Page 46 of Obsessive Love

FABLE

“I don’t have time for you, Xoey,” I said, moving around her to fix the next plate of desserts that was supposed to be out.

I’d been busy since I got here and didn’t see it ending any time soon.

I’d spent the last thirty-six hours preparing for this, and secretly, I loved every second of it.

The rush of putting together every recipe and designing them was bar none.

“Well damn, Bestie, I just came to check on you,” she pouted, and I rolled my eyes.

I stepped back, looking over the bite-sized chocolate and marshmallow swirl cookies I’d just plated.

It was a last-minute decision I made instead of using the cupcakes I’d originally planned to use.

I couldn’t get the icing right and refused to put out anything that wasn’t perfect.

“As you can see, I’m busy,” I replied, handing the plate to one of the servers.

“I can see that, but I wanted to make sure you didn’t need anything,” she said, grabbing my arm to stop me from walking away. “You’ve been working nonstop since you got here. Have you eaten? Drank some water? Anything?”

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “I’ll do all that once this is over.”

“No, you’re going to do it right now,” she laughed and pulled me toward the door. “Let’s make you a plate, and then come back here and eat.”

We walked through the door to the party, even though I didn’t want to. Xoey let go of my arm, and I looked around. There were a lot more people here than I expected.

“I’ll be right back; I need to go speak to Mercy and Givens,” she said, then walked away.

I watched as she approached the couple and shook my head.

I had never met them, but everybody knew Mercy DeCorte and Givens Robbins.

They were Black basketball royalty, especially since they recently announced their engagement.

Xoey stood next to the man I’d met the day before, the team doctor, Hood.

I was about to turn around and go back to the back when I noticed Pyrite approaching them.

I could see a woman standing next to him, but I couldn’t see who she was because of how they were positioned.

I could see that Pyrite was visibly upset and was talking to Hood.

They exchanged a few words; the woman moved closer to Hood, and the group started laughing.

As if they knew I was watching them, the group turned to face me, and I mugged Pyrite. He gave me a pantie-wetting smile, and I flipped him off before turning around and walking away. I quickly made a plate and went back to eat my food.

There was a lone table in the corner of the room that I went to and sat down at. I’d ensured that all the other staff took a break and ate, so they wouldn’t mind if I did the same. I said a quick prayer and then started eating.

“I heard you were back here,” Diara said, entering the kitchen.

We’d hit it off when I was going over the Queens’ dessert order.

Diara was the only one who voted for a vegan cookie, and at first, I was against it.

However, after we sat down and came up with a game plan, I fell in love with the idea.

I was all for inclusion, and adding the cookie was a perfect way to ensure we had something for everyone.

“Hey,” I covered my mouth with my hand and said. “You were looking for me?”

“I wanted to check in with you; I haven’t seen you since the arena opened back up,” she explained, and I nodded. “Pyrite said you were tied up dealing with something else, but I wanted to make sure.”

“Of course, he would say that,” I said, and Diara lifted her brow. “It’s a long story, but I’m good now.” I pointed to the empty chair. “Have a seat.”

“I wish I could, but I don’t have the time,” she denied, shaking her head. “I just wanted to say hi before I left.”

“You’re leaving?” I wasn’t surprised.

“I am, “she nodded. “I have something else to do, and I only came so Pyrite wouldn’t have to pay the fine for me missing.”

“You’re nicer than me because I wouldn’t have come.”

“I doubt it,” she laughed, and I shrugged. “Well, I just wanted to speak; the next time you’re at the arena, stop by my office to catch up?”

“Will do,” I agreed.

Diara left, and I went back to eating. Once I was done, I threw everything away and went back to setting trays.

“Fable!” Xoey yelled, coming into the kitchen. “Fable!”

“Back here, Xoey,” I replied as I finished my last tray.

“Oh, that looks good; what is that?” she asked, standing beside me.

“Pineapple upside-down cake bites,” I answered and handed her one. She bit into it, and her eyes ballooned. “Good, huh?”

“Hell yeah!” she said, nodding. “You got any more?”

I handed the server the tray, turned to her, and shook my head. “That was the last of them,” I said, pointing to the tray.

She narrowed her eyes at me and then turned up her nose. “You’re wrong for that,” she laughed. “But that’s okay because you’ll make some for girls' night.”

“Girl’s night?”

“Yeah, we all are getting together in a few weeks. You’re invited.”

