Page 30 of Breeze and Melodie

“Thank you. I’m proud of me too. Y’all got any openings?”

“At Black Reign?”

“Where else?”

“I mean, I knew that, but are Mommy and Daddy okay with you moving here?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t run it by them, considering they thought I was in school to do something completely different.”

“True, which is another reason why I’m asking.”

“I’m thirty, so why would it be a problem?”

“You know why.”

She sighed, and I understood her frustration. Harmonee was four years younger than me, but for a long time, the age gap seemed much larger. One of the reasons my parents packed up and moved to Savannah over six years ago was because of Harmonee.

When she was eighteen, she fell head over heels in love with a drug dealer who got her hooked on drugs. It wasn’t until he was killed that she began to listen to reason. My parents let her move back home, not knowing how bad off she was. It took a great deal of patience, love, care, and prayer for Harmonee to get where she was today.

“I’ve been clean for four years, Mel. They can’t baby me forever.”

“I agree with you, Sis, but you know how they are with you.”

“Do you think you can talk to them? I really need to step out on my own, not only to prove to them, but to myself, that I can do this.”

I looked at my phone screen as tears filled my sister’s eyes. She’d been working hard since she got out of rehab and reached all the goals she’d set for herself. My parents had to give her a chance to prove all her hard work had paid off.

“I’ll talk to them, but it should be face-to-face.”

“Okay. When can you come for a visit?”

“Next weekend. Make sure they don’t have plans, and I’ll surprise them. There’s something I want to talk to them about anyway.”

“Are you pregnant by that raggedy ass Sean?”

“Eww, girl, no. Me and Sean broke up almost a month ago.”

“Seriously? We’ve talked numerous times since then, and you didn’t say shit.”

“I didn’t wanna talk about it. Take another guess.”

“Is it good news or bad?”

“It’s—hold on. Let me see who’s at my door.”

I figured I’d stay on the phone and let Breeze tell Harmonee about us. My sister was well aware of my crush on him and was holding out hope for us to end up together, which was one of the reasons she couldn’t stand Sean.

I opened the door without confirming it was Breeze because he was the only person I was expecting. When I saw Sean’s face, I instantly became angry because I didn't understand why he was at my door.

“What the?—”

My words were shoved back into my mouth when his hand went across my face. I stumbled back but didn’t fall. He stepped inside, letting the door close behind him. Without thinking of the consequences, I dropped my phone and charged toward him with my hands in a fist.

“Muthafucka!”

When my fist hit his mouth, he didn’t move. Unlike the last time we got into a tussle, he was prepared for me to fight back. He grabbed my waist and slammed me to the floor. Before I could absorb the pain shooting through my back, he grabbed the front of my shirt, lifted me slightly from the floor, and punched me in the face.

“This is what happens when you cheat on me and try to play me for a fool. Nasty bitches like you deserve worse, but I’m a gentleman.”

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