“’Cause I don’t wanna hear that shit,” I said, keepin’ my voice low. “And I don’t want you hearin’ it either.”
She stared at me like I had just said somethin’ stupid. “Why wouldn’t I hear it?” she asked. “You need to know what she’s sayin’ about you.”
“What I need,” I said, takin’ another sip from my glass, “is not to hear that bitch voice in my house.”
Echo kept talkin’ in the background, and even without lookin’ at the screen I could picture the fake ass sad look on her face.
This whole island had been divided ever since that day at my shop. Half the people was ridin’ with my family and the other half was actin’ like I was some monster walkin’ around free. The courtroom shit alone was already enough to deal with, and now she was doin’ interviews, draggin’ my name through every conversation like this shit was entertainment.
I looked at Toni again. “You six months pregnant. You don’t need that shit in your head.”
“I’m fine,” she said real sharp.
“You say that,” I replied, “but you sittin’ here watchin’ it like you tryna torture yourself.”
Her mouth tightened and she lifted the phone again.
Echo’s voice filled the kitchen, and I felt my patience thin out. “Toni.”
“What?” she said without lookin’ at me.
“I don’t wanna hear it.”
“And I do,” she said flat.
I stared at her for a second. “You wanna sit here listenin’ to that bitch lie on me?”
“I wanna hear what she’s sayin’ so I know what you up against’,” Toni replied.
“What I’m up against is a liar,” I said.
She rolled her eyes, and that tiny movement irritated me more than anything Echo had said.
“Kay’Lo, everything ain’t about what you don’t wanna hear.”
“And everything ain’t about you sittin’ here stressin’ yourself out either,” I shot back.
Echo’s voice kept runnin’ in the background, and Toni’s fingers tightened around her phone.
“You always do this,” she said low.
“Do what?”
“Act like if you ignore somethin’ it disappears.”
I laughed under my breath. “Nah. I just know when some shit ain’t worth listenin’ to.”
Toni stared at the screen another second, then finally cut the interview off.
The silence hit the kitchen hard.
She slammed her phone down on the island and the sound bounced off the walls.
“I’m done,” she muttered.
Before I could say anything else she turned and walked away from the kitchen.
I sighed and set my glass of juice down on the counter, and followed her.
