Eight
STORMI
“Stormi, can we go to my mom's house real quick? I left the cheat code.”
I glanced over my shoulder and gave S3 the classic "you serious?" look.
Cheat code? The last thing I wanted to do today was be around Seth’s baby mama slick mouthed self. Imani always had a way of pretending we were cool while lowkey snatching my edges with shady comments and a fake smile. And I wasn't in the mood. The police had been questioning Seth for the last two days. They were slowly approaching the forty-eight hours and they either had to release him or charge him with something. I was praying they released my husband today.
S3 leaned forward between the front seats like he knew he was already pushing it.
“I need it for the game this weekend,” he said, eyes wide, head tilted, puppy dog mode activated. “It’ll be quick, promise.”
Ugh. Those eyes. He got that look straight from his daddy. And just like with Seth, it worked every damn time. Only differenceis, the rest of the world had caught on and stopped falling for it. Me, I’m still soft. Always will be soft for my boys.
I turned to Josh, who was driving, and gave him the nod to reroute.
“Head toward Imani’s house. Let him grab it so I can get dinner started when we get home.”
S3 clapped. “Let’s goooo!”
I sighed and shook my head, resting it against the window as the houses rolled past. The sun was low now, golden and warm across the beach stretched streets. I’d spent the whole day out with the boys. Toes in the sand, waves wrapping around our bodies, and a cooler full of juice boxes and sandwiches.
I needed the space outside of our room, the ocean wind bringing me peace and a little calm. Jo had meetings, Serena was caught up in some church event, and I knew Seth and Rich were handling whatever the hell was going on with the police. War still hung over us like smoke, and this fire didn’t seem to be coming to a calm anytime soon.
So, I took my sons and made a memory. We laughed today. We were normal for a little while. That’s what mattered.
We punched in the gate code, cruised through the quiet community, and turned past the houses. I already felt my mood dropping, like I’d just pulled up to the energy drain.
My phone lit up with a FaceTime just before we turned onto Imani’s street.
I didn’t even check the name. I already knew who it was.
“Rich” I answered, voice soft as I looked at the screen.
Rich’s face filled my phone, jaw clenched, hoodie up, eyes serious.
He skipped the hello.
“Where you goin’? I don’t see you headed home.” Straight to the point. No chaser.
I raised an eyebrow, already half-smiling. “You see I’m not headed home or you see I’m headed to your favorite person house?” The words rolled off my tongue before I could think. A little slick. A little spicy.
He didn’t flinch. “Both.”
I sighed and leaned my head back against the seat. “S3 wanted to get some cheat codes for this weekend’s game.”
Rich’s face didn’t soften, not even a little. He knew Imani’s house wasn’t a place I ever voluntarily pulled up to. But I was trying to be cool about it. Keep it light.
Then I looked up. And everything in me froze.
“Oh my God…” I whispered, voice cracking. “Is that Imani… hugged up with Dre?”
The second I said it out loud, I regretted it. Because Rich’s voice dropped into that tone I only heard when something in him broke loose.
“What the fuck you say?”
I didn’t even answer him. I turned to Josh calm, but urgent. “Don’t pull in. Drive off.”
