Page 20 of Giving Him Something He Can Feel

“Well he didn’t fuck, so you’d be killing him for nothing,” I responded in a matter of fact tone.

“Wouldn’t be for nothing. You let that nigga put his lips on you. He tou—” he started, but I couldn’t take this incessant shit anymore.

“Why are you like this? You’re mad at me for not obsessing over you. For being happy and not sad because you do you? Not waiting for you to deci?—”

“Yes, fucking yes!” His voice roared loud enough to make the hair on the back of my neck stand. “You let him touch you like you belonged to him. Had you ‘round his niggas like you were his bitch.”

“What gives you the right to regulate me when you don’t even want me?

When all you do is fuck other bitches. Don’t you got a kid on the way?

” He didn’t respond right away, so I kept talking or so I planned to.

. “I don’t belong to anyone, Cartrek. Not him, not yo—” My statement ended with him moving at almost a vampiric speed back into my space.

“Nah, finish that statement. You don’t what?” By now he had my ass yoked up like one of those bad ass kids in Walmart. Anger was seeping through his pores while decreasing inside of me, because tonight, in this moment showed me how much I affected him.

“How can I belong to you when you don’t belong to me?” I broke. Anger didn’t reside in my being anymore. He had enough of it for the both of us.

“The fuck you mean by that? Where I’m at right now, Peach?” Still angry he huffed.

“Here, but only because you saw another nigga enjoying the space you didn’t.”

He was about to respond, but his phone began to ring.

When he held his finger up as if to tell me one minute, I rolled my eyes to the ceiling. Here this nigga was again putting me on hold for yet another female.

“Yeah,” he answered holding the phone to his ear and looking me square in the eyes.

“Where? The fuck you mean. He good?” His eyes softened with every word. “Nah, I got her. We’ll be up there.”

Now I wanted to know who her was and was who good? When he got off the phone his hand immediately went to the back of his neck before he gave me a serious expression. The words that spilled from his lips seconds later rocked my whole world.

“Tafari got shot. We got to get up to hospital right now, Peach.”

Cartrek

The moment those words left my lips I could see the anguish that entered her body. Then another moment passed us and she almost lost balance, prompting me to rush her.

“He…he what?”

“He got shot. We gotta move, Peach.” At this point I was holding her up.

She nodded her head, and that was it. She didn’t say much of anything else as I put my shit on and we left the house a few minutes later.

Last time I saw Fari the nigga was mugged about her but talking shit with the lil’ niggas.

What the hell had happened between now and then I didn’t know, but the moment we hit the hospital somebody had better been telling me.

We arrived about twenty minutes later, rushing the elevator to the floor given by the nurse at the desk.

Shorty tried to play that waiting room shit, but Peach wasn’t having that.

Like a fucking brute she made old girl give us a floor and room number before we reached an elevator.

When we reached his floor a few seconds later, I spotted a few Ace members lining the hall, then my eyes landed on Luke leaned against the empty receptionist desk.

I hung back to have a word him while she rushed into her brother’s room.

I needed some understanding on what took place tonight, and he knew that because as soon as I walked up, he was talking.

“Those Mafia niggas were on some bullshit. Upped on Trell and Fat Pete. Bullet probably wasn’t meant for Fari, but he was in the vicinity.”

“What do you mean they were on some bullshit?” I needed the full details.

“That nigga Alias, Aylo’s brother pulled up on us while we were loading up to hit the next joint.

He was talking greasy, all drunk and shit.

You know Fat Pete’s mouth, he bucked back.

Alias upped, and shit went left. Trell took one to the hip and well, Fari took one to the chest. Doc said he’ll make it, but that shit was close. ”

I looked toward the room, before looking back at Luke.

I knew my thoughts were impaired, shit more than impaired those shits were blurred.

I already had heat for Aylo off this Peach shit, but now it was bigger than that.

There was no balance, because my feelings for Peach and the actions of Mafia was about to start something I knew wasn’t good for money.

“What you want me to do?” He awaited his marching orders and interrupted my processing.

“Take a few niggas and go light it up. Double up on the two.” If Ace took two bullets then them Mafia niggas needed a few more.

He nodded. “Bet.”

Technically Fari wasn’t Ace, but he was affiliated, so niggas would still feel that even though I knew he would have rather handle shit on his own.

He walked off seconds later, leaving me to enter Fari’s room and check on him and Peach.

“You mad dramatic, Vee. You see I’m sitting up here talking to you, right?” he fussed at his sister.

“How am I dramatic? You just got shot in your chest.”

Just as I pictured Peach was standing on the side of her brother’s bed mugged up likely mad at him for downplaying the situation.

“You know how many times I been shot, Vee?”

“No but do tell. Does Mommy know as well?”

He didn’t respond but the expression on his face said that he regretted that shit the moment it came out of his mouth.

“Aight Peach, the man just got shot. Give the man some time to heal before you get in his shit.”

She turned around sending me a menacing glare as well before she finally just threw her arms up and stormed her mad ass out of the room.

Instead of following her, I focused on Fari. I knew she wouldn’t go far, plus it was more Ace members than a little bit in this motherfucker. She was good.

“You straight?” I asked after a while. That was my way of making sure Virtue was a safe distance away.

“Chest burning and shit, but I’ll be good. Don’t send nobody on that nigga Alias. I wany his bitch ass myself.”

I chuckled. “Wouldn’t dream of it, but you gotta get you some rest and chill out up here, Fam.”

“The way these nurses look in here, I’ma rest good with one of them sponge baths, but I mean that shit.”

