Page 136 of Save Room for Us

“You know how many niggas were trying to get at me while he was laid up in bed, half his fucking leg chopped off, and ill? Plenty!” I roared so loudly Brian jumped a bit. “Rich niggas, fine niggas, but I stayed down!” I broke into tears, dropping my face into my hands as my body shook while I listened to Brian get out of the bed.

“Baby, calm down. It’s okay.” He sat next to me and rubbed my back.

“It’s not okay.” I sniffled. “They’re living in the lap of luxury, happy, and enjoying life while I’m…” I didn’t finish the sentence, realizing how it probably came off as a slap in the face to Brian. “He even said my son’s girlfriend was prettier than me. It’s like he never loved me.” I sniffled.

He was silent, still rubbing me before he asked, “Do you still love him? Prime?”

“No.” I shook my head, half lying. I did love him, hence why I was still so hurt, but I hated Prime too. The sight of his face made my heart beat fast, but it also made me angry. It was an unexplainable emotion. “I hate him,” I said, telling only half the truth yet again.

Brian said nothing, just kept soothing me as I laid my head on him. They deserved nothing, but if they were gonna have a nice life, so was I.

While Blaire was at school and Brian at work, I decided to make a little trip back to my old home. As I sat outside of the gate, across the way, I spotted Lisara and Banks climbing into her car then pulling off.

Call me jealous if you wanted, but I just didn’t get the hype with her. She was a whore who had two kids by the time she was nineteen years old, then proceeded to have four more and, honestly, wasn’t that cute when you really looked at her.

Once she was gone, I drove up to the gate and hit the buzzer. Moments later, the voice I hated and loved at the same time came through.

“Nori, what’s up?” Prime quizzed in a tired tone like he was over seeing me and being in my presence.

“Can we have a conversation? I think it’s overdue.”

“You gon’ act like you got some fucking sense?”

Wanting to curse him out for talking to me like a child, I decided against it and instead said, “Yes.”

Seconds passed before the gate came open, and I was able to pull through. So much for me being able to hide my car from him.

As soon as I parked, the door opened, and Prime emerged. He was in sweats and a T-shirt yet somehow looked good enough to sop up with a biscuit, like always, even in his fifties.

“Hi.” I gave him a lazy wave as he came closer. He said nothing, so I continued. “I want to apologize, first, for how I acted that night.”

“’Preciate that.” He looked around over my head before focusing back on me, hands in his pockets.

“Random, but Asif is literally you.” I smirked and was elated to see a slight tug at the corner of his lips.

Stroking his beard, he said, “He is. Sometimes I hate I raised a little me, ’cause that nigga be talking shit.”

We chuckled in unison.

“Oh my gosh. I wish I could witness that one time,” I spoke truthfully because Prime was always poking his chest out, so it would be cool to see someone he wouldn’t dream of hurting, do it to him.

“Nigga told me the other day ‘nigga, I make the rules. I ain’t taking suggestions at the moment.’” We chortled. “Couldn’t do shit but respect it. I used to be on that shit with my father, too, so I guess it’s my karma.”

“It is.” I nodded, remembering how Prime used to check his dad often. Glancing down to my feet nervously, I sighed. “I’m gonna be honest, Chianti. I’m still pretty bothered by how everything went down. I know I wasn’t the best girlfriend in the world, but you did me dirty.”

His jaw clenched a bit before he said, “I did, but only after years and years of trying to work with you, love. You couldn’t do the simplest shit but expected the most.”

“Maybe because I did a lot for you, stuck around through a very hard time you probably don’t wanna remember.”

“Which is why I stayed with you as long as I did, Nori. Had you not rode for me during that difficult ass time, I would’ve been stopped fucking with you.”

“And you don’t have to always say things to make me feel bad like saying Asif’s girlfriend was prettier than me. What was that for?”

“You were interrogating her and being rude as fuck because you were jealous, Nori. I ain’t been with you for a long time,but I know you, and you still the same person. I didn’t mean to make the shit sound petty, but it’s true that when you in the same room as a pretty girl, you get catty, jealous, and be trying to upstage or embarrass ’em.”

“I guess.” I disagreed, even though I was jealous of Anastazia for some reason. “I don’t like her for our son.”

“Well Idolike her for him. You don’t like her because he loves her, and you can see it and you envious.” Prime hit the nail on the head. “He yo’ son, barely, not ya man.”

---