But when I opened the envelope, I found a cashier’s check in the amount of one hundred thousand dollars from Clayton.
What the hell was going on? I picked up the phone and dialed the number that I knew by heart. I had changed my number during the divorce, and I hated for him to have it now, but I knew that he wouldn’t answer a number marked private. He had always been that way throughout the duration of our marriage, so I decided not to block it when I called.
It took a few rings before he answered the phone.
“What is going on?” I demanded.
“You saw my live? I noticed that you were on there.”
“And the check, Clayton. What the hell are you up to? Haven’t you taken enough from me?” I realized that I was trembling and on the verge of tears. I hated that I had given thatman so much power over me during our marriage that he still retained some today.
“Del, it might be hard to believe, but I’m not up to anything. I’ve been doing some soul searching lately, and I know that I did you wrong. I really want to start my life over with a clean slate, and that can only happen if I clear up the misdeeds of my past.”
“I don’t know what this is all about, but I don’t believe a word out of your mouth. You’re such a liar, Clayton. Always were and always will be.”
He cleared his throat. “I’m serious, Del. I know it will take some time for you to believe me, but I’m honestly turning over a new leaf.”
“You know, I really don’t care whether you do or don’t. You have no power to take up any more space in my life or mind, Clayton.”
“You have every right to be angry with me. But I’m sorry for cheating on you, lying on you, and taking everything from you. The check is the proceeds from the sale of the house. I know that this doesn’t make up for all I did, but I hope that it will go a long way to putting things back in order for you, Del.”
“Well, it’s a start, but money won’t fix the damage my reputation suffered when you dragged me on social media.”
“I know that it won’t, but hopefully, my video might help.”
“Whatever.” I wanted to end the call. I had the answers that I needed, but I didn’t believe him.
“Listen, I have just one piece of advice for you.”
I scoffed. “You have advice for me? I wouldn’t take it if it saved my life.”
“It just might, so you should take it. I just wanted to tell you that you need to watch the company that you keep.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” I asked.
“Exactly what I said. Naijhel King isn’t who you think he is. That’s all I’ll say,” he replied.
“Well, thanks for nothing. Have a nice life, Clayton.” I ended the call and tucked the phone into the pocket of my joggers.
15
NAIJHEL
Ihadn’t wanted to run out on Delaney the way that I had, but it couldn’t be helped. My mom called asking me to come over. She had been dating a guy who she felt like it was going nowhere.
When she tried to end things, he started acting out, threatening her, and refusing to leave her house. It was a flashback for her and me to what happened with my dad. Their relationship hadn’t worked, because they realized they were better friends than partners. Before he passed, she and my dad were still good friends, and she cared about him a lot. She had mourned his loss as much as Brandon and I had. There was no way that I could ignore her call, and there was no way that I could pull Delaney into my bullshit.
Delaney and I had met under false pretenses, thanks to Clayton, but I was still triggered by acts of domestic violence. When confronted with it, or if someone I loved was under the threat of it, my brain ceased all logical thinking, and something else darker took over.
I was battling that demon when Delaney walked into the bathroom. Telling her what was going on would only open that darkness more and more, and I wouldn’t have been able to pull that monster back. The last thing I needed was for her to see thatother side of me. The minute that I opened my mouth to tell her what happened, that was exactly what she would see.
She was precious to me, and she needed to be protected from all that. So I jumped in my car and headed to my mother’s house. I didn’t tell anyone where I was going except for Frost, who pulled up at the same time that I had.
That nigga was still in my mama’s house talking about what he wasn’t gonna do and how nobody wasn’t gonna make him leave. My mother had not told me over the phone that he hit her, but when I saw her swollen jaw, I already knew. I beat the brakes off that nigga with my cane, and then when he threatened to get revenge on her, I pulled out my gun to shoot him.
My mama’s pleas to not do that, out of fear of me getting into legal trouble, fell on deaf ears. The only thing that got through to me was Frost walking up behind me and gripping my shoulder. He had whispered in my ear, “Li’l cuz, let me handle this shit. I can make him go away real clean. This is light work. You don’t need this on your hands, and your mama don’t need this on her conscience.”
I had reluctantly lowered my gun hand, but Frost had taken over from there. He sent me to console my mama in the other room while he forced that nigga out of her living room. I got a call from him an hour later telling me that the workspace was clean. I knew that meant that he had taken that nigga out and had it all cleaned up.
