Page 32 of Mister Fireman

Her laughter silenced me. “It wasn’t a fight; it was an attack.”

“Was it, or did he just fight someone and lose?”

She breathed deeply into the phone before releasing a low, sinister laugh. “I’m not about to go back and forth with you, Enjell. I’m telling you your boyfriend attacked my son.”

I didn’t feel the need to tell her Dejvi wasn’t my boyfriend, but I did feel the need to protect him. “Dejvi had nothing to do with what happened. If that’s why you’re calling me repeatedly, we can end this conversation now.”

“For some reason, Gino does not want to press charges. He does, however, need to be compensated. Because of the extensive damage done to his body and face, he will not be able to work for a while. Tell your boyfriend to pay up, or I’ll be pressing charges against him myself.”

She disconnected the call, and for a while, I just stood there. Clearly, Gino had said something to make her think Dejvi was responsible for this. Instead of calling him, I FaceTimed Dejvi. When he answered, I could tell he was walking somewhere.

“Hey, beautiful.” He greeted me with that sexy smile of his. His locs were pulled up into a bun, just the way I liked them.

“Hey, bae. You busy?”

“Nah. Just doing a pickup at the parking lot. Wassup?”

“Gino was attacked, and his mama thinks you did it. Is there a reason why she thinks that?”

He stopped walking. His smile dropped before it formed again. I heard Aspen in the background saying, “Ooh, you finna get in trouble.”

Dejvi lowered the phone and demanded through gritted teeth, “Shut up, lil snitch,” in a whisper, but I could still hear him over the wind.

If this wasn’t such a serious matter, I would have laughed at their exchange.

“I ain’t snitched yet, but I will if you keep fucking with me!”

There was a slight shuffle in the background before Dejvi’s face returned to the camera. I shook my head and chuckled as he smiled and fixed his shirt that Aspen had probably grabbed to push him away.

“Y’all act like seven-year-olds,” I said. “But now I have less faith you weren’t involved in whatever happened to Gino. What did you do?”

He massaged his chin. “I got his location and went to Virginia to beat his ass.”

Between his blank expression and nonchalant tone, I was at a loss. “Why, V?”

“Fuck you mean why? He did you wrong.”

“I won’t deny that, but do you really think violence was the answer?”

He shrugged. “Maybe not, but it made me feel better, and now he knows to never do some shit like that to a woman again. He will also be calling you to apologize when he’s out of the hospital and asking how he can make amends. That part is up to you.”

I massaged my temples as my head throbbed. “Is this what I have to look forward to? You beating up people that do me wrong?”

“Pretty much,” Aspen said in the background. “And if he don’t, I will.”

Chuckling, I nibbled my bottom lip as my eyes watered. That was something I’d never ask either of them to do, but it felt good to know they had my back.

“Thank you, baby, and baby brother. She’s saying you have to pay him because he can’t work.”

Dejvi’s face morphed into a frown before they both laughed. “I ain’t payin’ his ass shit. If he didn’t want to get beat the fuck up, he should have learned how to better defend himself and treat people right. He knows not to go to the police, and he probably ain’t the one asking for money. If he can’t work, that’s probably her way of trying to take care of him. That’s not my concern, and it isn’t yours either. If he loses his job and can’t pay his bills, it would serve him right for the predicament he put you in. Don’t send that woman no money for him, and if she starts to harass you, let me know.”

“We beat up old people too,” Aspen said, making me laugh.

“You will not lay a hand on her, Aspen Meyer James!”

“I won’t, but her husband ain’t off limits.”

Cackling, I shook my head and started toward the front door. “I can’t with y’all. Get off my phone.”

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