Page 38 of Pretty and Loco

She looked around in the darkness of the night, and I knew it was something that she needed to get off her chest.

“He reached out to me, Leah.”

“Who reached out to you?” I questioned.

“Rocko. He reached out to me last week. That’s why I called Ma. He said you had hacked his cameras, faked a pregnancy announcement, and to keep you away from him. I didn’t tell her that because I knew she’d worry. Now you’re talking about moving, and I don’t want you to.” She admitted.

“That was old. We got over that. You spent the last five years worrying about me. You have a life to live of your own. You don’t have to watch me. Everything is fine between Rock and me.” I lied.

I was moving so that I could get my man. He would come back; all it took was a little legwork. I hadn’t been back home since it happened; instead, I’ve been staying at a hotel in Sunnyvale because I didn’t want Daya to worry. But I didn’t know he would snitch.

“The last time you said that you wound up in—”

“Dayari, I wish you would stop bringing up Brandon. How did you expect me to react when his bitch ruined my wedding day? You act like he didn’t deserve that!”

She stepped back like I had spit in her face, and I watched her look at me in disbelief.

“Yeah, see, I’m about to send Kennedy an email. This is exactly what I didn’t want to happen. Dating does something to you that I can’t understand.” She went for her back pocket like she was about to grab her phone.

“Email Kennedy for what?” I was agitated now.

“Ruined your wedding day? Your wedding day? Leah, please!”

“That’s what I said.” I challenged.

“Before or after you blasted Brandon online in your little video post about him cheating on his wife with you? Before or after you had us all thinking that you were getting married and had daddy give you thirty grand for a wedding you knew wasn’t yours? Before or after you showed up on the wedding day to force Brandon to choose between you and Veronica in a twenty-thousand-dollar gown and walked down the aisle, and that woman’s friends and family tried to fight you?”

I didn’t speak, and I guess she took it as an opportunity to keep going.

“Before or after, you continued to fuck Brandon, had his wife put him out, and he moved in with you, only for him to find out you had been stalking him and cut you off? You almost got us all arrested! I could’ve lost my license. I had to beg Daddy to speak to you for years. We were all embarrassed. So again. At what point did she ruin your wedding day? Before or after all this happened?”

I folded my arms across my chest tighter and glared at her.

“Tomato, tomahto.”

She threw her hands in the air like she gave up.

“So, you don’t think he was wrong for proposing to me knowing he was already getting married? He said he wanted to marry me; all I did was call his bluff.”

I laughed. She didn’t.

“Need I mention how you showed up to that woman’s house with a can of gasoline and doused it to get Brandon to come outside and talk to you?”

“No, bitch. Don’t even go there because I didn’t even have a lighter.” I stopped her.

“Exactly! You didn’t even have a fucking lighter, then had the audacity to think the police would think it was a joke too. Saying you just wanted to scare them. Your ass went right to Shady Pines.” She screamed.

“Mind over matter.” I corrected.

“Girl, whatever. You do the most when you think you’re in love, and it’s done nothing but ruin your life and alter ours because we love you. You think this is harmless and funny when these are actual crimes. You cannot do that type of shit to people just because you got your feelings hurt.”

I didn’t want to argue with my sister. I heard her, but my mind was made up. They had to trust the process, and I had been going through the process for five years.

“You are right, Dayari, and I hear you. Thank you for caring for me the way you do. I will see you at home.” I said over the argument.

“Yeah, I’m about to stay here for a little bit. As soon as I got up from the table, Daddy said, ‘Don’t think you’re about to leave. I need to talk to you too, Night Nurse.’

It was quiet for a bit, and then we burst into laughter.