Page 22 of Mister Artist

“You been fucking my sister, bruh? I told you to stay away from her! How could you betray me!”

“You think I meant for this to happen?”

“How the fuck did you not! Falling in love with her wasn’t on accident. Because she the one, right? She the one you told me about atBrewed and Booked.”

Defeat seemed to wash over Neko. His shoulders slouched and grip on Malik loosened. The moment he leaned against the couch, Malik shot up and lifted his fist again, but Ma grabbed his arm and tugged him out of the room.

“I’ll uh, I’ll talk to him,” I assured Neko before heading out of the room.

“Nah, Ma,” Malik said, head shaking as he paced. “I’m not tryna hear that shit. He gots to fucking go.”

“That’s your best friend…”

“No it’s not! My best friend would not have done the one damn thing I asked my friends not to do. I told them all she was off limits, and he goes after her, out of all people?”

“Baby, there has to be a reason—”

“No reason will make his betrayal make sense. Hers too. I don’t want to hear shit from either of them.” He looked my wayand took steps back. “You and Neko need to be out of my house by the time I get back, Sis. On Pops.”

“It’s my house too,” I whispered, tears leaking. “You said that.”

“Fine, then I’ll leave. Either way, I’m not tryna be around either one of you.”

“Come on, Leek. You don’t mean that.”

Ignoring Ma, he stormed out of the living room and grabbed his keys by the garage door. Ma’s questions went in one ear and out of the other as I stared at the door my brother had gone out of. This was what I wanted to avoid—him being angry and hurt over something that made me and Neko so happy. Worse, he’d found out after it was over. Now, it felt like we ended it for nothing.

16

Neko

Two Weeks Later

I’d been stayingatThe Rose Valley Hotelsince everything went down. I had enough money to get my own place, but I didn’t really want to. This was going to be the first time in my life that I lived alone, and I was in no rush for that. After telling my folks what went down, they told me I could come back home, but I didn’t want to. I wanted to go back to the home I shared with my best friend and the woman I loved, but I knew we’d never be able to get back to that.

After I got my things out of the house, Malik blocked me and changed the locks. I had no choice but to respect his decision to be done with me. I wished I could tell him things were over between me and Mal and that kiss was a slip up, but it really didn’t matter. We’d bonded, made love and fucked, and fallen in love. I would never downplay that.

I’d reached out to Laura to apologize, and she told me it was okay. She told me Malorie was going back to Memphis with her, which surprised me. I was happy Mal would be able to be nearher mom, but I hated feeling like I’d created tension between her and her brother. When I reached out to her and asked her if we could talk before she left I was surprised she said yes. At the last minute she changed her mind and sent me a text instead.

The 1: I’m so sorry. What we did was selfish. We never should have taken it there. Even though I don’t regret it, I hate it cost you my brother. If it makes you feel better, he hates me now too. ?? I know eventually he will forgive me and I want the same for you. I think it’s best if we keep our distance. He needs you and you need him. Romantic love isn’t worth me losing my brother and you losing your best friend. Fix things with him… for me. Please. I love you. Goodbye.

It didn’t matter how many times I read the text, all I could do was shake my head. I didn’t have my best friend, I didn’t have my woman, and I wasn’t sure my relationship with either of them would ever be the same again.

17

Malorie

One Year Later

Nervous wasn’tthe right word to describe how I felt. Today would be the first time I sat down with my brother since everything went down. He meant it when he said he was done with me and Neko and hadn’t dealt with either of us since. Ma tried to get us together, but he respectfully declined. The one time we did happen to be in the same space as each other, he gave me a hug and told me he loved me but that was it.

The past year had been spent with me adjusting to healing and becoming more aware of myself. At twenty-three, I understood I wasn’t done growing and changing, but I wanted to better know and love the version of me I was today. For a couple of months, I stayed in Memphis with Ma, then I went back to Nashville for school. I hadn’t been in a serious relationship nor did I date. It had really been about my healing and getting to know myself, and I was at peace with that.

I went to see Ma and Naomi and Michael as much as I could, and they even came to see me. They kept me updated on whatwas happening with Neko since we weren’t speaking. I felt like that was for the best, because I didn’t know if I could ever be just his friend. Seemed it was best for us to be nothing at all.

Ma was getting married today, and before she walked down the aisle, she wanted Malik and me to sit down and talk. Of course I was willing, and to my surprise, he agreed too. Even though I wanted us to be back on good terms, I’d made peace with his need for space. I’d intentionally done something that I knew would upset him and I had to deal with the consequence of that, even though I wasn’t expecting it to hurt him as much as it did.

Once Ma was ready, she shooed me out of the room and across the hall to meet Malik. He looked dapper in his white suit. At the sound of me closing the door, he shoved his phone into his pocket.

---