Isis giggled nervously; the kind a person gives off when they just realized their life flashed before their eyes. Adrian, on the other hand, was biting his lip like he was chewing on guilt.
“So again...wholeft it open? Somebody better start talkin’ before I start pointing… or shooting.”
That’s all it took.
Adrian finally mumbled, “Aight, man… damn. It was me. I went out for a smoke. I thought I clicked it back—”
I closed my eyes. “You thought?”
Chesteria exhaled. “What the fuck, Adrian?!”
“Right!” Isis surprisingly agreed. “You could’ve gotten us all killed, and I have plans next weekend that I wouldn’t be able to attend if I’m laid up in a casket, looking like a discontinued mannequin!”
“I was high!” Adrian shot back in his defense, waving his arms. “I didn’t know the lock was that serious!”
I walked up to him, face inches away. “So let me get this straight, you left the door unlocked? In a bear country? At night? Because you needed a lil’ stress reliever?”
“Yeah! Yesterday was a stressful ass day!”
“You wanna know what else relieves stress? Not dying!”
“Look, I heard about bears breaking and entering in the woods, but I didn’t think we’d be the ‘based on a true story’!”
“Never underestimate the wilderness. And that’s yo’ fuckin’ problem; you think everything is funny and a goddamn game!” My voice boomed.
I stepped even closer, jaw tight.
“Nigga, we’re in the mountains! You think the wildlife clocks out at five? You think bears say,‘Oh, nah, it’s late, let’s respect their sleep’?Leaving a door open in bear territory is basically saying, ‘Hi, I volunteer as tribute!’”
Isis giggled lowly. “Not tribute!”
“And you,” I spun and pointed at her, “over here screaming, sounding like a dinner bell dipped in hot sauce! All you did was make the bear curious!”
“I instantly became traumatized when I saw that bear!” she whined.
“You’ve been traumatized, Isis; this just added seasoning,” I shot back. “I swear if you scream again for no reason while we’re here, I will personally roll yo’ ass in honey and toss you off the porch.”
Isis gasped. “That’s so mean!”
“Andaccurate.”
She folded her arms with a pout, mumbling under her breath.
Adrian suddenly stepped up. “Aye, my bad, aight? I fucked up. But you ain’t gotta take it out on her.”
“Oh?” I arched a brow. “You got sympathy now?”
He squared up slightly, lifting his chin. “Real talk, you ain’t keep talkin’ to me like I’m somebody’s lil’ bitch.”
Oh… so he found some courage in the smoke pack.
I smirked slow, dark and dangerous, and then asked him, “Who the fuck you talking to?”
“You,nigga,” he boldly responded.
“Say it again. Go ‘head… make my night. I been itching for an outlet since I pulled up to this bitch.”
Chesteria hurried between us; one hand on Adrian’s chest, one on mine.
