“What exactly did he say to her?” I ask.
Ghost replies, “I don’t know, Nik. She was wound up tight when I got there. She had tears in her eyes. ”
My heart clenches.
He looks uneasy as he continues, “That’s nothing compared to what happened after he left. Your girl had a meltdown. Shaking like a leaf, flushed, sweatin’ like a fountain, out of control panic attack. Had to cool her down with an ice pack. Nat said a few things to her I couldn’t hear but whatever she was saying seemed to be working. They both ended up in tears. ” He smirks. “Then Tina gets the flowers, walks out of the store and throws it into oncoming traffic. Beautiful, man. ”
That is funny.
I just can’t bring myself to think about anything other than Tina having a breakdown. This is why I got out of Chaos. It affects your family. Now, I’m not even a part of the brotherhood anymore and it’s still affecting my girl.
Nope. I don’t like it.
So many thoughts are running through my head. I ask, “You think this is the last we see of Omarr?”
Ghost furrows his brow and responds, “They call him unpredictable for a reason, brother. I just hope Tina didn’t diss him. He’ll take it as a personal insult. ”
Tina is sweet as pie. No way she dissed him.
I shake my head and point out, “This is Tina we’re talking about. She hates confrontation. No way. ”
Ghost nods his head in agreement.
So why do I still have a bad feeling?
***
My phone pings.
I check it and see I’ve received a text from Nik asking me if I’m okay. He called a few times but I didn’t have it in me to pretend I was.
I’m feeling a little better now. I’ve drowned my sorrows in coffee and candy. I decide to go see him. I leave Nat in charge and she waves me out the door.
Probably look like death warmed over.
I walk into his office. Nik’s sitting behind his desk on the phone. He spots me and his face softens. He waves me over. I reach him and he pulls me down sideways onto his lap. He tucks me deeper into him and continues to talk on the phone all the while rubbing my back and planting whisper-soft kisses on the side of my head.
I’m suddenly relaxed. Nothing compares to this. Nik is my personal form of stress relief.
My body becomes lax and I feel sleepy.
Nik ends his phone call, puts his phone on the desk and wraps me up tight.
He asks, “You okay, baby?”
I nod into his chest. I don’t trust myself to speak. It’s been an emotional day and I’ve been known to cry at the drop of a hat.
I feel his breath on my ear as he sighs and continues to hold me.
I decide to break the silence with, “Who’s Marcus?”
Nik’s body stiffens. And there it is. Not good.
He softens his body and explains, “Marcus was Omarr’s older brother. He was killed years ago. ”
I don’t believe that. There’s more to this and, gosh darn it, I want to know.
I whisper, “How did he die, Nik?”