Page 14 of Saint Baptiste 2

Fuck.

I didn’t know what time it was, but I needed a drink. A couple of them. Shid, the whole bottle, honestly. With my eyes closed, I sucked in a deep breath, and immediately thought about the sun. That was what I needed. She was who I needed. I needed one of those sun kisses. Bad.

“How am I supposed to believe you’re good after what you just said?”

We stared for a moment before I finally looked away.

“And,” she continued. “I wish you would give me more credit, sis. I really, really do.”

She moved closer to me, and I moved further down the vanity, away from her. Sage was a hugger. I didn’t want to hug. Needed one. But didn’t want one. Not from her. I was afraid that if she touched me, the levy would break. Shit. What the fuck was happening to me? I was so got damn fragile these days. I... I just wanted her to leave.

“Give you more credit for what? What do you think you deserve credit for, really?” I asked with a condescending chuckle. “Girl. If you don’t run your ass back to mommy and?—”

“See... you?—”

“I what?” I snapped in the middle of applying toner. “I told you to leave!”

Sage crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the wall. “I’m not leaving. Not until you talk to me.”

I huffed and turned away. “You have children. I’m sure the oldest will be calling, bitching about something soon.”

From the corner of my eye, I could see her lips tighten at the little jab I took at her man-child of a ‘husband’. It was the truth though. Sage’s ass didn’t have the luxury of time to play the waiting game with me.

“You know what?” She paused and threw her hands up. “Fuck it! You say you’re good, you’re good. I don’t have time for this shit.”

With that, Sage stormed out of the bathroom, and I stayed where I was, staring into the mirror. Tears pooled in my eyes. Literally drowned them. But they didn’t fall until the front door slamming shut forced me to blink, forcing them to. Her leaving... just... giving up on me like that, got to me. Something about her leaving like that solidified just how alone I truly was. Yeah, I told her to leave. I was rude. I was nasty. I wanted her to go. But she didn’t fight for me. Not sincerely. No one ever had. I was worthless.

As worthless as he said I was.

CHAPTER 4

SAINT

Knock. Knock. Knock.

“Saint? Your brother is here,” My housekeeper Maurine yelled from the other side of my bedroom door.

“Aight. Tell him to wait in my?—”

The door opened and Blaise walked in before I could tell her to tell him to wait in my office. We locked eyes through the full-length mirror I stood at. “Fuck you would have done if I was in this bitch naked, nigga?”

“Same shit I’m doing now—not give a fuck.” He turned to close the door behind him. “Thank you Maurine. Appreciate you sweetheart.”

He shut the door completely and continued into the bedroom. I turned my attention back to the mirror. Adjusting my tie, I kept my focus there. Refused to look over at him. I knew what he wanted. We had a family meeting at twelve. It was ten. He didn’t show up early because he missed me.

“What the fuck you want nigga? Meeting don’t start til’ twelve, bitch,” I said through a smirk.

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t expect him to show up early. Honestly, I expected him earlier. Last night, reality got away from me. I slipped. So much that I forgot who the fuck I was and got a little sloppy. That’s what he thought. I, however, knew what the fuck I was doing. He didn’t see it that way. I didn’t give a fuck though. I had the situation under control. Didn’t need him to do what he did. Wished he hadn’t. That body was mine and he took it from me. I didn’t need his help. I didn’t need anybody’s help. If I needed him, I would have called ‘em up. I didn’t do that. The only assistance I needed was from the niggas I got it from—security. That mission I was on was personal. I kept the business side out, for this reason specifically. But because I was who I was and nothing about last night went as planned, he was tipped. Deuce hit him. Told him I was on some wild shit and that was that. Blaise played the back, watched from a far and only showed his face when necessary. Had I done shit the way I was supposed to, I would have never known the nigga was even out there.

Shit was crazy to me though, honestly. How this nigga, the nigga that always flew off the fuckin’ handle, had shit to talk. I fly off that bitch one time and what he do? Chastise me. Try to school me? Blaise couldn’t school me. He didn’t know what the fuck he was doing. That was why I was in the position I was in, and he was in his.

“Oh, that’s how you greet me? After I saved you last night?” He asked with a condescending smirk.

I laughed. “Nigga. You didn’t save shit. I had it under control.”

“Did you?” He asked before sitting on the chaise at the end of the bed. “You had it under control fré? No clean-up crew on?—”

“Fuck I need a clean-up crew on standby for? Niggas get slumped in the city every fuckin’ day, B,” I interrupted with a laugh. “Ay, which one of us went corporate in this bitch? Hm?”

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