“Slow down. What the hell happened?” Keynauri roared into the phone as he hopped out of bed. I sat up, too, because my gut was unsettled.
“I’ma kill that bitch ass nigga. He put his hands on you? Where the fuck is he at?” My instincts kicked in, and I rushed over to put clothes on. Keynauri was a hothead, and based on the conversation, it sounded bad.
“Call Aunt Trina. No, I don’t want to hear that shit. I’m on my way. Stay by the phone!” Keynauri barked before disconnecting the call. He turned right around and called another number as he raced out of the room. I followed behind him, trying to grab what I needed before he left without me.
“Bro, I’m going to jail. All I need you to do is grab my stash at Shamya’s house and meet me at the precinct. Naw, I’m dead serious. That nigga violated, and I’m not about to let this shit slide. Yeah. I hear you. Look, I gotta go. Just do what I asked and meet me there.”
Tears pooled in my eyes because I had never witnessed him this upset. Keynauri was a fighter, but this sounded different.
“Baby, what happened? You’re scaring me.” He tossed one of the couch cushions on the floor as he searched for something. It took a moment to realize he was looking for his keys.
“Keynauri! What’s going on?” I raised my voice because he was so caught up in his anger that he couldn’t seem to hear me. When our eyes locked, I noticed there were tears in his. That only sent my emotions further into overdrive because he wasn’t the crying type. They were tears of anger, which to me were much more dangerous.
“I gotta get home. If you don’t hear from me for a few days, just know I love you.”
“No. No. Tell me what’s going on.” I followed him as he walked out of my house and down the steps.
“Keynauri!” I yanked him by his shirt, but his strength outweighed mine.
“Naiari, now is not the time,” he barked. I was taken aback by his addressing me by my real name. That was another indicator of how angry he was.
“I just want to know what’s going on. You just got out of bed while yelling into the phone. It sounds like you’re walking into danger, so I’m not about to stand here and let you go without answers.” My back was pressed against his driver's side door. In my head, he would have to move me in order to leave, and I knew he wouldn’t do that.
“Move, Cocoa. If not, I’m gonna walk home. Either way, I’m leaving.” He was seething. His mahogany face was filled with rage.
“What’s going on? Tell me what’s happening, and I’ll move,” I reasoned, knowing that wouldn’t be enough to satisfy me.
“That was Lyric on the phone. Apparently, Tone and my momma were arguing, and things got physical. She said she tried to break things up, but Tone punched her and pushed her into a wall. They are still fighting, and I’m about to put an end tothis shit. Now move.” Keynauri’s chest rose and fell, and I could tell that repeating the story only made him angrier.
“I’m going with you.”
“No. I don’t have time for you and your emotions right now. This is my family, and I need to handle it on my own.” His words stung, but I tried not to let it show.
“Why don’t you call the police?” I proposed, but I must have said the wrong thing because he glared at me in disgust.
“Why are you acting as if you’re new here? They’ve been out to our house so many times, and nothing ever happens. My momma refuses to press charges and ends up taking him back every time. I’ve tried to hold my tongue, but now that I have my own money, we don’t need his ass. I’m about to make sure that mothafucka never brings his ass back to our house. I’ll catch up with you when I can.”
“Wait. You’re not coming back here?” Selfishly, I wasn’t ready for our time to be over. We were finally a couple, and it was already starting off with a bunch of drama.
“Don’t wait up for me.” Keynauri moved me aside and got into his car.
My nerves were shot as I watched him pull away, but I couldn’t bring myself to move. Instead, I picked up my phone to call Nova, to calm myself down. Keynauri and I lived only half a block from each other, and my plan was to walk to his house. Since Nova didn’t live too far from me, I called her to see if she wanted to come with me for moral support.
Since she lived closer to him, we decided to meet each other halfway. My palms were sweaty, and my legs felt like noodles. I called Keynauri’s phone repeatedly, but there was no answer. I even sent a message to Logic because I remembered they had been on the phone with one another before he left. My lips quivered as I whispered prayers for his safety. After a few minutes of walking, I saw Nova pacing at the stop sign up thestreet. My feet had a mind of their own as I ran over to her. She looked up from her phone and opened her arms wide for me.
“Are you okay, boo?”
“I don’t know. I’m so scared, Nova. I’ve never seen him so angry in my life. I’m worried that something bad is going to happen.” Nova bit down on her bottom lip, and her eyes told me that she was keeping something from me.
“What? What do you know?” I pressed.
“I-I don’t want you to panic, but Lacey texted me and said the police and the ambulance are coming down her street. You know she lives five houses down from Nauri. I talked to Logic, too, and he told me not to bring you over there. It isn’t good, friend.” My heart felt as if it had dropped to my feet, but I disregarded her last words. If anything, I needed to get to him if he was hurt or in trouble. Adrenaline rushed through me as I raced the rest of the way to Keynauri’s house. I wasn’t sure if Nova was following me or not, and at that moment, I didn’t care. My heart wouldn’t be content until I laid eyes on my person.
When I made it to his street, the sirens and flashing lights filled me with a sickening feeling. I slowly walked over to where the crowd of people was gathered in the middle of the street. Black people were nosy, and they didn’t even bother to hide it most of the time.
“I heard it was two bodies in there.”
“Chile, she should have left his no-good ass a long time ago.”
