“My father killed my mother.” Joi surprised herself when she realized the words had left her mouth. It was something she didn’t talk about. She didn’t know how to.
“He—” East began, face tight from the thought, but Joi cut him off.
“Yeah, and killed himself right after.”
“Damn.”
Joi laughed nervously and looked away, causing East to slide off the counter, lifting Joi and turning her enough to place her in his spot. Once she was situated, he pushed his body between her legs, placing his palms on the counter so the two were eye level. “Shawty…” East began slowly, processing his thoughts. “Don’t do that. Don’t hide from me.”
“I’m not.”
“You are. I just told you I wanted to kill my father. You told me that yours killed your mother then took his life. Neither of us are in any position to be judgmental.”
Joi laughed again, shaking her head at the thought. He was right but it didn’t make any of what they were discussing better.
“So, what happened?”
“He, uhh, thought she was cheating. My aunt says she wasn’t, and I believe her, but my dad was real controlling. Some say protective of the people he loved, my aunt says controlling. Not like in a mean way because he was good to us. He was never abusive or anything, but my aunt said he had issues I didn’t know about. I never asked because I didn’t care. I don’t know if I should care. He killed my mom. Knowing why wasn’t going to bring them back. My parents were gone and I didn’t want to talk about it, so she never brought it up again. Trust me, I get it. I loved both of my parents, but my dad killed my mom, so I hate him too. I hate him but he’s still my dad, so I love him. Maybe that makes me crazy, but it’s the truth, so I’ll just have to be crazy.”
“You’re not crazy, you loved your father because of who he was to you. The issues he had with your mother aren’t yours, Shawty.”
“Same for you.” Joi looked East in his eyes and he gritted his teeth at the thought.
“It’s not the same.” He knew it was but couldn’t allow himself to believe it. East remembered times where his father had been good to him. He wasn’t the best, but he wasn’t the worst either. That was why he naturally went to the place he remembered things with them being good. That apartment they lived in before he purchased their house was the host of those good memories. It was the reason he felt the void so severely when his father left. Over the years the memories faded or were overpowered by the fact that his father walked away and didn’t look back. It was a fucked-up situation that just turned worse from what East learned about his father. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a damn thing he could do to change any of it. East hadto make sure his mother and sister were good and that meant pushing whatever feelings he had somewhere inside of him that would allow East to move past it without losing his damn mind. There was too much riding on his sanity, so for now, he chose to let it go.
The sound of East’s phone going off from Joi’s bed shut the conversation down. Given how tense it had both of them, he was glad. By the time they heard the second ring, East headed to get it, hoping it was Chuck with the information he needed. Upon seeing his name, East immediately answered.
“Yeah?”
“I just sent something to your other line. You got that with you?”
“Yeah, hang on.”
“Aight, bet. You’re not gonna like it. Remember the Asian chick you said was on your dick hard?”
“I hope you’re not sending me shit about her. I need you to handle what the fuck I asked you to handle.”
“That’s what I was on when I saw it. Check the picture. That’s his house.”
East gritted his teeth while his eyes moved around the room until he found the jeans he had on earlier folded on top of Joi’s dresser. As soon as he had his burner in hand, he flipped it open and went to his messages, first saving the tiny picture to the phone then pulling it up in the outdated photo app. Seeing Joi in his periphery, moving toward her living room with his half-eaten sandwich, caused his focus to go to her briefly before he went back to studying the picture.
“Is that?—”
“Yeah. It makes sense now why she was trying so hard. She’s on his payroll. Has to be. He damn sure isn’t kicking it with a woman like that if she’s trying to be on your dick.”
The flip phone had limited capabilities, but East was able to zoom in enough to know for sure it was Asako. When he asked Chuck to follow Patterson, he damn sure wasn’t expecting to make that type of connection. All he wanted was his address so he could slip in, handle him, and slip out undetected. His connection with Asako changed the narrative and his plans.
“This muthafucker,” East gritted, closing the phone and tossing it on the bed.
“You want me to move on anything?”
“Nah, just shoot me the address.”
“Aight, bet.”
Chuck ended the call on his burner and typed out the address, fumbling over the numbers. He hated texting on a burner, but it was a safety precaution. After he was done, he dropped the phone in his lap and pulled away from the curb. He had other things to handle, and unless East needed him again, the rest of his day would be committed to making money in the streets before he returned to the shop to handle a few clients then close up for the night.
East, on the other hand, was already in the process of mapping out his next move while he found his way to the living room where Joi was. When he noticed the empty plate, he smirked and sat down next to her, shaking his head as she wiped her mouth, finishing the last bite.
