Page 11 of Breeze and Melodie

I smiled when I got the text from Breeze telling me he’d left the gym and would be home shortly.

Me:

Home? We don’t live together, sir.

Breeze:

You ain’t know?

Me:

Know what?

Breeze:

You’re home to me, baby. I’ll be up after I shower.

Unless you want to shower with me.

Me:

Nope! Take your sweaty behind to your apartment.

I’d been cleaning and doing laundry since Breeze left my apartment and would be done and showered by the time he arrived. After throwing out all the old food in my fridge, I wiped it down, then swept and mopped the kitchen floor.

Once showered, I lathered my body with vanilla spice body butter, slipped on some sweats and a T-shirt, and got comfy on the couch with the remote. Before I could find something to watch while I waited for Breeze, I received a FaceTime call.

“Hey, Sis!” I greeted my sister, Harmonee.

“Guess what!” she responded with excitement.

“What?”

“I said, guess.”

“Harm, you know that annoys me. Tell me.”

“I finished my cosmetology hours and passed the licensing exam.”

I shrieked. “Yes! Congratulations, Harm. I’m so proud of you.”

“Thank you. I’m proud of me too. Y’all got any openings?”

“At Black Reign?”

“Where else?”

“I mean, I knew that, but are Mommy and Daddy okay with you moving here?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t run it by them, considering they thought I was in school to do something completely different.”

“True, which is another reason why I’m asking.”

“I’m thirty, so why would it be a problem?”

“You know why.”

She sighed, and I understood her frustration. Harmonee was four years younger than me, but for a long time, the age gap seemed much larger. One of the reasons my parents packed up and moved to Savannah over six years ago was because of Harmonee.

When she was eighteen, she fell head over heels in love with a drug dealer who got her hooked on drugs.

It wasn’t until he was killed that she began to listen to reason.

My parents let her move back home, not knowing how bad off she was.

It took a great deal of patience, love, care, and prayer for Harmonee to get where she was today.

“I’ve been clean for four years, Mel. They can’t baby me forever.”

“I agree with you, Sis, but you know how they are with you.”

“Do you think you can talk to them? I really need to step out on my own, not only to prove to them, but to myself, that I can do this.”

I looked at my phone screen as tears filled my sister’s eyes. She’d been working hard since she got out of rehab and reached all the goals she’d set for herself. My parents had to give her a chance to prove all her hard work had paid off.

“I’ll talk to them, but it should be face-to-face.”

“Okay. When can you come for a visit?”

“Next weekend. Make sure they don’t have plans, and I’ll surprise them. There’s something I want to talk to them about anyway.”

“Are you pregnant by that raggedy ass Sean?”

“Eww, girl, no. Me and Sean broke up almost a month ago.”

“Seriously? We’ve talked numerous times since then, and you didn’t say shit.”

“I didn’t wanna talk about it. Take another guess.”

“Is it good news or bad?”

“It’s—hold on. Let me see who’s at my door.”

I figured I’d stay on the phone and let Breeze tell Harmonee about us. My sister was well aware of my crush on him and was holding out hope for us to end up together, which was one of the reasons she couldn’t stand Sean.

I opened the door without confirming it was Breeze because he was the only person I was expecting. When I saw Sean’s face, I instantly became angry because I didn't understand why he was at my door.

“What the?—”

My words were shoved back into my mouth when his hand went across my face. I stumbled back but didn’t fall. He stepped inside, letting the door close behind him. Without thinking of the consequences, I dropped my phone and charged toward him with my hands in a fist.

“Muthafucka!”

When my fist hit his mouth, he didn’t move.

Unlike the last time we got into a tussle, he was prepared for me to fight back.

He grabbed my waist and slammed me to the floor.

Before I could absorb the pain shooting through my back, he grabbed the front of my shirt, lifted me slightly from the floor, and punched me in the face.

“This is what happens when you cheat on me and try to play me for a fool. Nasty bitches like you deserve worse, but I’m a gentleman.”

He let the front of my shirt go, and my back hit the floor again. Before walking away, he conjured up a wad of spit and spit on me. It landed on my forehead with force, and there wasn’t shit I could do about it. Sean was gone almost as quickly as he’d arrived.

The entire scene unfolded in under two minutes.

I heard my sister’s voice screaming from afar, but I couldn’t move to get my phone.

I could already feel my face swelling, and it wouldn’t surprise me if my nose were broken.

I tried to stay awake until Breeze arrived, but before I knew it, everything went black.

“Where am I?” I whispered through the pain in my face.

“Oh my God, Mel! Thank God you’re awake,” Raine cried as she rushed to my side.

“Where am I? What happened?”

“You’re in the hospital. We were hoping you could tell us what happened. Breeze found you passed out and beat up on the floor in your apartment.”

“What?”

“Let me get the nurse.”

She rushed out the door and returned seconds later with a woman behind her.

“Hello. I’m Nurse Lee. How do you feel?” Her mood seemed a bit too happy, considering how I felt.

“Like I’ve been run over by a truck.”

“I’m sure you do. However, you’re alive, and your injuries will heal. Do you remember what happened?”

