Being Armani

Chapter 36 - Dante

Tuesday, August 17, 11:17 AM

I put Johari in the nursery so she could sleep peacefully. I could still hear Armani and Marcell yelling at each other, but their voices were inaudible.

I quickly walk back to Armani's room, afraid that Armani might stab Marcell if I don't intervene.

I open the door. I see Marcell hitting Armani. Something in me went off, normally, I'm not a violent person, but if a man decides to put his hands on another woman, it's a whole other story.

I run towards Marcell and Armani, grab Marcell by his coat. And punch him, as hard as I could. Right in the face. He was out like a light.

Armani was laying in fetal position on the floor silently, and then, starts to cry. She covers her mouth with her hands to prevent herself from crying loudly.

I picked her up. She was less than a foot shorter than me, but when she was curled up on the ground, she looked like a small child.

She stopped crying and chuckled, "Geez, I understand why babies like being held now!"

She let go of me and wiped her tears, "Sorry, I can be such a baby sometimes," she sniffed. I shook my head, "No, it's okay, better to let it out then bottle it in."

I look at her, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just going to take a warm bathe," she lifts up her shirt to reveal a small bruise on her hip. She gently touches it and winces, "That nigga is crazy as hell," she cried.

"I'll show you crazy!" Marcell said clumsily standing up. I use my foot to push him back to the ground. He grabs my foot and pulls me down. I landed hard on my tailbone. I shouted in pain.

"Do you want me to end your career before it even started?" he asked me.

I tried standing up but the pain shot threw my legs. He stood up and started towards Armani, "DO NOT TOUCH HER!"

"Imma kill you bitch, you got yo boyfriend over hear swinging his arms, and now he can't do shit because he busted his ass!" he laughed. I watch as Armani shook, he backed her into the corner. I tried to get up again but I was unable to. Then I heard a loud noise, like something hitting a wall. Then a soft thud. I look over and see Armani on the floor, with red stains along the wall.

I winced, "You killed her?!"

He stepped back, looking at her like he saw a ghost. "Oh my god!" he said. He started to breath heavily.

"YOU KILLED HER!" I cried. He looked at me, "Shh, please, I don't want the kids to hear!"

I put my head in my hands and started to cry.

"I'm sorry," he said. I looked up at him, he was shaking, "But I can't go to jail," he had one hand in his pocket, "What?" I said, confused as to what he was requesting.

"I can't have any witnesses," he said pulling a knife out of his pocket. "You don't have to do this!" I said calmly. "I'm sorry, I really am!" he drew back his arm. And then another loud bang as he fell to the ground. Behind him, Armani was holding a large silver pan, she was breathing heavily, like she had just ran five miles.

I slowly stood up and Armani ran towards me and gave me a hug. "Oh my god..." I said, holding her tight. "I thought you were dead."

"Lucky for me my hair was thick enough to absorb almost all the shock, the only reason the noise was that loud was because Marcell slapped his hand on the wall," she explained.

I felt the back of her head and looked at my hand there was no blood. "What about the blood on the wall?" I asked her. "That's not my blood..." She shook her head.

I looked at Marcell, "His knuckles are bleeding." She sighed, "I don't know what happened to him, he was such a great guy in middle and high school, then he cheated on me..." she wiped away tears, "Something must've happened to him, when he left North Carolina," I sighed, "I'm going to call Jewel," she let go of me, "Good idea, I'm going to go take a nap in Chanel's room..." she started walking towards the door, then stopped. "When are we going to Florida?" she asked. I raised my eyebrows, "Are y'all coming with me?" She nods her head, "When are we leaving?"

I scratch my head, "Next Tuesday..."

"Oh..." she turns forward again and then turns around, looking at Marcell, "Can we leave, like, tomorrow? Please?"

Tears start to form in her eyes, "I'm just tired of everyone's bullshit, nothing makes sense anymore. I just want to leave, unannounced..." she said. I gave her a small smile, "Yeah, I'll see what I can do."

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A/N

It's the last week of winter break and I'm hella sad because college is hella hard

But I hope you guys had a nice holiday. Kwanzaa is lit rn.

-Imani❤️