Page 45 of Color Me Broken
“Aight,” she said, walking right up to him. “You don’t wanna leave?” She tilted her head. “Huh?”
“Hell nah, I ain’t,” Juelz shot back as he stepped over his broken game system. “Bouf our names on this shit, Tasha.”
Tasha’s smirk was cold. She went into the garage, got the gas for the lawnmower, came back in, pouring it everywhere. She grabbed a piece of paper off the counter, flicked her lighter, and held it steady, making sure he saw it this time. The corner burned bright, smoke curling between them.
“Y’all just need to separate and talk about this tomorrow,” Niyah suggested with fear written across her face.
Tasha didn’t even look her way. She held the paper higher, flames eating the edge like it was starving.
“You right, nigga,” she said, eyes locked on his. “Both our names is on this muthafucka.”
“Wa-wait…wait, Tasha! What the hell you doin’? Stop!” Juelz shouted, eyes going wide. He tried to run and grab it, but he was too late.
She dropped it.
Whoosh…
The edge of the rug caught first, and that’s all it took. One corner lit, then the whole thing went up like it was dry as bones. Smoke hit the ceiling fast, triggering the smoke detector.
“See, now we both gon’ have to leave,” she said as the fire blazed quickly, like it was wilding out along with her.
Tasha stared at the fire like it finally matched what was burning inside her.
“Fuck that! Let it burn,” she whispered. Grabbing her purse, her car keys, and one of her nephew’s baseball bat.
“Nah, nah, hell nah. Tash,stop!” Juelz lunged forward, stomping at the edge, but it was already spreading.
The fire pushed out across the floor, fast enough to make everyone realize this wasn’t just a little flame. This was really about to be a total loss.
“Girl, are you crazy?”Niyah screamed, grabbing Tasha’s arm, pulling her away from the fire.
Tasha looked dazed, chest heaving, mascara smeared across her face. “He wasn’t hearing me any other way.”
“Tasha,move!”Niyah yanked her back as the fire spread to the side of a tipped-over picture frame.
Juelz coughed, waving smoke out of his face. “Yo! I can’t believe this shit, Tasha. You ain’t have to do all that.”
“Getout!”Niyah pushed him toward the door. “It’s too much smoke.” She was in a coughing fit. “We have to go.”
Tasha finally snapped out of whatever trance she was in and looked at the blaze swallowing her living room. Her breath hitched. “I hope it burns to the ground.”
“C’mon!”Juelz grabbed her wrist, pulling her harder than he intended to. “We gottago!”
They all stumbled toward the front door, smoke getting thicker by the second. The fire alarm started screaming over the music.
Niyah shoved the door open, covering her mouth, coughing as smoke billowed out behind them.
“Jesus…” she gasped once they hit the concrete spiral doorsteps.
Juelz dragged Tasha down the steps, both of their faces lit orange from the flames growing behind them.
Tasha looked back at the house.Theirhouse, her voice small and cracked as she aimed the baseball bat at Juelz.
“I can’t believe you fucked me over, Jue…”
Juelz stared at her like he didn’t know whether to hug her, cuss her out, or call a damn exorcist.
“Tash… you really set our shit on fire. Where we gon’ go now? Huh, Tasha? Where we gon’ live?”
