Justin had no idea how much she needed the hug he offered. She fell into his arms, and before she knew it, she was crying. Forgiveness and human compassion were missing in her life. She had been denied that lately, and she was thirsty forit. Justin was forgiving what the average person could not, and she respected him for that. Charlie wasn’t perfect. She had made many mistakes in her life. She had moved poorly with Demi at the beginning of their relationship, and because of that, she had become the source of Lauren’s pain. She didn’t want to be. She hated that Lauren looked at her with contempt. She had tried to seek atonement. She wanted to be Lauren’s ally, not her enemy. Charlie was a young woman who didn’t know love from a lot of people, and if she was truly honest with herself, she would admit that she admired Lauren. She was everything Charlie wished she could be. Successful, independent, driven, focused, and incredibly smart, but most of all, she was a natural nurturer. She could tell that Lauren provided love and a foundation for the people she was responsible for. She saw that in DJ, and she saw it in Demi. To this day, even after conflict and divorce, Demi held great pride in Lauren loving him once. Charlie didn’t want to be enemies with Lauren. She wanted to be family. She wanted to be a part of a situation so healthy that maybe one day they could even consider themselves friends. That’s what co-parents should be, but with the death of DJ, she had been shut out of that equation forever, and it bothered her. Lauren was a huge part of Demi’s world. To be shut off from that made Charlie feel like she didn’t truly know Demi. He was being put in a position where he could only share himself in seclusion, but the world didn’t work that way. She wanted all of him, and that included accepting a past that involved an ex-wife and a child. Why couldn’t Lauren just forgive her? Lauren had forgiven Demi, but Charlie was still being crucified. It didn’t seem fair, but life was life. It wasn’t always easy.
“Don’t cry,” Justin soothed, rubbing her back. Charlie held onto her friend for dear life, and it felt so safe to be covered, evenmomentarily. When she opened her eyes, her entire body turned to stone.
She pushed away from Justin as her gaze landed on Demi.
She could see the flames emanating from his body and almost read the look of devastation on his face as he witnessed this intimate moment. She had never seen this look of disappointment in Demi before. It was like someone had deflated him and enraged him all at the same time. The weight of his current predicament stuck to him. Physically, she could see the toll DJ’s death had taken on him. She could see him assigning meaning to her being in Justin’s arms. He was misunderstanding, and she knew it.
“Demi,” she whispered. Justin turned and tensed at the sight of Demi. “Ayo, get security in here. Escort that nigga out the building.”
At first, Demi’s gaze had only been trained on Charlie. When Justin spoke, Demi lost his cool.
“My nigga, what?” He was crossing the room, and Charlie felt like she was stuck on a railroad track as a train was barreling in her direction.
Charlie met him halfway, placing a hand to Demi’s chest. “Demi, stop. Baby, it’s not what you think. It’s not what it looks like,” she pleaded.
Demi couldn’t even hear her. He saw her mouth moving. He felt her hands, but he was zoned out. He put his hands under her underarms and picked her up, moving her aside like he was rearranging a piece of furniture that was in his way.
“Demi, no!” she shouted as she pulled on his shirt, trying to stop a second altercation between the two. Justin didn’t move. He stood there cockily as security intervened.
“Don’t get mad because she keeps coming back. Check your bitch! That pussy fire, though, my nigga. I understand!”
“Wait, what?” Charlie shouted as Justin switched up, distorting the truth and turning into someone she didn’t recognize before her very eyes. “Justin!”
Justin chuckled from behind the protection of the club’s bouncers.
Demi scoffed and bit on his bottom lip like he was out for blood. He nodded his head. “You got it. Remember where you at, though. There’s a whole city outside these walls, and I’m heavy out here. Remember that.”
“She keeps coming to me! I ain’t your issue!” Justin shouted. “Get that nigga up out of here.”
“Baby, let’s just go, please,” Charlie begged. “Demi, please, before they call the police.”
Demi nodded and snatched away from her before storming out the club. He pushed the door open so violently that it dented when it hit the brick wall outside.
Charlie chased after him. She hadn’t expected for him to check her locations and find her. She hadn’t even expected him to think to come home. On the one night when she had found a piece of solace, he had popped up, and it was a disaster.
“Demi!”
He turned around abruptly and faced her. He was so angry that he looked ten feet tall as he hovered over her.
“You fucking that nigga?” he asked. “After all this time, this nigga still in the picture?”
“No! Demi, no!” she cried.
“I’m out here putting dirt over my son, and you sneaking off to clubs with your side nigga?” Demi accused.
Charlie could see him building a case against her in his head. He could be crazy that way. He turned molehills into mountains when he had time to overthink. His eyes were clouding, and her heart was breaking because she knew this assumption was tearing his heart in half.
“Demi, please,” she pleaded. “I haven’t seen you. I don’t want to fight!”
“Nah, you just want to be hugged up with niggas and give my pussy away, then cry when you get caught,” he accused. “I will kill that nigga!” he barked. He put his hands on both sides of her face, and she held onto his hands as she cried. He squeezed her face slightly, and grit his teeth as he showed restraint, pulling her forehead to his. It wasn’t until then that she smelled the cognac on his breath. He was drunk, and this was bad. It was really bad. “With my bare fucking hands!” The scary part was, she knew he would. She knew he was probably making plans for Justin right now that were deadly. He released her and stormed to his car.
“Demi!”
“Stay the fuck away from me, Bird!” he warned.
And she did. She planted her feet right in the middle of the parking lot as red and blue lights pulled onto the scene. She was certain that Justin had called the cops. He knew better than to walk out of that building because Demi had already planned to catch him outside. The officers didn’t even ask questions. They got out of their vehicle, guns drawn.
“Sir, close the door and put your hands above your head!”
