Page 102 of Own It

I stepped inside, shutting the door as Shardaya sauntered off, attitude on one hundred. She wasn’t my woman, though, so I truly didn’t give a damn. Also, I understood her disappointment in a nigga, but it was for a greater good.

“Where Khalid?”

“School,” she answered dryly over her shoulder.

I ambled toward the back room, the one where Talid usually stayed in when he was extremely ill. He’d paid to have it set up to mimic a hospital room where his home nurses could have any and everything they needed but in a somewhat sterile environment. The floors were tile, and the temperature was kept lower than any other room in the home. Often, I forgot I wasn’t in a medical facility when I kicked it back there with him for too long.

Stepping down into the room and closing the door, I spotted him laid up, bundled in several blankets and in a loose beanie he kept on his head usually after having several surgeries. Though his scan had come back clear a little bit ago, Dr. Conrad wanted a second scan to double check and ended up finding a small tumor he had to remove. I was happy he did the shit even after having Daylin back.

“Cuz,” he grumbled, smiling as much as he could as I neared him. “Been MIA lately.”

“I know.” I slapped hands with him carefully, pushing my hood off my head to reveal the do-rag I wore over my fade. “My bad.” I took a seat beside him.

“Where you been at?”

“Handling business.”

“Glad a nigga didn’t die.” He coughed, laying his back on the pillow as the old ass In the Heat of the Night show played in the background.

“Nah, I was making sure of that.”

“How when I ain’t see you?” Talid’s tone was casual, but I could tell he was just as bothered as his wife.

It was uncustomary for me to not visit him when he was in the hospital or going through it because whenever he had to be checked in and spend weeks there, I was dropping by daily. So to not show up at the hospital once when he was admitted, then only one time when they sent him home for a few days, threw up red flags in his and his wife’s eyes.

“Just know that I was. We’ll talk more about that another time, Talid,” I said, seeing it was a struggle for him to even have a simple conversation. This wasn’t the time for me to discuss all that I had done to be sure he was where he was right now.

His eyes darted from me back onto the TV as he watched, silent for a bit. I joined him, having nothing to say but just wanting to be in his presence since I hadn’t seen him in a minute.

“I know I told you it was a possibility we couldn’t work side by side no more, Rah, but it’s indefinite now,” he blurted without preamble.

“I figured,” I replied, dusting off my joggers and thwarting the urge to be optimistic about shit. Mylo had taken over for him long ago; I just never wanted to face the shit. I kept telling myself it was temporary. “I won’t be in this shit much longer.”

“I know. We was supposed to get out together.”

“Do everything at the same fucking time.” I smirked, thinking about the conversations we used to have as kids.

“Now, you just gotta find you a . . .” He started hacking, so I stood to pat his back until he recovered, handing him his bottled water before I descended back into my chair. “Find you a woman.” He finished after gulping the water.

“What if I told you I have already?”

He winced from damn near snapping his neck to look in my direction.

“When? So that’s why I ain’t see you? You was in some pussy. It bet not be LaMia,” he quipped, laughing so hard he began coughing again when I shot him a look.

“Fuck outta here, nigga.” I shook my head. “LaMia couldn’t fuck with her on her worst day, and I ain’t even talking about looks. Just ain’t no competition all a-fucking-round.”

Talid smirked, nodding.

“When can I meet her?” he questioned groggily, side-eyeing me as he drank more water.

“Soon.” I caressed my beard, hoping that what Daylin and I built was as real for her as it was for me.

I was afraid her family, friends, whomever would, over time, convince her she was experiencing Stockholm or wasn’t really in love with a nigga, but I had to remember that wasn’t Daylin. I had to remember the main thing—other than her beauty—that attracted me to her and that was how headstrong she fucking was. So my only obstacle, truly, would be if Daylin herself felt like she was in some sort of trance while with me, and now that she was free, it had broken.

“Can’t wait. About time you found somebody, Mr. Grinch.”

“I don’t hate Christmas or love. I just didn’t want it.”