“Umm, no,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m not.”

“Yes, you are,” she laughed. “Anyway, I’m heading home. I just wanted to come and tell you goodbye.”

“Bye, Xoey,” I said, walking away from her to start packing up my things.

“Oh,” she snapped, and I looked up. “I know you’re beefing hard with Pyrite, but be nice to him tonight.”

“Tell his girlfriend to be nice to him,” I replied, and she smiled. “Xoey, what are you smiling for?”

“Because you’re jealous,” she shrugged.

“I’m not jealous,” I said, shaking my head. I was, but I wasn’t going to admit that to her.

“Don’t lie to me or yourself; it's unhealthy,” Xoey said, shaking her head. “Anyway, be nice to him; we just found out Hood’s mama isn’t probably going to make it through the night.”

“What?” I stopped what I was doing and looked at her. “What do you mean?”

“She has cancer, we’ve known for a while. It’s one of the reasons Pyrite closed the arena for the week. He wanted to give Hood time with her and not have him stressed over the teams.”

“I didn’t know,” I said, shaking my head. “Pyrite never mentioned anything about her dying.”

“Did you ask?”

“No,” I replied. “Shit, that’s not something you ask. What was I supposed to say? ‘Hey, Pyrite, are any of your friend's parents dying?”

“No, I mean, did you ever ask him what he was going through?” Xoey clarified. “He checks in with you all the time, but do you ever return the energy, or do you just assume that because he occasionally does a few unconventional things, he’s just living his best life?”

“A few unconventional things? Really, Xoey?”

“Just answer the question,” she said, then kissed her teeth. “Do you ever check in on him? Do you ask him what he needs? Or do you assume he’s alright?”

“I-” I stopped talking and ran my tongue over my teeth. I didn’t ask Pyrite shit about his personal life; I never thought to because he was so open about everything.

“Exactly,” she said, shaking her head. “You weren’t checking in on him, even though he was ensuring you were good.” She pointed at me and smirked. “You need to do better on checking in on your man.”

“He’s not my man,” I said, rolling my eyes. “He has a girlfriend, remember?”

“Yeah, you,” she laughed, and my mouth dropped in surprise.

“You were talking about me?”

“Ugh, duh,” Xoey said and rolled her eyes. “I literally said I don’t fuck on my friends’ niggas. Who else did you think I was talking about?”

“You call me your bestie!”

“Well, you are, but that’s beside the point,” she said, waving me off. “I was talking about you when I said Pyrite had a woman. That crazy nigga has never brought anyone else around but you.”

I stared at Xoey for a moment, confused by the way this conversation was going.

I knew talking to her would stress me out because every time she opened her mouth, I ended up either confused or with a headache, and this one was no different.

I pinched my nose. “Xoey, you make the most hydrated part of my ass itch,” I sighed.

“What?” she laughed.

“You heard what I said,” I sighed. I rubbed under my eye and shook my head. “I wish he would’ve kept me locked in the basement by myself. Now that I think about it, I wasn’t even that stressed.”

“We met while you were locked in the basement.”

“Take me back to the day before we met,” I sighed. “Just for a little.”

“Nah,” Xoey said, shaking her head. She approached, hugged, and kissed my cheek before letting me go. “I make your life more interesting.” She patted my cheek. “Be nice to Pyrite; he was close to Ms. Arlene. I’ll call you later to check on him.”

“Okay,” I nodded. “Love you, Xoey.” I don’t know why I told her, but I did.

Maybe because no matter how much she got on my nerves or drove me crazy, she was my only constant since being brought here.

Xoey was unpredictable but loyal. I wasn’t even mad at her for letting me believe that Pyrite had a girlfriend because it was something that only she would do.

“You get on my nerves, but I love you anyway.” Xoey’s eyes got big in surprise, then filled with tears before she blinked them away and nodded.

“Love you, bestie,” Xoey said, then turned and walked away.

I walked out of the kitchen to search for Pyrite.

The party was still in motion, but everyone associated with Pyrite’s teams was missing.

I went to the back door and pushed it open.

Pyrite sat on the curb; his arms rested on his knees, and his head bowed.

I sighed, already hating that he was hurting.

I approached him and sat on the curb next to him.

“Hey,” I said softly.

“Hey,” he lifted his head and responded. His eyes were filled with tears. “I just need a minute.”

