Page 19 of Lost In You
I didn’t even want to message the words. My heart felt like it was bleeding. I wanted to go to sleep and wake up to find that this was all a horrible ass nightmare. My phone chimed.
The Lord already showed me, Shani. I’m on my way. Thank you for reaching out.
I closed my eyes and tried to relax. My head was throbbing so bad. When the door opened and closed, I knew Asad had gotten inside. He grabbed my hand, so I opened my eyes to look at him. He gave me a tight smile. “You wanna stay with me tonight?”
“I’ll let you know once we leave Uncle Storm’s house.”
He nodded then backed out of the driveway. I wanted to ask him how things went with Mila, but the drama with his baby mama was the least of my worries right now. All I could think about was Maui. “How did you know where I was?”
“Red Squared called me. He said they were into it when he brought Noni there to meet Bali. For the record, I’m in agreement with all of you. Mythic, man. That nigga has done a lot of shit and is still into some shit she don’t need to be anywhere around. I swear he got one foot in the pen and the other in the grave with the way he living. Uncle Legend hate that shit.”
I only nodded as I directed Asad to Uncle Storm’s house. When we got there, Noni and Bali were standing outside. They got in the truck, and none of us said a word as Asad drove them home. Once there, they got out without saying bye, but I didn’t take that shit personally. They were hurt and angry. I was too. I turned to Asad and lightly rubbed his cheek. “I need to go home. I don’t want to be too far away in case I’m needed.”
“I understand.”
He looked disappointed, but I didn’t want to be all the way in Liberty if more shit popped off. That was thirty minutes away. “Call me when you get home, okay?”
He leaned in and kissed me softly on the lips. “I will.”
“Be careful, Asad,” I said, getting out of the truck before he could get out to help me out. There was no point in all that. I was just ready to get home.
“If this phone rings one more time, I’m gonna fucking scream,” I said to my mama.
I was at work, and it was hell without Maui being here. She usually handled most of the phone calls. Milana had come in and helped with the day-to-day shit, along with Aunt Aspen, but none of them replaced my girl. She hadn’t been here all week, and I felt like I was losing it. She wasn’t accepting my calls, so I had to hear how she was doing from the twins. They weren’t as forthcoming with information. Everyone was just depressed about the shit.
I couldn’t even really focus on my relationship with Asad, because I was so wrapped up in what was going on with my girl. Karima had been going over there nearly every day. She was the only one Maui would talk to. We all gathered together last night, trying to decide what to do. Angel thought that we should go over there and cook some of her favorites and have a girls’ night. I didn’t know how that would work, though, if she wasn’t even talking to us.
We still had the book signing to get ready for. Kindred Stories in Houston had offered to help, so maybe they could still pitch in, but the shit was next weekend. With Maui in seclusion, Ididn’t know how Yendi and I would handle everything without her.
“The day is almost over, baby. It’s been fucking depressing around here, so I’m ready to get out of here too,” my mama said. “You wanna go to therapy tomorrow?”
I didn’t have to look at her to know what she was talking about. I slowly shook my head and said, “Hell yeah. I could use some retail therapy. Where we going?”
“This shit we’re dealing with warrants a trip to Houston. The Galleria is calling my name.”
“Is it cool if I call Asad to meet us out there?”
“Yeah. Of course. How’s everything going with y’all?”
“Good so far. I’ve been neglecting him this week. With my girl in seclusion, I realized I’ve been doing the same thing. We’ve only talked for a few minutes every day,” I said as I glanced at the flowers he sent to the office this morning.
She gave me a tight smile and went back to her excel sheet. The business was still growing by leaps and bounds. We were going to need more help in the office soon. Malia, Uncle Marcus’s daughter, was working here part-time to learn the ropes. Nesha came in from time to time also, but we needed at least two more full-time people. When the phone rang again, I stared at that shit and wanted to throw it against the wall.
“Thank you for calling Henderson Ranch and Farms. This is Chasity. How can I help you?”
“Thanks, Chas.”
My mama gave me the side-eye as she spoke to the customer. I knew she wouldn’t be able to say anything back while she was on the phone. I chuckled, then went to the lounge area to make myself a cup of tea. We had some instant tea that I’d picked up from the African store in Beaumont when I had to go to UPS. The shit was somewhat spicy like red hots, but I noticed it was helping with my fatigue.
Sitting in this office all day wore me the hell out. I was too young to be fatigued. I tried to work out at Brix’s gym on Saturday and Sunday mornings, but I knew that wasn’t nearly enough. I was going to have to make a conscious effort to go at least four times a week. I couldn’t wait until my house was done. Then Asad could stay with me sometimes. The only inconvenience for him staying with me was that he would be away from Jayceon, but most times, he didn’t see him during the week. Mila wouldn’t allow it. She was a stupid ho.
If the father of my son wanted to spend time with him, I would allow him all the time he wanted, especially if he was a good father like Asad. He was limited to his weekends, unless him having Jayceon benefited her in some way. It was ridiculous, and I truly wished his attorney would hurry up with that paternity case. Asad had petitioned for full custody, and apparently, my daddy knew some shit about her that he didn’t tell me. He gave that info straight to Asad.
As far as I was concerned, she’d been radio silent. If she was giving Asad problems, he didn’t tell me about it. He knew I already wanted to get at that ho, so he wouldn’t dare add fuel to my already raging fire. Actually, that shit was contained for now. Thankfully, she didn’t get Royal for more than what she did, or there would have been nothing Asad could have said to keep me from finding her ass.
After I got back to my desk, I heard the door open. I was so done with work today. It was two o’clock, but my brain was saying,“It’s Friday! Let’s close up early!”
Hopefully, no one was coming in to give us more business. I heard the receptionist talking and laughing with whoever had come in, so it was probably family. I released a sigh and resumed looking at the budget for marketing. When I saw Maui and Uncle Storm walk through the door, I damn near wasted my tea all over the place. I hopped up from my seat and ran to her, pickingher up and swinging her around as she giggled. I could tell she wasn’t really happy, but she was here. That had to count for something.
