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Ducking in the loveseat, he dodged it, releasing a hearty laugh. “You know I don’t mean any harm but, goddamn. Bruh has to be slow. How didn’t he pick up on you recording the conversation?”
“I don’t know,” I rolled my eyes, catching my phone as he tossed it back to me. “Knowing him, he was probably on a high horse thinking he’d somehow managed to lure me back under his spell. As if I would ever be that stupid.”
“I can’t lie, our egos definitely get us into more bad than good,” my brother sighed, rubbing his forehead before leaning back and kicking his feet up. “So, what’s the plan?”
“I’m not sure yet. I sent a copy of the video to Rae and left a message for my lawyer asking to schedule a meeting to see if any of this will even mean anything.”
“It should. I mean, you have him on camera with another woman, admitting you didn’t know about this wife. I’m not sure if it’ll do anything for the assault charges, but hopefully, it’ll be enough for them to drop the adultery.”
“I’ll take whatever I can get at this point,” I sighed. “I can’t believe after all this time; I’m finally going to have some kind of closure to the situation.”
“How does it feel?”
“Honestly? Weird. Shane’s bullshit has consumed so much of my time that part of me doesn’t really know what to do at the idea of being freed from it.”
“That’s exactly why I’ve been telling you from the beginning not to let it consume so much of you, Nyx. You’ve made it part of your essence, and now you have to learn how to shed it.”
“You make it sound so easy, Linc. It’s everything but. I’ve had to worry about bills, lawyer’s fees, being antagonized by his stupid wife in public, side-lining my dreams.”
“And if it turns out that none of that no longer matters, then what?”
“I start rebuilding, I guess,” I shrugged. “I have no idea what that looks like, but I’m not shying away from it.”
“As long as you know giving up on yourself isn’t an option, I’m cool,” my brother tucked an arm behind his head. “But now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, are we going to address the elephant in the room?”
I knew exactly what he was referring to, but planned to play dumb anyway. “And that is?”
“The man you’re pushing away because you don’t want to be judged by his mother.”
“Damn, get straight to the point why don’t you?”
“Have you spoken to him?”
“Not really. We do check-ins here and there but that’s where it stops.”
“Do you think you’ll reconcile now that Shane put his foot in his mouth?”
Releasing a tuft of air, I reached for a pillow, clutching it to my chest.
“Nyx,” Linc sang in a warning tone.
“Lincoln, I don’t know. Who knows, even after all this, she still might hate me. How am I supposed to build something with someone whose mother is against it? Against us?”
“That’s a weak ass argument and you know it. From what you’ve told me and what I’ve seen, dude sounds solid. And with all due respect, fuck his mama. She ain’t got shit to do with the life you two are building.”
“But she does,” I argued. “Let’s say we move forward, get married and have kids. I’m sure he’ll want her to be part of that. How healthy would it be for us to be at each other’s necks the whole time? Because you know me. I don’t allow anyone to walk all over me.”
“Correction, you don’t allow anyone but yourself to walk all over you. Which is what you’re doing right now. I won’t fake like I don’t see where you’re coming from. I do. But what’s blowing me is that you aren’t even allowing yourself to step into the fight. You’re running. And my sister isn’t a runner.”
“The last time I di—”
“The last time was the last time, Nyx. What you have going on with Jamie is the present. Is what he brings to the table in any way comparable to what Shane did when you were dating him? Mind you, before you answer, remember that I’ve also met him.”
Giggling, I rolled my eyes. “No. In no way are the two comparable.”
“Exactly. And truthfully, sis, I think your willingness to accept Shane’s bullshit but reject Jamie has less to do with what you went through with Shane and more to do with how you view yourself. Tolerating Shane’s bullshit was where you were comfortable because you never imagined you’d be worthy of acquiring what it is you truly want.”
I opened my mouth so quickly to curse him out, I had to remember he was my brother.
