“What am I going to do without you, Kelechi?” I asked, wishing my brother could hear me and answer me, because I just didn’t know what to do. Orlando was still calling me, telling me that we needed to stick together now because Hell was gone, but I didn’t want that.
I didn’t want to be alone either. I wanted the only person in the world who truly loved me. I knew my mama loved me, but I knew she loved me because of Orlando. Her mind and heart were on him and only him, so she loved me because I came from him. It wasn’t the type of love Kelechi showed and had for me. He fucked with me because I was me. He saw me,reallysaw me.
Like Kairi.
I felt my heart beat funny when I thought about her. She was the only other person, outside of my brother, that fucked with me because I was me. Not because of whose son I was or because I was mixed up in The Society. Neither of them could give a fuck about those things. They just saw Makari.
I looked over at the clock on my wall. It was almost midnight, and I knew that she’d be at work now.
I hadn’t seen her since the night Kelechi died. I had walked away and left her that night, and we hadn’t spoken to each othersince. I knew that it was selfish of me to go to her now, but I just needed to see her. I needed to feel something other than lost, confused, and in pain. Feel something that only she could give me. I knew it the night at the club when I saw her again after a month. The way my body reacted to her. I needed that feeling, if only for a moment.
Before I could stop myself, I was in my car heading to The Cove. All I needed to do was look at her from a distance. I needed her to calm the storm I felt inside of me. Like always, the club was packed.
The security took one look at me and allowed me inside without asking any questions. I put my hood over my head and kept it down hoping nobody would notice or approach me. I was there for one person only.
I finally found her working at the bar. I stood back and just watched her. That feeling of calm instantly rushed through my body.
I made a step forward, already breaking my promise to keep away, but stopped when I saw Sony approach with his crew.
From the night of Kelechi’s party, I noticed that nigga went out of his way to fuck with her, and here he was doing it again tonight.
My phone rang, and I pulled it out of my pocket expecting it to be Orlando again, but it wasn’t. It was Sincere.
I pushed my phone back in my pocket because I had something more important to deal with.
Sony ordered a drink. Kairi tried to get the other girl to do it, but I watched as Sony declined, forcing her to do it.
What the fuck is that about?
Instantly, I wondered if Kairi lied to me and had something going on with this nigga. I asked if she’d ever fucked with another nigga in The Society, and she told me no. But clearlythat was a fucking lie. The way Sony was behaving, I knew there was something going on between them.
Kairi quickly made up his drink and handed it over.
I watched as Sony stood there just looking at her for a few seconds before he finally reached out to take the drink. Instead of him doing that, he grabbed Kairi by the wrist, making her drop the drink all over the bar. Then he laughed with his friends.
Kairi backed up and just stood there staring at him. The look of fear on her face started to fuck with me. The other bartender came over to clean up the mess while Kairi ran into the back.
Sony and his crew laughed again before they walked away.
After watching him go back up to the VIP section, I went in search of Kairi.
I noticed the storage door was open and knew that was where she had gone.
“Argh!” she suddenly screamed when I approached.
“Hey, it’s me,” I said, and she calmed down. Her big eyes were wide and bouncing around us before she looked at me again.
“My bad, I didn’t mean to scare you,” I said.
“Uh, that’s fine. I just didn’t hear you,” she said. Something about her tone and behavior told me that I’d really scared her.
“You good?” I asked. She looked at me, sighed, and then smiled.
“I’m fine,” she answered. “Let me get back to work.”
She walked around me, and I turned to watch her leave. She might have said she was fine, but I could feel that she wasn’t and just didn’t want to tell me, and whatever it was, had something to do with that nigga Sony. But I had something for that nigga!
I walked back over to the bar, where Kairi was, and sat my ass right in front. I slowly turned around and looked up at Sony. I made sure I was sitting right where that mothafucker could seeme. Since he liked to stare at people, he could stare at my black ass.
