He winked. “See you soon, Valleigh.” It sounded more like a declaration than a farewell.
I managed to keep my smile off my face until I turned around and gave him my back. I didn’t have to glance over my shoulder to know he was watching me until I disappeared inside the school. I pressed my back into the door to gather my breath, but I knew instantly that flushing him from my system was going to be difficult. Much like the hallway, he’d left his mark on me too. I felt like a little schoolgirl as I rushed to my classroom so that I could finally head home and get my weekend started.
Pulling out my phone, I placed a call to my best friend, Tauri. She answered rather quickly. “What’s tea, best friend?”
“Giiirrrrlll! You are not going to believe this.”
“Ou, this sounds juicy.”
“Juicy Crab, to be exact. Why the hell did Symphony fucking Sinclaire come to the school to pick up his niece today?” I was honestly still in disbelief. It was one thing seeing him while scrolling on social media, but in person, he was too dangerous to share space with.
She squealed in surprise. “Girl, I know you’re lying. What did he say? Tell me everything.”
The entire time I gave Tau the play-by-play without leaving out a single detail, my heart continuously fluttered. Only then did I start to understand that I might not have been able to push Symphony Sinclaire from my mind as easily as I’d hoped.
3
SYMPHONY
The truck eased to a stop outside of Rhap’s crib. He hadn’t said a word the entire drive over. He hadn’t acknowledged the cutie patootie sitting beside me quietly. Iylah had drifted off to sleep not long after our ride started, so I kind of spent the entire drive watching her tiny frame.
I had a lot of questions about my brother. Valleigh had said he was forgetting to pick her up a few times a week, and his nonstop mumbling was so unsettling. Thinking back to the condition the house was in made me not want to let her back inside. I mean, I wasn’t the most responsible adult, but I knew a baby shouldn’t live in a pigsty.
The issue was that I had no relationship with my brother or my niece. That was my first time seeing him in a very long time, and my first time seeing her. We still hadn’t officially met. How could I interject myself into their lives like I had the right? I released a hard breath before dragging my hands down my face. I was at a complete loss about how to navigate the severity and sensitivity of the situation because there was clearly something going on with Rhapsody.
My stomach hardened as my mind tried to remind me of why his behavior was so familiar. I pushed the thoughts away to focuson the present moment. When it was time to face that demon, I would. For now, Iylah’s well-being was all that mattered to me.
I opened my mouth, about to ask my brother what his plans were, when he opened the door and climbed out. I rushed out the back and raced around to the sidewalk just as he began to walk away from the house. “Rhap!” I yelled to get his attention.
He glanced over his shoulder with a blank stare. “Hm?”
My long legs had me closing the distance between us quickly. “Where are you going? Did you forget that Iylah is in the backseat?”
He sucked his teeth and waved me off. “So? They said I have to head to the hotel lobby.”
“So?” I repeated for clarity while tilting my head to the side. “Hotel lobby? They?” I was utterly confused then.
He huffed heavily. His body jerked with impatience. I guesstheywere rushing him to get to the hotel lobby again . . . “Man, I’m not in the mood to deal with that dumb, stupid baby. You know she don’t even know what the fucking color blue is?” He shook his head slowly and tossed his hands in the air. “I can’t do it. I need a drink or sumn at the hotel lobby. Fuck that.” His voice rose an octave as he spoke.
Hearing him talk about his baby like that had me flexing my fists. “Yo, what’s up with you? Are you good? Why would you talk about your daughter like that?” I couldn’t fathom ever labeling my seed as stupid or dumb. No matter what colors she did or didn’t know.Like, the fuck was wrong with this nigga?
“Because it’s true,” he replied in a monotone voice. He began to back away slowly. “I’m going to get a drink at the hotel lobby. You want me to get you something, bro? I can’t believe you’re back. We got to hit the club or something to celebrate.”
The nigga abruptly stopped rambling, turned around, and started sprinting down the block like Usain Bolt without another word or glance. You couldn’t have convinced me he wasn’t inthe middle of an Olympic race. I stood there with my hands on my head and my mouth wide the fuck open because what just happened?
I looked from the truck, the house, and the direction my brother disappeared in, thinking about what I should do. Considering I already had concerns about her being in that dirty ass house, I shrugged my shoulders and huffed a breath. “Fuck it,” I mumbled. It looked like baby girl was coming with me. I slid back into the backseat to find her still knocked out, sleeping. “Can you take me to the nearest convenience store?” I asked the driver.
He nodded once before putting the truck in drive. I glanced over at the car seat to find Iylah’s eyes trained on me. “Hey, Doodle Bop. You had a good nap?”
She giggled with a nod. “I hungry.”
Her little voice gave me a reason to smile amidst all the confusion. Something about hearing her speak made me all warm inside. I knew, without a doubt, that I was brought there at that time for a reason. She was going to be good with me. “Don’t worry. Uncle Sym is going to make sure you straight.”
I wasn’t sure if she could understand a word out of my mouth. “Unca Sym?” her little voice questioned me.
I nodded once. “Yes, Uncle Sym,” I repeated slowly.
The brightest smile appeared on her face as she settled back into her seat. Babies were so fucking trusting that it was scary. Her little hands rested in her lap while she looked out of the window. It was not in my plans when I came to find my brother, but it was the card I was dealt.
