“What you said sounded responsible as hell,” I answered, then put the key into the lock.
“I do responsible shit all the time,” she replied, and I laughed harder.
After I got myself together, I turned the key, unlocked the door, and then pushed it open. The first thing I noticed was how stale the air in the house was. Usually, I would take off my shoes, but today I didn’t care. I made my way upstairs to my old bedroom with Xoey right on my heels.
“I have a few pictures in the closet, and then I want the ones on the living room wall above the fireplace,” I said to Xoey, then pushed open the bedroom door. I grabbed the pictures from the closet, then we made our way to the living room, taking the back stairs. “I know, Am said nobody has been here in a few days, and it shows. That damn trash stinks.”
“That ain’t trash, friend,” Xoey said, stepping around me. We rounded the corner to go to the living room, and I stopped in my tracks. My living room was trashed, but I didn’t care. It was Grant’s body on the floor that turned my body cold. Everything in me yelled for me to cry or react, but I didn’t. Instead, I stared. I turned to Xoey, who was looking around with a serious expression. “Xoey, did you do this?”
“No,” she said, shaking her head. She stepped over Grant’s body and made her way around the room. “This wasn’t me.” She kicked the shell casing that was next to him, then took her phone from her pocket and dialed a number.
“Who are you calling?” I asked as I looked around.
“The police,” she answered, and I was shocked. I don’t know how many times it’d been drilled into us that we didn’t call the police. We handled everything internally, and to hear Xoey, of all people, say she was going to call the police had me confused as hell.
“The police?” I questioned her, and she nodded. “Why? Just call a clean-up team and have them handle this.”
“I can’t,” she said, shaking her head.
“Why not? We don’t call the police, remember?”
“Because I can’t,”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” I said, shaking my head. “Since when don’t you all handle stuff like this?”
“I’m just doing my part,” she laughed humorlessly. “Damn, just listen to me for a second-”
“I’m calling Am,” I said, taking my phone from my purse. “Just give me a minute.” Xoey nodded, then started walking around again. I dialed Am’s number, but it went to voicemail after two rings.
“You’ve reached Dr. Amethyst Stone. I am unable to come to the phone. Please leave a message, and I will return your call as soon as possible. If this is an emergency, call the hospital, and a nurse will contact me. If this is personal-”
I hung up before the message finished. “He didn’t answer,” I sighed and tried again. Just like last time, it rang twice then went to voicemail. I didn’t let the message go all the way before I hung up. I redialed him, this time getting frustrated.
“We are wasting time, Yale,” Xoey said, then crossed her arms. “We have to call the police.”
“Why?” I questioned her as I listened to Am’s voicemail. This time, I let it play through so I could leave a message. “If this is personal, please, Sunshine, go through with it. It’s for the best. Remember what I said. I’m doing this because I love you.” I took my phone from my ear and stared down at it. That part was new. I looked up to see Xoey watching me. Her eyes filled with tears, but she turned her head before they could fall. The phone beeped, then an automated message said his voicemail was full, and the call ended. “What the fuck is going on, Xoey?”
“He asked me to be here,” she said softly. “To help you do this because he can’t do it.”
“Do what?” I asked as I redialed Am’s number. I listened to his voicemail while watching Xoey. “Do what, Xoey!”
“Break your heart,” Cross said, coming from the back of the house. “He can’t be here to do this, so he sent us.”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. I took a step back, and she sighed. I redialed his number and listened to the voicemail, hoping that something else had been added.
“Yes, Yale,” Cross nodded. “He told me to tell you that-”
“He promised me,” I said, looking between them. I held up my hand to show them the ring. “He said he had a few things to take care of before we could be together. He promised!”
“We know, friend,” Consonance said, coming from the same hallway that Cross had. She barely spared a glance at Grant’s body as she approached me. “And he’s sorry, I know he is, because he told me. But he needs you to do this.”
“By myself?” My tears fell freely from my eyes, but they weren’t for Grant. They were for the life I wasn’t getting. I didn’t care about Grant, but I never thought I would be alone. I always assumed Am would be by my side and we would navigate this together.
“You’re not by yourself,” Cross said, shaking her head. “We’re here.” Her small baby bump pushed against her shirt, and I was instantly jealous. She got her happily ever after with the man she loved, yet I wasn’t going to? That shit was comical at best and depressing at worst. She looked sad, like she knew what I was going through, which she did. Nine had broken her heart the same way years ago. “I promised him we would be here for you.”
I didn’t care about what they were talking about. I dialed Am’s number and was once again greeted by the voicemail. I hung up, pulled up our text, and sent him a voice note. “Am, call me back. Please.”
“Call the police, Xoey,” Cross said as she took my phone from me. I leaned against the wall and stared at her. “I’m sorry, it’s the only way.”
