Page 41 of Follow Me to Your Heart
Before I had a chance to explain myself, she expressed, “Don’t let this ruin our relationship, Cage. I try to be understanding. I always have, but being in a relationship with you makes it all different to me. I want this to work more than anything, but it’s hard.” She snuggled Nema closer to her with her mouth twisted and continued. “You don’t know how bad I worry, Cage. What you do is dangerous. The thought of knowing you could be taken away at any moment heightens my anxiety. It can be mentally and emotionally draining, but I push through because I love you.”
“What did I ask you before, KoKo?”
“I’m being patient with you. I am, but there’s only so much time to remain that way.”
“You’re right, baby. I love you. The last thing I want is to run out of time.”
“Well, it’s all up to you.”
“Where are we, Red?” I questioned, studying the overly crowded parking lot and building he parked in front of.
It was after midnight, and we had left from O’Shea’s not too long ago. Korren had fallen asleep early, so Red convinced me to ride out with him. I should’ve known better. The atmosphere screamed trouble. There were half-dressed women dancing, sitting on cars, and surrounded by men all in their faces. Blunts and bottles were being passed around while loud music filled the space around them. I glared at Red who was rubbing his hands together, eyeing each woman that passed by.
My body sank deeper into my seat with my arms folded. “You may as well take me home, Red. You know I ain’t with this shit.”
“Come on, man. We’ve been deep in the streets the last few weeks with hardly any air to breathe. When you’re not working, you’re catering to Korren.”
“Because that’s exactly what I want to do. I don’t have any desire to entertain anyone out here, including you. If you’re not going to take me home, then I’ll call a Journey.”
“Chill, Cage. We won’t be out here long. All I want to do is scope the scene out and find me a little honey I can fuck on all night long. You know it won’t take me long to do that.”
“I don’t give a fuck about what you want to do. I’m not feeling this shit.”
Red had pissed me off, so I got out without waiting for him to respond. He called out to me as I trekked through the sea of people. I pulled my phone out to schedule a car to pick me up and let Korren know what was going on. Even though she was asleep, I didn’t feel comfortable with her not being aware of whatwas going on. There were too many people around, and anyone could go back to her on some bullshit.
I finished ordering a car and swiped out the app when my phone was snatched from my hand. The person was pinned against a car with my hand around their throat before I realized who it was.
Lorie gazed at me with her glossy lips mischievously drawn up. I yanked my phone from her hand and released her. Eyes lowered, they traveled up and down her frame with my nostrils flared before I walked off.
She had the audacity to tug on my arm. I looked down at her hand and back up at her face.
“You know better than to have your hands on me. Move them before I do it for you.”
“Oh, Cage.” Lorie fake pouted, poking her bottom lip out with her hands still on me. “Why are you being like that?”
“I’m going to break your fingers if you don’t release me.”
The iciness of my tone had her releasing me and taking a step back. Her gaze was lazy, eyes bloodshot red as her body swayed from side to side. A loud hiccup escaped her mouth. She needed to get her drunk ass from around me.
“I miss you.”
All I could do was shake my head and attempt to walk off again. The alcohol was liquid courage for Lorie because she had the audacity to grab me again. Only this time, she wrapped her arms around me. I broke free, spun around, and gripped her wrists. Tears rested on the brim of her eyes the tighter I squeezed.
I pulled her into me and lowly warned, voice mimicking a growl, “Take your drunk ass on somewhere, Lorie, before I have someone lay hands on you. You’re doing too much, and I’d hate to embarrass you out here.”
Lorie whimpered, massaging her wrists the second I let her go. She opened her mouth to speak, but I shook my head and walked off. Red was a fool if he thought I was about to stick around. I’d either end up in jail or in trouble, and I couldn’t afford to deal with either option.
I prayedmy eyes were deceiving me, but they weren’t.
I scrolled through the photos of Cage and Lorie someone had sent me on FameVSYou, allowing the droplets of pain to fall freely onto my pillow.
When I talked to Cage last night, he told me he was going home after he and Red finished their rounds. So how in the hell did he end up wherever Lorie was? It didn’t make sense to me, and honestly, I wasn’t sure if I needed it to. When it all boiled down to it, Cage lied to me.
I sent the pictures to Taylor, put my phone on ‘Do Not Disturb,’ and rolled over. One deep, shaky exhale, and I broke down. It felt as if Cage had my heart in his hand and was squeezing it tighter with each breath I took. Whenever I closedmy eyes, all I envisioned were the pictures of them. The tightness in my chest slowly eased and was replaced with a burning sensation that coursed through my body.
Unbeknownst to me, I’d lay there for an hour, allowing my sadness to fester into anger. Sometimes, I hated how my mind worked. The number of different scenarios I came up with was sickening. It only made my emotions worse to the point I’d gotten out of the bed and was putting some clothes on. Daddy wasn’t at home which was probably the best for what I had in mind.
Since Daddy left me the keys to one of the cars, I was about to pull up on Cage. His location showed he was at home, and since I hadn’t heard from him, I assumed he was asleep. Little did he know, he was in for a rude awakening.
