Page 95 of The Wright Man

Angelica blinked. "Wait, what?"

I stood up. "I said get the fuck out."

Andre looked stunned. "Maleek—"

"Don't say my name like you know me," I snapped, taking a step closer. "You don't. You haven't known me since I was five fucking years old."

"Leek—" Angelica started, reaching for me.

"No," I barked. "You don't get to do this. Either of you."

Andre put the box down slowly. "I didn't know about Mom, man. I swear. He never told me. I didn't find out until—"

"Where were you when she got sick?" I snarled. "When we couldn't afford chemo? When I had to wash Kareem's blood out of his hoodie after he got jumped for selling dime bags to keep the lights on? Where the fuck were you?"

Angelica stepped forward, panic blooming across her face. "Maleek, he didn't know about Dana—he said your father didn't tell him—"

"I don't give a fuck what he says," I roared, my voice cracking at the edges. "You should've known. If you gave a single fuck about her—about us—you would've found a way."

Andre took a step back, the hurt starting to show, but I wasn't done.

"I don't need you," I said, low and dangerous. "I never did. I don't want your apologies, your gifts, or your guilt. You're thirteen years too late, Dre. You can take that box and walk your sorry ass right back out of here. And this time? Stay gone."

I turned to Angelica, who looked like she'd just been slapped.

"And you," I said, voice shaking, "why the fuck would you think this would help me? You always think you know what's best for everybody, don't you? Always up in somebody's shit, assuming you can fix it, save it, organize it with your little binder and your big heart."

Her mouth opened, but no sound came out.

"You've been like that since the day we met," I hissed. "Annoying. Nosy. In everybody's business like you're God's gift to broken people. You just have to be the savior, don't you?"

She flinched.

"Newsflash, Angelica," I said, venom in every syllable. "Not everything is your fucking business. Not mine. Not Kareem's. Not his. And if you'd stop acting like the world revolves around you for five goddamn seconds, maybe you'd realize that."

Her eyes filled with tears.

"Maleek," she whispered. "I'm... I'm sorry."

Then she broke.

Not the soft, silent kind of crying. Not a single tear down the cheek like in the movies.

No.

She sobbed. Loud and shaking. The kind of crying that makes your whole body curl in on itself. She dropped onto the arm of the couch like her legs couldn't hold her anymore.

And still, I stood there. Still angry. Still on fire.

Still broken.

I'd said the thing that gutted her. And she broke. Collapsed.

Like the only real thing between us had been snapped in half. And then he was collecting the pieces like they belonged to him.

Gavin moved across the room in a flash, wrapping his arms around her as she broke down completely. Her whole body shook. She buried her face in his chest like I wasn't even standing there.

And when he looked up, his eyes met mine—satisfied. Like he'd been waiting for this moment. Like I'd handed her over on a silver platter.