Page 34 of Somebody Else Will

“Yeah. I heard it chime when I handed it to you.”

“From what I saw on the message preview, you might wanna check it,” he said as his phone rang.

He handed me the phone, and I immediately opened the message.

I know who did that shit. If you unblock me, I can tell you. That’s what I’ve been trying to talk to you for.

I rolled my eyes. Did I believe him? Partially. Will probably had an ulterior motive. I believed he probably had information, but I also believed he wouldn’t tell me everything. I was more than sure he was involved in some way. Of course, that would be the part he left out though.

I quickly messaged back.I’m not unblocking you, Will. However, you can give the information you have to the police. I’m not about to play games with your ass.

I turned to Ezekiel to see him staring at me. “Will says he knows who’s behind this.” I rolled my eyes. “I bet he does.”

He came closer to me and enveloped me in his arms. “I’ll go with you to meet him, if you want to. I have bad news though.”

I pulled away slightly and stared into his eyes. “You have to leave, don’t you?”

“Yeah. I have to meet with a director for a Broadway production in a couple of days. So I’m gonna have to fly out tomorrow evening.”

I lowered my head, wishing I could leave with him. He lifted it by my chin. “I promise, I’ll be back as soon as I can. I know you have business to handle; otherwise, I would ask you to come with me. So whatever you wanna do regarding Will, I’ll be there for you.”

Before I could respond, my phone chimed again. I pulled away and rolled my eyes. It was another message from Will.

I can’t do that. You know they already on my ass. I’m not going to jail over no bullshit I ain’t got nothing to do with. Meet me at Starbucks at six. You need to know, Denishia. It will help you understand everything, including my actions a couple of weeks ago.

I glanced up at Ezekiel to find his eyes on me. “He wants to meet at Starbucks at six. He’s refusing to go to the police.”

He nodded. “The question is, do you think he knows something that can help you? Something that can get that woman arrested?”

I thought hard for a few seconds. Since I had Ezekiel with me, it couldn’t hurt to meet up with him. There was no way I would meet up with him alone. I huffed. “I do. I originally thought he was involved, but I don’t know now. I just don’t understand who else would want to hurt me. After what Jamia said, the lady may not have wanted to hurt me physically… just my business. My pockets.”

I was staring into space as my mind ran in circles, trying to think of anyone I may have rubbed the wrong way, and I kept coming up empty. This was weird as hell, and my curiosity was more than piqued. Breaking out of my thoughts, I stared at Ezekiel.

“Okay. Well, let’s go get a late lunch. Call and see if Jerzey wants something.”

I nodded, then did as he said. I couldn’t wait to put this behind me. After getting her order for Whataburger, I called tocheck on my grandmother and update her on the happenings. She decided she would be going with us to Starbucks too. I hated that all this shit was going on and couldn’t wait for it to be over. I could really let my new relationship with Ezekiel soak in.

I was in a relationship with a whole ass superstar, and I couldn’t even enjoy it. The looks we would probably get if we went ate somewhere would have me giggling like a schoolgirl. I was never one for attention, but for once, Denishia was winning, and I wanted everyone to know. I glanced over at him and said, “Tomorrow, I want to take you to brunch before you leave.”

He gave me a slight smile. “Okay, baby. I can’t wait.”

He kissed my hand and headed to Whataburger.

My nerves wereall over the place as Ezekiel, Grandma, and I entered Starbucks. My stomach was so nervous, it felt like I would throw up any minute. It wasn’t because I was meeting Will. I was nervous about what he would reveal. I didn’t even have a clue as to who was behind what happened at the shop and why.

I wanted to be able to just enjoy my time with Ezekiel today and not worry about anything. I’d just buried my mother this past Monday, and I could barely grieve her properly because of all this other shit going on. While I knew grief was a daily struggle for however long, I didn’t want to prolong it, and it ended up hitting me suddenly, debilitating me with its force. I wanted to begin dealing with it now to where I could discover techniques to help me cope. Everything crashing down on me at once frightened me.

After we found a seat, I could see Ezekiel scanning the area. He didn’t trust Will. Hell, I didn’t trust his ass either, and I’d known him for years. My grandmother reached across the table and grabbed my hands. “I’m sorry my house has been full. I know you need my attention. Day after tomorrow, we can go to the shop and make bouquets or do whatever you want to do.”

I gave her a soft smile. “It’s okay, Grandma. Ezekiel has been keeping me company. I didn’t realize how much of a social butterfly you were.”

She chuckled. “Chile, I am not a social butterfly. People just gravitate to me. I’m just fine at my house by myself. You know that. Ain’t nothing changed. I appreciate their concern though. Usually, after the funeral, people forget about you, and you’re left to pick up the pieces alone. So all this attention shocked me. I’m grateful for it though.”

“I’m glad you have that too. Those are genuine friends and acquaintances that think enough of you to check on you like that.”

“Yeah, but I understand that people have lives to tend to. It’s just that we’re old and ain’t got nothing else to do.” She chuckled again. “Y’all young people got so many irons in the fire, it’s nearly impossible for you to come up for air at times. I concentrate on the heart of people. Just because they haven’t come around doesn’t mean they don’t care. They just have a lot to tend to, and it sometimes causes them to lose track of everything else.”

I nodded. That was a perfect explanation. I learned a long time ago to stop expecting so much out of people. We all had shit we were dealing with. Their shit didn’t stop because of what was going on with me.

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