Page 26 of Weddings on the West: Vol. I Brick & Destiny

“How are you, Mrs. West?” I asked.

“Girl, please call me Kalida!” she said, waving me off.

“Yes Mrs.—Kalida. This is beautiful,” I said sincerely, taking in every detail. It was apparent that she had real money but didn’t feel the need to display it with flashy decor like my parents.

“Thank you. If you ever need help decorating, just let me know. I got you,” she replied with a wink. We turned to see the boys standing there looking at us like we were foreign creatures from some distant planet. Kalida ushered us to her huge dining room to sit for dinner. We sat with her at the head of the table, Brick and I on one side, and Pistol and Kilo across from us.

“Destiny, you got any siblings?” Kilo asked, immediately going into interrogation mode as we made small talk over our salads.

“Yes.” I quickly covered my mouth to finish chewing my food before answering. “One younger sister and an older brother.” My older brother Tre, and my dad had been at odds for years. I always said that it was because they were too similar. Tre got married and started his own church on the East Side. They never really came around anymore.

“Your sister pretty like you?” he asked with a raised brow.

“Ki! Shut the fuck up!” Brick snapped. I just laughed and looked off. If I wasn’t Brick’s type, then I knew I couldn’t be Kilo’s type. He looked like he came straight from a rap video and had a phone full of Instagram models.

“Don’t y’all start this. Destiny, we’ll have to host your family before the big day. I reached out to your parents, but apparently they had Bible Study tonight and couldn’t make it,” she said with her nose turned up. I frowned too once I realized that it was Thursday. Bible Study would have been yesterday.

“That sounds good to me,” I lied. Most of our family gatherings ended in some sort of argument, especially if either of my siblings were there. Eden was usually my buffer, but she was about to head out of town for a conference and didn’t say when she would be back.

We made it through the rest of dinner without any incidents. Aside from Brick getting annoyed with Kilo for being too talkative and with his mom for revealing too much of his business, it went over well.

“You already followed me back. You do not have to walk me upstairs. I’ve been living here alone for years. I don’t need an escort,” I fussed as I followed him up the stairs leading to my apartment. I had a great day, but I was more than ready to be reunited with my bed. I wondered if I would be this exhausted all the time after the wedding.

“Nah, what I tell you? I gotta protect my investment. We spent too much money on this damn wedding, and you walkin’ around with a mil on your finger.”

I stopped and put my hand up to admire the ring that was now glistening even in the moonlight. Yeah, this was mine. I had looked up every law in the state and as long as we went through with the wedding, I was fine.

“Yeah,” he said with a chuckle as he looked back at me over his shoulder. “Now, bring ya ass on so I can make sure you make it in safe.” I did as told, dragging myself up the stairs, and he showed me to the door.

“Thank you. Well… goodnight,” I said. We lingered there before the sound of the door opening behind me scared me bad enough to launch myself into Brick’s arms. His reaction was way less logical as he spun me around out of harm’s way while whipping out the gun from his waist and pointing it in that direction.

“Daddy?” I said, looking dumbfounded. “What are you doing here?” He couldn’t even find time to make it to dinner, so the fact that he was waiting in my apartment had me twice as confused.

“Can you tell your guard dog to stand down?” he huffed, looking from me, to Brick, to his arm that was still clinging to my waist. His nostrils flared in apparent disapproval.

“I-” I turned back to Brick, realizing we were now nose to nose. “It… It’s okay. Please put that up.” He eyed Daddy angrily as he holstered the gun. I knew he kept it on him, but to see it out shocked me every time.

“I need to speak to her, alone,” Daddy said, still looking at the two of us in disgust like he’d caught us with our clothes off. Brick completely ignored him, turning back to me.

“You good?” His voice came out in a possessive growl, and I was thoroughly confused. Were the two of them into it over me, or did they genuinely dislike each other for another reason?

“I’m fine. You can go,” I said softly, swaying on my feet when I realized his arm was still gripping my waist. He gave me one more pensive glare before pulling me in tighter for a hug and whispering in my ear.

“Just say the word, and I’ll have this nigga shittin’ out teeth by morning.”

My mouth hung open because why would he say that? Was he for real?

One look at his face let me know that he would absolutely deliver on that promise.

“I’m okay,” I whispered back. “Goodnight, Brickly.”

“Goodnight, Peep.” He didn’t give Daddy another look as he turned and strolled off, quickly sprinting down the stairs and making it to his car in a hurry. I frowned, realizing he must have had other plans that he was rushing off to. I turned and brushed past Daddy, not giving him a second look. Once I stepped into my living room, I started going through my normal routine like he wasn’t even there.

“You haven’t been to work.” That was all the greeting I got as he sat down on my sofa. It was only then I realized that I hadn’t seen him in weeks, and aside from a few short calls and text messages, we hadn’t really spoken either. As usual, my mother was on mute. She was too busy with her First Lady duties to be bothered to reach out. Shopping, brunch, and spa appointments would always be more important than the souls she birthed.

“I put in my notice. You didn’t get it? I have a wedding to plan, remember?” I said with venom laced words. He didn’t even check on me before he started with me.

“Destiny, watch your tone,” he warned. His words struck no fear in me as I looked him over from head to toe. He had on yet another of his expensive, custom suits, with custom jewelry that probably cost more than the hand-me-down car I pushed. I shook my head in disgust, making a note to call the bridal store and have them add the jewelry that I tried on earlier to my order. He was dripping in jewels and designer on a random Thursday afternoon. Surely, it would be okay for me on my wedding day.