Braye looked out of the blinds for the umpteenth time that morning. Paranoia had taken over his mental. The only thoughts that consumed his mind were laying low and making sure the police hadn’t secured his location. After the shooting at the park, Braye fled to Miami, hoping to escape the law. He hooked up with a girl from his past and decided to lay low at her apartment.
Hidden in the Overtown neighborhood in Miami, Braye plopped down on the couch and rubbed his hands over his face. Stress had made a home inside his body, prompting his skin to break out in hives throughout the day. Regret had made its way in his system, provoking him to think of the terrible choices he’d made. Braye should’ve walked away from Cali the first time sheexpressed not wanting to leave her husband, but he held onto the love he thought was reciprocated. He’d envisioned their life together, only for her to turn on him.
When Cali expressed not wanting to be with her husband, Braye concocted a plan to eliminate him for good. He assumed Rio would die and she would run to his arms for support. Thinking back, he felt stupid since none of his plans worked out. Cali had shitted on him, making him feel less than a man. Unfortunately, Braye couldn’t take his ego being bruised so he acted out.
“Can you clean this shit up?” Ariana fussed, picking up a sock from the carpet.
Braye sighed, growing tired of her complaining ass. When he first arrived, she had been ecstatic with his presence. She cooked and catered to him like a king. Over the months, she had grown increasingly annoying. She complained about everything from his clothes in the hamper, the weed he’d spilled on the coffee table, and the mess he’d made in the kitchen. Ariana had become such a bitch that Braye plotted his exit.
“That ain't even my sock. That’s your fucking kid’s sock,” he argued.
She exhaled, rolling her eyes. “Did your cousin send you that money yet?”
Braye was set to be on the next train out of Miami once his cousin wired him some money.
“Not yet.” He grabbed his blunt from the ashtray and lit the end. “Don't worry, princess. I’ll be outta your hair soon.”
“I’m not saying it like that…” she hesitated. “I just don't think it’s safe for you to be here. You know St. Parklynn isn’t that far from Miami. What if someone tracks you down here?”
“They won’t,” he assured. “I made sure I couldn’t be tracked.”
Braye had tossed his phone before he hit the highway months ago. He didn’t log onto any of his apps or reach out to people back in St. Parklynn. The only person he spoke to was his cousin who was in Virginia.
“Yeah, but you don't know that. Listen, I don't want anything to happen with me and my son.”
Kissing his teeth, he retorted, “I just told yo’ ass that I’ll be outta here when my cousin send me some bread.”
“Then what’s your plan?” she questioned, taking a seat on the recliner. “Are you just gonna be on the run for the rest of your life?”
Braye hadn’t thought that far ahead. What he was certain of was getting out of the state of Florida.
“You don't give a fuck, so why you care all of a sudden?” he snarled, tapping the ashes off his blunt.
“If I didn’t care, your ass wouldn’t be at my house. I shouldn’t care, though, because you only come around when you need something.”
Braye’s face softened. Ariana was typically his go-to when he was in between relationships or wanted to buy some time. He never took her serious since she wasn’t up to his standards.
“You do the same shit. Whenever you were behind on bills, who you used to hit up?”
Pressing her lips together, she narrowed her eyes.
“Oh, you don't have nothing to say?” he taunted her. “Don't act like this ain't been transactional on your end.”
“It wasn’t. I always wanted to be with you, but you was stuck on that married woman. Where is she now that you need her?”
Braye’s stomach soured at the thought of Cali. What used to be love was now pure hatred. Images of her face made him queasy. He never thought he would teeter the line of adoration and abhorrence with Cali.
“Fuck that bitch. Don't bring her ass up to me. She’s where she’s at and I’m here, stuck with you.”
Ariana rolled her eyes and stood. “I need some money on the light bill.”
He grimaced. “Do it look like I got some bread?”
“I know you do. Give me your card so I can pay it.”
“You don't think those mothafuckas are monitoring my account? As soon as you pay that shit, they gon’ come knocking at your door. Hell fucking no.”
Braye had managed to take some money out of his account before he left St. Parklynn but that cash had run out. He hated himself for not emptying his accounts.
