Page 38 of Mr. Calloway

I pulled away from June, grabbing Peace from his arms. “I’m straight. Has anyone talked to Dio?” he asked.

Now the worry for Dio had arisen. I knew that with me giving him that information, he probably went off on his own search and rescue mission. A part of me hoped nothing bad happened, but the other part of me hoped he called saying he found Samara.

Diamond shook his head as he came further down the steps. “Nah, Zeus is coming over. He said he's been calling Dio for the past hour and he hasn’t responded. Y’all know what happens when the gorilla gets riled up.” He paused. “They go ape shit.”

Yana rolled her eyes. “Diamond shut the fuck up. This is serious business.”

He shrugged. “I am serious.”

I looked at June. “I was supposed to meet him, but got distracted by what was going on with you. I know he’s with Beans and Streets.”

June pulled out his phone to call the guys. Harvey took Peace, while I followed June to figure out where the hell Dio was. The moment we stepped outside, Zeus came jogging up the street.

“Has anybody talked to my fucking brother?”

June spoke for a few more seconds before ending the call. “We need to ride out. He went to find Samara. Fuck!”

He turned to look at me, and my heart sank. Goddamn Dio. “We will be?—”

I tossed my hand on my hip. “Nigga, I’m going.”

He knew not to even try to object. Not only did this involve Samara, but now it involved my heart and the other special person in my life, Dionysus. The love I had for both of them was immense, and there was no way I wouldn’t be around to see that they both came home safely.

Zeus gave a slow nod as he ran back to get his bike, and that was when I saw Foe, coming from his house, backing his bike out of the driveway, then Diamond. Suddenly, bike lights appeared as they came up the street. I knew whatever I hadn’t been exposed to before, I was about to get my first Zoo lesson, and I was ready because the mother in me feared nothing.

June’s Entry

Place: Hospital/Savior’s Room

Year: 2026

Time: 5:26 am

Zaria,

I’m sitting here while you’re gone to the cafeteria. The way my mind has been going nonstop, I questioned if even pulling this journal out was worth it. Honestly, it is. It has only been a few hours since we brought Savior here, and the countless tests are making me sick. I’ve tried to do what I could to make sure we would never have to experience something like this, and here we are with our son lying there helpless.

Other than you, my kids are my fucking world, Z, and I swear on my life I will be no good if something happens to either of them, Samara included. I need you to know that Peace is my Savior, and nothing—and I mean fucking nothing—will change that. Zaria, baby, I’m trying to get to the finish line. I’m trying to save these moments before the final act, but if my son doesn’t make it out of this hospital, neither will I.

I prayed for family, and this is the version God decided to give me. I know our happily ever after doesn’t look like everyone else’s, but I at least figured we would have some after. I… I can’t do this shit.

I love you. I love you and my kids from here to our Calloverse.

Signed,

Mr. Fucking Calloway

The tight spaceand limited air were getting to me.Fuck!My phone vibrated every other minute, so I finally pulled it out. There were back-to-back calls from Zeus and Chevy. I debated whether to call them back or wait. Considering the extent to which I had gone to be where I was, they would probably curse me out, but this was for Samara. There were no limits to what I would do for her. If it meant breaking into her momma’s car and climbing in the trunk, so be it. Instead of calling them back, I merely dropped my location.

Her slow driving ass kept hitting the brakes, sending my body forward against the trunk’s wall. She had gone from humming to now playing music I didn’t think she would listen to since she was in a fucking cult.

“Hypocrite,” I muttered.

“Soon as I get home,”she crooned.

How was it that she hated everything and everyone this world had to offer because we were doing what our hearts desired, yet she was singing fucking Faith Evans? When Mars first told me about the Charles Manson cult, I did my research and realized that it was nothing but manipulation at its finest. It was a bunch of people who believed in something they felt would benefit all. They were believers in alternative ways to heaven. They were no different than my mother. They all had mental health issues because there was no other explanation. They chose an easy way out rather than dealing with life head-on but found themselves in a trap in which they followed a fake-ass prophet who made empty promises.

I tried to understand for the most part, but in my eyes, these were people who were afraid of the world. Afraid to fail, afraid to find themselves. But I wasn’t their judge; all I wanted was my girl.