Opening my eyes, my gaze hurriedly fell on him. He didn't look in my direction, but I didn't need him to. Kage spoke with a sincerity you couldn't fake. Men like him didn't care about sparing feelings, but he always cared about mine.
"You didn't scare your way to the top. You dragged your blood, sweat, and tears up every hill you had to climb. If they can't respect that, fuck 'em. I'll grim reap whoeverthinksabout disrespecting your claim."
Kage wasn't supposed to patch me back together, but that's just who he was. He carried the weight of things that were never his to carry.
"And Chosyn doesn't hate you. You gotta stop saying that shit. Words have power, and the more you push that into the universe, the longer it's gonna take for healing to start."
"I only say what she makes me feel. You saw what happened the last time we talked. She thinks talking to me is somehow doing me a favor," I scoffed, bothered by how Chosyn always picked the side that wasn't mine.
"She doesn't understand," Kage said. "She doesn't get that what you've done was your way of surviving."
"I might have better odds explaining that to her if you kidnapped her," I half-joked.
"Or," he pressed, giving methatlook, "You can go to her and leave your ego at the door. Leaving that nigga alone might help too."
I frowned. "What nigga? Honor?"
"Yeah. That nigga," he said, like saying Honor's name was the bane of his existence.
I narrowed my eyes. "Wait… are you jealous? Do you have feelings for?—"
"Nah, don't do that," he cut me off with a dry, humorless laugh.
"Kage, you've never questioned me about a man."
His tone dropped. "Don't fuck up our friendship by saying dumb shit. I don't see you like that, Choyce. Never have, never will."
I blinked, caught off guard by the bite in his words.
"Any woman I give my energy to gotta carry a soft energy of her own. Then I'll know she offers solace, not stress. Misery won't live where she resides… feel me?"
I rolled my eyes, but my chest tightened.
"I have a soft aura." It came out quieter than I had hoped.
Kage shook his head without looking at me. "Nah, you don't."
I swallowed hard, forcing my voice to stay steady. "So… what? I bring misery to your life?"
"Not in mine, into your own."
"I mean…" My voice trailed off as I shrugged. Kage wasn't wrong, but he wasn't exactly right either. My life didn't come with clean lines. They were all somehow blurred.
"Shit," Kage said, "If I'm lying, correct me, but we both know you love being in the middle of bullshit."
"I don't. Life just keeps serving it my way."
"That's bullshit, and you know it," he shot back. "You gotta start being honest with yourself."
"I am honest," I spat, cutting my eyes in his direction.
"Aight, so flirting with Honor knowing he's with Navy, that's you eating what life serves?"
"Is it not?" I snapped, narrowing my gaze.
"Look, I've never been the nigga to dictate how you live… but I'd be less of a man if I didn't speak up."
"Say what you gotta say, Kage." I sighed, already bracing myself for the blow.