“I know,” I nodded. “Xoey told me what was going on.”

“I figured she would say something,” he gave me a lopsided grin and chuckled. “That girl can't keep her mouth shut.”

“She doesn’t mean any harm,” I said and shrugged. “She’s trying to help.”

“I know,” he nodded. “Which is why we don’t get mad at her.” He turned his attention to the parking lot and sighed. “Since we met, she has been trying to help. Sometimes, the shit works; other times, it doesn’t.”

“In her mind, it always works.”

Pyrite cut his eyes to me and lifted his brow. “You know how her mind works?”

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “I barely know how my own mind works; stepping into Xoey’s is not where I want to be.”

“Same,” he said, nodding. “Same.”

Silence enveloped us, and we allowed it. We were both lost in our thoughts. Pyrite was mourning his friend’s mother, who he had a relationship with. I was stuck in the realization that I wanted to be with Pyrite, despite his craziness.

“Pyrite?” I softly bumped him with my shoulder to get his attention.

“Yeah, Itty Bitty,” he replied without looking at me.

I put my hand out, palm up. “Let’s go home,” I said.

Pyrite looked at my hand and then up at me.

He gave me a soft smile, took my hand, and nodded.

We got up, and he put his arm over my shoulder.

Then, we walked to the car. Everything was packed up already, and the clean-up team knew to take everything to the storage for the bakery, and I’d check it all tomorrow.

An hour later, I was walking out of the bathroom, freshly showered and ready to go to sleep.

Pyrite sat on the edge of the bed in a pair of ball shorts and a durag on his head to protect his hair.

He had a blunt in his hand, and even though I knew he smoked, this was the first time I’d ever seen him do it.

I climbed into bed, crawled to him, and wrapped my arms around his body.

My face rested on his back, and I listened to him breathe.

“I don’t know what to say to Hood,” he said, then took a pull of his blunt. “I never lost a parent.”

“Tell him the truth,” I said. “Tell him that you’re there for him and will always be.”

“Shit sounds easy,” he chuckled lowly.

“Because it is,” I shrugged. “Your friend just needs you to be his friend right now. He will forever be grateful, even if he never says it.”

“How do you know?”

“Yamari’s mama died five years ago,” I replied.

“I didn’t know what to say to her, so I just sat with her.

No words, no judgment. She screamed, cried, and mourned, and I sat there with her.

Anything she needed, I got. I slept on her couch, waiting for her to leave her room.

And she did; it took her a month, but she did. ”

“Alright,” he said, nodding. “I can do that.”

“I know you can,” I said, then kissed his back. “You’re a good man, even if you do crazy shit.”

“I ain’t that bad,” he said, chuckling. I lifted my foot to show him the ankle monitor, and he kissed his teeth. “You ain't ever going to let me live that down, are you?”

“No,” I laughed. “Never in a million years. Not even when you take it off; I’m pretty sure I will have a permanent scar or something to remember it.”

“You ain’t gon’ have no scar.” He ran his finger across the strap and shook his head. “It ain't even tight.”

“Says the person who isn’t wearing it.”

He looked over his shoulder and smirked. “You want me to wear one?”

“No,” I answered and shook my head.

“I would; you know that, right?” he asked, and I nodded. He turned around and took another pull of his blunt. “All you gotta do is say so, and we’ll match.”

“I don’t need you to wear one,” I said as I traced the tattoo of his last name across the top of his back. “I know your obsessed ass will always come back to me.”

“True,” he agreed. “I just wish I could say the same about you.”

“Pyrite,” I sighed.

“Nah,” he said, shaking his head. He took another pull of his blunt, put the rest in his ashtray, and stood. He walked to the dresser, set the ashtray on it, turned around, and blew the smoke out of his mouth. “I can’t handle this conversation tonight, Itty Bitty.”

“I-”

“Not tonight, please,” he said, shaking his head. “Tonight, I just want to go to sleep holding you. Give me a couple of days, then we can go back to fighting and shit. But right now, I need you to be my peace. Can you do that for me?”

“Yes,” I nodded. “I can do that.”

“Thank you.” Pyrite walked back to the bed, climbed in, and I crawled up to him.

I laid on his chest as he covered us with the blanket, then wrapped his arms around me.

“I’m obsessed with you, Fable. I don’t know how to deal with the fact that you don’t feel the same.

I’m trying to learn to let you go; bear with me. I think I’m almost there.”