Page 29 of Juke
There was a bout of silence before her voice dropped a little.
“Listen, I… I didn’t wanna upset you, but Kamerio came by the other day.”
Everything inside of me went still. “What?” I rushed out.
“He showed up yesterday. He said he just wanted to talk to you. Said things ended messy, and he wanted to clear the air.”
“Mama,” I whispered, my throat tightening. “What did you tell him?”
“That you moved to Cannon Hills. He seemed… I don’t know, sincere.”
Tears blurred my vision. “He’s not, Mama. He’s dangerous.”
“What? Sophi, what you mean?” she questioned.
“I gotta go,” I blurted, my hands already shaking. “I’ll call you back later. I promise.”
“Sophi—”
“I love you.”
I hung up before she could say anything else. When I stepped back into the room, I guess my face said everything.
“Who was that?” Kasha asked, focused on me.
“My mama,” I whispered, sinking into the couch. “She said Rio came by.”
“The fuck?” Nic snapped, eyes wide.
“He told her he wanted to talk… to make peace or some shit. She didn’t know what he did to me. She thought she was being helpful.”
Mel moved closer. “Did she tell him where you are?”
I nodded.
“Shit,” Nic huffed. “Let me call Lincoln.”
“No… don’t get them involved.”
Kasha’s hand slid over mine. “If you don’t want your cousins to know, then you need to let Juke know.”
Before I could even respond, my phone buzzed again. When I looked at it, it was Rashad FaceTime’n me. I tried to hide my fear, but it was no use. He saw right through it. His face filled the screen, damp with sweat, eyes sharp the second he saw me.
“What happened?” he asked, low and serious.
“My mama said Rio came by. He asked about me… and she told him I moved out here.”
His jaw clenched, and I could see the fire behind his eyes.
“She didn’t know. She doesn’t know that I didn’t want to see him.”
He stared for a second longer, then said calmly, “I’m on the way.” He hung up before I could protest. I sat there, still holding the phone, heart pounding against my ribcage while the girls closed in around me, and for the first time since all of this started… I felt like I wasn’t facing this alone.
It wasn’t long before Rashad stepped inside my room like a storm dressed in all black. He sported a nasty scowl on his face, jaw tight, and energy hot enough to shame the devil. Even looking like he was ready to murder someone, he still looked fine as ever. The girls turned as he came in, all going quiet. Not scared… just watchful.
“Hey, Juke,” Kasha said first, giving him a soft nod.
“Juke,” Nic greeted, her tone clipped but not rude.
