Page 19 of Desperate Measures
“Because you kept my fuckin’ daughter from me! For three days!” I snapped. “I didn’t know where the hell y’all were!”
“Welcome to the last four years of my life,” she spat back..
“Are we really back to that?!”
“Yes! ‘Cause now you know how it feels!” She screamed, nudging me in my chest. “That dread, the confusion; do you think I wanted to feel like that again?”
Silence stretched between us. Emotions and tensions were at an all-time high. The cold tile under my feet and the too-bright lights overhead only amplified the sterile, charged tension of the club bathroom. I was frustrated, and she was scared and clearly still hurt.
Before I could respond, the door burst open. Some chick from the club stumbled in. She was clearly drunk, but she perked up when she saw Crimson. Guess she thought she was saving her or something.
“You good, girl? Don’t let these niggas scare you or stress you out. Security’s around if you need?—”
“She’s fine, shorty. Move around.” I nudged the door closed and locked it this time.
I moved toward Crimson, slightly calmer than I was a few moments ago.
“Listen, I told you I’m not going anywhere. When I first got back, the plan was to be in and out. Shit changed. Another year won’t kill me.”
“You’ve been here for a while now. I know you got your business in Monaco, but unless you’re sittin’ on millions, you need to get back to the money, Jah. So where does that leave me?”
“With me. What the fuck you mean?! I ain’t said shit about leaving because you just got back on your feet. I ain’t trying to shake your world up.”
“So now you’re staying for me?”
“Shit, I’m not staying for me. Crimson, I love you. I want to be with you. My future is y’all, okay? I was just trying to make sure you were good in case... in case I had to bounce again.”
“What are you not telling me? The dust has been settled on your case for years,” she added. “Right, Jah?”
Quickly, I weighed my options. Should I be one hundred percent transparent or downplay it all?
“I got word that they put us back on the bulletin. And when I came to get you from that ambulance... a cop recognized me. They could hit my spot any day. And if I can’t take you and lil mama with me, I need to know you’re straight.”
She gripped the edge of the sink for balance. Her head hung as she took deep breaths. I noticed the cracked edge of the mirror behind her, the flickering overhead bulb casting twitching shadows across her face.
“If they do come, you’ll have to go again.”
“If... yes. But it wouldn’t be like last time.”
“I don’t want there to be a ‘this time.’”
Tears cascaded down her cheeks. And this is what I didn’t want to happen. I moved in on her and took her hand into mine.
“Check it out. If we gotta split... I’m coming back. Give me three months, hell, three months to a year tops.”
“A year?! Jah, what the fuck?”
“If I tell you three and miss it, you’ll panic. Red, on my soul, I’m not living this life without y’all. You have to trust me. Okay?”
Crimson stood still with her hands braced on the sink and a clenched jaw. Her eyes glistened, but she wouldn't let the tears fall. Ever since she had “healed,” she thought crying was a sign of weakness. But her tears were on their way, no matter how much she tried to stop them.
I moved in slowly and turned her to me. “I ain’t never stopped loving you. And now that I got you, I’m not fumbling you again. But that doesn’t mean my lifestyle has changed. You know what time it is. You’ve always known.”
I slipped my hand up to her neck and pulled her closer to me.
“I don't want to live without you,” she breathed, then she crashed her lips into mine.Her hands slid under my jacket, nails dragging down my back. I hissed at the contact. Every touch from her felt electrifying.
She turned us, pushing me back until I hit the marble counter. The lights overhead were too bright, reflecting off the pristine tile and the smudged mirror, but I didn’t care. Her mouth moved to my neck, her teeth grazing just enough to make me groan.
