Her voice sounded as if she had a mouth full of saliva.
“Are you throwing up, Tania? What happened?”
“Nothing,” she said quickly, but her voice cracked.
Just like that, my anger dissolved into something else entirely. Fear. Concern. Confusion.
I pressed my hand against the door.
“Tania, talk to me. Did something happen with you and Proctor?”
“No, it’s nothing. I just need a minute in here, alright. I’ll be out in a minute.”
I stood outside the bathroom door for nearly five full minutes, listening to Tania throw up like she was trying to reject something from her body that was much deeper than food. The sound of her throwing up echoed through the door, followed by the sink turning on and off, and the toilet constantly flushing. No matter how many times I knocked and softly called her name, she refused to answer me.
“Tania, talk to me,” I begged, trying to keep the worry out of my voice, but all I got back was silence and running water.
Whatever happened while she was with Proctor must’ve been bad, and just the thoughts of what it may have been made my chest tighten. After another long pause, I muttered “fuck it” under my breath because hovering over her clearly wasn’t helping, and if something was truly wrong, she wasn’t going to open up right now anyway. I know Tania, she runs her mouth every day, all day, but when she was silent, that's when things are really bothering her.
I grabbed my purse and phone from the couch nearby and stepped out into the hallway, dialing Proctor’s number as I walked toward the elevator. Proctor answered on the second ring, breathing heavy like he had either been running or doing something else he didn’t want interrupted.
“Yeah?”
“Where are you at?” I asked without greeting him.
“I’m in bed. What do you need?” he replied, his voice steady despite the slight edge in his breathing.
“I need to know what happened with my friend. Why did she come home throwing up?”
“Throwing up? How the fuck am I supposed to know? I’m not a doctor. She pregnant?”
“No! She wasn’t throwing up before she left with you, so what happened while y’all were gone?’
He let out a long exhale before responding.
“Look, meet me at my place in about twenty minutes so that we can talk.”
“Why can’t you just tell me what happened over the phone, Proctor?”
“Look, nothing happened, but if you want to talk, come to my place. All that attitude shit over the phone isn’t going to get us anywhere. That’s for damn sure.”
“Proctor, I don’t even remember where you stay. I’m not from here, remember?”
“Alright, I’ll send you the address.” He replied, and before I could respond, he hung up.
I stood there biting my bottom lip in frustration, debating whether I should turn around and check on Tania again, but I already knew how stubborn she could be. If she wasn’t ready to talk, she wasn’t going to talk and forcing it would only push her further into herself. So, I left the penthouse without saying bye to her or Cyn because I was ready to kill Proctor’s big ass if he actually harmed my friend.
By the time the elevator doors opened and I stepped inside, his address had come through in a text. I ordered an Uber on the app and waited nearly fifteen minutes before the silver Honda Odyssey pulled up. Once I hopped in the back, the driver sped through traffic, weaving between cars as if it were a race.
When the Uber driver pulled me in front of the hotel building, and my feet barely touched the concrete before he was driving off to his next ride. I took a couple of steps when I heard a loud whistle cut through the air, and I turned to see Proctor handing his keys to valet. When we caught eyes, he smiled and then walked toward me with that slow, heavy stride, like something was hanging on him that was heavy as hell. I said something, but I knew exactly what it was. That pole.
“I hope you haven’t been out here too long, baby girl. Let’s head upstairs.” He tilted his head towards the door.
“Why do we have to go up to your place to talk? Why can’t we stand out here?”
He glanced at the sun and then back at me with a faint smirk. “Do I look like I want to stand out here in this hot ass sun getting blacker than I already am? Let’s go upstairs. Stop being so hostile.” He took off walking, and I followed him. My lips were pressed together tightly, and my fists balled up at my sides, fully aware that if something did happen to Tania, I was mad enough to swing on him. Or maybe I shouldn’t swing on Proctor and call the cops, saying this man was twice my size and outweighed me by at least a hundred pounds. The only way I would take on a man like Proctor is if I had a gun, or at least a fuckin two-by-four.
The elevator ride up to his place was silent, tension thick enough to cut, and when we reached his floor, we got out and walked up to his door, where he unlocked it and stepped aside to let me walk in first.
