Page 97 of Until the Ink Dries

“That’s convenient,” he said.

“It is.”

“What did y’all do afterward?”

“We grabbed some food from Scottie’s then headed back to Shirah’s shop so she could open.”

“How much did you buy today?”

I giggled. Most of what I wore lately came from her shop. I couldn’t help myself and I loved supporting my bestie.

“Nothing today,” I answered.

“I find that hard to believe.”

“Well, I was going to try on a few things.”

“What happened?”

The smile dropped from my face and I fell quiet until he looked up at me.

“Wait, did something happen?” he asked, setting the container down.

I nodded. “I need to tell you something, Benny. I hate it even happened, but we really had no choice.”

He came to stand between my legs and reached for my hands. I placed them in his, but refused to meet his eyes.

“Talk to me, Willow. You know how I feel about communication.”

My eyes finally met his and they were filled with concern.

“Tierra came into the shop. She must have been waiting around or something. Anyway, she came in all hostile. We exchanged words after she called me a whore for sleeping with you. When Shirah defended me, she started pulling clothes off the racks and knocking shit over. We tried to restrain her but she started swinging at us. One thing led to another and the three of us were scrapping all over the fucking store. It wasn’t until Shirah’s employee yelled that she called the police did she run out.”

Benny’s brows furrowed as a deep frown appeared on his face.

“Are you hurt?” he asked, immediately checking me over.

“No, no. I’m fine. She was trying her hardest to claw at my face, though. If anything, I’m a little sore from being slammed into the wall.”

“I can’t believe this shit. She had an out… one she didn’t deserve, and she just keeps coming back.”

I cupped his face. “Promise me you’ll be careful and alert when you’re out, Benny. That look in her eyes… It was crazy. I’d never seen anything like it. Whatever she’s on, it’s taking over. She’s determined that you are her man, and she wants you back.”

“People in hell want ice water. She can cancel that shit.” He pulled away for a moment, turning his back to me. “Fuck!” he yelled. “I never should have told her ass we could be together.”

“Baby, you said what was necessary to protect your child.”

“I know, Willow, but it was the wrong shit. Now she’s out here attacking you. I can’t have that.”

I hopped down from the counter and wrapped my arms around him.

“I’m fine. A little sore, but it’s nothing I can’t shake.”

“You want me to be careful, but I need you to be careful too, baby. If she does something to you, I can’t promise I can restrain myself from doing some shit to her.”

“I promise, I’ll be careful. Just don’t do anything stupid. I just fully got you. I don’t want to lose you.”

He peered down at me, and his resolve softened a bit. “I’m not going anywhere. I—” He paused for a moment, seemingly pondering his words. “I love you, Willow.”

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