Page 6 of Make Me Forget

I only heard from her once a week, and I hadn’t seen her since last month. I refused to let her cut me off any longer though. I was gon’ carry my ass to Lamar and confront her. Even if she didn’t give in to the relationship I wanted, she was going to have to compromise somewhere. How dare she turn my ass out and go the other way? I didn’t know what the fuck she was on, but I wasn’t the type of nigga to settle, especially on someone else’s terms.

She didn’t strike me as the type to do so either, but I knew that was exactly what she was doing and had been doing all these years. She was with other people because she couldn’t have me. Now guilt was keeping her from who she really wanted. She’d given that nigga a concussion that night, and it affected his brain in some way. He had to drop out of school and all kinds of shit. Instead of her to put that shit on him, where it belonged, she was harboring the guilt because she’d hit him with a vase.

Fuck that. I would have told his ass that now he would be just as dumb as his dick was. He caused all that, but she was allowing him to manipulate her into thinking it was her fault. I slowly shook my head as I thought about all that shit. I looked up to see Uncle Storm was still standing there, staring at me.

“You know what I think?”

“No, and I don’t give a fuck, but I’m sure you gon’ tell me anyway.”

He frowned hard. “I think some woman done drove a fucking hundred twenty-five horsepower tractor through your nose and got that shit wide open. That was why you had a mental break just now, talking to me like we fucking grew up together. Get yo’ shit in order before you get fucked up.”

With that, he walked off, and I rolled my eyes. I swore that nigga worked my nerves more than anybody I knew. I didn’t know how my dad tolerated his ass sometimes. I wasn’t in a playful mood or in a mood to listen to his fucked-up advice. Standing from my seat, I walked over toward the makeshift bar to get a drink.

Someone was tapping on my shoulder, so I turned around to see my sister. “Hey, Rima. What’s up?”

“Hey. Come dance with me.”

“I really don’t feel like dancing, baby.”

“Please?”

I closed my eyes for a moment and took a deep breath then nodded and followed her to the dance floor. When we found a spot somewhat away from everyone else, she said, “I can tell something is bothering you, but I’m sure everyone can. You aren’t exactly trying to hide it.”

“Yeah, but I don’t feel like talking about it, especially not here. Somebody will overhear me and be all in my shit.”

“Can you come to my house after this then?”

“Yeah.”

Karima lived next door to me, so it wasn’t like it would be out of my way. As we danced, I could see my parents watching us with smiles on their faces. Although we had two younger brothers, the two of us were a lot closer. We were six years apart but had endured the hard times together. Living in San Antonio for a year or so was a dark time in both our lives. We missed our dad like crazy, and our mom was being, for lack of a better word, a bitch about it.

When we finally moved back to Nome, it was because our dad had practically snapped. He had to become someone he never was in order to make her see that he meant business. I didn’t want to have to get to that point with Cassie, but I had a feeling I was gon’ have to. I couldn’t fucking deal with this limited access bullshit. As we danced, my phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out to see I had a text. Apparently, I had thought Cassie’s ass up, because it was her.

When I opened it to read what it said, I rolled my eyes. Hey, Kendrall. I hope all is well. I just wanted you to know I was thinking about you.

I walked away from Karima, leaving her dancing by her damn self. When I got outside, I responded to Cassie. Fuck thinking. When am I gon’ see you?

“You leaving?”

I turned around to see Jacob walking toward me. “In a lil bit. I had to come out here to cool off before I end up in jail.”

I looked at my phone and saw that Cassie was at home. She was gonna make me pop up on her ass and beat the fuck out of Mesani’s bitch ass. One time, I saw her and that nigga at Texas Road House, but they didn’t see me. I swore that nigga was Childish Gambino. Like, how you let a muthafucka barely two inches taller than you run your life? She had me so fucking sprung off that shit between her legs I was about to lose my mind.

He didn’t deserve her. I did. She was supposed to be with me, and I felt like I was operating out of desperation. I had that damn song by Vedo on repeat. Like he sang, it hurt me to know that she was still with him. He didn’t know her worth. If he did, he wouldn’t have fucked around on her.

She finally responded. Kendrall, maybe tomorrow.

Naw. I need something concrete. I don’t want to hear maybe.

“Man, what’s up? You red as shit. Somebody fucking with you?”

“Hell yeah. She gon’ find out in a minute when I pop up on her ass.”

“Come back in. Christian was looking for your ass. We don’t need you getting in trouble. We already gotta deal with SS and this pending court case. I’m not tryna see you throw your career away over no bullshit.”

I followed him back inside as she texted back. I’ll go to your house at three. We have a lot to talk about. And I need you to hear me.

We sure in the fuck do. And I need you to hear me too.

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