“I love you so much, Bali. You are everything I want in a woman. That bossiness and aggressiveness set my soul on fire, girl. You complement me perfectly.”
Everybody chuckled, and Seven said, “You gotta be for her if you like that shit.”
Bali shot him the finger, then quickly turned her attention back to Carter. His smile was so damn wide. It lit up the room. “Bali Henderson, will you do me the honor of being?—”
“Abso-fucking-lutely.”
She didn’t even let him finish. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she held her hand out. He bit his bottom lip and slid the ring he’d pulled from his pocket on her finger. “. . . my wife?”
Everyone laughed as he stood, and she jumped against him. He held her in his arms and kissed her passionately in front of everyone. My body quaked from the cries I was doing my best to restrain. Maui looked up at me as her smile dwindled.
“Noni—”
“Nope.”
That was all I said. She knew that meant I didn’t want to talk about it. When Carter lowered her to her feet, I went to her and hugged her tightly. I said in her ear, “Congratulations. I’m sorry about this weekend.”
I quickly pulled away and walked off before she could respond. I needed to get out of here. Crying in front of all these people was a big no-no, whether they were family or not. My aunts were bringing in more food, and all my cousins were falling in to congratulate Bali. As I headed toward the door, I saw Jacob watching me. He always noticed shit . . . him and Jessica.
They were always at our house, especially Jacob. They were extra close to my dad. I didn’t know why. As I got to the front door, I saw a crowd of men. I frowned slightly, then realized it was Watchful Eyes. Uncle Marcus was in the middle of them. Ismiled slightly and let them inside. They all nodded as they came through the door. Uncle Marcus hugged me on his way in. As soon as they were all inside, I walked out. I didn’t know how I was going to get home, since I rode here with Milana like a fool.
As I walked to the end of the driveway, I heard my name being called.Fuck.I already knew who it was. I turned around to acknowledge Red, then turned back around. When he got next to me, he asked, “You need a ride home?”
“No.”
“Stop being stubborn. You don’t want to be here any more than I do. I’m not leaving, though. That’s my brother, and I know he wants me here.”
“Good for you,” I said and began walking.
My parents’ house was a couple of miles from mine, but I didn’t care. I would take the back way instead of walking along Highway 90.
“Noni!”
I ignored him and kept walking. The tears found me once again. I was so angry with myself. I knew I played a part in why my life had turned out the way it did. That angered me even more than what Red did.
As I walked, a truck pulled up next to me. It was Jacob. “Get yo’ ass in here.”
“No. Go enjoy the festivities.”
“Noni. Don’t make me go get the mayor. You fucking around, and ICE gon’ snatch yo’ high-yella ass up. Then Uncle Storm gon’ burn Nome to the ground.”
I stopped walking and just got into his truck. He turned around in the street and headed back to my parents’ house.
“Jacob, take me home or let me the fuck out.”
“Naw. You trippin’. This is your parents’ house and your sister’s engagement party. Suck that shit up and show her howhappy you are for her. Just because you miserable don’t mean you have to spill that shit on everybody else.”
“That’s why I wanna go home! I don’t want everyone questioning me about what’s wrong! I saw the proposal, and now I want to go home! Let me the fuck out!”
“You not being there is affecting your sister! Think about somebody other than your-fucking-self! This is her unofficial engagement party! She was looking for you and now she’s in a fucked-up mood because she realized you ain’t there. How dare yo’ ass leave? She wouldn’t do that shit to you, and you know it! Get yo’ shit together before the mayor snatch yo’ ass up like he did Maui.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “That wasn’t a good example. Maui married to that nigga now, but you get what I’m saying.”
I brought my hands to my face and just accepted my plight. No one was going to just let me be. Somehow, I would have to find a way to make it through the rest of the day.
CHAPTER 13
BALI
