Page 134 of Rah

“Damn, my phone been blowing up!” With the same grin on his face, Moses stared into his phone as he went through notifications, his call log, and text messages. I loved the look in his eyes. It looked like happiness and winning. Moses hadn’t had that look on his face since the first time he heard himself on a recorded track. I was so happy for him.

“No wonder Rah was blowing me up last night. He must have saw it too,” Moses said with a grunt and shake of his head.

“And he probably saw those pictures of you in VIP popping bottles with Ill One. He’s going to try to snake his way back in. He probably feels like you owe him since he feels like he made you.”

“I don’t care what he feels like. He can’t ride this wave with me.”

I smiled. I couldn’t express how happy for and proud of him I was. I leaned over and kissed him, stank morning breath and all.

“You know you’re famous now, right?” he spoke into our kiss.

I giggled and sat back. “No, I’m not.”

“Yes, you are.”

I shook my head shyly and cringed. But he was right. My Instagram followers had grown overnight. I had gone fromonly a thousand to ten thousand. I had hella Facebook friend requests. I had so many mentions. It felt weird, but I was happy that the world now knew who Moses’ woman was.

“I don’t know if I want this to lead to something big or not.”

Cocking my head to the side, I looked at him like he had two heads. “What do you mean?”

He shrugged, saying, “I guess I’m scared to dream at this point. This could be my fifteen minutes of fame. They could start talking about somebody else tomorrow and forget about me. I don’t wanna lose focus on my responsibilities because people are talking about metoday. I gotta worry abouttomorrowand the next day and the next.”

I was grinning at him so hard that he had to chuckle. “Why you lookin’ at me like that?”

“Becauuuuse,” I sang. “My boyfriend is growing into a man.”

SOLAE

I smiled as I scrolled through the search results on Instagram for #SongsOfMoses. I had been so stressed out about my case that I hadn’t even been on social media in a few days. I had had no idea that Moses’ video had even released, let alone gone viral, until Kahlani showed up at my parents’ house a few minutes ago. Her smile was so big as she bounced through the door. I was so jealous of her happiness and the positive changes that were happening for her and her family. The only ray of sunshine in my life was Priest. But I had been so overwhelmed with stress since the trial started that I couldn’t spend any alone time with him. I just felt like any free moment that I had should have been spent with my kids or getting my affairs in order, in case I was found guilty that Friday.

But, despite my own drama, as I looked at the world talking about Moses, I finally felt a little bit of happiness. Sitting beside me, Kahlani’s smile was so infectious that, no matter my sadness, I felt it. I couldn’t believe that Moses had startedpopping like that overnight. Now, not only did Chicago know his name, but the whole world did.

“That’s so cool, Kahlani.” Sitting my phone on the table, I tried to smile wholeheartedly. I had made my lips curve upward, but I could feel the sadness and heaviness in it.

Kahlani must have seen it too because she looked at me and pouted. “I’m sorry, Solae.”

“Why?” I asked her.

“Because I came over here throwing my happiness all in your face while you’re going through this. You are worried about your life. I know you couldn’t care less about a damn music video.”

“No, no, no,” I insisted. “I care. I’m really happy for you. I’m just scared that…” I felt the tears coming. I didn’t bother to stop them. They had been flowing since Monday. They had been overflowing as the days drew nearer and nearer to when my fate would finally be decided. “I’m scared that you’ll be flying to L.A., popping bottles, backstage at his concerts, and…I won’t be here to do it with you like we planned.”

I couldn’t hold my head up any longer. It fell into my folded arms as they rested on the dining room table. I could feel Kahlani rubbing my back as I gave in to the tears and allowed the pain to come out.

“I got you. I swear to God, I do.” Kahlani’s words had tears in them as well. “If you go down for this, I got you. I don’t care if I’m still working a nine-to-five or on a tour bus, your kids are gonna be right there with me.”

I sat up and looked at her. “You promise?”

“I swear, girl.”

She reached out and didn’t give me a choice; she threw her arms around me and brought me in, holding me tight. We rocked back and forth and just cried.

“Nobody is judging you for this,” Kahlani cried. “You know that, right? You don’t have to feel bad.”

“But I do. Why did I do this to my kids?”

“Because he pushed you,” Kahlani insisted while still holding me and rocking in this sadness with me. “He deserved it, and he is going to get his.”