Page 14 of Cove City: Vol. I

“We need to talk now!” I snapped.

“I’m cutting right now. Can it wait?”

I moved closer to him, “No! You fucking his shit up anyway.”

The guy shot up from the chair to look in the mirror while I pulled Soho by his shirt, dragging him to the back. Soho pulled away from me, fixing his shirt. “Mayne you lost your mind pulling on me and shit. Fuck you want?”

I threw my hands on my hips, and for a second, I thought I saw a flicker of lust in Soho’s eyes. “Look, whatever high horse you're on, get off it now. You say you want to ride with the Zoo, but the way you're moving, it won’t happen.”

A heckle came from him. “Baby, you’re not the leader. Shit, I think Chevy fucks with a nigga.”

I threw my hands up, “Do you want to get killed? And how did Pierre know where we were? Quinton, you're breaking code.”

I didn’t understand him. He knew what Pierre would do, so why invite him? It was already bad enough that they were cousins. This shit was so fucked up. Not only was this ruining my relationship with the Zoo, but also with Zeus.

I’ve craved for a love like Zeus and the feeling I had was telling me it was going to be snatched away by the hands of a nigga I was loyal to, Quinton. He placed his hand on my chin and lifted it. “Sash, chill. I’m cooling, and so should you. The Zoo needs us. Five niggas isn’t enough. They came to Toussaint to see us. Relax. Pierre, he’s just a little mad, but nothing he can’t get over. He’s my cousin, I know how to handle him.”

The way Soho was talking scared me. The nigga was obviously crazy as hell. I stepped back from him, “You and your cousin are going to get killed. I never understood why Pierre helped you. Why is he always running behind you, cleaning up your mess? You don’t love him because if you did you wouldn’t tie him in your shit. Soho I’m telling you now back the fuck off or you will get your one wish. Your ass will be with your father six feet in the fucking ground!”

The stupid ass smile he had on his face changed. He didn’t like what I said, but it was the truth. Only death comes to those who begs for it and that nigga was begging. I stormed out of the back, rushing through the shop, only to bump into someone.

“Sash, what are you doing here?” Pierre’s voice made me look at him.

I was stuck. I stood there taking him in. The look he gave me was a look I used to beg for. His eyes passed me to look at Soho. “Fuck was y’all back there doing?” Pierre hissed.

I moved past him and out the door.Shit! Shit! Shit!

I hopped on my bike and took off.

***

“I don’t know what to do,” I whined.

Zaria moved around the plant nursery, setting up different plants and preparing for the grand opening. I had been rambling to her for the last thirty minutes about everything. I wasn’t theone to share what was happening in my life, but I needed to talk to somebody other than men. She paused what she was doing and walked over to me. Before she spoke, Zaria paused again as a young girl came from the back, holding a plant, which she placed on a shelf. “Can you finish setting up the Monstera’s over there?” Zaria said while she pointed.

“Sure, Z,” the girl replied.

Zaria smiled as her head turned back my way. “Now, back to you,” She touched my shoulder. “Girl, what does Sasha want? Take everything and everyone out of the equation. What do you want?”

“I want happiness!” I yelled.

“Aht, aht. Now you know we don’t yell around the plants. June ass will be running wild if he knew you were in here screaming.”

A laugh fell from my lips. “How do you handle Chevy? How do you handle any of it?”

She sat in front of me. “First, don’t compare your relationship with any of ours because they are all different. What do you define as happiness? Look, I don’t know this Pierre, but maybe you two need to talk. To give you both closure. Zeus is trying. I’m sure if he loves you enough, whatever it is y’all are going through, he will understand. Now, this Soho person needs to be dealt with because if not, you’re not going to have to worry about Zeus getting to him because June will not have it, and me and my husband are having a baby, and I don’t want him in no shit. So that’s something you need to figure out on your own, but if you ask me, it sounds like this Soho likes you, Sasha, have you ever considered that?”

Soho likes me? Nah.Zaria couldn’t be right, or maybe I was being naive. I sat back and watched Zaria gracefully move around the nursery along with her new helper, while I thought about what she said. If Soho did like me, did Pierre know? Themore I sat back and thought about it the more shit started to make sense. Was it possible that Soho was causing ruckus to get Pierre and Zeus to go against each other just to get to me? I jumped up from the chair.

“I’m out, Zaria, thank you,” I told her.

She smiled. “Don’t forget we’re holding a block party to get to know the community before the grand opening. Make sure you're there. You’re still part of the family.”

“I will,” I said as I left.

I wanted to talk to the guys. I didn’t know how they would take it, but Soho was out. I had no other choice.

The shop’s silence had become overwhelming since Sasha had stormed out earlier. The fact that she wouldn’t even talk to me like we hadn’t been friends irked me. I thought she and I were better than that. God would strike me down if I lied and said that love found me late. I didn’t want a new bitch. I wanted my old thang back. However, it’s not the cards that were being dealt. I eyed Quinton as he pretended, he was focused on cutting when I knew he probably had so much shit to say.

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