Page 21

AVERI

I didn’t even know I was holding my breath until the door slammed in my face. Royal didn’t just shut me out. He shattered me with one sentence.

“Get the fuck out.”

I stood there for a moment, frozen in the hallway of his apartment in front of his bedroom door, body tense, tears on standby—but my pride wouldn’t let them fall.

Instead, I dragged myself two floors down to my apartment, where I somehow managed to unlock the door with trembling fingers and walk inside without collapsing.

Egypt was curled up on my couch in sweats, her bonnet on and her eyes puffy like she hadn’t slept. She sat up when I walked in, eyes locking on mine. “You okay?” she asked immediately.

“No.” My voice cracked.

She stood, phone in hand. “Averi… is it true?”

I blinked. “What?”

She turned her screen toward me. A Tea And Honey post blared across it in big bold letters:

PRAYERS UP Kingston “King” Teegan, Brother of Rapper Royal, Fatally Shot After Club Altercation

I felt my knees give slightly. The rage that bubbled up in my chest was blinding. These blogs didn’t give a damn about timing, privacy, grief—nothing. The family had just gotten the news hours ago.

I nodded slowly. “It’s true.”

Egypt’s hand went to her mouth. “Oh my God…”

She rushed over to hug me, and that was it. That was all it took. I broke. I let the sobs rip through me until I couldn’t breathe, until my shoulders were trembling. I wasn’t just crying for Royal. I was crying for King.

I liked him… a lot. He was the first person in Royal’s life to actually see me.

The first one who vouched for me when Royal was hellbent on shutting me out.

He talked me off the ledge more times than I could count when I swore I was done with Royal’s arrogant, insufferable ass.

In so many ways, King was our bridge. The anchor that steadied us when we both wanted to drift.

I fell asleep with my face buried in Egypt’s lap, her hand stroking my curls, not saying much… just being there.

A week later and I knew I should’ve been in L.A. by now. My lease at the apartment ended three days ago, and I was supposed to be at a meeting on Monday. But I couldn’t leave. Not yet. Not when everything felt so… wrong.

So, I requested that the meeting be pushed until I got back.

Serenity and Egypt were helpful in making this happen, even when the execs insisted, I could be on Zoom or get a recap from my agent.

We never did meetings without each other, in case the show runners or producers tried to pull some bullshit.

It had been that way from the beginning.

I hadn’t spoken to Royal since the night he kicked me out.

He hadn’t called, texted, nothing. And when I tried to call or text, he never replied.

The only updates I had were through Queenie and Zay.

They were the ones who told me about the funeral arrangements.

I didn’t even know if I was supposed to go—but I couldn’t stay away.

So, I dressed in all black, slipped on my Chanel sunglasses, and made my way to the church.

The sanctuary was full, wall-to-wall with people who loved King. Or claimed they did. Half the city showed up. It was beautiful, if not suffocating. I stayed toward the back, slipping in quietly, not wanting to disrupt anything.

The Teegan family sat front and center. Royal, stone-faced, Queenie, draped in black lace, shoulders trembling and Princess, cheeks soaked in tears.

They moved through the ceremony with strength I didn’t understand.

When Queenie spoke, I cried. When Princess sang a hymn, I cried harder.

When Royal stood to talk about his brother, I sobbed quietly into a tissue.

Afterward, I tried to approach him as they stood outside the church greeting guests. He turned, and for a moment, I saw a flicker of something. Something real like relief, but then it vanished as quickly as it came.

“Thought you left,” he said flatly.

I swallowed. “I didn’t want to… not until I knew you were okay.”

His mouth twisted. “I’m not. And I don’t need you to fix it.”

“Royal—”

“You should go back home, Averi,” he said, voice sharp. Cold. “This shit ain’t got nothin’ to do with you no more.”

The cut landed deep. But I didn’t let it show, I just nodded, blinked back the tears, and whispered, “I’m sorry for your loss.” He said nothing.

I approached Queen and gave her a hug. “You okay baby?” she asked.

“I should be asking you that.” I replied, and she gave me a gentle smile.

“I’ll be fine…” she glanced over at her son. “We all will. Just give him some time, okay?”

I nodded before giving Princess a quick hug, then I slipped my shades back on and went and got in the black car that had brought me here telling the driver to take me back to the hotel.

Not long after, I sat cross-legged on the edge of the bed in my hotel room, the curtains drawn closed, still dressed in funeral clothes.

