Page 76 of Truce Of The Matter

“What?” she yells. Her hands drop from the handles of her bags and she rushes toward me. “Aryel! Aryel! Mommie’s here, baby!” she yells as she tries to bogart her way into my house. I step out and block her. Naturally, she can’t get around me but that only infuriates her and causes her to yell even louder. “Aryel! Rex! Let me see my damn daughter.”

“Ay! Stop yelling,” I warn and she dramatically falls to the ground.

Her screaming doesn’t stop either. She just adds fake crying with the shit. “Let me see my daughter!” she screams and I just shake my damn head.

“I’m not 'bout to deal with this or you. Leave my fucking property now before I force you to leave,” I bark. When I turn to walk back into the house, Aryel is standing in the frame crying. Truce runs up behind her and wraps an arm around her. Whileholding her, Truce gently coaxes Aryel back into the house. “Fuck!” I grit, pissed off. Aria’s stupid ass yelling must have woke them up and now Aryel’s crying. “Fuck!”

“Aryel! Aryel, Mommie’s here!” Aria cries out and I turn back to her.

Infuriated at this whole bullshit scene, especially my baby’s tears, I’m over it, over Aria and I want her gone now. So I rush her and glare down at her. Never in my life have I or would I put my hands on a woman but I swear Aria has me rethinking that shit for a hot second. However, I refrain. I refuse to let her antics change who the fuck I am.

“Get yo’ ass up and leave before I drag you back to that damn car,” I say through gritted teeth.

“Who the fuck is that!” she hisses and for a second her question throws me then I feel Truce’s hand on my back.

“Who I am isn’t important; what he said is. He asked you to leave and that’s exactly what you need to do. Right now,” Truce says sternly and that shit makes my fucking heart skip a beat.

“I’m not going anywhere without Aryel.”

“The fuck you?—”

The silencing of the Honda’s loud engine and the opening of the driver’s door distract me. Some big ass nigga hops out with too much fucking aggression and he rushes over to us. Aria, still on the damn ground, reaches her arm out as if to stop him before he steps to me.

“Brown, baby! I told you to stay in the car!” she yells.

When I glare into his beady, bloodshot eyes, I quickly realize this nigga ain’t worth shit. His jumping out of the car was not a flex. He ain’t about to do shit and Aria’s arm merely gave him an excuse to do what his fear wanted to, stop and stay his ass away from me and mine.

“Hah. You told me the shit was gon’ be easy is what you told me,” he scoffs.

Aria practically leaps up and gets in his face, pushing him. “Brown! Go back in the damn car,” she snaps.

“Fuck that. It’s hot in the bitch. I drove twelve fucking hours and want the fucking money. Go get it.”

“What money?” I question.

Neither of them answers me. Instead, Aria speaks to him. “Brown!”

He grabs Aria’s arm roughly then pushes her forward. Instinctively, I step forward but Truce locks her arm with mine, temporarily keeping me in place. Aria may have me fucked up right now but I’m not going to let this nigga or any nigga hurt a woman in my presence.

“Ay,” is all I say but he gets the warning.

He cowardly shifts one leg back, letting me know he’s heeding my warning. Aria shakes her head then smooths her hand down her shirt. Timidly, she steps to me.

“Can we talk?” she asks.

“As long as you leave afterward, I’m listening,” I tell her but my eyes never leave the nigga.

“Alone,” she says and Truce huffs.

“She’s not going anywhere. Talk, Aria.”

After rolling her eyes hard, Aria shifts, angling herself more toward me. She glances back at him and when she turns back to face me, her head drops a little.

“I didn’t catch a flight. We drove here and we don’t have any money to get back,” she begins and I shake my damn head. The words out of her mouth are ridiculous but they don’t surprise me at all. “I’m between jobs and Brown just got hurt at work. We don’t ne?—”

“None of this has shit to do with me,” I say, cutting her off. Her long ass sob story doesn’t move me at all and I don’t want to hear the shit. “Get your bags, take yo’ ass back into that car, and you and him get off my property. Now, Aria. I’m over this shit.”

“Twenty grand and you can have her,” she blurts out.

---