Page 12 of Beautiful Harmonies

“Mm hmm. He and my mama divorced when I was eighteen. My mama died four years later. Mi was only thirteen, about to be fourteen when she died. When they divorced, it was like he divorced us too, but I halfway expected him to step up when she died. He didn’t.”

I closed my eyes and slid to the floor, resting against the wall. I didn’t want to go back inside with Mi just yet. Kamari was helping me calm down and didn’t have a clue. I could only imagine the media that would be waiting on us to leave this fucking hotel. Mi had really fucked up this time. I tried to convince myself not to blame her, but that shit was hard to do, especially when I warned her about that nigga.

I didn’t want to see that video, but I needed to see if I could identify anybody if Mi didn’t remember anything when she sobered up. The phone line was quiet for a moment, then Kamari said, “I can tell you’re stressed. Is there anything I can do to help?”

“I wish there was. I’d take that deal with the quickness. I just want you to know I enjoyed every minute I was able to spend with you. I know I said it yesterday, but I needed to reiterate that. I can’t wait to see you again.”

“I can’t wait to see you either.”

“I have to go, baby. I’ll call you back later. Okay?”

“Okay. Try to remain calm when you talk to her.”

“Yeah. I’m gon’ try.”

“Okay. Talk to you later.”

“Bye.”

I ended the call and stood from the floor to go back inside. When I opened the door, Mi was seated on the couch in a terrycloth robe, staring at her phone. She looked sober as hell. I supposed she took a cold shower. She looked up at me, and when I saw the tears in her eyes, the anger dissipated. “Tray, what did I do? I’m so fucking sorry.”

I made my way to her and sat, easing my arm around her shoulders. “Don’t cry, Mi. Do you remember anything that happened?”

She glanced at me and nodded. “I remember everything. It was like I couldn’t stop what was happening. I couldn’t control it. I smoked a joint, but I’ve never been that high from one spliff.”

“Who was it?”

Before she could respond, she broke down in tears. That gave me the answer I needed. FAAFO had done this shit to my sister. These industry niggas thought they were above the fucking law. I stood from my seat and started pacing. I wanted to find that nigga ASAP. He violated my sister, and the price of that could be one of two things: prison time or death… for me and him.

“Tray, I’m so sorry. I should have listened. I should’ve just stayed with you. It wasn’t FAAFO in the video, but he was there.”

I stopped pacing and looked over at her. “What’chu mean?”

“He had sex with me, but then he invited someone else, and he recorded it. I’m so embarrassed.”

“Who gave you the joint?”

“FAAFO.”

“I’m tired of calling that muthafucka that. What’s his real name?”

“Aaron. Aaron Hawkins.”

“You best believe he gon’ pay for this shit. We need to get you examined. I know you took a shower, but we still need to find out what’s in your system besides THC. They also need to do a rape kit, just in case they can find something.”

“I don’t think they will. He strapped up. I can remember both of them putting a condom on. I’ll do it though.”

I nodded then had her go get dressed while I called the hotel’s front desk to request another night. Because it was me, they left the room open for the rest of the week in case I needed it. Fame was something else. It came with all kinds of perks, whether they were deserved or not, but it also came with preferential treatment when it came to the law.

I started searching the internet for where this nigga was headed. Luckily for him, he had a concert in London this week. So I was pretty sure he was about to hop a flight, if he hadn’t already. After making sure I had the shit I needed, I called my security detail to make sure my car was ready. After he informed me that it was out front with plenty of media around it, I ended the call. I was fuming. Before I could sit with my thoughts for too long, Mi’Junae came out with sweats and a T-shirt on.

That only made me think about Kamari and how she showed up to the studio last night. Even in less revealing clothes, she was fine as hell. I just wanted to be around her at all times, but this shit here was taking precedence over everything. I had to make sure my sister was okay and implement some changes in how we proceeded from here.

I grabbed her hand, and when I opened the door, Jerome was standing there, waiting to escort us down. We got to the elevator, and Mi stood close to me, nearly burying herself under my arm. Being that she was small, that was easy for her to do. When the doors opened, we walked on. I pulled her even tighter to me, knowing the vultures would be waiting.

“Don’t let me go, Mi. Keep your head down, baby.”

My anger was dissipating by the second. All I could think about was how she felt in this moment. I wanted to shield her from everything. As an adult, I needed her to make wiser decisions though. The doors opened, and just as I figured, the media was waiting for us. Security guards, who were waiting in the lobby, surrounded us and led us to the car outside.

---