The Chanel sunglasses were off now, but the heaviness behind my eyes hadn’t left.

I stared down at my phone like it might unlock some version of Royal that still cared about me. That still saw me.

I was hoping for some sign, any sign that he needed me after all, but nothing came.

No texts, no calls, nothing but silence.

The kind that gets loud when it’s someone you love.

And I did fucking love him, in a short amount of time, I had fallen for Royal Teegan against my better judgement.

I fought it as hard as I could, but honestly God put up a better fight against my free will.

My thumb hovered over Egypt’s contact for a second then Ari’s. But I didn’t call either of them. Instead, I scrolled until I got to Serenity, my thumb tapping the FaceTime button before I could talk myself out of it.

She picked up after two rings. Her hair was in a messy bun on top of her head, her skin glowing in the golden-hour light from what looked like the backyard. She was in a robe, holding a cup of tea, and I could hear Cree and Giovanni giggling somewhere in the distance.

She sat up straighter as soon as she saw my face. “Ave… oh my God. Are you okay?”

“No,” I whispered. “Not even a little.”

Her expression softened immediately. “You still in Atlanta?”

“Yeah. I’m at the W- Downtown. I went to the funeral.”

She sighed and nodded. “I figured you would. Did you… did you talk to him?”

I let out a bitter laugh. “Tried to. He has completely shut me out. Told me I should’ve gone home and said he doesn’t need me.”

She flinched. “Damn.”

“I called you because…” I paused, trying to find the words, “...you’ve been here. You were there for Creed when he lost his grandfather. I remember how bad that was for him. How he tried to act like he was okay, but you saw through all of it. You were his anchor.”

Serenity exhaled, nodding slowly. “Yeah. That was one of the hardest times in our relationship. He was hurting so bad, and he didn’t know how to be vulnerable with anybody but me.”

“I don’t know what to do Tootie,” I admitted, voice cracking. “I’ve tried giving him space, I’ve tried showing up, I’ve tried being patient. And I know he’s grieving, I know, but it’s like… all the progress we made just disappeared. It’s like I don’t even know him anymore.”

Serenity tilted her head. “Babe, listen to me. I’m going to try to say this in the nicest way possible. But this ain’t about you.”

I blinked. “What?”

“It’s not. This isn’t about your relationship, or the time you’ve invested, or how you feel right now.

This is about Royal. He lost his brother.

His best friend. And grief doesn’t care about timing or logic or feelings.

” I looked away from the camera, ashamed that I even needed to be reminded of that.

“I know you want to fix it,” she continued.

“I know you want to hold him and make it better. But some things can’t be fixed.

You have to let him feel this. Let him process.

Let him fall apart if that’s what he needs to do. ”

I nodded slowly, swallowing the lump in my throat. “But?—"

“Not buts Babe,” she added gently, “And if you really care about him, you have to be strong enough to love him from a distance. Give him grace. Give him time. Be his safe space—but also be okay with not being needed right now.”

I was quiet for a long moment, just staring at her through the screen. “How’d you do it? With Creed?”

Her smile was sad. “Some days, I wanted to leave. But I stayed. I held space. I prayed with him, for him and over him. And when he was ready… he came to me.”

Tears welled in my eyes. “I want to be that for Royal. I do. But I feel so fuckin’ rejected right now.”

“I know, Averi. I know.” She nodded. “And you have every right to feel hurt. But don’t let your hurt stop you from showing up the way he needs, even if that means not showing up at all. That’s what love is.”

I nodded again, finally understanding what I needed to do. “I think I’m gonna head home tomorrow,” I whispered.

“You sure?”

“Yeah, this meeting sounds important, and it can’t get pushed again, Besides, I told Egypt I would be in LA to work on her music. But I just need to see him one more time. I don’t wanna leave things like this.”

“I get it,” she said. “Just… don’t expect anything. And don’t let this break you.”

“I won’t.” I wiped my face. “Thank you, Serenity. I didn’t even know how bad I needed to hear that.”

“That’s what I’m here for. I love you.”

“Love you too.”

As soon as the call ended, I dialed my assistant and had her book me on the next evening flight back to L.A. But first, I had to try one last time. Even if it hurt, even if it broke me. I had to say goodbye to the man I loved… just in case he never came back.

The Next Day I texted Zay knowing he would be with Royal, knowing that if I texted Royal he was likely not going to answer me.

Me: Hey, you with him?

Zay: What’s up Sis, yeah we together.

Me: Where?