Page 38 of Just Listen
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“What the fuck?” I rolled out of Zae’s arms and gasped.
“Huh?” His head popped up, as I’d clearly disrupted his sleep.
“Shit,” I huffed, while placing a palm on my bare chest.
“What happened?” He questioned, as concern was laced in his voice.
My eyes traveled to his. “I had a bad dream.”
He pulled me into his arms. “About what?” He sweetly kissed my lips, with morning breath and all.
Briefly, my eyes closed and I indulged in the comfort he was providing.
It had been two weeks since I’d let him back in, for real, and I hadn’t regretted it yet. This felt like it did when I was eighteen and had stars in my eyes. Zae had been beyond attentive and even the sex had been consistently pleasurable. So, I’d made peace with us being back together and I was no longer fighting it.
I don’t know. Maybe dealing with Malice was the encounter that needed to happen so that me and my man could realign.
“It felt so real,” I admitted, referring to the dream.
“What was it about?” He wanted to know.
I gulped. “You. And Claro. It started off with me and you. We was fussing about something. Then suddenly I’m watching you leave with Claro. Then it’s like I’m hovering over y’all, watching a scene play out. I’m screaming at the top of my lungs, telling y’all to leave…but you can’t hear me. Then…then somebody starts shooting.”
For a second, silence lingered between us, as Zae was probably processing what I’d told him.
“Damn. You—”
I didn’t get to hear his complete statement, as I abruptly rolled my naked body out of bed, and scurried to the bathroom. Just in the nick of time, I made it to the toilet, before spilling my guts out.
Violently, I vomited, until I was dry heaving, with nothing left to give. Eventually, I crawled to my feet, and dragged myself over to the sink to rinse out my mouth.
I was so distracted that it took a while for me to realize that Zae was now in the bathroom with me, standing directly behind me, naked, studying our reflection in the vanity mirror.
“What?” I paused and questioned, as our eyes locked.
His eyes lowered to slits. “For the past few weeks…you been throwing up every other day.”
“I know.” I softly whimpered, while clutching my stomach. “It gotta be some type of virus going around.”
“Right. Cause I just started back fucking you, and you was already throwing up, at that point.”
I hesitated, wondering what he was getting at. “Right.”
“Yeah, so answer this question for me.” He licked his lips.
“What?”
“That…that nigga that called your phone, after you went missing that whole weekend…did you fuck him?”
I sighed. “Zae—”
“Nah, fuck that!” His lips angrily curled, as he glared at me. “Answer the question, Jaylah.”
“But we weren’t together,” I pouted.
“So, you fucked him?” He pressed.
