Then came more nights in the kitchen alone. Then the nights smokin’ outside. Then the moment he started gettin’ protective without realizin’ it.
“Who talked to you crazy? Point ‘em out,” he would say, peekin’ around corners like a psycho.
I loved that shit, though. Nobody ever protected me before.
One night, I stumbled into the game room and found Kay’Lo, Renza, and Blaqson playin’ spades.
We played spades for hours, talkin’ shit, throwin’ cards, and fussin’ like we had been friends forever. That room felt like home, and that night felt like sunlight in my chest.
Then the theater room happened.
Shit got heavy between us. I mean real heavy. We kissed like we been waitin’ forever. Clothes came off, and feelin’s got involved even though we ain’t say it out loud. He touched me like I mattered, and for once in my life, I didn’t feel broken. I didn’t feel dirty. I felt chosen, wanted and safe.
But that safety ain’t last long.
When I went back to my room, Ka’mari was standin’ there like she was waitin’ on me. Pressure’s crazy-ass ex. She showed me the video she had recorded of me and Kay’Lo in the theater. My whole body froze. She smirked like she enjoyed the fear on my face. She told me if I didn’t leave, she was showin’ it to Pressure, to the whole house, to the world.
I packed my shit and left that same night.
At the airport, my hands was shakin’ so bad I dropped my boarding pass twice. I ignored Kay’Lo’s calls until I couldn’t hold it in anymore.
“What’s wrong, Toni?”
“Ka’mari,” I whispered. “She recorded us. She said she gon’ show everybody. I can’t stay.”
Kay’Lo went quiet for a moment, then his voice dropped low and dark.
“Man, fuck that hoe. You hear me? I’m comin’ for you. You mine now. She don’t decide shit between us.”
My heart did somethin’ crazy in my chest. No man had ever said somethin’ like that to me. Nobody ever protected me. Nobody ever told me they was comin’ for me. Nobody ever chose me.
For the first time in my life, I felt safe.
And I ain’t know what to do with that feelin’.
Greystone City
The next day, Kay’Lo was already packin’ his bags to come be with me, and I still couldn’t believe he was really droppin’ everything in Trill-Land just to pull up on my broken ass. I had barely slept after Ka’mari cornered me with that video and forced me into leavin’. I really wanted to beat that bitch up, but I ain’t wanna make shit worse. My mind was racin’, my body was shakin’, and every time I tried to calm down, the image of her smirkin’ at me came back all over again. I feltdirty, embarrassed, scared, and confused, and the only person I wanted to hear from was Kay’Lo.
Yesterday, when he called me from the airport, my voice kept crackin’ ‘cause I ain’t know how he was gon’ react. I thought he would yell or get quiet or tell me he ain’t want nothin’ to do with me no more, but instead he breathed heavy and said, “Toni, stop panickin’. I’m comin’, baby. I’m packin’ my shit right the fuck now.”
And he meant that shit.
I heard the zipper from his duffle bag drag across the phone, and the sound almost knocked the air right out my lungs. Nobody ever rushed to me before. Nobody ever dropped everything for me. Nobody ever reacted to my pain like it was theirs.
Kay’Lo was movin’ around on the phone, grabbin’ clothes and throwin’ them into the bag. He wasn’t even thinkin’ about the consequences. He wasn’t thinkin’ about Pressure or the mansion or the fact that he lived in a whole different world on a fuckin’ island. He just kept sayin’, “Baby, I’m on my way. Book whatever hotel you want. Use my card.”
“I don’t know your card information,” I whispered, even though my hands was shakin’.
“I’mma give it to you. I trust you,” he said, not even hesitatin’. “Use it for whatever. I don’t give a fuck about the money. I just need you comfortable until I get there.”
My throat got heavy when he said that ‘cause nobody trusted me with nothin’ before. Nobody talked to me like I was worth bein’ protected.
He gave me every number I needed. I could barely type ‘cause my fingers wouldn’t stop tremblin’, but he told me he wasn’t hangin’ up until the room was booked. He stayed right there on the phone with me while I clicked through the website and picked a luxury hotel I ain’t even know existed in my city.It was the expensive shit with marble floors and people in uniforms who talk soft.
“Book it, baby,” he said. “I don’t care how much it cost.”
It took everything in me not to cry.
