“I’m straight,” I lied, trying not to talk about the shit Zoo just said.
Reaching in, she smoothed out my brows, ran her fingers across my chin, then through my beard. As if she was trying to remove the worry lines that were evident on my face.
“Then, why you got this mean scowl on your face, Brooklyn?”
“No reason, go ahead and change so we can eat.”
Cocking her head to the side, she pursed her lips up like she just knew I was holding something back.
“Come ooon,” she dragged while opening the door to my truck. “You were actively present for me when I needed you the other night, so allow me to be there for you too. Get out so we can talk.”
“I’ll get out, but we not gon’ talk about it.”
“Really, Brooklyn? Don’t be so stubborn.”
Walking inside, I took a seat on the couch and Bri didn’t hesitate sitting Indian style on the floor in front of me. “Tell Mama what’s wrong.”
“I did, I told you I was good and to get dressed so we could eat.”
Crossing her arms, she started pouting as if that was supposed to move me. It did but still, I’ain like that shit.
“Zoo called when we were headed here. He made a comment about me always working and he can’t believe that I took the day off to check on you. How no one ever had that much power over me, not even my mother because I worked so much that I didn’t even know that she was sick.”
“What’s wrong with her?” Brianna asked, anchoring her attention on me.
“Honestly, Bronx, I'm too afraid to ask her more questions. I know she’s sick, and I know that it’s cancer, but I haven’t sat down with her yet to see what’s all really going on—what stage is she in or if the doctors think she’ll pull through. I stayed away and threw myself into work because I thought they were getting a divorce and I’ain know how to handle that shit. Feeling the shift in my parents and not knowing what to do, had me fucked up. I avoided them so I wouldn’t be hit with news like that.”
“My parents' marriage is what I strive to have when I settle down. Being together for over thirty years with your person is a blessing, so hell yea I stayed away from that shit ‘cause it could be anybody’s parents but mine. For my cousin to look at it as mejust putting work before everything, including my sick mama, is fucked up. Zoo, of all people, know that I would never do no shit like that. Especially not if I had known she was sick. Again, I honestly thought they were getting a divorce.”
“But what if he didn’t mean it like that and because you are already in defense mode with just finding out that your mom is sick, you heard it one way and one way only?” she tried to reason with me.
“He may not have meant it like that, but that’s how I took it so you could be right, but that shit wasn’t cool. My mother is my world, and I would never purposely neglect her or anyone else in my family. I don’t have a girl or kids, so my business is my baby and I pour what I want to get out of it. That’s just how it is for me and why I’m so good at what I do.”
The genuineness that Bri kept showing made me open up more. Like I said, I’d always express myself but she was really pulling everything out. The need to know more, that showed in her eyes, made me want to lay on the couch and let her pretend to be my therapist while I told who how I’d skinned my knee up when I was six. That’s just how much she had me open.
“Once you calm down, call your cousin and get things straight with him. As far as your mom, I’m sorry she’s sick but this is something you can’t keep running away from. You came to me, protected me, and showed me that you had my back when you didn’t have to. Give your mom that same energy. Regardless of her being sick, show her that you are here now and no matter what she’s going through, you have her back forever.”
“The last thing you want to do, is avoid her and be ok with the unknown and God forbid something happens to her. You won’t be able to live with yourself. Pull it together, and if you need me to go with you to sit down with her, I will.”
“Really?”
“I mean yea, as long as you don’t spring it on me like you tried to do today. Let me at least get pretty.”
“You were that, today.”
“Yea, pretty sweaty.” Bri chuckled hard followed by a snort. “I’m sorry, I hate laughing because I can’t control that snort that comes. I sound like a damn pig.”
“It was cute, though. Just don’t do it while we are out eating. Now go wash yo’ ass so we can go.” Reaching out, I effortlessly pulled her up from the floor.
“Give me thirty minutes.”
She left out of the room to handle her business while I scrolled threw restaurants to find somewhere secluded to take her. It’s crazy how I wanted her to count on me, but when it came to me having to do the same thing for her, I tried to hold that off as long as I could. It was good to see her not give up and make me tell her what was wrong.
I feel like Zoo now; I needed to go commit a crime because she had me getting soft.
CHAPTER 9
PENELOPE
