“Chill, bro,” I said. Roon lifted his head to look at me then mugged. I returned the same stare.
“I can’t believe this shit,” He said as he shook his head then got up from the couch. I moved over to cover Mikayla’s body, just in case this fool got trigger crazy. He saw what I did, and for a second, his mug disappeared. It returned when he probably realized that this whole situation was a slippery slope. He put his gun back into his waistband then started walking towards the door. Once he left out, I heard Mikayla let out the breath she was holding in. She wrapped her arms around my waist and laid her head on my back. I could feel her hands trembling on my waist. I stood still, on guard just in case Roon started to come back and do something stupid.
“You good?” I asked her while never taking my eyes off the door. She didn’t say anything, but I felt her nod her head on my back.
“Can I stay with you tonight?” She asked.
“Yeah,” I said. I don’t know how I was about to fix this situation or if Roon would be interested in fixing it. I didn’t know where his head was either. Would he fire me and take back the apartment? See, this is why I didn’t like handouts because if a nigga held the pieces, you would be ass out whenever he wanted to take it back. Roon wasn’t that kind, but the situation was different; Mikayla was in the middle of this. Hell, what would happen with him and Mikayla?
26. Raquel
“I missed you,” Antonio said as he hugged me.
“I missed you too,” I replied. I did miss him, but not as much as he probably missed me. I can’t lie; I was feeling Antonio, but my feelings weren’t really as strong. I don’t know what it was, but something was definitely holding me back from developing more feelings for him.
“I have some news to share with you.” He ended our embrace then sat down at the table he was waiting for me at. After my birthday gateway, it seemed like I was spending more and more time with him. We were together probably three times a week for either lunch, dinner, or a quick shopping spree. And he was still paying me. It seemed like a relationship turned more into a romantic one instead of a business one. I didn’t want to tell him that we should limit our time together because although the money looked good in my bank account, I didn’t feel right leading him on. So for the past week or so, I’ve been limiting our time together by saying that I was helping my baby sister prepare for her daughter's birth. It was somewhat true, Bre was due any day now, but I doubt I would be around when she did. However, Antonio called and said that he really wanted to see me today, and he had something to share with me. I agreed to meet up with him at a coffee shop downtown. I hope he wasn’t confessing that he loved me.
“What’s up?” I asked as I sat down and adjusted my mint-colored maxi dress. I paired it with clear heels and my new white Chanel crossbody purse. My hair was flowing down my back, and my makeup was on point.
“You look great.” He said, just admiring me. I can’t lie, his gaze was amazing and always had me blushing.
“Thank you.”
“Would you like anything?” He asked as he picked up the menu.
“Iced Vanilla Bean Frappe,” I said. It was too hot for coffee, in my opinion, but I didn’t want to sit here without anything to use as a distraction as he shared his news. He got up to place our order, and I got on my phone to pass the time by. I scrolled on Instagram and came across a post from Roon. Yes, I still followed him because, why not? Anywho, it was a typical Roon post, vain and expensive. He was a balcony of a hotel, wearing nothing but designer labels and looking so good.
I’m just a vibe you can’t find anywhere else. I can’t front, he was right about that. Although I was the one to end things, I did miss the good times we had together. I double tapped his photo, but it didn’t mean anything. Definitely didn’t.
“Here you are,” Antonio said as he came back and sat my drink in front of me. I put my phone away. He had a pastry and a latte. His usual no matter what coffee shop we went to.
“Thanks.” I put my straw into my drink and took a sip. He took a bite from his pastry then took a sip from his drink. We were silent for about five minutes until I cleared my throat. “So, what’s the news?” I asked.
“Something I need to show you first.” He said then picked up a manilla envelope that was lying in the empty chair at our table. He took the documents out, then slid them over to me. COMPLAINT FOR ABSOLUTE DIVORCE. It took me a minute to understand what I was reading. I knew they were papers for a divorce, but I was confused as to why he was showing them to me.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“I’m finally moving forward and getting a divorce. My son just graduated, and I figured it’s either now or never.”
“I see that. I know you’ve shared with me about your relationship with your wife, but why are you showing this to me?”
“I wanted you to see that I’m serious about ending things. I want to be free, and I want to be with you. I don’t want to do this- I don’t want us to go through the company anymore. And don’t worry, I’ll still take care of you financially. I’m about to retire from the army,
