Page 53 of Mr. Calloway

Bishop choked as he glanced over his shoulder to see if Indigo was anywhere behind him. “Fuck you asking me about her for?”

I shrugged. “I mean, you were playing cut buddies with her.”

His face turned serious. “No. I entertained the thought, but she and I were nothing more than friends, and a nigga wouldn’t even call it that. Shit, isn’t that Zaria’s sister?”

“It is, but since she and Preach split up, shit ain’t been right. You know she used to be a cop.”

“Say word.”

I nodded. Zaria’s sister had been a ghost, and it was the one thing that had been bothering me. The more shit started to happen around me, the more Navi came to mind. Even though we had moved forward, she had always been on a nigga’s radar since the day I was arrested at that church.

Starting family feuds wasn’t my style, but if Z or Yana didn’t produce their sister, she was about to be an automatic target because a scorned woman was a dangerous one.

Samara

Breaking up with Dio shattered me, but if I hadn’t done it, then how would I be able to find myself? Although he said he understood, I knew he was hurt, and that broke me even more. The idea of us co-existing in the same space with the same friends was going to be hard, but I needed to do this.

It was going to be a new season for all of us. Mine was just going to be a little rougher.

After Dio left, I waited for Zaria to come home. Chevy said he wanted me to see a therapist, but I wasn’t in a comfortable place to talk to anyone I didn’t know. However, I did seek comfort in Zaria and wanted to open up to her.

I’d made myself cozy on the couch as I watched King’s leaves sway slowly. I would often hear Chevy talking to his plants, and it seemed to soothe him.

“Hey, King,” I said to the swaying monstera. “Can you hear me?” I asked.

The subtle movement remained the same, not giving me any indication that it was listening, just as it seemed when my mother didn’t listen to me. My phone rang, pulling my attention from the plant. When I saw the girls' FaceTime group, I knew it was time to finally answer, since they had been calling me fordays. I hit join, and the moment all of their faces popped up on the screen, all I saw was pity.

“Aw, bookie, you okay?” Morgan asked.

I let out a light sigh. “I’m fine.”

“You want me to come over, bring ice cream?” Alyse said.

I smiled. “I’m okay.”

“You are not okay, and it is okay to say that. You’ve been through a lot. We just wanted to make sure you were good,” Paige explained.

I knew they were just trying to comfort me, and I understood. I wanted to tell them that Dio and I had broken up, but until I knew he was ready to share it, I wasn’t going to say anything. My loyalty still remained with him, even if we weren’t together.

We said a few more words before Morgan said she wanted to have a sleepover. The idea sounded good, and I wanted to try to move forward, but first, I needed to talk about what happened.

Just as I ended the call with the girls, Zaria was coming through the door with a sleeping Savior. Seeing him made me excited.

“Is Peace asleep?”

“Yeah. He’s upstairs. Do you want me to take Savior?” I asked.

“Please, if you don’t mind.”

I took my brother from her arms and walked him upstairs to his room. After gently laying him down, I stared at them both. Peace and Savior were little warriors. They were the very things that made me happy.

“I love you both,” I whispered before walking out of their room.

By the time I got back downstairs, Zaria was holding three succulent plants in her hands.

“More plants,” I laughed.

“These are special plants. They are special because all three have significant meaning, not only to me and of course June, but the Calloway house.”