Page 40 of Her Loyalty

Tiana

Pulling up to Dominic's house, I could already see that there were so many people outside on the porch. They were mostly Deja's friends but I already knew the only reason they were all actually here was to be nosey.

"You good?" Dom asked as he cut the engine and I simply shook my head no.

"Babe."

"I don't want to stay here tonight." I expressed becoming even more anxious than I was leaving the hospital.

"T." He sighed deeply.

"I really don't, Dominic." I went on, looking at all of the guys on the step. Though I knew they were friends and harmless to me, I just didn't trust anyone at the moment. Around me or Dom.

"Please." I practically begged.

"Aight, baby. Where you wun' go?"

"You wun' get a room downtown for the night?" He asked, referring to a hotel downtown and I shrugged.

"I mean, that does sound better for now.."

"I just can't be here tonight after what happened. I thought I could get passed it but I can't, babe."

"It's too soon."

"Like I know you won't let anything happen to me but it's not even just fear at this point, I'm actually creeped out." I explained and he nodded slowly.

"Aight, baby."

"We gon' get a room tonight."

"But I need to go and handle some shit right quick though, so come on. We ain't gon' be here long." He said, getting out of the car and I nodded, waiting for him to come over to my side and help me.

When he did, he opened my door and slowly helped me out of the car before grabbing the crutches.

"Here, bae." He said to me, trying to give them to me but I completed rejected it.

"I'm not walking with them." I told him as he closed the car door.

"Tiana." He spoke sternly, holding onto my arm as I slowly made my way to the stairs.

"I'm not walking with them, Dominic." I spat, rolling my eyes and he shook his head, letting out a sigh.

"Don't fuckin' listen." Was all I heard him say as we made our way up onto the porch.

"Aw damn, they got T out here all bandaged up." One of the guys spoke as everybody watched as Dom helped me up the staircase.

"What's up with you, bro?" They all spoke to Dom and he responded with a head nod.

"T, how that shit feel?" Another guy asked me but I'd completely ignored him. I was already exhausted with all of this walking plus the pressure on my leg wasn't making this any better.

"Gon' head, ma." Dom held the door for me as I slowly walked into the house.

When we finally made it in, Deja was on the couch counting money before she looked over to Dom and I.

"Yo, I just called you. I need to talk to you about that shit." She went onto say and Dominic nodded.

"Aight. Hol' on, I'a be back."

"Come on, T." He then said to me, helping me up the steps.

It took us about 20 minutes and a hundred complaints later for me to make it up the steps. The stairs, who used to seem super easy to climb, had become an entire obstacle course for me.

Finally making it into his room, I slowly laid down in the bed and Dominic put my crutches by the door.

"Aight, ma. Let me go and handle this then we gon' leave.."

"Aight?" He asked for confirmation and I nodded slowly.

"Wait." I called as he was about to walk out.

"What's up?"

"Kiss." I poked my lip out and he smirked, making his way over to me. He then leaned down and slowly pecked my lips over and over.

"One more." I begged as he chuckled, giving me another one.

"Aight. I'a be back." He stood up straight and I nodded, finally letting him leave.

Once he walked out of the room, I simply laid there for a while before I leaned over to grab my phone. I'd quickly remembered that I'd told my mom I would call her once I got here.

Dialing her number, I waited as the phone rang over and over.

"Hello." She finally answered.

"Hey, mom. I'm here." I told her and I could hear her sigh deeply.

"Good. Are you okay? Are you safe?" She asked cautiously and I nodded as if she could see me.

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"Good." She responded in relief.

"Listen, I know you're a grown woman but I don't want you out there hanging out, outside on any corners or anything like that, Tiana. It's too dangerous." She explained to me and I nodded slowly.

I understood my mother's concern. Outside of what happened last night, Dominic's neighborhood wasn't the best but what she didn't know was that he'd never have me on any corners or outside hanging out. Dominic always played it safe with me.

We'd just so happened to been caught at the wrong time. Being in the car that late at night and having sex was something we never did, it was an honest mistake.

"I understand, mom." I explained to he, just trying to ease her mind.

"And I think you're right about me being down here when I just got shot last night."

"I don't feel comfortable at all." I expressed.

"Really?"

"Do you want to come home? Did you tell Dominic?" She asked frantically, obviously just wanting me to be comfortable.

"Yeah, I told him how I feel and he's always understanding.." I trailed off.

"So we're going to stay in a hotel downtown tonight."

"A hotel?" She spoke in shock.

"Yeah, a hotel." I furrowed my eyebrows, wondering what the problem was.

"Why not just come home, Tiana?"

"Well I mean.." I trailed off.

"We don't want to be apart right now, especially not at a time like this. And he knows that you and him are bound to get into it coming to our house, mom." I rolled my eyes, thinking about everything that'd just went down at the hospital.

"Well it's not my fault that he's so disrespectful. He doesn't have any respect for his elders."

"Mom.." I trailed off with a sigh.

"He doesn't and I don't appreciate it, Tiana."

"Now, I wouldn't mind the two of you staying here tonight. The house is big enough, you guys can stay on one side, I'll stay on the other."

"It'll save him the money and you can feel comfortable in your own home instead of a hotel."

"But I have one condition.."

"He must apologize about what he said in the hospital room. It was completely distasteful and I don't think either of us should've let it go as easily as we did."

Feeling like that was the best option right now, I nodded my head slowly, agreeing to her offer.

"I agree." I nodded, considering he'd called her a bitch, whether it was to her face or not. She'd heard him and that wasn't okay.

