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I grabbed the bottle of water from the cup holder and rinsed my mouth out. When I closed the door, I rested my sweaty forehead on the steering wheel once again and cried. My hatred for him had taken over my life. That was something I’d allowed. When my hatred for him overpowered my love for Yendi, I realized I wasn’t doing as well as I thought I was. I’d brought her into my world of hurt, anger, and dysfunction and left her alone to fend for herself through the mess I put her in.
I drove to the Hilton I saw in the distance and sat in the parking lot, trying to make sense of what happened and how I handled it.Fuck!
CHAPTER14
YENDI
Istood there in disbelief as I stared at Jakari’s father and the woman. I wasn’t sure what she had to do with anything until his dad asked, “How do you know my son?”
“I tried to trick him into being with me when I was sixteen. We were at a club for twenty-one and up, so he never asked my age. We agreed to hook up at a later date but before that day came, he saw me cheering at a basketball game.”
Jakari’s dad looked at me with sorrow in his eyes. He looked like he wanted to say something, but I didn’t have a desire to listen. I walked away, not able to stop the tears. Jakari had left me stranded in Houston. How was I supposed to get back home? I knew that if push came to shove, I could get a ride home, but I wanted to get back home the same way I got here. Before I could walk to where the box seats were, I had to sit for a moment.
I was getting stares from people all over the place who’d witnessed what had gone down. I wasn’t angry for how Jakari responded to his dad. He was caught completely off guard. That would have been like seeing my mother here. I couldn’t say that I wouldn’t have gone off just as he did. The problem was that he forgot about me. He let his anger push me away from him instead of letting his love pull metohim.
After going to the bathroom to clean my face, I made my way back to my seat while repeatedly calling Jakari, only for it to ring until it went to voicemail. When I walked in alone, Noah frowned. TAZ looked at me and frowned as well. Noah stood and approached me. “What happened?”
“He left me. He left.”
“Why?”
“He was confronted by his past, and he couldn’t handle it. He’s living in the past right now. The problem with that is I don’t exist there. I don’t want to go into detail, because it’s more than that, but it’s not my business to tell.”
“I understand. Come here.”
I fell in his arms and cried my eyes out. When I realized I was wettingtheeNoah’s clothing, I pulled away. “I’m sorry.”
I wiped his shirt as he frowned. “We can make sure you have somewhere to sleep until morning. I’m sure the hotel we’re staying at has availability.”
I sat in my seat next to TAZ as the second half started. I couldn’t focus on anything but how Jakari was feeling. When my phone rang, I quickly pulled it from my crossbody. I didn’t recognize the number, but I answered anyway, expecting the worst. “Hello?”
“Yendi?”
“Yes.”
“This is Jasper. Jakari called for me to come pick you up. He didn’t stay on the phone long enough to explain what happened. I know y’all are at the game, so I’m on my way there. I should be arriving in about forty-five minutes to an hour.”
“Okay,” I said, hearing my voice quiver.
“It’s gon’ be okay, baby girl. We gon’ figure this out. Okay?”
“Okay. Mr. Henderson?”
“Call me Jasper. What’s up?”
“Thank you. I’m worried about him though.”
“Don’t worry. Jakari gon’ be alright. Start getting to where I can get to you easily.”
“Okay.”
I ended the call and closed my eyes. He cared enough to get me a ride home. He hadn’t completely forgotten about me. I tried to call him again, and his phone went straight to voicemail. My heart was so hurt. Even in this moment, I wasn’t angry. I loved Jakari so much. All I wanted to know was if he was okay. He was so angry when he left. I was scared he would get in a wreck. I could only imagine the way he probably burned out of here.
I turned to TAZ and Noah as they quietly watched the game. That was totally different from the first half. Noah was up, yelling out his excitement earlier. “Thank y’all for being so kind to me. Jakari’s uncle is on his way to get me. He said he would be here in less than an hour so I’m gonna go find out where I need to go for him to pick me up.”
TAZ reached over and hugged me. “Kindness is in our nature. You don’t have to thank us for that. I wish y’all the best.”
Noah stood when I did and hugged me as well. “Enjoy the viewing tomorrow,” I said.
