Page 17 of Make Me Forget

“Fuck that shit. I don’t give a damn about none of that. I need you to be good… to be safe… to be with me. I will fucking kill that nigga and make his body disa-fucking-pear. When it comes to you, I don’t give a shit about nobody else. Just tell me you wit’ me, Cassie. Tell me you love me, baby.”

My heart was wide open, but I felt deadly all at the same time. I didn’t know so much love and hate could pour out of the same heart simultaneously. I supposed there was a first time for everything.

“I love you. You know that. I’m thinking about taking a break from school after this summer session is done. Kendrall, I’m so overwhelmed. I can’t function. I just want to be a good person, an educator that takes her responsibilities to her students seriously. I can’t do that if my life is in shambles. I can’t be with you or talk to you when I want to. It’s tearing me apart. I should’ve handled this better. All this shit is my fault.”

I closed my eyes and pulled her to me again, holding her tightly. Her body trembled in my arms. I hadn’t seen her so fragile since that bullshit with her biological mother when we were fifteen. With all the shit Cassie had been through, she deserved the world. She suffered from abandonment, an accident that almost took her life, then found out the man that was raising her wasn’t really her biological father… That shit was a lot. Technically, she wasn’t related to any of the people she called family.

“Baby, this isn’t your fault. His actions started all this shit. You hear me?” I asked as I pulled away from her and held her face in my hands. I stared into her weary eyes for a moment then kissed her lips.

“Just… don’t give up. If you need a break, take it. Just don’t quit. We gon’ figure out something. In the meantime, Mister Price needs to know. I know you don’t want to tell him, but that man will destroy the whole fucking earth for you. You his baby and always will be. If you want me to tell him, I’ll find him when I leave here.”

She closed her eyes and rested her face against one of my palms. I wanted to just scoop her up and take her home, shielding her from the world and loving her beyond her comprehension. I didn’t know whether I was coming or going right now, and that shit had me nervous. I had a whole competition that I was thinking about pulling out of this weekend. Cassie needed me.

“Can you talk to him? I can’t bear seeing him angry. I fucked up, Kendrall. I never should have thrown that vase at him. What did I do?”

“Look at me.” Her head was hanging, and her body was still trembling. She was getting herself even more worked up than she already was. “Look at me!”

She finally lifted her head to stare into my eyes. “Stop that shit! I need you to summon Cassie the fighter. I need you to have that type of strength! The strength of a little girl that got hit by a pickup truck driving thirty miles per hour. That shit broke nearly every bone in your body and had you bleeding in places that should have destroyed you or had you brain dead. Look at the strength it took to pull you out of that! Come on, baby. I need you to keep it together for me. Seeing you this way makes me feel unhinged. I don’t wanna kill nobody, but I will. That’s real shit, and that’s how much I cut for you.”

She sniffed and did her best to compose herself. After wiping her face, she looked up at me with so much love in her eyes. Damn, this woman could get whatever she wanted from me.

“Thank you, Kendrall. You’re right. I can handle this. I was built for this. Whatever path I have to take to get to where God wants me to go, I’ll just have to take it. I don’t want to lose my career over this, but I have to have faith that He will work it out.”

I placed my hands on each side of her face. “That’s my girl. Your class is starting in a little while, so I’m gonna go. Keep that phone out of sight. I need you to come to me tomorrow. Leave that other phone at home.”

She nodded and swallowed hard then puckered her lips. I gave her my lips and spilled every ounce of love I had into her. I knew how my dad felt for my mama now. That shit was powerful, and in a way, I felt like my life… my trials were somewhat mimicking his. I planned to talk to him today too. Hopefully, he could come with me when I talked to Mr. Price.

“Okay. I love you so much,” Cassie said after pulling away.

“I love you too.”

She grabbed her satchel as I opened the door and followed me out. When she wrapped her arms around my waist from the side, I kissed her head. This was my baby. When we got to the end of the hallway, one of her students said, “Hey, Miss Daniels. I see you, boo.”

She giggled as I smiled slightly. The young lady kept walking as Cassie wished her a great day. Releasing me from her grasp, she said, “I have to go this way. Thank you for everything. I’ll make sure this phone is on me at all times.”

“A’ight, baby. Text me when you can.”

I kissed her lips and headed out of the building, mentally preparing for war. I didn’t bother waiting until I got to my truck to call my dad. I needed someone to talk me down and give me clarity because I wanted to run in and solve shit before it got out of hand.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Dad. You busy?”

“Yeah, somewhat. I have inventory going on at the truck stop, and I’m heading to Missus Jones house in China. They called for an ambulance.”

Soon after, I heard the sirens come on. I swore, my dad was smart as hell. There was nothing he couldn’t do. If he wanted it done, he didn’t rest until it was. He and the twins were already talking about building a facility in Nome, along with their doctors’ offices. They had a couple more years of medical school and an internship they had to complete, but they already knew how they wanted shit to go. Noni and Bali were on their shit, and Uncle Storm didn’t dare let us forget it.

“Okay. Call me when you’re done. It’s really important.”

“You got my word.”

I ended the call and headed back to Nome. Karima was having her last practice before she left for Chicago, so I didn’t want to call and interrupt her. Christian was busy with his new baby, and so was Rylan. I found myself driving straight to the diner. I was starving, and I knew that somebody would be able to calm me down over there.

When I walked in, I noticed my brothers, Kingsley and Kane, seated over to my left with SS, Ryder J, Ace, Royal, Crew, and Jacob. I didn’t know why Jacob was hanging with their rowdy asses. Those niggas were the Hendersons unleashed. They didn’t take no shit, and a lot of times, they were the ones dishing the shit out.

As I approached the counter, Aunt Chrissy smiled. “Hey, baby. How’s your day going?”

“Hey, Auntie. It’s going okay.”

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