"That's the only way I'll allow him to stay the night with you here." She went on.

"I just want an apology, I believe I deserve that much."

"You're right." I nodded, listening to her.

"I'm going to talk to him and I'll have him call you before we're on our way."

"Sounds great. Talk to you then, baby." She said to me before we said our goodbyes and hung up.

Once we did, I called Dominic's phone, not even wasting time trying to yell for him.

"What's up, baby? You aight?" He answered almost immediately while I slightly sat up in the bed.

"Can you come here for a second?" I asked softly.

"I'm a little busy. Whatchu need, ma?"

"I just need to talk to you. It's kind of important." I expressed to him.

"Can you gimme five?" He asked and I shook my head as if he could see me.

"No. Now." I spoke sternly and before I knew it, he was FaceTiming me.

"I didn't say FaceTime." I said to him as I answered and his face came into view.

"I'm in trouble?" He asked, taking a pull from a blunt and I just watched him.

"Dominic, just come here." I rolled my eyes, hanging up the phone. He was such a punk.

Moments later, I heard his hard footsteps coming up the staircase and I slowly sat up, preparing myself for this conversation.

"Baby, what I do?" He asked as he finally came into the room, closing the door behind him.

"Sit." I told him and he slowly did, sitting at the edge of the bed.

"Listen, I ain't tryn' argue with you, T."

"I ain't do shit, I ain't fuckin' no other bitches, I ain't talkin' to no other bitches, I don't even look at these bitches. I only want you, ma." He went on nervously and I couldn't help but to laugh.

"Why are you so nervous then?" I asked, just playing around with him.

"Because I don't wun' argue witcha and I ain't tryn' be in no trouble witcha." He went on, copping his plea.

"Well it's nothing like that, Dominic." I finally assured him while he looked at me and I could see the relief in his eyes.

"I just got off the phone with my mom and she said that we should just come there for the night instead of a hotel."

"Na' it's cool. I ain't really feelin' that." He shook his head quickly.

"Why not? She said she'll give us our space and she won't interfere with us. She just wants me to be safe and honestly I would feel better there." I admitted to him and he raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah?" He asked and I nodded.

"Aight then, I'a take you but I ain't stayin'." He shook his head.

"So you're going to leave me?" I narrowed my eyes at him.

"At a time like this?" I asked.

"I'a just take you there and come get you tomorrow, baby."

"I ain't stayin' at your moms crib, T." He went on, shaking his head.

"I don't feel like the bullshit."

"What bullshit, Dominic? You're the one who starts majority of the arguments between you and her because of the way you talk to people." I instantly became upset.

"Yeah, Aight." He stood to his feet, making me shake my head.

"And you know it. You just say whatever you want out of your mouth and that's not okay."

"Na'. You just letting your moms get in your head again, so I'm gon' dip off before we get into some shit that I'm not in the mood for."

"I'm letting her get in my head?" I scoffed.

"Dominic you called her a bitch in front of me!" I snapped at him and he got quiet.

"You think that's okay?"

"I ain't never said it was." He shrugged.

"So why did you say it?"

"Why even go there with her? You always want to claim it's her but it's actually you, Dominic. You're the one who starts the mess sometimes." I expressed as he stood there quietly, leaning on the door.

"So you're going to apologize, whether we go there tonight or not. After talking to her, I don't think it was right of me to let that one slide so you need to apologize."

He scoffed, continuing to be stubborn as I watched him intently.

"Call her." I demanded but he simply stood there, not moving an inch.

"Na' you' trippin'. I'm supposed to apologize to her but she ain't never had to apologize to me. All the shit she did, all the shit she put you through and you let her slide..."

"But as soon as I say one thing, I gotta apologize to protect her feelings?"

"Na' fuck that." He shook his head.

"Dominic." I called, shaking my head. He was being so stubborn right now, I couldn't even believe it.

"I'm not playing with you. That's my mother. She said she wants an apology so you have to apologize."

"I ain't gotta do shit." He scoffed, turning to leave out of the room.

"First of all, you do. Especially if you want to be with me." I spat to him, making him stop and turn to look at me.

"What that mean?" He asked and I sat there in shock at my words but there was no going back now.

"If you don't apologize to her then I can't be with you. I'm not going to let you disrespect her because if you can disrespect my mom then you can disrespect me."

"Yeah?" He asked, chuckling to himself. I then watched as he shook his head, looking down at the floor.

"You know what.." He trailed off, nodding.

"Do what you gotta do, ma. I ain't forcin' you to stay with a nigga." He shrugged and my heart shattered.

All I wanted was for him to apologize and here we were back at square one. Breaking up. Again.

"Are you serious right now?" I asked, anger shooting through my body.

"You the one said that shit so don't get mad at me."

"You wun' leave a nigga because of your moms, gon' head. You did it before, what's the difference na'?"

"You are such a fucking asshole. All I wanted you to do was apologize, Dominic. It didn't even have to get here."

"Na' it did. Cause all your moms gotta do is say one thing bad about a nigga and you jump off the deep end every time."

"You called her a bitch! What the hell do you want me to do?" I snapped, feeling stuck in the middle.

"It's not my fault you don't have a fucking mom so you don't understand." I went off, instantly realizing I said the wrong thing.

I gasped, watching as he put his head down, looking down at the floor.

"Baby." I called trying to make it right but he scoffed, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to say that." I tried, reassuring him.

"Aight." He waved me off.

"Just get ready to go, T." Was all he said before leaving out of the room while I sat there dumbfounded.