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“You ain’t gone do shit.” Brandon smirked at her, then turned to me. “We need to have a meeting. The whole chain of command.”
“I’ll sound the alarm,” I told him, crossing my arms. “But we need another meeting too—just me and you.”
“She gon’ kick your ass,” Randy quipped, then motioned to my mother for them to leave.
“She ain’t gon’ do shit either,” he chuckled, but when he turned to me as the door closed behind them, the look on my face must’ve said something a little different. “I’m not doing this shit with you, Tati.”
“The hell you aren’t.” I reached out, shoving him as hard as I could. He didn’t budge, but he was quick to catch me by the arm as I pulled back, examining the bruise from my encounter with Kev.
“What is this?”
“Kev,” I answered, snatching away from him. “But don’t try to change the subject.”
He pushed out a sigh, glaring at me. “What’s the subject? Huh?”
“The subject is you being an asshole. The subject is you taking out your anger on the person who probablyleastdeserves that.”
Brandon scoffed. “Why are you so pressed about this?”
“Because it’s not okay,” I answered. “He came here to kill his father, who happens to be your father as well, and I understand that makes you angry. But what didOnyxdo that makes you so damn mad athim?”
“He lied!”
“About what?”
“About why he came here.”
“When?”
Brandon frowned. “What?”
“Whendid he lie about why he came?” I asked. “Because as far as I knew, he never even gave an answer, which was immensely frustrating forme, but you didn’t give a shit. Because of what he could do, because you could use him for your purposes. You never even questionedwhyhe was so willing to drop everything and help you find the person responsible for your father’s death because it benefited you. You’re just mad now because he knew something you didn’t.”
“Bullshit.” Brandon shook his head. “I’m pissed because I let his ass in my life, closer than most, only to find out if my pops wasn’talreadydead when he got here,hewould’ve been the one to do it.”
I huffed. “Do youreallybelieve that?” I asked. “Youreallybelieve that he wouldn’t have talked to him. Wouldn’t have heard his explanation? Wouldn’t haveempathizedbecause the same motherfucker turned him into the same thing that violated his mother?”
“I know what I was told.”
“No, you knowbetter,” I insisted. “And even if he truly would’ve just put a bullet in his head and walked away, are you telling me you can’t see how he would bejustified?”
“Why are you acting like I have to like this shit?” Brandon asked, raising his voice. “It’s so damn simple to you, like all my shit isn’t turned upside down right now!”
“It’s not simple!” I countered. “And I’m not acting like you have to like it. I’m acting like you’re dead ass wrong for making it to where that man can’t even walk around freely because you essentially put a hit out on himfor existing.”
He just blinked at me.
Once, twice, three times.
“You don’t have to send him a welcome basket, Brandon,” I said. “And if you wanna be pissed at his lack of transparency, I get that, I do. But hehasn’t done anything deserving of you treating him like he’s scum under your feet. And as long as you’re doing that… me and you arenotcool.”
“Over some—”
“Stop!” I snapped, jabbing a finger in his direction. “Fuckingstop.It’s not ‘over’ Onyx, and not evenabouthim, really. It’s about youfailingto uphold some goddamn standards,” I said. “The rules around this bitch don’t apply to you?Predatorink ain’t shit to you? Blood ain’t shit to you?”
“It’s not the same thing!”
“Explain to me how it’s not!” I demanded; nostrils flared. “If this was some shit with anybody else, you’d have told them to squash it. Hell, Teo andhishalf-brother have real beef—real betrayal—and what did you tellhim?”
