Page 40 of Falling for Autumn
“Bam,” Jo-Jo warned.
Bam sucked his teeth and rolled his eyes. I reached down and offered Trish my hand. The last thing I needed was to be accused of assaulting a woman and being caught on TV doing it. That would land my ass back in jail and devastate our business.
She took my hand and allowed me to pull her up. Before I could release her hand, Trish squeezed it and stepped closer to me. She looked up at me as she pressed against me.
“Can we please have peace?”
“You already know the answer to that.”
“The only reason I’m back is because I know that I fucked up, O. Okay?”
“What do you want me to do about that?”
“Forgive me.”
“You don’t even matter to me anymore, Trish.”
“What about him?”
“I ain’t got shit to say to either one of y’all. I’ma let you make it today because these cameras and all these folks are out here and shit. But after today, you know not to let my name fall from your lips,” I whispered with a smile as one of the cameramen swung his camera in our direction.
“Seriously? That’s how you want to leave things?”
“Don’t act like you’re the victim here, Trish. We both know better than that.”
I felt a pair of eyes on me, and I released Trish’s hand quickly and took a step back. Scanning the crowd, I saw Autumn’s questioning eyes on me, but she turned back to Sarai, Wynter, and a few other women.
I extricated myself from my situation and moved around the park talking to several participants of the car show. Spirits were high, and excitement was contagious, no matter what group I stopped and spoke with. I moved to a section of the park where burnouts were taking place.
Our show focused on modified cars, so there were various vehicles in attendance, from sports and luxury cars to SUVs and trucks, but there were mostly sports cars in attendance.
I felt her presence before I saw her or before she spoke a word. Crossing my arms over my chest, I asked, “What is it that you want, TJ?”
“I want you to forgive me for my mistakes.”
“You mean the way I was forgiven?”
“I didn’t expect people to react the way that they did, okay? Besides, it’s been eleven years since the truth came out.”
“You ripped dreams away from me, TJ. You destroyed friendships, tore apart a family, and had me living a gahdamn lie! Don’t tell me about eleven years. That shit still stings like it was yesterday. Not to mention that those same family and friends aren’t speaking to me now.” Some of my maternal and paternal aunts, uncles, and cousins no longer spoke to me.”
She sighed. “I know, and for that, I’m sorry. I just want closure and wish that we could put it all to rest.”
“It’s closed as far as I’m concerned.”
“He misses you, you know.”
“He’s dead to me. Just like you are!”
“You’re speaking to me, though.”
“Because you showed your ass up at a professional event. You truly don’t even matter. You’re shit to me, TJ. I loved him. You’re just another fucking wet hole and nothing more.”
“That’s harsh, O.”
“You’re harsh, TJ. You need to bounce. Crawl back under whatever rock you came from and live your slimy life with him.”
“I came hoping that we could put the past behind us. It’s not going to be easy to dismiss me the way that you have for the last several years.”
