“Phoebe, show him to his room. The one next to Kyle’s,” my father told me.
I didn’t want to show him shit if he was going to be acting like this. “Dinner will be done in an hour, Xavier. Until then, make yourself comfortable.”
My parents walked off, leaving us standing there. As soon as they were out of earshot, I moved closer to him.
“Really?” I snapped.
He leaned forward, putting his lips close to mine. “Really. Room, little Einstein. I’m not here to play house. I’m not here for you. I’m here for your pops, so let’s go.”
I rolled my eyes and stormed up the steps. I turned to see him struggling. “Come on, peg leg. You got a lot of mouth and no motion. Your room fucking awaits.”
It took him a minute, but he finally made it up the steps. We made our way down the hall, and I stopped in front of Kyle’s door. It was as if I could feel his spirit. Since his passing, I hadn’t walked in or past his room. A feeling of sadness came over me as I forced myself to pull my eyes away from his door and open the door next to his. Xavier stepped past me but stopped.
“What was that?” he asked.
I rolled my eyes. “None of your fucking business!” I snapped.
I tried to slam the door, but he gripped my wrist before pulling me inside the room, shoving me into the door, and closing it. “I have nothing to say to you. Let’s not forget you were talking shit,” I hissed.
“The shit talking will commence because a nigga ain’t forgot what happened, but I also don’t want to be in this muhfucka while you're around here grating your skin like cheese. So, I’m going to ask again. What was that? Are you cool?”
“Xavier, fuck you and your insults. Dinner will be done in an hour. Clean yourself up, and be downstairs. Oh, and don’t say shit to me!” I pushed him out of the way and opened the door.
“When that pussy gets to purring, don’t bring your ass in here either.”
I left and closed the door behind me. Between dealing with my emotions and his smart mouth, I didn’t know how I was going to survive spring break.
DIO
I lay on the bed staring at the ceiling. I was bored out of my mind, yet trying to prepare myself for what was to come. I pulled out my phone to check Mars’ location. When I saw she had made it back to the city, that put me at ease. I played with the idea of calling her because there hadn’t been much said since the game. The goal was to keep my eye on the prize, but when I saw her, I needed to remind her that I was still the same menace she had fallen in love with.
Since starting school, the shit between us made me question a lot. It started to shed light on the things I thought would never happen to me, like when Zeus and Sasha went through the motions or when Chevy and Z split up. I didn’t understand until I found myself in the same position. The only difference was that I was much younger. I knew I could have chucked it all up and moved on from Mars, but I didn’t want to. I wanted to prove to not only her but myself as well that I could be just as much of a real man as I was a demon.
I began laughing out loud because Dionysus was trying to break through, but I settled his ass down quick when I thought about Jesaiah. I wasn’t letting up on his ass. A text came in from Percy. I sat upto look at it. He sent me the address where I could find Jesaiah. I nodded slowly because I would need it later.
There was a knock on my door, and I immediately went into fight-or-flight mode. I figured it was my line brother telling me we were being summoned. When I opened the door, it wasn’t either of them, but Anika.
“Damn, what happened to yo’ head? Somebody fucked you up,” I told her.
She tried covering it up with her bangs, but that shit wasn’t doing anything.
“What’s up?” I asked.
She peeked over my shoulder before looking at me. “I figured since the bruhs have y’all stuck on campus, we could hang out. We don’t have to go out in public because I know you can’t be seen with girls, so I figured I’d come chill with you.”
I laughed. “Is this a setup? Why do you keep showing up? I’m good. I don’t need company. Find somebody else,” I told her as I tried to close the door.
She stuck her foot in to stop the door from closing. “What is your problem? I haven’t been disrespectful. I’ve tried talking to you, but you act like I’m some sort of nuisance.”
“Youarea nuisance. I’ve come across many girls like you, the ones who keep pushing and pleading even after a nigga tells you no. If the shoe were on the other foot, you would be dogging me out, telling me I’m some thirsty nigga. I’m not fucking with you. I’m married. Now, leave me alone.”
She sucked her teeth. “To who? Samara? How are you married in college? How are you married, and you two are barely even together? I know if I were married, pledging and all, I would be with my husband. Dio, you’re not fooling anybody. You two aren’t together, and it’s obvious. I’ll back off, but when she realizes what those Chi niggas are really like, I can promise you she will not stay.”
Now she was pissing me off. “Anika, get the fuck on before I hurt your feelings. Even if you were to fuck with a nigga like me, I can promise you that you can’t handle me with or without the fraternity. I’m a demon, and I don’t mean on no freaky shit. Now kick them fucking feet.” I smiled. “Whoever beat your ass should have rocked your block a little harder.”
She moved her foot while grilling me. “I hope they wear your ass out on that line. Jesaiah has a leash around your neck like the dog you are.”
I began howling loudly, making her feel extremely uncomfortable. She backed away, and I got louder until she was gone from the building. I knew all of this was a part of Jesaiah’s game, and a nigga was ready for his ass. The question remained: was he ready for me?
