OWN IT.

LIII PART II

"What happened?" I asked.

He gave a humorless laugh, low and bitter. "What always happens. Niggas think bullets gon' stop me." His jaw clenched, and his eyes met mine. "I ain't invincible, but them niggas ain't taking me out. I tell you that."

I felt the heaviness in my chest. "They almost did."

"Almost don't count. I'm still here." He mumbled.

I nodded, swallowing hard, but the fear still clawed at me. Almost was too close. There were a thousand things I wanted to tell him. I couldn't lose him. Xyla couldn't lose him. And I'm pregnant.

He leaned back, voice dropping. "There's too much bullshit going on right now. Sometimes I can't even breathe, Zhané."

"Baby, have you thought about walking away from all this?" I asked, softly.

"What is that gon' do? I made a million fuckin' enemies." He said, chuckling humorlessly.

"Things are just too dangerous. We have a child and–"

"I can't just walk away like that. The shit is too–"

"Okay." I said, cutting him off. I feel like if he really wanted to, he would.

He let out a breath before shifting slightly. "I need a minute." He muttered, more to himself than me.

I barely had time to nod before he was on his feet, heading toward the bathroom. My stomach immediately dropped when I realized what I had left in there. The faint sound of rustling reached my ears, letting me know he saw it. The bathroom door swung open, and he walked out, holding the pregnancy test between his fingers.

"What the fuck is this?" He asked, voice low and clear with annoyance.

I froze. "I–I didn't want to overwhelm you. You've been through en–"

"Don't do that." He said.

I felt my heart pounding damn near out of my chest. "Are you mad?"

"Am I mad?" He asked, looking at me with a face that told me I had asked the wrong question. "If I ain't go in there, was you gon' tell me? I thought we got past this whole not telling each other shit."

Before I could say anything, his phone rang in his pocket. His jaw clenched as he looked away, reaching into his pocket and answering the phone. He stared at me as he listened to the person on the other end.

"When?" He asked. "Aight. I'll handle it."

I watched as he ended the call, tension filling the air. I bit my bottom lip, waiting for him to say anything. He was quiet for a moment, just staring at the screen on his phone. Then, he let out a breath.

"Elijah got a warrant. I gotta go."

The way he said it was so flat, like he was trying hard to hold down his anger. My mouth opened, but no words came out. I wanted to tell him not to go, stay here so that we could finish the conversation. But the words just wouldn't come out.

There was a brief silence before I could actually get words out. "A warrant? For what?"

He chuckled. "For me. What you think, Zhané?"