“I know.”

“Good. I’ma hit Cartier and leave Biggs up here with you. I’on wanna hear no shit on it either.”

He laughed. “I’m ‘bout high as hell right about now, leave whomever you want long as it ain’t Vee. Matter of fact take her ass home, I’on need that nagging shit she does. I can tell she’s about fifteen minutes from calling Mama, and I damn sure don’t need that.”

I could tell just when his medication kicked him because his eyes had glossed over and were barely open.

“Bet. I’ll make sure she don’t.” I walked out of his room a few seconds later.

When I walked out of the hospital room a mug covered my face.

When it came to Peach I had this possessive shit about me, so the nigga in her face doctor or not pissed me off.

I didn’t like nobody in her fucking face, but every time I looked up niggas tested boundaries.

Boundaries I had yet to set. Then the closer I got to her, I could hear what she was saying.

“I told you I have nothing to say. Time has passed and there is no?—”

“Look, is there anywhere we can talk? I know I fouled up in the pas?—”

“You made your decision, Don. I’m not interested in talking to you about shit, my child is good. So move around because there is nothing here for you.” She saw me and moved toward me almost like she knew my reaction before it surfaced.

“To be a fucking doctor you sholl is hard of fucking hearing.” Virtue stepped in front of me, eyes begging me to let it go.

“Look, buddy. This is between me and Virtue. I think it’s best if you go fin?—"

I jawed his yappy ass before he could finish his sentence. “Now it’s between me and you. Next time you see her, act like you don’t or fuck around and find out.”

“Was that even necessary?” Peach was pissed as we walked toward my car.

“Yup.” It probably wasn’t, but when it came to her a lot of shit I did was necessary. When she was involved I was short tempered about everything. No fuse no shit, years of therapy down the drain because I didn’t think when it came to her. I acted.

When we got into the car, she didn’t speak for a while at first, before I felt her eyes on me. I glanced in her direction. My hand landed on her thigh seconds later.

“I didn’t know he was there or let alone in the city.” She uttered those words softly. So soft that I barely heard her.

“Yeen had no contact with him sinc?—”

“Since I wouldn’t let him lie to me about leaving his wife. He told me he’d never claim my child. That was the last time I spoke to that man. And I swore on my life she would never need him a day in hers.”

And she still didn’t.

Instead of going back to my place, we ended up at hers.

It was not only closer to the hospital, but closer in general.

I wasn’t taking that long ass drive again tonight.

Niggas was dead tired, but sleep wasn’t too much in the plans.

I had to make sure shorty was okay. While she made us something quick to eat, I took the time to call Cartier and Cruz to make sure they were aware of what happened tonight.

We’d be meeting sometime tomorrow, because they had to be fully in the loop about the whole ordeal.

Not tonight though, because I wasn’t dotting this fucking door.

Stepping behind her, I allowed my hand to travel up her side as she stood at the stove flipping the pancakes. I got so lost in feeling her up that I forgot I was on the phone with Cartier. That shit happened a lot. I knew I was fucking up, but I couldn’t help it.

“Did you hear what I said?” he asked loudly.

“Nah, ‘cause you’re fucking yelling in my ear. What’s wrong?

” By now I had leaned down and pressed my lips against the side of her neck.

Our conversation from earlier wasn’t over, but the fact that’s she didn’t pull away from my embrace nor tell me to move let me know that we had some type of understanding.

“I said mattress shop in the morning old, distracted ass nigga.”

“Sound about right. If you know I’m distracted then hang the fucking phone up. I’ma see you tomorrow.”

He laughed but did as I requested prompting me to slide my phone in my back pocket before I gave her some space.

“Does this sort of thing happen a lot?” She sat my plate on the island for me to go to.

“What?”

“You or my brother getting shot at. Is it a normal occurrence?” Those big brown doe-like eyes now rested on me awaiting an answer.

Lowkey I wanted to lie to her and tell her it wasn’t, but I couldn’t do that. Not to her. “Not abnormal. Lotta niggas want my head, and plenty of ‘em want my life. Ain’t none of this shit a cakewalk, Peach. Hell life ain’t even a cake walk.”

She looked at me for a while, before nodding her head. I guess she accepted my answer. “And the person who shot my brother?”

“Nobody you need to be worried about. Do me a favor though, stay yo’ ass away from Aylo.” I probably should’ve told her the full, but that much I’d protect her from.

“Did he have something to do with my brother being shot?”

“Probably not, but I don’t want you ‘round him.”

She smiled. “You wanna tell me wh?—”

“You belong to me, Peach. I don’t want my lady ‘round no nigga, specially not the nigga I’m possibly beefing with.”

She smiled. “Your lady, huh?”

I nodded my head feeling myself relinquishing what in my mind felt like control.

I hadn’t been this open with a woman or anyone since Mia.

There was no room for error with this. I’m not saying this had to be perfect, but it had to be pretty fucking close, because I couldn’t take anything less…

My trauma couldn’t. Her voice slit through my overthinking.

“Does that mean you belong to me as well?” she had one of those big goofy ass smirks on her face as she leaned across the counter.

“On me, but this thing with me ain’t just flowers and sunshine.

I come with some shit that means I’ma need you to be patient with me.

” She was about to speak, but I held my hand up for her to let me finish speaking.

“I ain’t saying I’ma be out here dirty, ‘cause I ain’t.

What I’m saying is that I’m a man about mine and I know what I carry.

I’ma come through way more times than I fall short. ”

She nodded her head. “And I’ma hold you to that.”

“You do that.”