Page 149 of Taeja

“No,” Tsion rushed out. “It good. Mi got this. Where’s Zain? Need him fi come fist it out wid mi cause you good fi nun.”

Damon laughed. “If we’ll grab some food after, I don’t mind.”

“Yu wanga gut ino, dawg.”

Damon laughed dryly. “If I were fat, I’d give you some of my weight. You’re skinny like a twig,” he joked, and Tsion sighed.

“Mi know mi mawga already, but tha thing yaa stress mi out.”

The last few words struck Damon the hardest. “Understandable…”

“Ago start stay to miself. Swear—” Tsion paused, looking at Zain, who entered the living room. “Then cuh ya. Afta mi think yu in deso wid such girl.”

Zain’s brows furrowed. “Who?”

“Fever Grass.”

“Her name’s Taeja,” Damon said.

“Mi think Fever Grass fit her better. Cause the way how tha man ya did ina mi neck boh getting it for him, mi swear a life or death situation,” Tsion laughed.

Damon chuckled, moving toward the door that led to the backyard. “Let’s do this before they realize you ditched them.”

With a heavy sigh, Tsion stood, following the twins out the door.

25

After she was donewith Damon, he returned to the tech room. She figured he needed some alone time, and she was the same.

Baby girl, Mommy missed you so much.

Taeja must have read that text hundreds of times within the past two hours. “A prank?” Taeja wondered. If Cassedi missed her ‘so much’, why did it take years for them to get in contact again? If she hadn’t sent Cassedi pictures of them, would Cassedi remember her?

Taeja wanted to reply to the message, but she wasn’t sure what to say.

So, she occupied her time with other things… Ordering furniture for Zain. Searching for jobs. Checking her schedule for the Fall Semester.

Finally, she settled on an appropriate response.

Why did you leave me?

Taeja hit send and sailed her phone across the room. Hearing the phone hit the floor, Taeja’s eyes widened. She sprang to her feet and ran to grab her phone. She released a loud breath when she realized the screen hadn’t cracked. “Mago crazy,” she mumbled, returning to the sofa to sit. “Afta Cassedi nuh more than mi.”

She hissed her teeth and reopened the chat, preparing to unleash her anger on Cassedi. As her thumb hovered above the keyboard, a call from Mason halted her.

“Hey, Mason!” Taeja answered.

“Yo,” he said, and her brows crinkled.

“When since you start seh dat?”

“All the time,” Mason replied. “You were calling?”

“Yeah. It’s about Liyah.”

“Liyah? Is she good?” he rushed out.

“Yeah. I need your help with something for her.”

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