I exhaled hard. “That first album didn’t really do numbers. Her label fucked her over. That was why she wanted to leave. Fuck!”
“Graham, does this change things for you?”
“No. If it did, then her running would be justified. She’s not a prostitute now. I just wish I would have asked if she was clean. We fucked without a condom when I went to meet her in Baltimore.”
She lowered her head, and I frowned. “I’m sorry. We umm . . . Your dad took your box out of your luggage. I was feeling a way . . . triggered as fuck and asked him to wear a condom.”
“I knew I had packed condoms. Y’all niggas had me thinking I was tripping. It’s okay, Mama. I only had the one in my wallet though, so we went without. I would hope that she wouldn’t have done that if she wasn’t clean.”
“She seems to really care about you, Graham, so I would like to think she wouldn’t go there if she knew she had something.”
I nodded as she handed the phone back to me. I slid my hand down my face and texted Kimaji back.That’s some bullshit. I’m flying out there tomorrow evening. I gotta get her to talk to me.
Okay. Noah called me. I told him how worried I was. He said they were going to talk to her in the morning and pray for her too.
She needed those prayers. I was just glad she was with them. She needed someone with a direct line to God. He would probably send my ass to voicemail. I prayed sometimes, but Noah just seemed like he walked with Him daily. I stood from my seat, and my mama stopped me. She hugged me tightly.
“Go see about her as soon as you can. I’ll handle that muthafucka while you’re gone. When she catches wind of this shit, she’s gonna need you more than ever.”
“I just texted Kimaji and told her I would be going out there tomorrow evening. She’s gonna sink more in the shadows if she sees that.”
“Yeah. Okay. Let’s go back up front.”
We left the room to see them having a good time, laughing and talking. I did my best to pretend I was cool. I went to the kitchen and poured myself a drink, then gulped it and poured another round. The alcohol would probably loosen me up. When I sat on the couch next to Cooper, he said, “You good?”
“Yep.”
He nodded, but I knew he wasn’t buying that shit. He knew me better than anybody here, even my parents. I had to get to Arlie before that fucking article did.
“We had a productive day,shorty. I say we go out to celebrate. Kenya is going to come in to add vocals to that song tomorrow, and I might see if Michel’le could bless us as well. You did your thing. I’m so proud of you.”
“Thank you, Noah. That means a lot coming from you.”
We left the studio a couple of minutes ago. I rode with him because he refused to allow me to Uber anywhere. I always rode with him leaving the studio. He would always get there earlier than me though. His phone rang, and it reminded me that I hadn’t checked my phone. I powered it back on, and it went crazy.
Noah glanced at me, and I could see in his eyes that the conversation was about me. I frowned slightly but brought my attention back to my phone. There were messages from Kimaji and Graham. My dad’s message had crying faces, so I opened hisfirst. There was a screenshot and he asked,did this start after your mom died?
I literally felt like I was hyperventilating. The screenshot was an article about me. The headline wasFrom Prostitute to Rapper . . .
“Let me call you back, RJ.” Noah grabbed my hand, and I flinched. “Shorty, you alright?”
I shook my head quickly. I couldn’t believe what I had read. I couldn’t even read the article. The headline had me losing it. If my dad had seen it, then I knew Graham had seen it. I lowered my face to my hands and screamed.
“Yo! What’s up?”
I handed him my phone as my hands trembled. It was always something. I didn’t understand why people always wanted to fuck with me! I didn’t bother anybody. My focus had been on my career for the past two years, after I saw those fuckers weren’t going to do the shit they promised me. I hit the studio hard for my sophomore project and had changed my life.
I could see Noah’s eyes widen in my peripheral. He placed my phone in the console. “Don’t let that shit distract you. The enemy sees you’re about to really make waves, and he’s throwing whatever he can out there to distract you. The rumor mill doesn’t deserve your attention.”
I only cried harder. “It’s true,” I mumbled. “That shit ain’t a rumor! This is the shit I was afraid of when Graham’s dad showed up. Fuck!”
Noah remained quiet for a second, then he started praying. Shortly after, he started one of TAZ’s songs. When she did the polyharmony thing she does, he nodded repeatedly. “God said to trust Him. All things work together for the good of those that love the Lord. The question is . . . Do you love Him, Arlie?”
I swallowed hard and nodded. “I don’t pray like I should. I never read the bible. I don’t go to church either.”
“I didn’t ask all that. I asked if you loved Him. That scripture only applies if you love Him. He knows you love Him. Otherwise, He wouldn’t have given me that word for you. Don’t lose focus, shorty. Everything gon’ be okay. You trust Him?”
“Yes.”
