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“You know what the fuck I mean. You know why you let that lie fly. Now you need to man the fuck up and let her know.” When he didn’t speak, only brushed his tight waves down nervously and roughly with his palm, I pushed. “You ain’t got all day, and I damn sure don’t. You can either be a G about this shit or get hemmed the fuck up. Go call ya daddy, uncles, and cousins ‘cause I’m pulling the fuck uptoday—”
“Man, what you want me to say?” croaking, he demanded with watery eyes.
“Tell her the truth, something you should’ve done before pumpin’ that lie in the veins ofYancey…”
“Academy.” Noelle helped me out. “Yeah! Didn’t I tell you I’d make a few calls, McCoy?”
I pushed the kid, too. “Just tell her!” The kid didn’t answer. I knew I’d be repenting about all of this bullshit later, but in the moment, I was impatient. I needed to leave Witherspoon to explore this place while I got over to my site. “What’s his address, Noelle?”
“It’s right in my phone.”
The moment she reached over my shoulders to retrieve it, the kid squeaked, “Because I like her—you. I was just playin—I was gonna fuckin’ tell you!” His face collapsed out of the phone, I was sure from his bubbling emotions.
My job was done and I handed the phone to Noelle. When her speechless attention swung between me and herFaceTimecaller, I dropped my chin, bidding her a good day. “Tell ya sister to holler at me when she’s done. I gotta get back to work.”
And with that, I was off.
Chapter 5
Part II cont’d
April | Present Day
My eyes browsed the layout as I hummed to Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody.” Using my palm and thigh to play tambourine, my patience began to boil, allowing defeat to take over. My head fell to the side as I perused a particular shelf. Why were there so many options?
When my phone rang in my other hand, I lifted it to my face, not looking until it arrived.
“Hey, Peach.”
“What are you up to, Shi-Shi?”
“Oh, nothing. Just possibly wasting time atLowesbefore a meeting.”
“What are you doing there?”
“Deciding between snake, spider, foliage, or succulent—hanging pot or a standing one…” I spotted a bamboo plant. “Peach, what do you think about bamboo plants? You don’t think they have spiritual significance, do you? I don’t need anything conflicting with my beliefs.”
“What are your beliefs, Shi?”
My eyes rolled to the right as my body froze. “Well, damn. That was cold.”
“Anyway, I called to ask if you remembered Vera Cox.”
“FromYancey Academy? Vaguely, yeah. She was the one who gave you hell over David Greene. The girl acted as though he belonged to her and beyond. She was so damn possessive.” My attention returned to an aloe plant. I wondered if the leaf would prick my skin.
“Yup. Her.”
“I was going to beat her ass. You should have let me.”
“It wasn’t necessary. I didn’t like David like that.”
“But she was rude and bold.”
“And you were no fighter.”
“For you, I’m Tori fuckin’ McNabb—before there was a Tori McNabb.”
“Yeah. Yeah.” Peach sighed. “I know. Elder Peterson called me this morning. You remember him?”
