Page 101 of A Kingpin's Weakness
I had held it in all night. Swallowed the lump in my throat when I saw Seth with that girl. Bit my tongue when he chased after me, spewing bullshit like I hadn’t just witnessed him being everything he swore he wasn’t. But now, in the silence of this cramped little bathroom, I cracked.
Why the fuck was I so emotional right now? I wasn’t built for this soft, vulnerable shit. I wanted to fight. To scream. Tostorm out onto that deck and slap him dead in his damn mouth. How he gon’ mess up my surprise I came early for him. I was supposed to be in his arms, wrapped up in kisses and "I missed you’s." Instead, I got a front-row seat to the same disrespect I thought I was protected from.
Seth was sexy God, was he sexy but he was also rich. Connected. Dominant. The kind of man women didn’t mind sharing if it meant catching even a piece of his lifestyle. But I wasn’t built to share. I wasn’t about to fight no bitches for the attention of a man that told me I was the only one… and the thing was, I believed him. I let my guard down for him. I gripped the edge of the counter and stared at my blurred reflection.
“Get it together, Stormi,” I whispered. I must be about to get my period because Jo didn’t raise no punk ass bitch.
Then it hit me like a gut punch. My period. “When was the last time I even had one?”I thought back, mind racing. I remembered bleeding a few weeks before Noah got shot, but that was what... March?
My heart thudded in my chest. Stress could mess up your cycle yeah. I’d read that. I’d told myself that. But two months?Almost three?That wasn’t stress. That was a damn red flag waving in my face. I wiped my face fast, pulling my phone from the little clutch I had tucked in my cover-up. My fingers trembled as I texted RJ.
Come to the bathroom. You & Ari.
Seconds later, there was a knock at the door. I pulled it open and quickly let them in before locking it behind them. The second I saw their faces, fresh tears filled my eyes.
“You okay?” RJ asked, voice low.
I shook my head.“No. Not even close.”
“Seth’s out there waiting on you,” Ari said carefully, studying my face. “He keeps looking over here every two seconds.”
“I hope you not in here crying,” RJ added, rubbing the back of his neck.
I sniffed and wiped at my face again. “So what if I am? Why he gotta be like all these other niggas, huh? He told me I was different. Told me it was only me. But that shit didn’t mean nothing when that girl opened her mouth, huh?”
Ari gave me a sympathetic look. “I get it, sis. But this? This ain’t you. You came here with love in your heart. Don’t let him turn you cold before y’all even talk.”
I swallowed hard. Then said the one thing I hadn’t even fully processed yet. “I just realized I haven’t had a cycle in three months.”
Ari’s eyes widened. “Stormi.”
RJ stared at me like I just said the sky was falling. “Wait and you’ve been drinking?”
“I didn’t know until just now when I tried to figure out why I couldn’t stop crying,” I said, rubbing my temple. “I thought it was stress… school, Noah, Seth… But three months? I gotta take a test.”
Ari gently grabbed my hand. “We’ll get you one tomorrow. But for tonight?”
RJ gave me that protective look again. “No more drinking. And definitely no more trying to make that man jealous. Especially not if you might be carrying his baby.”
I nodded slowly, trying to get my breathing under control. “Okay. You right. No more dumb shit tonight.”
RJ pulled me into a hug. “You gonna be alright, Stormi. I got you. Always.”
After one more squeeze, they both slipped out of the bathroom, leaving me alone again. I stared at my reflection for a few more seconds, fixing my ponytail and wiping away what wasleft of my makeup tears. I took a deep breath and reached for the door. And that’s when Seth walked in. Closed the door behind him.
“You good?” Seth asked, his voice low, watching me like he already knew I wasn’t.
“Yeah,” I muttered, brushing past him. I didn’t make it far before his hand wrapped around my wrist, stopping me cold.
“I’m sorry.”
I turned, slow. My eyes met his, and for a second, I almost softened almost.
“Sorry for today? Or you including all the shit you might’ve been doing while I was gone?” My voice cracked at the end, and I hated that he heard it.
“This exactly why I don’t trust long distance, Seth.”
He ran a hand down his face, stepping back like he needed space to choose his words. “That girl… she’s Southside’s cousin. We grew up together. It wasn’t nothin’, Stormi. I swear.”
