Page 179 of Save Room for Us

“Thank you. That is all.” She went to sit down.

Bashar stood up, peering down at the notes he’d been taking for a millisecond before approaching the stand.

“You said you never hit Ms. Chase?” Bashar questioned.

“Never.” Cedric wore a smug expression as Bashar nodded for his assistant to get the projector up. I saw Cedric shift his upper body uncomfortably at the sight of it as we all put our attention on it.

Clicking the small black remote to pull up several images showing Anastazia’s bruised body, which caused the whole fucking courtroom besides me, to gasp, Bashar inquired, “How would these happen?”

“Did it to herself I guess.” Cedric shrugged.

“Even this?” Bashar zoomed in, glancing between the projector and Cedric. “Some of these angles are very difficult to reach on one’s own body, Mr. Pete. The fingerprints from being choked are much too large to be Ms. Chase’s. Those belong to a man.”

Licking his chapped ass lips and shifting for the hundredth time in his seat, he replied, “Maybe her side nigga did it.” His eyes darted around because it was clear he was lying.

“I’m her only nigga, muthafucka,” I couldn’t help but to shout out.

“Sir, I will have you removed if you say one more word.” The judge pointed at me with his gavel, and I threw my hands up in mock surrender.

While Cedric glowered at me, bothered as fuck by my comment, Anastazia looked back over her shoulder with a small smirk.

Chuckling still at my comment, Bashar flipped to a new image.

“You said you didn’t want to be with her anymore, correct?” he asked, and Cedric nodded. “You’re also saying she had a side boyfriend too, correct?”

“Yep.”

“So if you didn’t want her and she didn’t want you, why couldn’t you just be the one to break things off, Mr. Pete? Because see, I’m having a hard time understanding why she would be so hard pressed to be with her side boyfriend yet hard pressed to keep you around as well.”

Cedric opened his mouth to explain, but nothing came out at first.

“That was at first. She um, she?—”

“And how did a man like you not recognize your woman was supposedly cheating? Was she that good at it? Or you just slow?”

“Muthafucka—"

“Objection!” Finley hollered out, cutting off Cedric as Bashar conceded.

“Is this you?” Bashar flipped to an image of text message conversations. “Telling her if she gets an abortion, you’ll kill her?” When Cedric didn’t answer, he changed to a new one. “Or here, where you say, and I quote, ‘If you try to leave me and be Leeci #2, I will kill you. Think I’m playing Stazi.’ What about those?” Bashar looked to the jury then Cedric for an answer.

“Nah, that ain’t me.”

“That’s your number,” Bashar confirmed and shook his head. “We also have a voicemail of you stating something similar.” Bashar let it play for the whole courtroom. When it was done, he said, “And you knew the voicemail was a recording, yet you still said all that. You never been too bright, huh?”

“Compton.” The judge spoke up.

“I withdraw the question.” Bashar threw his hands up and walked back to his table, sitting down next to Anastazia.

Cedric was bright red from how pissed off he was, grinding his teeth and looking crazy. The jury had peeped game too. Bashar had done well with purposely trying to anger him.

The judge called for a recess, so while Bashar and Anastazia met in the private room to talk along with Analicia and Mrs. Chase, I stayed outside, hoping I could run into that bitch ass nigga Cedric.

It was just my luck I saw his girl rolling him by.

“You don’t even need to worry about the outcome of this shit, ’cause soon as it’s over, you dead, nigga,” I stated calmly, leaning against the wall.

He put his hand up to make Jacinta stop, clearly feeling bold since we were in a fucking courthouse. Otherwise, I was sure his ho ass wouldn’t have had the balls to say a mumbling fucking word to a nigga like me. Nah, fuck a niggalikeme, just me specifically.

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