Page 127 of Only for Me

I would run that shit by Makari. She wasn’t fucking with Layla like that.

“Damn, I might have to sit this one out,” Ryland said after Moses walked away and I removed the tape for my wrist from my locker.

“Why?”

“You know I fucked Layla.”

“Bruh, are you serious?”

“I mean shit, she was willing and who am I to turn down a willing participant?”

“You ain’t shit and if he finds out and beats your ass, you deserved it.”

“I wish the fuck he would. That nigga be in the cut with me. I know half the women he’s fucking with.”

“Y’all keep that shit off the field.”

“Let’s go, fellas. You got ten minutes to be dressed and ready to go. Get your asses in gear,” Coach Williams yelled from the entrance to the locker room then turned to leave.

“You know you’re about to have all of them running today.”

I wrapped the tape around my wrists and ripped it with my teeth.

“Shit, that’s on them. They need to know their limits.” He turned to change into his practice gear and I chuckled, tossing my bag into the bottom of my locker. I headed out of the locker room mentally preparing myself for the next few hours.

My car feltlike heaven when I dropped down in the driver’s seat after tossing my practice bag next to me. All I wanted to do at this point was take my ass home, kiss my baby girl, and lay out under Makari. The thought brought a smile to my face because my life had damn sure done a one-eighty since last year.

As soon as I had my phone in hand, I knew the universe was trying to remind me that shit wasn’t sweet though because my mother’s name showed up on the screen, causing me to feel annoyed. I hadn’t talked to her in over a year and the only reason she reached out then was to demand that I handle a situation with my father. He was drunk at the crib, showing his assbecause she refused to cook him dinner and she wanted him out of the house.

This was how they got down. He drank too much, they argued, she threw him out and he ultimately sweet talked his way back home and into her bed. I loved my mother but couldn’t deal with her for multiple reasons. He was one of them but the way she hated me because O’Rion had died was at the top of that list.

I had my own demons. Deep down inside I knew his death wasn’t on me, regardless of how I blamed myself, but for a mother to cast out one son for the other was a different kind of pain. I had dealt with that shit since the day my brother was born, but after he was gone, it was a different kind of hurt. She never actually said the words but she didn’t have to. The day of his funeral she told me I broke her heart then walked off, but shit, she broke mine long before that.

I hit ignore but she called back, so I got concerned, praying nothing had happened to my pops. Makari asked why I kept showing up for him and I hated to admit that I showed up because no matter how twisted our bond was, he was the only one who showed me any kind of love, even if it was conditional. When things were good, they were good. However, when he was drinking, that was an entirely different story.

“Yeah…” My tone was clipped when I answered but I didn’t give a damn. She didn’t deserve my kindness. She refused to give me hers; I damn sure wasn’t returning the favor.

“Your brother’s headstone needs to be replaced.”

I frowned, dropping my head back against the seat.

“What are you talking about?”

“I went to see him today and it’s ruined. Some kids went through there vandalizing the cemetery and there’s paint all over my baby’s grave. It’s chipped too. They used hammers to destroy the headstones and I refuse to have my baby resting that way.”

The fuck…

This woman couldn’t pick up the phone to ask how I was doing, call to tell me she loved me, happy birthday, Merry fucking Christmas, or hell, even I hate you and wish it was you and not him. But she could call and demand for me to do something for her…

Because it wasn’t for her, it was for O’Rion, and she knew I wouldn’t deny her if it was connected to him.

“They just fuck with his?”

The conversation I had with Kyon pushed through my mind. Destroying my brother’s grave could have been a way of sending a message. There was no way Ky would let this come back to me but that didn’t mean that ol’ boy who’d pulled up on O’Rion that night didn’t run his mouth before Ky got to him. Niggas talked, and they knew who my brother was.

“No, they damaged several graves but I’m not concerned with those others, just my baby. You need to replace it.”

“You’re so fucking stubborn that you can’t even ask. You’re telling me what I need to do.”