“I opened the fuckin’ door to a broad that was doing cocaine as a fucking pregamer. Shit, she barely fuckin’ eats, so she’s probably havin’ that shit for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”“Fuuuuuck.”
“Yeah…” Shio spewed. “Shits a no-go.”
“We beat addiction before. You helped me. We can help her. All we gotta do is get Don to get that knizzy shit again. Then we send her ass to rehab first and?—”
“Nah. Her nigga wants to trade. A bitch for a bitch, so that’s what the fuck I’m doing.”
Sweat slicked my palms as my hearing cleared. The word “bitch” rolled off his tongue as if it were my first name instead of Solana.
“But you just said he wasn’t answering the phone.”
“Yeah, well… I’m ’bout to return this lil’ nose picker back to sender. I’ll find my family.”
Shio’s eyes darkened dangerously, causing me to tremor. My heart shattered into a trillion pieces seeing his lack of care for me. I had to swallow down the sob that crept up my throat.
“Shio—”
“Fuck her, Ezio! Don’t you fuckin’ try to sympathize with her. You were addicted to pills. Shit, we all popped them. But you still got your ass up and got to it every day. You did what the fuck you had to do to ensure that we all ate… That we all got rich! Yeah, you were getting high, but you were still making fuckin’ moves. Making fuckin’ money. Making shit happen.
“I worked too hard, Ezio. I worked too hard mentally, physically, and spiritually to settle for somebody who is too coked out to wash their fuckin’ ass! I thought maybe she was homesick! Whole time, she locked in the room getting high. Nah, fuck nah! I need a queen! A fuckin’ queen, Ezio! I got one fuckin’ daughter that I just found out about, ion need another one. I don’t give a fuck how pretty she is. Her sins are far too fuckin’ gone for my spiritual welfare. I can’t fuckin’ do it, Ezio.”
I faced Shio and cringed at the fire in his eyes as he looked at the screen.
“I’m gone die behind my fuckin’ daughter, Ezee, and if I’m willing to die, then any muthafucka around me can die too. That’s why I gotta do this shit alone.”
The tears poured down my face, burning my lids due to the liner and mascara. Shio’s words sliced through me like a razor blade.Cokedout.Daughter. Me not being aqueen. All three swirled around in my head like a puzzle I couldn’t figure out.
Ezio was quiet again, and I could feel the pity through the phone. Using the back of my hand, I wiped my face, probably smearing my makeup even more than it already was. I was hurt, yes, but I was no one’s charity case. I’d get through this as Imaneuvered through everything else I’d been through. I wanted to at least get a farewell fuck from Shio, but hearing how he really felt had me feeling grateful that he’d caught me.
Yeah, I don’t need him.
Ezio sighed. “Just let me know the play.”
“I’m good. I just wanted to let you know what was up. I gotta go.”
Shio ended the call and, at the same time, pulled through the massive iron gates. This place was familiar. It was where my feet first touched American soil. The low lights inside his luxury vehicle were no match for the runway’s bright lights, which lined the sleek plane. It sat as if it were waiting for us, its open door and stairs leading inside. He’d chartered a jet, and I didn’t know if he’d already done it for our date or if this was something he’d just set up. Either way, it was evident that he was trading me for his family as he’d said to Ezio.
Realization set in, and the brief, brave front that I’d put on vanished. I knew the plan was to sleep with Shio and have my father hand me over to the Rodríguezes, but hearing the disgust in Shio’s voice and seeing how he’d instantly resorted to putting me on a plane without question had me ready to beg him to let me stay.
“Shio—”
“Get the fuck out the car, Solana!”
I was too ashamed to look in his face, so I stared ahead at the plane. Swallowing the saliva that my tears had produced, I pulled at the door handle and stepped out of the car. A shiver ran down my spine, so I rubbed my arm after closing the door behind me. My face felt gooey, indicating that my makeup had indeed run and smeared. The soft whirring of the plane’s engine filled the night’s air, and since I was still outside of Shio’s car and hadn’t traveled further than the passenger door, I could hear him on another call.
“Mama. You around the pastor?” His words were muffled, but I could still interpret them clearly.
The phone was still on speaker, and I could hear his mother reply, “Baby, what happened?”
“Nothing. I just… I may not… need y’all to pray for me.”
I could no longer listen. I ran toward the plane, forgetting I was in heels. The tears blurred my vision, and I missed a step, which caused me to crash down on my knees. The feeling hadn’t come back to the rest of my body just yet, so my knees were numb while my hands burned. I stayed on the ground, hands planted on the tar while huffing out a cry.
My chest shook, and I heaved while tears continued to flood my face. Strong arms pulled me up by my waist, and when I thought Shio was going to coddle me, he used the strength that he trained for every morning and tossed me over his shoulder. My ass was right next to his face, and the cool air against my damp panties made me tremble, but the tears hadn’t stopped.
Shio ascended the stairs, walking up each one as his shoes clank with every step. The world was upside down from this view, but I could see that his car was no longer running and was parked at an angle in the dark. He boarded the plane, with me in tow, ignoring the greeting from what I assumed was the flight crew. I could feel the blood rush to the top of my head. Balling my fists, I began beating his back. My fists were no match for his iron-like muscles, but I kept beating anyway.
“Let me fucking go! Put me down! Put me down now!”
