“Yeah, we’llsee,” James stated dryly.
Cassidy was trying to smooth an awkward situation over, but James wasn’t giving him much effort in return. Cassidy stared James down, and Courtney knew he was deciding whether he needed to check James. She prayed he didn’t .
“Thanks for stopping by, Cass,” she said softly. Her eyes said, “Please, just go.”
“A’ight,” Cassidy said skeptically, never taking his eyes off James.“I’llsee you around, Court.”
As soon as James shut the door, she braced herself for the argument to come.
“So, you thought I was working a double shift and had a nigga pulling up to my house in the middle of the night?” James accused.
“Here we go,”Courtney sighed.“He was just being nice. Nobody wants Ellie’s brother.”
“Youain’t say shit about going to no charity event. That’swhy this house wasn’t clean,” James stated.“I bust my ass for you, and you out here fucking with niggas.” James practically growled the words as he pointed two fingers at her face, mushing her and then pushing her toward the bedroom.“Youain’t coming up off no pussy, but fucking on another nigga in my house?”
Courtney pushed him off her.“I’m not fucking anybody!” she shouted. Christian’s screams erupted as he yoked Courtney up. Her eyes widened in horror as she held on tight to their son. It wasn’t until he was in her face that she smelled the alcohol on his breath. She lifted her foot and kicked him in the balls, taking the wind out of him long enough for her to rush into the bedroom.“What the hell is wrong with you?! I’m holding our son!” she shouted through the door. James’jealousy was out of control. She couldn’t even pick up her phone without him thinking she was secretly texting someone. She was livid. She put her son in his crib and then grabbed the baseball bat she kept under the bed before pulling open the door.“Nigga, you got me fucked up!” she shouted. She kept her distance but pointed the bat at him.
“You think you slick. All that slick shitgon’catch up to your ass one day,” James stated.“I thought I told you thatFriendsmas shit was dead.”
“It was just a charity event! I haven’t seen Ellie in four years! I couldn’t just skip everything!”
“But you can skip work, though? You said your mental state wasn’t right. You taking a leave of absence from your fucking job; got me picking up all these overtime hours to compensate for you sitting at home on your ass all day, but you feel good enough to link up with your friends,” he accused.
“It’s not like that. I was only there for a little while,” she defended.
“When I asked you what you did today, youain’t mention shit about no charity event. You fucking with that nigga?” he asked. He was on the attack, looking to discredit anything she was saying, and Courtney felt cornered.
“No!” Courtney shouted.
“What other niggas were there?” James demanded. His mind was fixated on assigning guilt when there was none for her to claim.
“Oh my god! I don’t know! I was there with my girls! It was for the community, so all types of people were there! Damn! You can’t be that insecure!” she shouted. She made the mistake of lowering the bat and never saw the slap coming.
“Got a nigga showing up to my door like Iain’t taking care of what’s mine.” He was seething.“You keep playing with me, and I’ma put your ass out on the streets. Simple ass.”
Her feelings were on the floor as she felt the sting of his hand. Her lip quivered uncontrollably as she sobbed. He had never flown off the handle like this before. He would yoke her up and bark down on her when his jealousy was in overdrive, but he had never struck her. She was in a state of disbelief. She had met this man when she was in high school. He was ten years older than her. He was all she knew. She was terrified to leave but also sick of staying. He was becoming intolerable, and Courtney didn’t know how much more she could take.
Ellie fell asleep in the middle of her group chat and to the sound of Loyal and her dad playing dominos downstairs. The only thing that woke her up was the tapping sound on her windowpane.
“What the hell?” she groaned. She kicked off the comforter and scrambled to her window to find Loyal standing outside in the middle of the front yard. He tossed the pebbles he had in his hand and held his arms out wide. This fine-ass man was in her parents’ front yard in the middle of the night like a love-struck teenager, and she was smitten. The smile that spread across her face was infectious. She felt the warmth from his attraction spread through her entire body. Loyal Brier was awakening parts of her that age had dulled. The belief in happiness. The belief in love at first sight. The belief in a man when he said he was feeling a woman. Disappointment and heartbreak had clouded her judgment, making her doubt men before they even opened their mouths. This man was doing something different with her psyche. He was unapologetically pursuing her. She knew he had his pick of women, and the fact that he saw this middle-aged woman, with her two children, and complicated situation and didn’t run the other way, made her feel like she was still worth something. If she was honest, she had accepted crumbs from Cairo because she thought her best days were behind her. Loyal made her feel like her best days just may be to come.
She checked the time and lifted her window.
“It’s 3 am!” she hissed.“Where is my papa?”
“He’s on the couch asleep. The nigga hustled me out of every dollar in my pocket, and I keep at least ten bands on me,” Loyal said, smiling boyishly as he rubbed his wavy head.“School took everything, even the lint in my pockets. That’sa slick-ass old man, E.” Loyal’s lighthearted tone told her that he had enjoyed the evening with her dad, and that warmed her.
Ellie climbed out onto the snowy roof, stifling laughter because she knew he wasn’t lying. She had seen her father run a con before. He would lose a few hands purposefully, before pretending to be desperate and increasing his bet, only to later win every round. Sneaking out onto this roof was pure nostalgia. She hadn’t done this since she was a teenager.
“It’s freezing out here, Loyal,” she shivered.“Go home!”
“Come with me,” he invited.
“What?” she gasped, shocked.
“Climb down the ladder and come home with me, E.” Loyal said it plainly, like it made perfect sense.“I got a big, warm bed waiting for you.”
“Have you lost your mind? How many games did you lose?” She knew the rules when playing dominos with her daddy. Loser took shots, and Papa drank the strong shit.
