“Real quick? Food Lion is damn near thirty minutes up the road.”
“Girl, just bring your ass.”
Yanna rolled her eyes but stepped into her jeep anyway. Her nosiness was overruling her need for sleep.
“Where’s Ki?”
“In the house taking a nap with his irritating ass daddy.”
“What’s wrong with him? Why is he annoying?”
“Kalil just had to mention something about him seeing his father; it put Onyx in a fucked up mood, so he kicked them out. He took a shower then sat on the bed rocking Kian. It’s weird because he hadn’t said a word all last night, then this morning he was his usual self, so I thought he was okay.”
“Did you try to talk to him?”
“Of course I tried to talk to him. All he would say wasBaby, not right now. Then when my phone started ringing, I guess he could tell it was Layla, so he told me not to answer. I had to wait until his ass fell asleep to call her back.”
“Yo, last night, I’ve never seen Onyx that mad, like ever.”
“Neither have I. I wanted to stick around and make sure Layla was okay, but I was scared to say anything.”
“I could tell by the way you let him drag your ass out the building like a rag doll.”
“Yea, I mean, we talked about the disdain he has for his father, and while I understand it, I wouldn’t have expected him to act like that.”
“Well, if anybody else knows, you know I know all about bullshit fathers, so I can’t really blame Onyx. Maya being their sister, though, I didn’t see that one coming.”
“Hell, neither did I. Mumma Lay picked the perfect time to pull this shit, right before my wedding.”
“She’s a wild girl.” Yanna laughed. “But maybe she did it at this time so their dad and sister could come to the wedding.”
“Sounds nice, but clearly that won’t be happening.”
“At all.”
It took them a while, but the girls finally reached the Food Lion grocery store located further into town. They pulled into the parking lot and noticed Layla standing outside of her car, pacing back and forth. Yanna pulled up behind the car, and she and Troi hopped out. Layla approached, running straight into Troi’s arms. Her shoulders shook as she cried, and Troi comfortingly rubbed her back, whispering to her that everything would be okay.
“How is he?” Layla asked Troi.
“Upset.”
“And Kas?” She turned to Yanna.
“He said he was angry but also confused. He wants answers but?—”
“He’s going to do whatever Onyx wants to do.”
“Exactly.”
“I tried talking to him, Mumma Lay, but he just shut down. He hasn’t much said a word to me since we left the label.”
“Ugh, I hate that I did this. I thought the boys would be receptive to seeing Nouri after so many years.”
“Well, you were wrong,” Yanna added.
“Shut up, lil’ girl. I can see that.”
“Did he just happen to show up or something? Where did he come from?”
