Page 55 of Love's Free Will

“I need to be alone, Averi.”

“No. No, you don’t.” She moved toward me again. “Royal, you shouldn’t be alone right now. Let me stay. Please.”

I looked at her. Really looked at her. She was the only thing that felt good. That felt soft. But all I could think was if I hadn’t been with her… maybe I could’ve stopped it. Maybe my brotherwould still be here. She looked like warmth, but all I saw was pain.

“Get the fuck out,” I said as calmly as I could.

She stared at me in disbelief. “What?”

“GET…THE FUCK.. OUT, AVE.” My voice echoed off the walls.

Her mouth dropped open. Her eyes filled with fresh tears. “Royal…” she whispered, barely able to breathe.

But I couldn’t face her anymore. Couldn’t stand there feeling like it was her fault. It wasn’t fair. None of this shit was fair. I turned and stormed into the bedroom, slamming the door so hard the walls shook. I dropped onto the bed, my head in my hands, chest heaving.

Her scent was still on the sheets. I hated myself for what I said, for how I was moving, especially with her. I hated this pain even more. But right now, in this very moment, I just needed the world to shut the fuck up and leave me alone.

15

AVERI

Ididn’t even know I was holding my breath until the door slammed in my face. Royal didn’t just shut me out. He shattered me with one sentence.

“Get the fuck out.”

I stood there for a moment, frozen in the hallway of his apartment in front of his bedroom door, body tense, tears on standby—but my pride wouldn’t let them fall. Instead, I dragged myself two floors down to my apartment, where I somehow managed to unlock the door with trembling fingers and walk inside without collapsing.

Egypt was curled up on my couch in sweats, her bonnet on and her eyes puffy like she hadn’t slept. She sat up when I walked in, eyes locking on mine. “You okay?” she asked immediately.

“No.” My voice cracked.

She stood, phone in hand. “Averi… is it true?”

I blinked. “What?”

She turned her screen toward me. A Tea And Honey post blared across it in big bold letters:

PRAYERS UP Kingston “King” Teegan, Brother of Rapper Royal, Fatally Shot After Club Altercation

I felt my knees give slightly. The rage that bubbled up in my chest was blinding. These blogs didn’t give a damn about timing, privacy, grief—nothing. The family had just gotten the news hours ago.

I nodded slowly. “It’s true.”

Egypt’s hand went to her mouth. “Oh my God…”

She rushed over to hug me, and that was it. That was all it took. I broke. I let the sobs rip through me until I couldn’t breathe, until my shoulders were trembling. I wasn’t just crying for Royal. I was crying for King.

I liked him… a lot. He was the first person in Royal’s life to actually see me. The first one who vouched for me when Royal was hellbent on shutting me out. He talked me off the ledge more times than I could count when I swore I was done with Royal’s arrogant, insufferable ass. In so many ways, King was our bridge. The anchor that steadied us when we both wanted to drift.

I fell asleep with my face buried in Egypt’s lap, her hand stroking my curls, not saying much… just being there.

A weeklater and I knew I should’ve been in L.A. by now. My lease at the apartment ended three days ago, and I was supposed to be at a meeting on Monday. But I couldn’t leave. Not yet. Not when everything felt so… wrong.

So, I requested that the meeting be pushed until I got back. Serenity and Egypt were helpful in making this happen, even when the execs insisted, I could be on Zoom or get a recap frommy agent. We never did meetings without each other, in case the show runners or producers tried to pull some bullshit. It had been that way from the beginning.

I hadn’t spoken to Royal since the night he kicked me out. He hadn’t called, texted, nothing. And when I tried to call or text, he never replied. The only updates I had were through Queenie and Zay. They were the ones who told me about the funeral arrangements. I didn’t even know if I was supposed to go—but I couldn’t stay away. So, I dressed in all black, slipped on my Chanel sunglasses, and made my way to the church.

The sanctuary was full, wall-to-wall with people who loved King. Or claimed they did. Half the city showed up. It was beautiful, if not suffocating. I stayed toward the back, slipping in quietly, not wanting to disrupt anything.

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