I frowned. “Yep.”
“Your left wrist and arm.”
I lifted the pillow and glanced at him. “Yes. How did you…?”
Duke raised a brow. “Because your ass fell in the damn elevator for no reason at all. Just tripped over nothing. I had to carry you to the room.”
“Stop lying.”
“I don’t lie to you,” he said through clenched teeth. “I’m going to tell you the truth even if that shit hurts.”
Duke was absolutely a person in my life who didn’t pull punches. It was a “Young” thing most people didn’t understand. Ma and Pop, as I called them, encouraged transparency, integrity, and excellence among other things. But they also acknowledged that life was different for everyone and treated all of us as individuals with a mind of our own. Moving in with them had transformed my entire life and I would be forever grateful for their influence.
“Okay, tell me the truth,” I whispered, not sure I wanted to hear about my harsh reality right now.
Duke let out a curse-filled groan. “You already know the truth.” Seconds later, he was gone, and I felt… alone.
I sighed heavily, sat up, and finally looked at my phone. I had several missed messages and texts from more people than I cared to talk to.
Dallas:I’m not going to threaten you. But yo’ ass better call me back as soon as you wake up.
Dallas:Where the hell are you?
Mom:I need to borrow some money.
Everly:Call mom. She’s getting evicted from her house.
Everly:I’m coming to LA next week.Can I stay with you?
Dorian:We need to talk.
Dorian:When are you coming home?
Tristan:Sorry about last night. Something came up.
The sting of last night was right beneath the surface. Tristan’s text had only pulled the scab off the wound. After I moved in with the Young family, I focused on living my life. Went to school, graduated, went to law school, graduated, worked as a staff attorney, quit my job, then opened my own practice. In that time, I’d dated. Some men were memorable, some were forgettable. I’d learned lessons from all of them, especially my current soon-to-be permanent ex, Dorian. But none of them were Tristan.
Admittedly, I’d had stars in my eyes and happily ever afters in my heart since he’d assaulted my father to protect me. When the police knocked on the door early the next morning to arrest Tristan, my young self knew we were meant to be. He would’ve gone to jail if Pop hadn’t issued a threat of his own to my father. I still didn’t know what Pop had on my father, but it worked, and the charges were dropped before sunset. Victory was short-lived, though, because Tristan came home from jail and then promptly enlisted in the Marines.
Another text alert flashed across my screen, and I seethed as I read the message.
Dorian:Are you going to pay the electric bill?
Finally, I responded:I will when you get the hell out of my house, muthafucka.
Okay, so my personal life left much to be desired.Maybe I’m being punished for agreeing to meet with Tristan while still in an entanglement? A sexless relationship wasn’t a damn entanglement. My pussy hadn’t hugged a real dick in years. Why? Because my man suddenly found God and chose to be celibate without consulting me first. It wasn’t all his fault, though. I could’ve ended it a long time ago, but I didn’t. Companionship had propelled me to stay. While Paityn and Rissa lived in Cali too, both of them were happily married. I was pretty lonely out there, no matter how many surprise visits my bestie made to see me. Which made my recent decision to move so easy. I still hadn’t decided on Atlanta or Michigan, but either would bring me closer to my family. Because the Youngsweremy family. That included all of them plus their extended circle.
Dorian:I’m not leaving until you talk to me. I want us to pray together.
To avoid feeling like a heathen, I chose my words carefully:Pray the Lord leads you to a new dwelling.
Dorian:Demi, please.
Me:Get out.
I blocked his number and dialed Dallas.
She picked up on the first ring and immediately switched the call to FaceTime. “Girl, you—” She frowned. “What are you going through? You look a hot-ass mess.”
