Page 18 of Krash & Bern

“Where are you going?” she asked.

A deep sigh flew from my lips. “Girl… So I got into the school I told you I was applying for?—”

“Yes! Congratulations, boo!” she exclaimed.

“See, that’s the type of response I expected from Krash, but he basically said I can’t go to the school and be in a relationship with him at the same time. The man made me choose!”

“Yikes!”

“Exactly. So, I straight up told him I’m not going to pick him over my career.”

“Period. He couldn’t be the man for you if he thought that was the right thing to ask of you. Heck, we’ve only known each other a few years, and I know how much the tech life is your life.”

“And he made me feel like shit for choosing my education. It was the worst thing ever, but now I have to get an Uber to go get him from the bar.”

“Girl… can you drive?” Jae asked.

“Yes! I just choose not to drive because everyone else takes me where I need to go.”

“Please be safe. Let me know when you get back home.”

“My Uber just got here. I’ll text you when we get back.”

I hung up and headed downstairs to get into the Uber. The ride to the bar took almost twenty minutes. The entire time, I prayed to God Krash remained out of trouble, while I also willed my anger to subside long enough to get him out of the bar.

“Thank you for the ride,” I stated as I got out of the Uber.

“No problem. Be safe out here, girl,” the driver said before she pulled off.

I entered the bar and looked around. The stench of stale beer, dry throw up, and drunkards made me scrunch my nose in disgust. The lights were dim, so I had to squint to focus in on the faces around me until I found my man—my ex-man.

“Krash!” I called out.

Despite the volume of my voice, he was too far gone as he squared up with a helpless man. I knew tonight wouldn’t end well with the way Krash was in search of a fight.

Lord, please let us make it back home.

“Another double shot of bourbon, please,” I ordered to the bartender.

The man gave me a raised brow, but he poured my shot anyway. I lifted the glass to my lips and gulped down the strong liquor.

Why the fuck did I make her choose?I shouldn’t have given her the ultimatum because as soon as I uttered the words, dread filled my core. It wasn’t right for me to force her to make a decision between me and higher education. It wasn’t right for me to make her feel any emotion other than joy or pride of such an amazing accomplishment. However, my selfishness and insecurities fueled my actions. The fear of losing her made me act out in a way I wasn’t prepared to experience the consequences of.

Now, I sat at the bar, drowning my emotions with a bottle of bourbon. The bottle wouldn’t provide the comfort or reassurance I craved.

A man seated a few seats down spoke animatedly on the phone. He waved his hands. It felt like he was on the phone with me by the volume of his words.

“Nigga, shut the fuck up!” I shouted as I slammed my cup onto the bar counter. “The whole city can hear your damn conversation. Take that loud ass shit outside.”

The man looked at me with wide eyes. “Hold on, Jeremy. I’ll call you right back.” He hung up his phone and eyed me with a smirk on his lips. “What’s your issue, son?”

“Son? I’m not your son, and you damn sure aren’t my father.”

“You’re acting like a little boy, so I’m calling you what I see.”

I stood up and made the bar stool fall to the floor. “Say that shit to my face.”

His smirk pulled into a cocky grin. “Look here, young man. You don’t know who the hell I am. I’ll lay your ass out like a pancake.”

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