I closed my eyes and thought back to the last thing I remembered.

Breeze made love to me before going to play basketball.

I cleaned my apartment before taking a shower.

Harmonee called to tell me she finished cosmetology school and passed her licensing exam.

Breeze knocked—no, it wasn’t Breeze. It was . . . Sean!

“It was Sean. I thought it was Breeze at my door, but it was Sean. He?—”

“No need to go into details, honey. Save your strength for when the police interview you. They should be here shortly. Your nose is broken, causing two black eyes. Your ribs are bruised as well. I’m sure you’re in a lot of pain. I can give you?—”

“No, I’m good. Thank you.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

She left, promising to return to check on me soon. Raine took her place next to my bed.

“Breeze knew it was Sean. I think he’s out looking for him.”

“He might kill him this time, Raine.”

“There is no might. Sean is as good as dead. Ain’t shit we can do to stop him.”

“We just got together, Raine. I don’t want him to be taken away.”

“I know, sis, but when Breeze has his mind set on something, good or bad, legal or illegal, it’s as good as done.”

The door swung open, and my parents and sister rushed in. Raine moved to the foot of the bed, allowing my parents to take her place.

“What the hell happened?” my father barked.

“Oh, my baby!” Ma cried.

Harmonee looked at me with tears in her eyes but said nothing. Seeing my family so upset caused me to tear up.

“I’m okay,” I lied.

“You’re not okay. Harm told us what she could, but we need to hear it from you if you can talk,” my father said.

Before I could begin, Breeze entered with another man. I tried to smile, but it was too painful. He politely maneuvered his way next to the bed.

“Baby,” he said before kissing my forehead.

“Hey. Where you been?”

“Taking care of some things. Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Norwood. Hey, Harmonee.”

My family returned the greeting but wore a look of confusion as they did so. Harmonee probably told them Sean and I had broken up, but none of them were aware that I’d moved on to Breeze. He wasn’t a stranger to my family, but only my sister knew I’d had a crush on him for over a decade.

“Did we miss something?” my mother questioned.

“Is this what you wanted to tell me?” Harmonee asked.

Breeze picked up on their confusion and updated them on our relationship status.

“It’s about time,” Harmonee said.

“Breeze, I trust you’re a better man than the one who did this to her, but we can revisit this conversation. What the hell happened?”

“This is Officer Downing. We arrived at your apartment at roughly the same time. One of your neighbors called about a disturbance, and he was in the area.”

Officer Downing wasn’t in uniform, so I was surprised to learn he was a police officer and even more surprised he and Breeze were together. Breeze didn’t fuck with the law.

“Thank you,” I said.

“No thanks needed. It’s my job. However, I’m glad I was the one who arrived on the scene because I assure you, this situation will be handled with care. Can you tell us what happened?”

I looked at Breeze, and he nodded, giving me the okay.

As I shared what happened, the officer listened intently.

The more I spoke, the angrier Breeze’s expression became.

I noticed his grip tightening on the bedrail.

My father’s expression mirrored Breeze’s as he stood with his arms folded across his chest.

“When you’re released, you’re staying with me,” Breeze said.

Although we’d spent every night together since the first time we had sex, we’d never discussed living together. However, his tone let me know it wasn’t up for discussion.

“Once he’s arrested, he’ll probably be released. These cases aren’t taken seriously enough for them to hold him more than a couple of days,” my mother said. “Maybe you should come home with us for a while.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” my father agreed.

“With all due respect, Mr. and Mrs. Norwood, Melodie is my responsibility now, and it’s up to me to protect her. She’ll stay with me.”

“Look where your protection got her,” he rebutted.

“I—” Breeze began, but I interrupted.

“That’s not fair, Daddy. We had no idea Sean would do something like this. If I hadn’t opened the door without checking, none of this would’ve happened.”

“Don’t blame yourself, Mel. Sean is the only one to blame in this situation,” Raine said.

“That’s true, but I should’ve looked out of the peephole before opening the door. None of that matters now. I’m staying with Breeze.”

My parents looked upset and worried about my decision, but they conceded.

“Fine, but if you change your mind, you can stay with us for as long as you’d like,” Ma offered. “Raine, I apologize for our rudeness and not speaking to you when we arrived.”

“It’s fine, Mama Lyric. I completely understand.”

“You can make whatever living arrangements you need to feel safe, but I assure you, he won’t be a problem much longer,” Officer Downing promised, circling back to the main topic.

“He sure the fuck won’t!” Breeze barked. “Excuse my language, but if I get to him before?—”

“Breeze, please let the police handle it. I don’t want you risking your freedom. He’s not worth it,” I pleaded.

“Nah, I—” he began.

“Breeze, Mel is right. You have a lot more to lose than you did two years ago. Let the police do their job,” Raine said.

“He will be handled. Breeze, can I talk to you in the hallway?” Officer Downing requested.

“Please talk some sense into him,” I said as they left my room.

“I told you Breeze couldn’t be stopped,” Raine reminded me.

I considered her words as I vaguely heard my parents talking. If I knew Breeze could kill Sean without getting caught, I wouldn’t stop him. Unfortunately, the world didn’t work like that.