Page 8 of Make Me Forget

Dad took a deep breath. I was pretty sure he wasn’t expecting me to say it like that. “Son, please tell me there’s more.”

“Yes. She wasn’t drunk to the point where she wouldn’t remember anything or to where she was out of it. The next morning, she panicked a little bit, remembering what we’d done, but once I was able to calm her down, we had sex again. She told me she still loved me and how hurt she was all those years ago. I’m in love with her too… practically to the point of insanity. I’ve never felt like this over no one.”

“So, what’s the problem then?”

“She went back to him. She felt guilty. There was no closure between the two of them when she slept with me, so she feels she’s no better than him. Plus, she fucked him up when she hit him, and he had to drop out of school. She’s been distant, and I miss her. I need her. She knows all that. I told her that I would always be here for her, but this shit is hard. How do you watch someone you love be with somebody else, especially when you know they feel the same for you?”

“That’s a hard one. Have y’all talked about this?”

“She’s supposed to be coming over tomorrow so we can talk. I promise, I will pop up at their house if she doesn’t show up.”

“I get it. I really do. But… you can’t make her be with you. You can’t make her love you, Kendrall. It’s not gonna work that way.”

“I wanna shake the fuck out of her. She turned my world upside down. I know it’s partially my fault. I was the aggressor, but I couldn’t have done anything I did if she didn’t allow it. I’ve tried being patient. We slept together seven months ago. How much more patient can I get? I’m running out of patience.”

“Again, I get it. When she gets to your house, express yourself firmly. Let her know what you will and won’t accept. Stand on that shit. If she chooses to leave your life, you’re gonna have to let go and eventually accept that the time isn’t right. You put yourself in this predicament if you took advantage of a situation. She’s not totally at fault if it didn’t go the way you wanted it to.”

“You getting yo’ mind right?”

I rolled my eyes. I swore that nigga was tapdancing on all my fucking nerves. My dad turned around to see Uncle Storm approaching. “Not now, Storm.”

“He tell you how he talked to me earlier?”

“No, but you probably asked for it.”

Uncle Storm frowned, and my dad frowned right back. He would let Uncle Storm talk noise to him all day, but when it came to us, he didn’t play that shit, no matter how grown we were. “That’s okay. I’m gon’ catch his disrespectful ass slipping. Yo’ ass, too, Kendrall Senior. I was tryna help his whipped ass. Like father, like son.”

He walked off, and a slight smirk appeared on my dad’s face. I chuckled. Everyone liked when Uncle Storm got worked up because he couldn’t have his way. Ol’ spoiled ass. Dad looked back at me and asked, “What did you say to him?”

“He’d approached me and asked if I knew what he was thinking. I told him no and that I didn’t give a fuck, but I was sure he would tell me anyway.”

He chuckled. “Always got his nose in somebody’s business. You do need to apologize to his ass though.”

“Yeah, but it ain’t gon’ happen today. Karima was gonna come over to talk, but I think I’m gonna text her and let her know I’ve talked to the original version. She’s just a carbon copy.”

He laughed. “You can tell her that if you want to. She’ll show up at your house and whup yo’ ass. You know baby girl don’t play those kinds of games. Let her talk to you. She may understand what’s going on with Cassie from a female point of view. That may help you with your approach tomorrow. I can’t believe Cassie is still with Mesani after that.”

My eyebrows lifted. “You know him?”

“Yeah. I’ve met him and seen him a few times after that. He seemed cool. A little weird looking, but cool.”

I chuckled. “Well, she must be dickmatized.”

“Naw. If that was the case, she wouldn’t have slept with you. She loves him and truly wants him. I think it’s more than guilt that’s keeping her there.”

I shrugged. “I don’t know, but I guess I’ll find out tomorrow.”

He extended his hand, and I slapped it, then left to wait on Karima to somehow talk me through Cassie’s thought process. Hopefully, she could help me see what I was seemingly missing.

CHAPTER 2

CASSIE

“Cassie, where are you going?”

“To Mister Kenny’s house. I need to get a recipe from Missus Keisha. She’s also going to show me how to cook it while I’m there.”

“Oh, okay. Cook what?”

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