Page 155 of The Coldest: Stay Dangerous Part 2

My brain freezes. I don’t think as I swipe to answer and bring the phone to my face.

Set’s pulling so hard on the wood his dimples show, before blowing the smoke into the screen. “Waddup, Lady Luney?”

“Uh, hey.”

“This new shit is… you the shit.” He shows me his other phone, that’s playing my song. From the screen I can tell it’s already purchased and in his music library.

“Th-thank you, Set. Seriously.” I sit up, peering at my screen, which is back on him.

There was a time I didn’t speak to him at all. After he met Brina and kicked me to the curb, I got serious about music. After that, I blocked him, but it wasn’t hurt feelings. I blocked every nigga I was dealing with at the time, because I needed no distractions.

But after my accident, and we sort of started back up a friendship, there wasn’t a day that went by that we didn’t speak. Even when I was in rehab, we emailed. Dare I say it, we were besties, and knowing I hurt him, and he cut me off, bothers me a lot.

Enough to confide in Rico about it.

I don’t wanna say or do the wrong thing. I haven’t reached out, because I know Casey Washington. Loyalty is big with him, and lying is out. He’s killed people for less, and for a minute, I thought my days were numbered.

Shit, the way he is, that could still be the case.

“How you been, girl?”

“Um… good. Great, now that I have a single and they like it.”

“Yeah, you look good. Happy.”

My lips spread into a smile. “Thank you, I am. For real.”

Set mirrors my smile. “Don’t thank me yet, mama.” He pulls on his wood again, before blowing the smoke away from the screen. “We got unfinished business. It’s money on the floor.”

My stomach drops to my ass, just like my smile. He erupts into laughter, putting out his wood before pausing my song on his other phone.

“B told me I can’t kill you. Why you snitching, huh?”

“Set… look, I just wanna apologize–”

“For what, Wyn? I been knowing you since I was eight years old. In all these years, when has an apology moved me? You think ‘cause some time passed, I’d be more amenable to hearing you justify yo flaw ass?”

My weak ass apology dies on my tongue, and I feel a headache coming on.

“And on top of everything, the lies and manipulation, now you got me and my lady in a weird place. You got her capping for a bitch who wanted her spot. From an opp to an ally. Wild times we living in. Me and Luney would never.”

“Set–”

“I ain’t gon’ kill you Wyn. Not ‘cause it would make B mad, or ‘cause I’m showing mercy. Killing you would be too easy. I think the terror of wondering why and how and when I’ma exact my revenge is way more fitting than just snapping your neck when you asleep in that clamshell bed one night. Yo ass love a white rug, girl.”

“What the fuck?!” My hand grabs at my heart as it tries to beat out of my chest. This nigga… there’s no way he should know my bedroom furniture. I don’t even go Live in there, and no one has been over except Rico and his family.

“Congrats again on the single. You always could rap. Stay dangerous, Lady Luney.”

He hangs up on me, and it’s a long time before I can even move from my spot. When I finally get the energy, the first thing I do is pop some aspirin, and down two bottles of water.

I’m not stupid enough to think he’s playing, but telling myself that Set is the king of games, and if he actually wanted to harm me, he would have done so by now, helps me calm down.

He said it himself; the terror of not knowing is more rewarding to him than doing something. And even though he denied it, he is showing mercy because of our past. Besides our time deluding ourselves into being each other’s main, we have years on years of being actual friends, and I know in his heart of hearts, when he takes himself out of it, he sees I wasn’t being that malicious.

Not toward him.

I hope.