Page 132 of Don Caselli

She made sure that my parents knew they she was not related to Menace in that way.

“I’m family, right? You told me that I was family.”

“Family don’t move like that, Kennedy,” Stevie spoke up. “Coming here, you knew there was tension between you and Don.”

I put my feet on the floor and stood up. “I’m actually going to leave… weird, bitch.” I tried to walk, and Landon grabbed my hand.

“Pooh, you bleeding.”

The fabric on the seat was soiled with blood, and I looked at everyone at the table, feeling completely embarrassed. “It’s alright, Mamas, you’re alright. Let’s get you to the hospital and see what is going on,” Landon stood up, taking his shirt from his body, and wrapping it around me.

“I got her,” he assured my parents, who were both too worried. All day I felt weird but didn’t pay any mind to how I felt.

In my mind, it didn’t matter how I felt because this baby was going to be aborted. Now, I was bleeding and worried about what was going on with me.

Landon pulled me into his chest as the elevator took us down to the garage. He rested his lips on my forehead. “I got you, Pooh… okay?”

The concern was laced within his words, as he held me closer to him. His heart was beating, as my ear rested against his chest.

“Okay.” I held him tighter, as the elevator took us downstairs.

20

Kennedy

Recommendation: Listen to “Never” by Boyz II Men

Everyone was staring at me like I was the one who made her bleed. As if I shoved a knife into her. Honestly, I wasn’t even paying her any attention, I was focused on Landon. How he was so attentive with her, paying her attention and showing her love in front of his family. It was no doubt that there was love shared between the two of them. At first, I thought this was a phase, and he was only doing this to make me jealous. That he would end whatever he had with her and then be back onto me.

The more time passed, the more he ignored my calls and paid me no attention. I realized that he wasn’t making me jealous, he didn’t care about what I had going on. Landon had cut me off cold turkey. He didn’t need to do the back and forth with me because he was done. I guess he had always been done with me.

I’ve made every excuse as to why we couldn’t be together, when he was willing to risk his relationship with his brother to be with me.

Make me happy.

“Your father never told me you were slow, Ken.” Menace’s low voice pulled me out of my head, reminding me that everyone was still staring at me.

“This is actually your fucking fault… forbidding us to be together. We could have been happy; I wouldn’t have to marry Alex.”

Stevie had come from the back holding their baby in her arms, a blanket over his head, as she stood beside her husband. “I did that shit to avoid this… feelings get involved andbitchesact stupid.”

“Oh, he’s pissed,” I heard Zoya whisper.

“You’re fucking damaged… never fucking healed after what happened to you. Ken, you been to that therapist yet?”

“No, I don’t nee?—”

“Then stay the fuck away from my brother. Nigga has his own fucking set of shit he needs to work on, and he doesn’t need to be going back and forth with someone who hasn’t put herself first to heal… don’t want that for my boy. He deserves to be happy, not trying to fucking fix you, which he has done in the past, right?”

I felt defeated and exposed because he was calling me out in front of everyone. My chest tightened because he wasn’t wrong. Menace had sent me a therapist months ago, and I ignored it. I didn’t need to sit and relive everything I had been through with a stranger.

I’ve put all the things done to me in the back of my mind, because they were better there. “It was never because of that. You never wanted him to be with a fucking hooker… be honest,Menace. I work for Case House, and I was never good enough for your precious Don.”

Navy’s parents looked confused. “No worries, we sell pussy for a living,” Stevie informed them.

Her father nodded. “Cool… pussy sell like that?”

“You’d be surprised at the amount of money men will drop for pussy,” Zoya replied, and stood up from the table.

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