Page 16 of The Spirit Of My Savage
BANG. BANG. BANG.
I jerked out of my sleep, heart jumping out of my chest. The hotel room was dark except for the weak glow from the TV I never turned off. Sheets twisted around me. “King?” I called out, voice hoarse.
Silence.
“King!”
Nothing.
The air was still cold like he’d just been there, but his presence was gone. No heat, no weight beside me. Just emptiness and somebody was damn near beating the door off the hinges.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
“Skylah, open the fuckin’ door!” Rome hollered from the other side, and my whole body stiffened. “Sky, stop fuckin’ playin’ with me!” he shouted, fist pounding again.
My heart raced so bad it hurt. I quickly threw on my tank top, hoodie, and leggings, then crept to the door. My hands shook so bad I could barely twist the lock. I cracked it open, just enough to see his face. His eyes were bloodshot, hoodie half-zipped, chest rising fast. He smelled like weed and liquor, and I knew he was on one.
“What the fuck are you doin’ here?” I asked, voice low and sharp.
He pushed the door open all the way and walked in like he owned the place. “You think you can just dip on me after that bullshit last night? I checked every hotel in the fuckin’ city. Got me out here lookin’ crazy.”
I stepped back, clutching my arms. “You need to leave, Jerome.”
He ignored that, pacing. “Your friends hittin’ my line accusin’ me of hittin’ you. My niggas sayin’ you losin’ your fuckin’ mind. And you really tried to say I lined King up? What kinda shit is that, Sky?! You lost your fuckin’ mind?”
I stared at him, heartbeat pounding in my ears. “It’s true though, right?”
He stopped mid-pace. “What?”
I took a step forward. “Youdidhave somethin’ to do with King’s death.”
His jaw flexed. “I told you to watch your mouth with that shit.”
“Stop tellin’ me that!” I snapped. “Admit the shit!”
Rome laughed once, no humor at all. “You really think I needed to set that nigga up? King had enemies everywhere. He was reckless. He gothimselfkilled.”
“Fuckin’ liar,” I whispered.
He pointed at me, voice rising. “You don’t know what you talkin’ ‘bout! He ain’t tell you how many people he crossed? You was just his lil’ soft spot. His fuckin’ weakness!”
My chest burned. “And you wanted that weakness, didn’t you?”
He stepped closer, eyes dark, teeth clenched. “I wanted everything that was his. That’s what you don’t fuckin’ get.”
The words hit me like a slap. My stomach twisted. “You really sayin’ this to my face right now?” I asked, trembling. “Wow. I can’t believe I been layin’ with a snake ass…”
He sneered. “You ain’t goin’ nowhere, Skylah. You mine now.Beenmine.” Before I could say a word back, the lights flickered. Rome froze. “…The fuck?” he muttered, looking around.
The air went thick again, and the curtains moved though the windows were closed. The mirror by the bed cracked down the center. Then that voice came low, steady, and unmistakable.
“She was never yours, nigga.”
Rome spun around, eyes wide. “What the fuck?!” King stood by the dresser, eyes narrowed into slits. Rome stumbled back. “Nah. Nah, this some bullshit.”
King smirked. “Don’t stop talkin’ now. You wanted her, right? Wanted my spot, my money, my life. Go ‘head,bro. Tell her what the fuck you did.”
Rome’s chest rose fast. “This shit ain’t real.”
