“I know.”
“And you still want to go through with it?”
“Yeah.”
He dropped his head into his hands. When he finally looked up, he turned to glance at me. I valued my father’s opinion and understood why he was so against this. However, I also knew what I felt in my heart. God had sent Nuri Symone crashing into my arms for protection, and I wasn’t going to run from that responsibility. I could help her, and I was going to, no matter what anyone said. The truth was that I was already wrapped in this. Marrying Nuri would just put us on the same side of the same war.
“If you do this, then you don’t play about this woman. You protect and provide for her as if you’re in love with her. If she’s desperate, then that means she has nowhere else to turn. You will be her family, and we both know the Walker motto.”
“Family is more than blood and bone. Any person you choose to be your family should be provided for, protected from all danger, and loved with every fiber of your being,” I recited.
He nodded his head proudly. My father had created that motto after I came to him crying about how the kids in school said he wasn’t my real father. He sat me down and let it be known that I didn’t need to come from his nut sack to be his son. He said he was my father because he took care of me, taught me, and protected me. He said he was my father because he chose to be, and nothing would change that. I never questioned who he was to me again.
He held a hand out to me. I accepted it, and he snatched me into his chest. He wrapped his arms around me. “Exactly. Handle your business, but know that you are my son, and I would lose my fucking mind if something happened to you.” He kissed me on the forehead, then released me. “Now, come onand finish shaving all the gray hairs you just caused to sprout on my head.”
I chuckled. “Man, your hair is gray ’cause you’re old as shit.”
After talking it out with my father, I felt better about my decision. Now, I just had to share it with Nuri Symone. I wasn’t sure what she would say, but I wouldn’t force her into anything. If she said yes, it would be of her own free will. She would become my family. One thing I didn’t do was play about my family. I was putting belt to ass every time for mine. If she said yes, she would become exactly that... mine.
I was lyingacross the bed watchingMartinreruns. It was the episode where Gina broke up with him for acting a fool on the radio. It was my favorite one. Something about that part where he begs her not to leave always brought tears to my eyes. Blame it on the Cancer in me, but I wanted to experience a love like that, a love where a man wasn’t afraid to be vulnerable and let me know how badly he needed me.
My attention drifted to the bedroom I was in. It was clean with minimal furniture. Most of the space was dedicated to a studio set-up in the corner. There was a rickety and worn black desk chair in front of a soundboard. The microphone was pushed to the side with a pair of black Beats sitting on top of it. There were wires covering the floor to power everything.And don’t get me started on the stacks of notebooks and CDs everywhere. The only other thing was a futon couch for lounging on the far wall.
Soft knocks sounded on the door, stealing my attention from the journals. I remained silent until I heard his voice. “Open up, Nuri Symone.”
My name rolling off Kai’s tongue sent tingles down my spine. I nibbled on my bottom lip and then glanced down at my clothes.
A woman with hazel eyes and blonde curly hair had come in to give me some clothes to borrow for the time being. She told me she was Kai’s younger sister, Jiah. The clothes were nothing more than a pair of black cotton shorts and a fitted, cropped pink shirt with a quirky saying on it about cherries. I stood quickly and pulled the shorts out of the crack of my ass. For now, my hair was up in a puff to keep it out of my way.
I took slow steps to the door before cracking it open only a little. Sekai’s presence hit me like a ton of bricks. I had to tilt my head up to find his almost black eyes. They were stern and serious, giving away no emotion. I gulped at their intensity.
“Yes?”
“I need to talk to you. Come take a walk with me. You’re not a hostage who has to be holed up in my bedroom, and some fresh air won’t kill you.”
I wanted to object but decided against it. I’d already peeped he wasn’t a man of many words, so if he was telling me he needed to talk, then it was important. I opened the door wide before sliding out behind him. He turned to lead the way as I silently closed the bedroom door behind me.
We passed two doors on each wall on our way down the hall. Some had decorations on them showcasing the personality of the person who lived inside. At the end of the hall, we descended the stairs, and I started to get an idea of how big this house was.
Since I’d woken up to Kai watching me, I hadn’t left the bedroom he had me in. It became my safe haven for the time being. For the most part, no one had bothered me other than to offer me food or when Jiah came to give me clothes, even though I knew I wasn’t alone.
The sound of the TV was heard first as we made it to the first floor. I couldn’t see who it was, but a dainty foot was on the back of the couch as they lounged watching TV on the sixty-inch mounted screen. Thick clouds of smoke billowed into the air from whatever they were smoking. The couches were brown and battered from years of use. The other furniture in the room didn’t match. However, it was all strategically placed to bring the room together and make it homey. Even the old grand piano in the corner made sense.
I damn near jumped out of my skin when someone came barreling through the back door.
“Fuck you, Jah. You stay fucking cheating!” a chubby brown-skinned man, who had to bend down to enter the house, yelled over his shoulder. His hair was big and curly, just like Jiah’s, only it was black. “I oughta blow your fucking brains out!”
I gasped when he pulled a gun from his waist and pointed it at the man coming through the door now. He chuckled, unfazed by the scowling man in front of him. They looked alike, except his hair was in silky waves. He walked straight into the barrel and pressed it deeper into his chest. I almost pissed the loaner shorts in fear.
“Pull the trigger then, pussy,” Jah taunted. “Every time you fucking lose, you swear somebody was cheating. That’s why I don’t shoot dice with your crybaby ass now.”
The person on the couch huffed as she sat up. “Shut the fuck up. I’m trying to watch TV.”
I realized it was Jiah at the same time she noticed us standing there. She waved with a sweet smile, so I waved back shyly.
Out of nowhere, Jah punched the one holding the gun. “Told you about pulling out on me, Man Man. When you pull out you’re supposed to be ready to use it.” They began tussling, and I hopped out of the way with a yelp.
Kai leaned against the wall, watching them while shaking his head. I took the time to truly admire him. He was at least six-foot-five with a wiry frame, muscular and lean like he lifted for his health instead of aesthetics. His complexion was a deep mahogany that made my mouth water. His shoulder-length black locs were hanging down, kinda hiding his face. My gaze perused his thick, busy black eyebrows over his bedroom eyes that were as nearly as black as the nighttime sky. He always looked so serious and intense that I couldn’t read him at all. His lips were full and a reddish berry color. They were outlined by a short goatee that I wanted to run my fingers through.
