Page 78 of Rah

Everybody was gathered, holding and consoling one another. Some were crying, others were pacing the floor, and a few sat in silence with their heads bowed like they were praying. I sat with them, but my presence felt fake. Everyone else was consoling one another, but I couldn’t bring myself to fake it.

The door opened, and a woman in scrubs stepped inside. She was tall with tired eyes and a clipboard clutched in her hands. She cleared her throat, and the whole room froze.

“Rah’s condition is stable,” she told his parents as if she had met them already. “He’s still in surgery, but he will live. The team is repairing the damage now, and he’ll be moved into recovery afterward.”

Relief broke across the room instantly. Gasps, sobs, and shouts of “Thank you, Jesus!” filled the air. His mother clutched her husband, shaking and crying with joy. Cousins hugged cousins.

Yet, I was cringing with regret on the inside. But I forced myself to be thankful that at least Solae didn’t have to live with being responsible for his death.

As the surgeon left the room, Rah’s mother’s face warped with anger through her tears. “That bitch is going to pay for this.”

“We’ll make sure she answers for it,” his father fussed. “She tried to kill him.”

Tina raised her hands gently. “Now, it could’ve been an accident—”

“Accident?” Rah’s father barked, cutting her off. “She told the police it was self-defense. She said my son was putting his hands on her. That’s a damn lie. Rah wouldneverdo that!”

Tears rolled down his mother’s cheeks as she told Tina, “She’s been bitter ever since he left her for Aaliyah. He told us that she’s been so angry and taking her frustrations out on those kids.”

That was it for me. I couldn’t hold my tongue anymore. “He’s a liar,” I seethed, and the whole room turned to me, stunned. “Shelefthim. He’s been lying to y’all, making himself out to be the victim when he’s the one destroying everything. Don’t act like you don’t know the kind of man he really is. Rah has been wreaking havoc on Solae and those kids, and probably deserved whatever Solae did to him!”

Rah’s father shot me a glare. “You willnotstand here and disrespect my son.”

My hands shook with rage. “Disrespect? The disrespect has been Solae’s pain being dismissed while y’all turn a blind eye to who he really is.”

“Enough!” he barked again.

I couldn’t breathe. My eyes burned, and my throat was tight with anger. I shoved back my chair so hard it scraped the floor and stormed out of that waiting room before I said something that couldn’t be unsaid.

FABE

Her skin against mine made me forget everything else. I moved slowly inside her, holding her like she might slip away if I didn’t.

With my dick deep inside of her, I felt something more than lust. I was embarrassingly in love with her. I was obsessed in a way I’d never admit to anyone but myself. Her body was damn near perfect, but it was more than that. She made me feel a peace I didn’t think existed for a nigga like me.

I buried my face in her neck, breathing her in. How the fuck Rah had this and still treated her foul, I couldn’t even understand. My brother was a snake, but to lay with a woman like Aaliyah and disrespect her didn’t add up. All I could imagine was treating her with delicacy, giving her the kind of love Rah didn’t even have in him.

She moaned, arching into me, and whispered, “Don’t stop.”

“I couldn’t if I tried,” I murmured against her lips. “You got me hooked, baby. You don’t even understand.”

Her soft yet burning eyes searched mine. “I know. I feel it.”

I kissed her deep and slow, like I wanted to memorize her mouth. Every stroke, every touch felt like I was trying to prove something to her and myself.

I was trying to prove to her that I wasn’t him.

Then my phone started ringing again on the nightstand. I ignored it while grinding deeper into her.

She pulled back slightly, out of breath. “Babe… answer it. That’s the third time it rang.”

“I don’t give a fuck about that right now,” I muttered, kissing down her jaw.

She pushed my chest playfully, though her eyes were serious. “Just answer it, Fabe. It could be important.”

I sighed, grabbed the phone, and glanced at the screen. It was Pop.

My eyes narrowed, wondering what could be so important. “Hello?”