Page 59 of If I Gave You My Heart
Jolene went to console Adira, but Adonis' tone stopped her dead in her tracks.
"Touch my sister and watch what I do to you."
"Baby…" Joy pleaded.
"No, Joy, why is she even still here?" he asked.
Joy was about to open her mouth, but Jolene rose from her seat.
"Ma, I'm leaving."
Jolene walked into the house, and Joy followed behind her. Adonis wrapped his arms around Adira, and Javier rushed over to join the group hug. It was a touchy moment because besides having Joy, they only had each other.
"I shoulda stayed my ass in Georgia with all of this bullshit."
I silently agreed with Adonis. I would have been better off not knowing half of the shit that I had learned by coming on this trip. We were due to leave in the morning, and I felt like we just couldn't catch a break. Every day of what was supposed to be a weekend getaway was a new day for hidden discovery.
The boys consoled Adira, and I played bartender, pouring us shots in between her going over what she remembered. When the night ended, Adonis had to be the one to drive us back to the hotel.
"I can't take no more fucking secrets, Ny. A nigga gone lose it for real," Adonis randomly said once we were parked outside of the hotel.
It was so random that I wondered if we were that connected that he felt like deep down I was hiding something from him. Lies are like scars on the soul, and I was willing to tear mine up just to give him the peace that he deserved.
"I can't wait to get home," Adonis huffed before exiting the car.
"Me either," I mumbled right before he opened the door for me.
Chapter 14
Nyoka
I didn't know if it was from all the family drama, but Adonis had been moping around the house since we had gotten back from Ohio. Within the week, I called for movers to bring my stuff from the storage unit I had in New York. The two suitcases that I had fled with were cool for the past year, but since I was in the clear and a free woman, I wanted all my things. The walk-in closet was the size of a damn bedroom, and I couldn't wait to fill it with all of my things.
"Did you want me to cook tonight?"
"That's cool." His tone was dead, and he hadn't even looked away from the television when I had asked.
I refused to let my overthinking get the best of me because everything in me screamed that the distance I felt between us was because Adonis had seen his ex. Over the past week, I even asked if that was the case. "You need to stop overthinking. You good over here,"he would say before engaging back into his phone. That sure felt really reassuring. Tell me I'm straight and then entertain a device that could keep you in touch with whom I was worried about. The shit was a joke if you asked me. Wanting to get us back to how we were pre-Ohio trip was a short-term goal of mine. It's crazy because just seven months ago, I wouldn't have been doing any of this, but I had opened up to Adonis in ways that I hadn't with any other man.
I knew firsthand how people could be fighting their own demons, and maybe that caused the distance I was feeling as well.
Ding Dong.
"Who is that, Talia?" Adonis looked over the back of the sofa and asked.
"No." I smiled as I began walking toward the front door.
I was excited because maybe, just maybe, this would be something that would cheer him up.
"What's up, gang?" My tattoo artist greeted me as soon as I pulled the front door open. "Where do you want me to set up?" he asked.
"You can…" my words caught in my throat when I turned to lead the way and saw Adonis leaning against the wall in the foyer.
"Who's this?" he asked.
So damn territorial,I thought with a smirk before answering.
"This isLou.He's my tattoo artist."
