Page 24 of Divine II

For years, I’d been so pissed that my mom chose to stay with him after pushing me up to kill him for us…for her. My attempt to kill my dad was meant to set us free. All it did was confine me to a life of violence at my mom’s order.

With my dad unable to abuse her, she had the upper hand. I just didn’t realize how much she would love not having to be a victim anymore. Her newfound power made her a monster. Only she wasn’t the one carrying out the heinous acts. I was.

Instead of leaving my dad, she headed up his company and used her sixteen-year-old son along with a hired crew of henchmen to make sure business ran smoothly. When somebody stepped out of line, we got on their asses. I was her personal muscle until I decided that I didn’t want that life anymore.

I only had to bump my head a few times before I realized that it wasn’t the life I wanted. My mom was so drunk withpower that she couldn’t see the turmoil I was living in from beating and even killing people at her behest.

The woman I loved and admired died the night I tried to kill my father. Now that she was really gone, I was having a hard time processing things. My dad was right about one thing. I needed time to think.

Getting away from him and my childhood home seemed like the only way to clear my head. Running back to Divine felt like the only rational decision. As easy as it seemed, I couldn’t just leave things the way they were between us.

I loved Divine, and I knew she loved me. I knew she felt like she was doing right by her family in dating some asshole. Whether I liked it or not, I knew she thought she had made the right decision. If her arrangement was fake, maybe there was hope for us.

All I needed to do was see for myself. I needed to know that the shit going on with her and whoever wasn’t real. I needed her to still love me. I needed her. That didn’t mean I was going to run to her and tell her that. I had learned my lesson a long time ago about letting a woman dictate my life. My mom ruined that for everyone that came into my life after that night.

“Wish I Didn’t Miss You” by Angie Stone blared from Divine’s car as I followed her home. She had the music loud enough that I could hear it clearly from my truck. As the song started over for the third time, my heart wrenched. I felt bad for her, but I couldn’t lie…I hoped to hell that she was thinking about me.

When we made it to her house, I didn’t bother to get out of the truck. I wasn’t ready to see her. I wasn’t ready to let her know that I was back. Instead of doing an interior sweep or going inside to kick it with Divine, I sat in the truck and waited for her to go inside. I wanted to wait a few extra minutes to make sure that she didn’t see me at all.

At the same time, I didn’t want to risk someone hurting her. Once I was sure that she had locked up, I climbed out of my truck and did a sweep of the outside of the house. The flowers still looked good, so at least she was watering them.

After completing my sweep, I considered going back to my truck. Instead, I went to my chill spot and turned on the TV. I hadn’t watched much of anything in the past couple of weeks, so anything to keep me awake would be good. I put the TV on season one ofWhat’s Happening!and kicked back on the sofa. I kept the TV at a low volume so that I could stay on high alert. Just because I was pissed with Divine didn’t mean that I would stop doing my job.

Aside from the comfort of the outdoor TV in Divine’s back yard, part of the reason I liked to post up back there was because I could see the entrance to her property. There was only one way in and one way out, so anyone coming up had to use the driveway or the woods. Neither choice would turn out good for them if they were on some bullshit.

So far, there hadn’t been any issues, and I planned to keep it that way. I turned down the volume on my show and tossed the remote on the table next to my phone before kicking my feet up. I planned on spending most of the night in one spot.

I had slept for two whole days while I was debating about whether or not to come back, so I knew I was up for the night. Hopefully, time would fly. Just as I was getting good and comfortable, my phone vibrated against the table. I considered ignoring the notification and checking it later, but the second vibration had me on my feet.

Syre:Welcome back, my guy. How’s your first day back?

Me:Cool. Nothing major.

Syre:How you holding up? You know you could have taken all the time you wanted. I lost my mom, so I know how hard it can be.

Me:It’s cool. Sitting around and sulking was driving me crazy. I figured I might as well come back.

Syre:Since you’re back I got a big ask.

I sighed wondering what the hell it could be. It was rare that he asked me to do anything outside of my normal routine. I didn’t like switching things up too much. I was barely back as it was. Part of me was here, and the rest was still miles away. That didn’t mean I wasn’t going to make sure my girl was safe.

Me:What’s up?

Syre:Sis is going to this pool party that the nigga Bishop hooked her up with is throwing. It’s supposed to let some of the big players in the game see her on his arm and shit. I don’t like it, but I’m trying to stand down until I feel the need to stand up. You feel me?

Me:Yeah I get it.

Syre:With that being said, I’m not going because I already know I’ma push a nigga wig back the first time he gets wrong. I’m trying to refrain from putting my foot in somebody’s ass. Her daytime detail has instructions to accompany her but give her space. They’re cool and everything, but I need you on the scene. You’re the only one I trust with our girl as much as I would family. You feel me?

Me:What do you need from me?

Syre:I need you to pull up. I’ll send you the address. Bishop is going to be there but he’s gonna be so busy hobnobbing and sucking dick for the business that he won’t be able to keep an eye on her. I need your eyes.

Me:When is it?

Seven

Divine

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