“I’ll be waiting.” I pushed the chair out, stood up and headed towards the door. Before my hand could touch the knob, I spun back around.
“Instead of worrying about me and Love, you need to get yo’ face fixed hoe! Walking around here looking like a Pit Bull puppy!”
I stormed out of there so damn fast, you would’ve thought I had smoke behind me. Couldn’t believe I let her ugly ass get me outta character.
Looking down at my screen, I pressed a button and called Jayda. Yesterday, she said she could get off work early to pickme up. However, when I scanned the parking lot, I didn’t see her car.
Honk! Honk! A dark blue BMW rolled in front of me. I smiled seeing a familiar face.
“Need a ride?” Tiffani’s head was across the console as she spoke. I hadn’t seen her since before Valentine’s Day when she did my hair.
“Uh, I’m waiting on—” I started.
“Jayda, I know,” she interrupted me. “She couldn’t leave, and asked if I could come get you. Hop in pretty girl.”
She moved back over to her side. Extending my arms across the console, I gave her a quick hug. “Hey, boo.”
She grinned.
“Hey.” Her eyes moved towards my hair, tugging on a strand with a sour look. “Oh, we gotta do something about this.”
I sucked my teeth, dodging her attempt to touch it again. “Ain’t been in here a minute and you already talking about me.”
“Only because I care,” she commented, driving away from the curb. “You going to work, right?”
“Yup!”
After that little situation with Lauren, I had drained all my energy. Despite how I was feeling though, I genuinely wanna get to know Tiffani better. I saw a different side of her when she hooked me up after I got out. Maybe we could start over, forget everything that happened in high school.
“So, what you been up to since graduation?”
She seemed surprised that I asked but, after the initial shock, she started telling me all about it.
After sending Love a quick text, telling him that I was okay, I listened with a smile. She relayed everything, including marrying the love of her life in her senior year of college and having a baby shortly after graduation. Although I was happy forher, I couldn’t help feeling jealous about the stuff I missed out on. Those thoughts made my hate for Leah grow a little more.
38
LOVE
I spentthe whole night at the hospital with mama and came home in the early hours of the morning. Once I got in, I checked on Baby to make sure she was good. Immediately after she told me she was, I took my ass to bed. So, when I was woken from my sleep by the phone ringing, I was pissed the fuck off.
“Hello, who dis?” I mumbled; my eyes still closed.
You have a collect call from...
Hearing that made me fling the covers to the side and jump up. I pressed accept before the operator could finish getting the words out.
“Love?” Valentine’s voice echoed through the phone. I let out a deep breath, a nigga ain’t never been so happy to hear from him.
“V, what’s going on, man?” I yawned, wiping the crust from the corner of my eye. Talking to him like this had me remembering how we got in this situation to begin with.
“Nigga, you should've stayed yo’ ass at the fucking crib!” I spat. He sucked his teeth.
“Man, I went out to look for Tank ass. I needed him to confess what the fuck he did.”
I rubbed my chin. “Did you find him?”
“No. His boys said they ain’t seen him all that day. I only went by Princess’s house to change my damn clothes, when the muthafuckas busted down the door.”
