Page 32 of Breeze and Melodie

Before I could begin, Breeze entered with another man. I tried to smile, but it was too painful. He politely maneuvered his way next to the bed.

“Baby,” he said before kissing my forehead.

“Hey. Where you been?”

“Taking care of some things. Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Norwood. Hey, Harmonee.”

My family returned the greeting but wore a look of confusion as they did so. Harmonee probably told them Sean and I had broken up, but none of them were aware that I’d moved on to Breeze. He wasn’t a stranger to my family, but only my sister knew I’d had a crush on him for over a decade.

“Did we miss something?” my mother questioned.

“Is this what you wanted to tell me?” Harmonee asked.

Breeze picked up on their confusion and updated them on our relationship status.

“It’s about time,” Harmonee said.

“Breeze, I trust you’re a better man than the one who did this to her, but we can revisit this conversation. What the hell happened?”

“This is Officer Downing. We arrived at your apartment at roughly the same time. One of your neighbors called about a disturbance, and he was in the area.”

Officer Downing wasn’t in uniform, so I was surprised to learn he was a police officer and even more surprised he and Breeze were together. Breeze didn’t fuck with the law.

“Thank you,” I said.

“No thanks needed. It’s my job. However, I’m glad I was the one who arrived on the scene because I assure you, this situation will be handled with care. Can you tell us what happened?”

I looked at Breeze, and he nodded, giving me the okay. As I shared what happened, the officer listened intently. The more I spoke, the angrier Breeze’s expression became. I noticed his grip tightening on the bedrail. My father’s expression mirrored Breeze’s as he stood with his arms folded across his chest.

“When you’re released, you’re staying with me,” Breeze said.

Although we’d spent every night together since the first time we had sex, we’d never discussed living together. However, his tone let me know it wasn’t up for discussion.

“Once he’s arrested, he’ll probably be released. These cases aren’t taken seriously enough for them to hold him more than a couple of days,” my mother said. “Maybe you should come home with us for a while.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” my father agreed.

“With all due respect, Mr. and Mrs. Norwood, Melodie is my responsibility now, and it’s up to me to protect her. She’ll stay with me.”

“Look where your protection got her,” he rebutted.

“I—” Breeze began, but I interrupted.

“That’s not fair, Daddy. We had no idea Sean would do something like this. If I hadn’t opened the door without checking, none of this would’ve happened.”

“Don’t blame yourself, Mel. Sean is the only one to blame in this situation,” Raine said.

“That’s true, but I should’ve looked out of the peephole before opening the door. None of that matters now. I’m staying with Breeze.”

My parents looked upset and worried about my decision, but they conceded.

“Fine, but if you change your mind, you can stay with us for as long as you’d like,” Ma offered. “Raine, I apologize for our rudeness and not speaking to you when we arrived.”

“It’s fine, Mama Lyric. I completely understand.”

“You can make whatever living arrangements you need to feel safe, but I assure you, he won’t be a problem much longer,” Officer Downing promised, circling back to the main topic.

“He sure the fuck won’t!” Breeze barked. “Excuse my language, but if I get to him before?—”

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