Page 22 of A Hood Wife And A Rich Goon

“My handsome boy.” She peeped the faint glint in his eyes, and it saddened her when she stroked his cheek and leaned in to kiss him.

Ezekiel was never the type to wear his heart on his sleeve. When his father died, Essence was a wreck. She cried for days. Ezekiel moved like nothing happened. He took care of everyone. When Taci fell apart during planning the funeral, it was Eazy who stepped up with Summit to help. He was always so strong that sometimes she forgot he could also break. Losing Niva did that to him. She saw it in his face. The light was gone. She was his beacon in this dark world after his father passed, and someone took that from him.

“How you feeling, woman?” Eazy kissed her cheek.

“Oh, tired, but that comes with the territory. Essence and Summit argue all day and night. I swear I spend more time playing referee with them than they spend taking care of me.” She laughed, and the corners of her eyes wrinkled.

“I’m taking my old room for a little while. If that’s okay with you. I got a job I start tonight, so I’ll be around,” he said, grabbing her hand.

“How are you?” Taci prodded gently.

“I’m good.”

“Where have you been? What you been up to? You barely talk to Essence. Bull says⁠—”

“What you mean Bull says? He been here?” Eazy queried, suddenly tight.

Tilting his head, he narrowed his eyes on one of the only other women who held his heart.

“He checks on us. Talks to Essence. Is that a problem?” Taci queried, brows crimping into a quizzical frown. “He’s family.”

“Nah.” Eazy shook his head and sighed. “I’m going to grab my bag out the car. I need to shower and get ready for work tonight. You need anything?”

“No, baby,” she said, her lips softening into a warm grin.

When he stood, Eazy knelt to peck her cheek sweetly before stepping out of her room. He went outside to grab his bag from the trunk of his car and met up with Essence in the kitchen, putting food away, when he returned.

“What you doing talking to Bull?”

“Since when is it a problem?” She turned her nose up and glimpsed him over her shoulder while scrubbing a pan.

“Since he married the bitch who set us all up!” Eazy scolded, watching his sister flinch from his words.

“Look, Eazy⁠—”

“I’m not having this conversation with you, E. Stay the fuck away from him.”

“Oh, trust me, I have my own set of problems with Bull, but⁠—”

“But nothing! As far as I’m concerned, that nigga is the fucking opps! He don’t get a pass.”

“You are going off pure assumption. Now, I might not like that he went and married this girl either. It’s not even like Bull,” Essence conceded.

“Might not be like him, but it’s what the fuck happened. Bronx is dead. Niva is dead. I almost lost my life, and Oracle is in a fucking wheelchair!”

“You think I need a recap!” Essence spat, spinning to face him.

She’d been trying to mask her emotions the last few years regarding Bull and this entire situation. It was the thing that kept her up at night, though. The reason she could no longer fathom a connection to a man because it was too much work. The dating pool was utterly tragic these days. Bull was easy. He knew her. It was so simple for them to fall into a conversation with one another and talk for hours. Where he was withdrawn with everyone else, she always thought she saw a side to him that other people didn’t. It was cliché as fuck, and she really should have been past it after all these years, but when he was around, she couldn’t shake him. It was like the universe somehow found a way to pull them into one another’s orbit.

“I think you need to quit giving him the benefit of the fucking doubt when it’s clear what the fuck he chose! Get the fuck out of your feelings! The nigga took your virginity and played in your face for years!”

“That’s not even what happened,” Essence argued.

“Yeah? Did he ever offer to take you with him when he bounced and flew the fuck off to LA? All you wanted was for him to be some legit mothafucka out here, and when he finally made that move, he did it without you. So, maybe all that soul mate, meant to be shit ain’t what you thought it was.”

“Shut up! The only reason you’re mad is that you’re in your fucking feelings! You never expected him to choose her over you either! But he did, and there wasn’t shit you could do about it. So, miss me with that bullshit, Eazy. At the end of the day, I still trust Bull with my life. I believe he did this for a reason,” Essence voiced.

“Believe whatever the fuck you want, E. You delusional as fuck if you think he will ever choose you, baby sis.”