Page 157 of Save Room for Us

“He bet not say shit to me.”

“Cedric, you cannot blow up in court. That won’t help, because they’re trying to paint you as a crazy, abusive man. Keep your cool to prove them wrong, babe.”

I nodded, grabbing my own phone to check the time. I noticed it’d been several days since I’d heard from that weird nigga Grady. He was supposed to hit me up and let me know when he had Anastazia, and that was three days ago. I didn’t expect shit to take this long, and I knew he didn’t have her because I would’ve heard about it from somebody somewhere. We knew too many of the same people, and no one mentioned her ass being missing.

Against my better judgement, I shot him a text.

Me: ETA???

The message turned green, catching me off guard, just as the doorbell sounded off.

“Quicker than expected.” I put my phone up as Jacinta put a sleeping CJ back in the bassinet to go retrieve the food.

She gathered everything, smiling all hard at the nigga delivering it, but I didn’t truly care. While I liked Jacinta, I had no feelings for her, so seeing other niggas eye her or vice versa did nothing to me. It wasn’t the same as it was with Anastazia, who looked way better anyway. And it seemed like niggas were always checking for the latter, driving me crazy. I literally would be going insane whenever she went somewhere during the time I had jobs and couldn’t trail her all day.

The thought of that muthafucka Asif sleeping with her, holding her, smelling her, conversing with her, and worst of all, being inside her kept my ass up all night. I remembered vividly what that was like and how addicting she was, which made sense as to why the nigga was willing to put a hot one in me over her. She just did that to people. So when he said he’d been plotting onher since he’d seen her, I knew the shit was true. Him wanting to fuck her while she was mine and then successfully taking her had a nigga incensed.

“Don’t worry, baby. That bitch Stazi will rot in jail.” Jacinta placed my food on the tray table for the second time tonight, breaking through my thoughts.

I didn’t know what she said before that, but hearing her speak on Anastazia and to be the reason why I knew she was completely done with me, pissed me off.

Out of reflex, I grabbed a handful of Jacinta’s hair, causing her to whimper, eyes filled to the brim with shock. “Who said I wanted her to rot in prison?” I growled. “You was supposed to keep our shit under wraps any-fucking-way! Nobody told you to go running ya fucking mouth. You the main reason why she won’t even look my way, you dumb bitch.” I tightened my grip as she whimpered, begging for me to let go. “I should kill you.”

“No, baby, no. I love you. I’m sorry for what I did. I am.”

Letting her hair go, I swiftly slapped her ass, hard as hell, making her fly onto the nearby couch with a grunt. I nodded, realizing that even while paralyzed, I still had it.

“Be glad I can’t get the fuck up and really do you how I want, bitch.” I eyed my food. “Where the fuck is my straw?”

“Whose house is this?” my stepsister Allyson asked.

“Nobody. Be right back.” I nodded for her to get back in the car after helping me out of it and into the wheelchair.

I would’ve preferred for Jacinta to drive me, but she had to work still so the bills could get paid. While at work, my stepmom watched CJ for her.

Rolling up the walkway and to the door, I rang the doorbell of the residence Grady was held up in.

“Yes?” A woman answered the door, face balled in confusion, which was expected since she didn’t know me.

“Aye, you know Grady?”

“I do.” She folded her arms, making herself more visible.

She was thick, in some little ass shorts that could double as panties. I licked my lips at the outline of her pussy but quickly remembered I didn’t have shit for her but a tongue, and I wasn’t tasting pussy that wasn’t familiar to me. This was all Anastazia’s fault.

“Can you go get him? I need to speak to that nigga.”

“I don’t know where he is. He left one day, saying he was gonna get his leg looked at, and hasn’t been back.”

“Like at a doctor?” I frowned and she shrugged. This bitch didn’t know shit. “Fuck.” I turned my wheelchair around, having no more use for that bitch.

Shaking my head, I knew I shouldn’t have trusted that nigga. He randomly pulled up on me at therapy talking all this shit about how Asif couldn’t be trusted, and we should work together since he hated him and I wanted Anastazia back. I usually wouldn’t be so willing to work with a random ass nigga, but I was desperate and handicapped, so beggars couldn’t be choosy.

I was skeptical for a minute, but when he produced the photos of them and shit, showing his loyalty, I was down. Never meant for my pops to get them, however, because he would use them to get Anastazia thrown in prison, supporting their theory that she shot me for her own gain, and I didn’t want that really. I wanted to handle her myself. Have her look in my eyes as I took her life. Watching her cry and plead the same way she did whenI damn near drowned her when she tried to leave me for flirting with Leeci.

My plan, though, was to ghost Grady when he wanted the rest of his payment, because while I wasn’t scary or a punk, I wasn’t about to go to war with Asif over her. I was gon’ let that nigga deal with Asif on his own. He wasn’t a nigga I could just plot to have murdered and press on. He was a menace and too fucking respected. So, unless you had an army of your own, it was a death sentence to challenge that nigga in any way. I didn’t care how much Grady claimed to know; he and I alone just didn’t measure up.

“Aye, you know anybody that would be close with him or would know more about where he could be?” I turned to ask old girl still watching me in her doorway.

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