Page 15 of All The Smoke
“Come pick me up.”
“From where? I thought you were with Jamal.”
“I was,” I replied, going to Jamal’s contact to confirm what I already knew.He turned his location off. He did that when he was up to no good because he knew I was going to pull the fuck up. That was why I left my AirPods case in his car, so I’d havea way to track his cheating ass down. “I’ll tell you about it when you get here.”
I could have taken my car, but everyone knew mine and would tell his ass I was coming before I could catch him up. Morgan’s mother had just gotten her a new one as a gift for opening her lash bar, Pretty Peeps, and no one knew it yet.
When she confirmed she was coming, we hung up and I finished getting ready. I texted Jamal a little while I waited so nothing seemed off. I typically asked him a million questions while he was gone so I had to keep that up. The fury burning inside of me grew as we texted because he was blatantly lying. I asked him about turning the location off and he continued to blame it on him handling business and not needing me to pull up acting a fool where he was.
Too late mothafucka.
Morgan texted and let me know she was outside so I headed to her car. Once inside and rolling, I had her go to Find My iPhone and track my AirPods. She did so without question.
“So I’m assuming Jamal is on his bullshit?” she said, briefly taking her eyes off the road and glancing my way.
“Mhm.”
“What did he do this time?”
“Nothing really, I just have a hunch that he’s on bullshit.”
“Your hunches are usually right.”
“I’m tired of this shit, Mo.” I shook my head. “I want to believe my man when he says he’s leaving and going to handle business, shit I’ve been trying to, but the stupid nigga can’t even keep up with what fucking homeboy he’s going to do business with.”
Had Jamal not mixed up Vick and Rico’s names I wouldn’t be in the car on the way to where he was. Plus the shit with the girl at the movies didn’t sit right with me. I promised Jamal to do better, to try and trust him and shit, but that didn’t mean I wasgoing to be stupid and turn a blind eye to the obvious. Him and that girlclearlyknew each other and I couldn’t help but think he overreacted about me and Solomon Sr. just to have an excuse to see her.
“Well, he’s been lying for years, bestie, so it makes sense if you don’t trust his word.”
“I know.” I sighed. “I just don’t understand why he can’t do right by me.”
The tears I had been fighting cascaded down my face. They weren’t because I was sad, well not all of them, they were more from frustration. For more years than I should have, I kept trying to give life to this relationship with Jamal and it was clearly past time for me to let it go.
“No, bitch.” She put the car in park because we were in front of our destination and turned toward me. “Dry your fucking tears,” she demanded, thumbing some of them away. “He doesn’t deserve them, Kaori.”
“Okay.” I sniffled and used the back of my hands to wipe the rest away.
“And this is it, bestie,” she continued. “We’re about to go see what’s up here tonight, but this is the last time I will accompany you to do this shit. Jamal doesn’t deserve you and you know it. Out of six years the only thing he has done for you is help trump up charges on your record while he continues to live off of you. If you decide to still be with him after we find out if he’s up to no good or not then that’s your business, but I won’t support this anymore. Okay?”
I nodded. “I understand.”
Morgan had always been painfully honest and blunt so I knew she wasn’t lying about this being her last time pulling up to a random address with me to catch my no good nigga up again. Hell, I couldn’t blame her. She had been doing this with me for years and he wasn’t her man.
“Good, now come on. Let’s go fuck him up one last time.,” she said as if she was sure he was on bullshit.
Who was I kidding? His trifling ass definitely was on bullshit.
We climbed out of her car and made our way to the front door of the house. I rolled my eyes as I bypassed his car because he was full of shit. I had been to both Vick and Rico’s places and the duplex we were in front of definitely wasn’t either of their homes.
Morgan knocked on the door and we waited a few minutes until my suspicions were confirmed. The girl from the movie theater answered the door.
“Can I—what the hell?” she screeched as I pushed inside of her house. “What are you doing?”
“Where is he?” I asked.
“W-who?” she stammered.
“Bitch, don’t play with me,” I growled. “I came to fuck him up for playing with me, don’t get your ass beat too.”
