Page 6 of River & Crown
"My bad, ight." She fluffed a few of my pillows and helped me to lie back.
"I'll call a nurse for you."
Catching her hand before she moved, I tugged gently, folding my fingers between hers.
"I don't want a fucking nurse."
"You need oneCrown."
"What I tell you 'bout that shit? A nigga risked his life to save yours, and you gon' keep disrespecting me?" I was hoping the latter of what I said caused her to smile. I was tired of muthafuckas looking at me like a nigga didn't make it out this shit alive.
"Why would you joke about that? You could have died, Cortez!" Her jaw clenched before she realized she was letting her emotions get the best of her.
"I'm not dead, tho'. I don't need those I care for acting remorseful and shit."
"You care about me?"
"Some like that."
"Yeah, okay, tell me anything," She giggled softly. "You literally accused me of setting you up less than ten minutes ago."
"I said my brother thinks you set me up."
"What do you think?"
Emily nervously had her bottom lip folded between her teeth. I smirked. I didn't think there was a single face she could muster that I wouldn't find cute.
"I think I wanna get to know you. For that to happen, I need you to answer a few questions honestly."
"Okay."
I paused to see what the silence did to Emily. Silence always spoke louder than words, but when guilt hung in the air, the truth was inevitable. People loved overlooking quiet moments, but not me. I'd lost too much in life by doing that shit. Now, I let silence suffocate those I needed answers from. I waited for their words to falter, their eyes to shift, or for the discomfort to eat away at their mind. Silence never lied.
Emily stood tall, her pretty eyes gazing into mine. I searched her face for an omission of truth, but I found none. Dipping my gaze lower, I watched the pattern of her chest. It wasn't too fast or too slow. It was perfect.
"Could Boppy be the one who set me up? She went inside the building and never came back out."
"I don't think so. I mean, what reason does she have to set you up?"
"I don't know, maybe a nigga who she's fucking put her up to it," I tossed out.
"Alexis doesn't really fuck with anyone exclusively. Not since Dre stopped fucking with her after she got an abortion."
"Dre from the pj's over there?"
"Yeah. They messed around for a while."
"Can you go get my brother?"
"Uh yeah, but um, is Alexis going to be okay?"
"I'ma be honest with you, you'll probably never see Alexis again. You cool with that?"
Emily's brows hiked as her chest slowly caved in, then expanded after a heavy sigh fled her lips.
"If Alexis did this, then I get it. She could have killed us both."
Again, I let silence fill the space between us. My heart ached in fear that I'd find the subtlest hint of guilt. High and low, Isearched for something that made Emily untrustworthy, yet the same calm, sorrowful demeanor she walked in with was still present.
