“Yeah,” he huffed.
The ride was silent and extremely long because the roads were getting worse by the minute. By the time they pulled up to Demi’s house, she could barely see out of her front window.
“You not gon’ be able to drive in this,” he said.
“I’ll be fine,” she stated.
“I know you will because you not driving nowhere in this shit.” He took her keys from the cup holder. “These on me.”
“Isshehere?” Lauren asked.
Demi glanced up at the house and saw that the light in their bedroom was glowing. “Looks like it.” He knew that Charlie didn’t turn out the bedroom light at night if he wasn’t home.
“I ain’t coming in there,” Lauren protested. “Give me my keys.”
“You can stay in the guest room or in DJ’s room. They’ll have the salt trucks out by morning,” Demi said. He popped open thedoor, and Lauren lingered behind for a second before submitting to the circumstance. She really didn’t have a choice.
“This is bullshit. I should have left your ass in jail,” she hissed.
“Pretty much,” Demi agreed.
They entered the house, and Demi motioned for the living room.
“Let me talk to Charlie. You can make yourself at home,” he said.
Lauren shook her head. “I’ma stay right here until you give that girl the heads up.”
“Lo, we buried our boy today. Of all days for it to be okay for you to be under my roof, this one is it,” he said. He couldn’t even reference the occasion without his eyes betraying him. He was having a badass day, and he felt every minute of it. “Wait for me in there.”
She nodded.
Demi made his way to the bedroom, and as charged up as he was, he softened as soon as he saw Charlie. She was curled up on the bed, squeezing a teddy bear he hadn’t seen before as she slept. The bawled-up tissue strewn around her told him she had cried herself to sleep.
She was almost angelic. Her locs fell around her face. Demi sat on the edge of the bed and bent over onto his knees. The weight of his body awakened her. When she turned to him and cleared the locs from her face, his entire body stiffened. Her lip was swollen, and her face was bruised. She saw a fire start in his eyes.
“It’s nothing, Demi. I’m fine,” she started before he could even speak.
“Who am I killing tonight, Bird?” he asked calmly. She would have felt better if he had yelled. The calm meant it was already decided.
“You want to go back to jail? Is that what you want?” she asked. “I need you to let this go. It’s not as bad as it looks.”
“Did the cops do this? Or did that bitch-ass nigga put his hands on you?” Demi asked.
Charlie’s eyes watered because if she told him, it wouldn’t do anything but push him right back out the door.
“You’re protecting him?” Demi asked.
“No!” she shouted, eyes watering.
“So he did do this?” Demi asked. “Let me see my baby’s face.”
She stopped avoiding his stare and looked him square in the eyes. He took in every inch of her face, and she could see his rage. He nodded his head like he had just made a complicated decision.
“What are you going to do?” she asked.
“That’s not for you to worry about, Bird,” he replied.
“Can you just talk to me? Stay here. Don’t go out there. Don’t go after Justin. Just talk to me. I feel like I haven’t talked to you. I feel like I don’t know you,” Charlie cried. Demi knew he wouldn’t be able to leave her tonight, but he had an appointment tomorrow. It was an appointment he wouldn’t miss either. Tonight, he would ease her mind. Just the sight of her face set him off inside.
