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Though I was used to moving during the night hours, it differ from confirming drops and making sure that an empire thrived. Running the club made me function in a smaller space with more people surrounding me in an atmosphere with direct demands. There was no time to contemplate a decision, it was instantaneous and came with an immediate response. It spiked my adrenaline since it provided a high-energy consumer base. It provided me with a new addiction that I wondered if I’d get tired of. One that Simone thrived on.
“Okay. Let me know when the agreement is confirmed and I’ll get everything ready to strike.”
“I will.” I pat his shoulder as I passed.
Maybe this could work between us. A new a different beginning to my relationship with my brother.
ChapterFive
SIMONE
Ashake to my shoulder started lightly and progressed to something more persistent. I groaned, trying to return back to my slumber. Sleep. I needed more of it.
I tried to shake it off and when it left me alone, I rolled over to go back to dreamless sleep, cuddling into the warmth. The fog was heavy, pulling me back into that place where I’d been before I was bothered. Losing myself in it allowed for a comfortable rest.
I didn’t know how long I slept, but the heat seemed to wrap around me so tightly that I felt claustrophobic. I pulled at the dress that I wore needing air. I kicked off the blanket searching for cool air. When I found it, I settled down but the dress I wore was suffocating me. I sat up with my eyes closed, pulled it over my head, and tossed it on the floor. I used the ponytail holder I kept on my wrist, hidden by my watch, to pull my hair up off my face. I exhaled as cool air reduced the temperature of my body and pulled me back into a more relaxed state.
Laying back down, I pulled the pillow into a tight hold and dozed off. Tired as hell, I didn’t waste time fighting sleep. This time I was thrown into a dream where my father was sitting on the couch in his favorite spot. Knowing this wasn’t real, I took him in. He sat with a full beard, perfectly groomed, and it called to my fingertips the way it used to. I knew he kept it soft and I found out later that it was because my mother used to complain about how coarse it was. Thinking about it now, I probably didn’t want to know that piece of information.
His bald head shined cleanly shaven. Eyes were so bright that they glinted in the light, they were hazel and contrasted against his dark skin. You’d have to be blind to see why my mother had to be attracted to him. Despite the physical attributions, my mother always melted when he walked into a room. I’d never seen them argue or speak out of turn to one another. A gem, they’d been married for over thirty years and I didn’t think twice about if I thought that they’d still be together.
He’d been taken much too soon by some punk who robbed him. The sixty dollars he’d gotten wasn’t worth the life sentence that he was facing in jail. Doped up, he hadn’t meant to pull the trigger so he’d said. That didn’t explain the seven bullets he’d unloaded into my father though. I missed him more that I’d wanted to admit and seeing him sitting on the couch sent me into a whirwind of emotions.
“Hey there, Baby girl.” He smiled with perfectly white teeth shining back at me.
“Daddy…” I whispered.
“I’ve missed you.” When he said the words, it seemed like stress left his body as if he’d been holding that information in all day.
“Me, too.” Unable to hold back to feel him again, I ran into his arms where he hugged me so tight that I thought that I thought someone else was going to appear and steal me from his embrace. “What’s wrong, Daddy?”
“I’ve been watching you. You deserve so much more than you’ve been allowing yourself to have. That boy… You can’t keep letting him disturb your peace. He’s bad for you, always has been. No man that respects you will cause you pain. It should be the opposite. Their job is to bring a smile to your face. The same way that it’s yours to do the same. Make them earn your love so that they know that they’ll have to work even harder to keep you. Keep demanding excellence from them. I’m not around to do it, so you’ll have to.”
I giggled, still holding on to him. “Yes, Beast.”
“And have some fun. Every time you turn around you’re working. When you die, you get to see all the different ways that you didn’t get to live. I don’t want that for you. I want you to look back in shock at some of the things you’ve done. How else will you tell my grandchildren stories about your life? Give them something to look forward to.”
“Grandchildren?” I leaned back to see his face. “I don’t even have a man and you’re expecting grandchildren?”
“Hmm…” He smiled but kept his thoughts to himself. Another famous quirk of his.
“What do you know?” I asked him.
“You’ll catch up. Until then, live a little.” He kissed the side of my face and then he held each side between his hands. “I needed to see you up close. Make you stop moving for a second so that you can be in the moment. Do more of this, Baby girl.”
I nodded because my emotions had settled into my throat clogging it and disabling me from speaking.Why had he been taken from me?
“Kiss your mother for me.” It wasn’t a question, something I needed to do for him. The demand was gentle and in that sweet tone of his that made everybody want to cater to him. He’d been blessed with that gift of having people serve him because they wanted to.
“I will.”
“Good.” His voice dimmed in sound and I could feel him fading away from me.
“Are you proud of me?” I asked before he disappeared completely.
“Beyond. You’re such a wonderful woman, Simone. That’s why you need to stop settling for less than that. Make them work for it. No excuses, you’re worth the effort, just like your mother.” The sadness clouded his eyes before he disappeared into nothingness.
I felt the absence of him harder than before. The place in my heart where he lived seemed smaller than before. In an instance, I was back to that day when I’d gotten the call from my mother with her screaming into the phone as if someone was killing her instead of me. She’d explained that she’d felt the connection between them snap in half as if she’d been shot in her chest. She’d sat speechless as she tried to figure out if she was having a heart attack or if something else happened.
