. Even work had been feeling heavy later. I knew why,even though I lied to myself, but the thought of seeing him again had me conflicted.
I stood there in the same spot thinking about what I could say to him after all this time. Would he even want to hear anything I had to say? But the fact that he came to the club knowing I was going to be here had to mean something, right?
“Kairi,” Mr. Blair snapped his fingers in my face. “Go now.”
I nodded, grabbed my notepad, and made my way over. Every step, I could feel my heart racing uncontrollably, and my legs felt weaker the closer I got. My palms were sweating.
I took a deep breath and finally mustered up enough courage to open my mouth.
