Page 39 of Certified to Handle You 3

Now I just had to figure out what to do if the man I came for kept runnin’ from me.

It was dark by the time Kay’Lo came home and the whole house felt like it had been holdin’ its breath waitin’ on him.

Me and Toni had been in the livin’ room for hours, sittin’ around with half-finished drinks, quiet moments and too many thoughts movin’ between us. My’Love had already been taken upstairs by one of the nannies after Toni kissed all over her face and tried to act like her nerves wasn’t bad, but I knew my cousin. She was mad, worried and ready to go to war with her husband if she had to, even though a part of her probably already knew Kay’Lo wasn’t comin’ in this house soft.

I had been tryna keep myself calm, but every minute that passed made that shit harder. I ain’t fly all the way to Trill-Land with two outfits, one pair of shoes, my license and a debit card just to sit in Toni kitchen like I ain’t have no heart in my chest. I came here for Renza.

I came here ‘cause I couldn’t keep sleepin’ in Greystone actin’ like my life ain’t feel wrong without him in it. I came here ‘cause every part of me was tired of pretendin’ I was strong enough to let him go. Then that nigga heard I was here and still said he ain’t wanna talk to me, and that one lil’ word from his mouth had been sittin’ in me ever since.

Nah…

He ain’t even have to yell it. He ain’t have to cuss me out or call me stupid. All he had to say was nah, and that shit did more damage than a whole argument would’ve done.

Renza had chased me for so long that I ain’t know what to do with him not reachin’ back. I ain’t know how to sit with the fact that I was finally standin’ on his side of the street, beggin’ for a door that he ain’t wanna open. That was what had me so fucked up. It wasn’t pride no more, and it was a different type of fear now. I could feel him slippin’ somewhere I couldn’t reach, and I ain’t know how to get my hands around him before he was gone for good.

The front door opened, and Toni sat up before I could even move. I looked toward the foyer, and a second later, Kay’Lo walked in like the whole house belonged to the bottom of his boots. He had on black boots, dark jeans and a shirt hangin’ open enough to show the tattoos across his chest and stomach. His chain rested against his skin, and his face was calm in that way that told me he wasn’t calm at all.

Kay’Lo always had that walk like he ain’t have to raise his voice for people to know he meant what he said. He moved smooth, but everything about him said don’t try me.

Usually, Kay’Lo would’ve seen me and said somethin’ slick before pullin’ me into a hug and kissin’ the side of my face like I was really his family. He ain’t do none of that shit tonight.

His eyes passed over me like he saw me sittin’ here, but he ain’t feel like acknowledgin’ me yet. That hurt more than I wanted it to ‘cause me and Kay’Lo ain’t never been enemies. We had our jokes, our lil’ arguments and all that cousin-in-law type shit, but it had never been this cold. I felt the difference in him, so I ain’t speak either. I ain’t know what one wrong word was gon’ pull outta him, and I ain’t come here to fight Kay’Lo when Renza was already tearin’ me up without even bein’ in the room.

Toni stood from the couch with her arms folded, watchin’ him like she was tryna decide whether she wanted to start soft or go straight at his head. “You really gon’ walk in here actin’ like this?”

Kay’Lo looked at her while he pulled his keys from his pocket and tossed ‘em on the table near the wall. “Actin’ like what?”

“Like my cousin ain’t sittin’ right here,” Toni said, her voice already tight. “You ain’t speak. You ain’t say nothin’. You just came in here with that attitude.”

Kay’Lo gave a nod like he heard her, but his face ain’t change. “I know she sittin’ right there.”

“Then stop actin’ like she invisible.”

“I ain’t actin’ like she invisible,” he answered, takin’ a few steps deeper into the room. “I’m actin’ like I’m sick of you playin’ with me and doin’ dumb shit behind my back, then expectin’ me to walk in here like this ain’t exactly the kinda shit I been talkin’ about.”

Toni’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t come in here callin’ me dumb.”

“I ain’t call you dumb, Toni. I said you do dumb shit,” Kay’Lo replied, and his voice stayed too calm for the words comin’ out his mouth. “You let her fly here, bring her to my house, then call me while I’m with my cousin like I’m supposed to hand the phone over and let her disturb that nigga peace ‘cause y’all decided to move sneaky.”

That word disturbed somethin’ in me, and I sat up straighter on the couch. “Disturb his peace?”

Kay’Lo ain’t even look at me. His eyes stayed on Toni like I ain’t said shit and that made my face get hot.

Toni stepped closer to him. “Renza grown. If he ain’t wanna talk, he could say that for himself, and he did. So what you mad for?”

“I’m mad ‘cause you keep insertin’ yo’self in shit that don’t need you movin’ around like you single-handedly runnin’ everybody life,” Kay’Lo told her. “You hide shit, you plan shit, you protect shit from me like I’m some random nigga you lay next to at night instead of yo’ husband. Then when it blow up, you look at me like I’m wrong for respondin’.”

“You told Renza about ‘Nelle gettin’ engaged,” Toni snapped. “If you would’ve stayed out of that, none of this shit would be happenin’ right now.”

Kay’Lo laughed once, and there wasn’t nothin’ soft in it. “You really out yo’ fuckin’ mind if you think I was finna let my cousin walk around with an engagement ring for a woman who had already said yes to another nigga.”

Toni’s face changed, but Kay’Lo kept goin’.

“You think I was supposed to sit there and watch him look at houses, talk about buildin’ a life and carry that ring around while you and ‘Nelle over here playin’ secret society? Nah. That ain’t how I’m built, and you know that. If I know somethin’ that can cut my blood open later, I’m tellin’ him before the rest of the world get the chance to laugh in his face.”

“Don’t make it seem like she did that shit to hurt him,” Toni said, pointin’ toward me. “You know it ain’t that simple.”

“I ain’t say it was simple,” Kay’Lo replied. “I said y’all be movin’ like what Renza feel don’t matter until his feelin’s turn into some shit y’all can’t control. You let that hoe ass nigga come to my baby birthday party knowin’ damn well if Renza really knew what was goin’ on, that nigga would not have made it back to Greystone with all his teeth in his mouth. You knew that. She knew that. Everybody knew that, but y’all still wanted to play normal.”