SAMARA
PRESSPLAY
I smiled in the mirror as I slid on a nice red lipstick. Dio had called and said he was taking me out, so I wanted to make sure I looked good enough to eat. Since his crossing, we started to get back on track, but he hadn’t moved back in. I knew it was kind of like us starting over, and I was okay with it. Having him in any capacity felt good, at least up until my departure.
I hyped myself up as I danced in front of the mirror in my white mini dress. My body moved around the house as I smoked on a blunt while putting on my heels. I bobbed my head as I glanced at one of my biggest projects for class, which was a painting. I decided to use it also for Black Excellence Day, which was soon approaching.
When my windows rattled, I knew Dio was in the parking lot that sat outside my window. I put out the rest of the blunt as I grabbed my bag, keys, and headed out. He sat behind the dark-tinted windows of his G-wagon. He didn’t bother to get out but rolled the windows down.
“Get in,” he said calmly.
I opened the door and got in. Although he was dressed in allblack with an orange shiesty rolled up on the crown of his head, he looked good. Dio had gotten a fresh cut, his wild beard was trimmed, and he smelled of the most expensive cologne.
I reached over and turned the music down. “Where are we going?” I asked as I settled into the seat.
“To hell if we don’t pray,” he said as he sped off.
Dio focused on the dark road, looking more serious than I’d ever seen him. I didn’t know whether to leave well enough alone or say something. He briefly placed his eyes on me as he rubbed my leg.
“You’re looking good, baby.”
My lips curled into a wide smile. “Thank you.”
He shifted his body as he one-handed the steering wheel while leaning to the side. “Loyalty is everything between us. You say you’re down for the gang, but are you?” he asked.
“Dio, you know I got your back.”
He nodded. “Baby, I’m not Dio tonight. I’m Hades. Remember that.”
I laughed. “Oh, so they gave you a name, and now you're him, huh?”
He casually turned to look at me and winked. “Been him.”
He made a sharp turn and pulled into a dark parking lot that held a single run-down building. Dio parked, got out, came around, and opened my door to help me out. Before we walked off, he opened the back seat and grabbed a black duffle bag. He held my hand and led me toward the building. As he was about to open the door, he stopped.
“You ready?” he asked.
I slowly nodded. Dio opened the large, rusted door and led me into the dark. As soon as he flicked the lights on, my body stilled. He tossed the bag on the ground, unzipped it, and pulled out a speaker, a blade, and another orange shiesty. He turned on his jazz music and let it blare out as he started moving backward.
“Tonight, I came to teach!” he roared. “I am the master, the professor, the fucking dean, the Devil, the prince, the demon, and the muhfuckin god!”
Dio stopped as he snatched the cloth off Jesaiah’s head. “Samara, you say you love me. You say you want a forever with me, but you’ve never experienced the full me. Tonight, you will.”
He came over to me and grabbed my hand before leading me over to a chair sitting directly across from where Jesaiah was. “Are you afraid?” he asked.
Hell yeah, I was afraid, but I trusted Dio. “No,” I lied.
“Good,” he whispered before kissing my lips. He picked up the other shiesty and gently placed it over my face. “I don’t need anything getting on that pretty-ass face.”
I didn’t know whether to be turned on or to run. I observed Jesaiah’s body, which was tied up to the chair and gagged before Dio removed it from his mouth.
“Antagonist!” Dio shouted from where he stood between us. “Samara, what does it mean?” He pointed at me.
I ran my hand nervously over my arm. “Someone who is hostile to someone or something.”
Clap! Clap! Clap!
“Good job, baby,” he said as he pointed to Jesaiah. “Nigga, that sounds like you.”
