Page 104 of The Love of Priest 2

Chapter Twenty-One

Darkness filled the sky as a smooth wind circled the smooth acres of the estate.

Priest found himself looking over the extended amount of land he acquired with the home.

He remembered when purchasing the estate, his real estate agent raved about all the new construction and development he could begin with all the empty plots of land.

He had yet to decide what the land would be used for in the future, but as of right now, the sight of the evenly cut landscape served him with the calmness he needed to unwind from the tense dinner he endured.

In desperate need of clearing his mind, he had a joint pinched between his fingers.

He extracted a lighter from his front pocket, igniting the flame before scorching the tip of the joint.

Taking his first pull alleviated his shoulders of the heavy feeling he was carrying from the dinner.

Streams of smoke drifted out of his nostrils before he took another pull.

He was in disbelief after finding out his sister had fallen into the same things he had been desperately trying to get away from.

He knew the pattern and routine all too well.

One day, she was just making sure the money was right, and the next, she would be handling all the logistics.

She’d be in over her head before she even knew it.

What made matters worse was the fact that Kaymen and J'Ru were just allowing her to do so.

He honestly felt like the dispute he just had with Jazzy shouldn't have even happened because Kaymen and J'Ru should have put a stop to everything before it got too far.

Now, Jazzy was scheduled for her very first sit down, one that Priest couldn't be a part of because of his situation back in The States.

He felt sick. Usually, he was all for teaching a lesson whenever Jazzlyn or even Mirsad were being hardheaded.

However, in this instance, what could he possibly do?

After this visit, Jazzlyn would be on the jet back to New York where he wouldn't know what was really going on.

Priest also knew his sister. He was sure he had just lit fire right underneath her ass to do everything he forbade her from doing.

The heaviness of his eyelids began weighing down on him. He wasn't clear on whether it was the good weed he had in his system or if he was actually tired. Whichever one it was, it was being overpowered by his circling thoughts, making it impossible for him to want to sleep.

As he stood in the backyard of the home gazing at the acres of land, he reflected on the things he had done to get to that very moment.

Standing in the backyard of a multi-million-dollar estate had always been the goal for him, but somewhere along the way of accomplishing his goal, he fucked up.

He let the riches, the status and the power blind his little sister and convince her that she too could play the dirty game that had defeated him in more ways than he could count.

Interrupting him from dwelling in his deep thoughts was the sound of footsteps making their way through the evenly cut blades of grass.

Hearing the occasional light groan and huff of heavy air caused a light chuckle to stream out of Priest. With his joint pursed between his lips, he looked over his shoulder at Britain who was tiptoeing through the grass with a panicked look on her face.

He decided to save her from walking any further by making up for the distance and meeting her halfway.

It took a lot of persuading for Britain to make her way through the grass to meet him.

Her mind instantly filled with the pessimistic thought of being bitten by a snake after their gardener made a frightening discovery of a garden snake while tending to the land.

Britain quickly scurried over to him with a distressed look on her face. "Why'd you decide to come all the way back here? You know we have snakes," she complained while looking down at the grass below her to ensure there wasn't slithering through the grass around her.

"We had one garden snake,Gioia," he reminded her so she could tone down her dramatics. He positioned himself behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist so she too could take in the sights of their open land.

"Are you calm now?" She reached her hand up to caress the side of his face. "I heard pretty much everything, and your mean streak is nothing to play with." She shook her head, still in shock.

Another chuckle escaped Priest. Despite feeling like Jazzy, J'Ru and Kaymen deserved every lethal remark that rolled off his tongue, his conscience still made him feel bad.

"I don't know,G . I just feel like I move five steps forward just to get kicked ten steps back.

" He shook his head as his eyes drifted away from her.

A light sigh aired out of Britain. She sympathized with him.

She knew how painful the blow to the stomach was for Priest when Jazzlyn revealed that she had been getting her feet wet in the business.

From what everyone told her, Priest had protected Jazzlyn from the world ever since she was a little girl.

She knew he was not only upset by the fact that Jazzy was voluntarily throwing herself into a whirlwind of chaos and trouble, but he was also upset because he felt like the one thing he had done right in his life was raising Jazzy to be everything he wasn't, and now he was finding out that he had once again failed.

"Where did I fuck up at? I mean, I knew shit was rough in the beginning.

I kept getting locked up and shit, but I thought I gave her a pretty good childhood.

I only had so much to go off of really," he vented with a troubled look etched on his face as he tried dissecting every piece of Jazzlyn's upbringing in his head.

"I gave her everything I ain't have. She can live the rest of her life without lifting a finger because of all the bad shit I've done.

Instead of taking what I provided for her for what it is, she wanna be a fucking crash test dummy.

That shit just don't make sense," he said, shaking his head.

"And then for Ru and Kay to be co-signing her on this is fucking wild." A laugh full of bitterness and turmoil poured into Britain's ears as she continued to let him vent. "They went against everything I stand for, and that shit ain't cool."

Priest was so conflicted when it came to who deserved the most heat.

J'Ru and Kaymen knew him better than that to even let the thought of allowing Jazzy in the business to even grace their minds.

He felt like so many things were happening around him and he had no ability to intervene.

The thought of his little sister moving dirty money was something he couldn't stomach, yet it was happening anyway.

Another sigh drifted out of Britain as she rotated herself around to peer up at Priest. She eyed him as he took another pull from his joint before exhaling a stream of smoke. She reached up and rested her hands on his shoulders, which alleviated the tense feeling that weighed upon them.

"P, she's an adult. She makes her own decisions for her life,” Britain let out.

The crazed look that Priest's face contorted into let her know that he didn't like anything she was saying, but it was the truth.

At this point in time, he needed to stop viewing Jazzy as the child he raised and view her as an adult.

No one was to blame for her falling into the life he forbade her from living, not him, not J'Ru nor Kaymen.

Priest couldn't believe what was coming out of Britain's mouth right now.

After sitting around the dinner table amongst everyone who went against everything he stood for, he at least thought his woman would back him more than anyone else.

Priest grabbed Britain's arms so he could shake her hands from resting on his shoulders.

"You're bugging," he harshly scoffed. "You can miss me with all that shit. That’s my fucking baby sister."

"I understand that, P, but no one is responsible for her anymore. She's an adult. No one forced her hand to do any of this."

Britain was sure this was the last thing he wanted to hear, but if she couldn't be openly honest with him, who would?

Priest liked to be responsible for everything and everyone.

At some point, he needed to let go and take a step back.

She understood that the business Jazzy was indulging in was something he wanted to keep her far away from, but she had made her decision as an adult.

Priest needed to hold Jazzlyn accountable for her decision, not himself or anyone else.

"Answer me this: did you figure everything out by the time you were twenty?" He tilted his head to the side as his dark orbs peered down at her.

"No,” Britain responded. "But every fuck up I made, I took full accountability for it. I didn't have anyone else to take accountability for me."

Priest took a deep inhale of his joint before allowing the smoke to escape his nostrils. "Well, I'll always be that person for my little sister. We don't got nobody but each other when it comes to family."

"And I get that, P. No one can ever change your dynamic with your little sister because of the things you guys went through together.

What I'm saying is you can't allow her actions and choices to fall on you or anyone else.

Kay and Ru care for Jazzy almost as much as you do, but they understand that she is growing to be her own person who can make her own decisions about how she wants to live.

What she does and doesn't do with her life at this point cannot be blamed on you," Britain preached to him in hopes of having him view the situation in a different light instead of blaming himself for Jazzlyn's decision.