Page 52 of Lost In You
I nearly choked, then shot her the finger. My family would be alright . . . We had to be.
TWENTY
ASAD
“She passed away this morning.”
“I’m so sorry, Miss Albright.”
“No, I’m sorry for all the trouble she caused you and your new lady. I’m also sorry that you are just now hearing from me. Truthfully, I’m embarrassed. While I know Mila had her mental issues, I know she also suffered a lot from the trauma her uncle caused her. The mental issues were there before that. The rape amplified them. I just wish she would have let me help her. It seemed, after that, she trusted everyone but me . . . blaming me for what she was going through.”
“I understand.”
“Do you think you would be able to bring Jayceon to see me sometimes?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m still a little?—”
“You don’t have to explain. I understand you not wanting him out of your sight right now, and you probably won’t for a while. It will be good to see you, too, baby.”
“I’ll try to bring him later today, if that’s okay.”
“It’s perfect. I’ll be here. This is my new number by the way. Lock me in.”
“Yes, ma’am. See you later.”
I ended the call, then rolled over in bed and put my arms around Ashanni. We had a late night, partying at the family barn. Z-Ro had pulled Mr. Storm out of the funk he was in, and that nigga was rapping every lyric right along with his ass. The twins laughed at their dad and had let everything go that had happened earlier. I truly believed that was his way of getting them out of the funk they were in as well.
My dad said the men were all in agreement to just leave shit alone unless it couldn’t be helped. That talk was more for those Henderson hoodlums, though, especially Seven. According to my dad, the nigga was heated, just like Mr. Storm used to be back in the day. I just hoped those niggas adhered to the instructions set out before them. I was glad that Mr. Storm and Uncle Legend didn’t allow this shit to come between them. They’d been friends for a long time, before Mythic and Maui were even thought about. I would have hated to see that come to an end over two grown people who were more than capable of making their own decisions.
Ashanni stirred in my arms and asked, “Who was that, babe?”
“Mila’s mother. She died this morning.”
She turned to me, staring into my eyes. “I’m so sorry, baby.”
“It is what it is, baby. I lost a lot of love for her over the past couple of years. I can’t say I hated her, but I was somewhere in the vicinity. I try not to hate anyone, so I feel like this was God’s way of taking her before I got to that point. As long as she was alive, she was gonna keep fucking with us, and eventually, I was going to really start hating her.”
“Are you going to take Jayceon to the funeral?”
“I don’t know baby. He’s still so young and may not understand. We’re going to her mother’s house later.”
“Don’t sell my boy short. Jay understands a lot for a three-year-old. He’s so intelligent. Although he’s almost four, he’s still so advanced for his age. Make your decision after you talk to her mother and explain things to him.”
I kissed her lips and pulled her close to me. It was ten o’clock, but neither of us wanted to get out of bed. Jayceon stayed with my parents last night. They’d left us at the barn, acting an entire fool. Ashanni was drunk as fuck, and I had a slight contact high. Z-Ro was like,“I didn’t know y’all got dine like this in the sticks!”
Mrs. Tiffany had yelled out,“Big City Nome, Texas, baby!”
Rother couldn’t do shit but laugh at her crazy ass. He didn’t leave until nearly two this morning, fucking around with the Hendersons. He was tripping when he saw Jessica and Tyeis. He recognized them, especially Jess, for the Noah video she was in. Ashanni was all starstruck and shit. I had to make sure I was with her when she went to meet him so he would know that her fine ass was taken. Whenever we went places, I would see niggas scanning her curves. Couldn’t even go to the grocery store in peace.
I didn’t trip though. I knew I had the cream of the crop. I was the envy of every nigga that admired her. She wasn’t just beautiful on the outside. She was beautiful inside as well. She knew how to cater to me just like I catered to her. I loved every minute of it too.
After stretching, she got out of bed, and said, “Come take a shower with me. I smell like sour Tequila and spoiled weed.”
I closed my eyes and slowly shook my head. She definitely inherited her parents’ sense of humor. Mr. Jasper was in rare form last night. He was high as giraffe pussy, no lie. The man’s eyes were barely open. I didn’t know how he was seeing anything. For a minute, I thought he and Mrs. Chasity were gonna fuck on the dance floor. Mr. Storm went to the kitchen and opened the door, telling them to go to their usual spot inthe bathroom, because we didn’t wanna see that shit. Everybody hollered in laughter, and they actually took his advice and disappeared inside with everyone watching.
I followed Ashanni to the shower, still on a high about having her all to myself. We had to have a sit down, so I could let her know that I would be paying all the bills. I still wasn’t sure what I was going to do regarding a job just yet though. My boy, Brian, said they were really struggling without me, and that they would probably be calling me back. As much as I loved what I did, they could kiss my ass. I wasn’t finna be like Jimmy Kimmel and go back. Their asses could suffer until they found someone else. They obviously underestimated my abilities and didn’t appreciate shit I did around there.
People were making money on social media, so I would probably check that out and start my own analysis channel, breaking down the games like I knew how to do. I knew it would take time to build my platform, but I was up for the challenge. Ashanni insisted that I could work for their family business since I was good with numbers and shit, but I knew there was no way I could be in the office with her ass all day. We wouldn’t get shit done. She wasn’t about to have her Uncle WJ on my ass.
