Beauty behind Madness **Discontinued**

Eight

I stood up looking in the mirror after she was done. "You get me right every time"

"Don't I know it" she smiled. "Go to my station, I'll be over in a minute"

I sat in her chair looking through all the different colors of polish. I usually get french tip but I wanted to switch it up so I chose yellow.

"Mhm, a new color? What else is new in your life" she asked yearning to get any little piece of information out of me.

Simone was in fact one of the best nails techs on this side of town but she had a thing for gossip; I wouldn't risk having my business out in the streets.

You gotta beware of who you tell your business to. In today's world it's rare to find people with good intentions. Not impossible by any means; just infrequent.

"Girl ain't nothing new, what time you get off" I quickly changed the subject.

"I'm leaving at 5 so I can take the train, Rick got my car again"

I inwardly rolled my eyes and decided to bite my tongue this once. Nobody would be driving my car all day long and not be able to pick me up; absurdity at its finest.

"It's almost 5 now, I can take you home" I offered. Curse me for having a good heart but I knew how traffic was around this time and it would take at least 3 hours for her to get home.

"Thank you" she sighed in relief. I simply nodded hoping I wouldn't regret my decision in the next few minutes.

"Your nails should be dry we can leave" Simone said. I got up and grabbed my car keys making sure to be extra careful then walked out the door with her behind me.

The ride to her house was surprisingly smooth, mainly because I let my thoughts drown her out as she talked about Rick. I wasn't giving out advice to people that didn't want it. Simone is older than me so I expected her to at least have some sense but everybody wasn't raised like me. I was taught that a man will only do what you allow him to do.

After taking her home I took a small detour to look at what used to be my neighborhood. The hood would always be home for me. I didn't want to let it go because I had so many memories but I'm at a different chapter in my life, it's time for new memories.

My phone started ringing and I smiled at the name that flashed across the screen. I found myself smiling a lot lately because of him and I wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.

"Hello"

"Why you in the hood" Dave asked causing me to frown.

"Look to yo' left" he spoke again before I could start asking questions.

I looked around squinting my eyes and sure enough Dave was standing on the left side of the street.

I ended the call and got out the car since Dave was walking toward my direction.

"I just left from getting my nails done but I had to take somebody home" I ran my fingers through my hair mindlessly. "What are you doing over here"

"I took Kairi to my grandma house, I'm hitting the studio tonight and my mama couldn't watch her"

"Where is her mother " I asked. I been wanting to know for a while now but I didn't know how to bring it up.

"Arianna passed away 2 years ago" he said shocking me. "We rarely ever were on good terms because our relationship was so toxic and she was the reason for our problems. Arianna didn't have the best relationship with her people so I gave her the benefit of the doubt most of the time because nobody was there to teach her right from wrong. She cheated on me and that ended everything. I had a feeling he was abusing her but you can't help somebody that don't wanna be helped. Long story short he ended up killing her."

I stared at him trying to find the right thing to say but I was lost for words literally. That right there was the true definition of how Karma works.

"I know that had to be hard for you deal with but everything happens for a reason" I pulled his head down so I could reach then softly kissed his cheek.

He chuckled a little and pulled me into a hug as we rocked back and forth unintentionally. Since the other night we've been more touchy than usual and I wasn't complaining.

"I used to question whether or not Kairi was mine so eventually I got a test done which proved she was. Now that I think about it, even if Kairi wasn't my child I still would've to care of her"

I respect him even more for what he said about Kairi. Real men is another thing that's rare these days.

"When I tell you something don't second guess it I'm too mature to be playing around, you hear me"

"Yes Dave I hear you loud and clear" I responded even though I was unsure.

The real question is did I really hear him? Was I ready to be with a man that already knew what he wanted in life while I was still figuring myself out?

If you haven't heard "All Day I" by Ro James wyd sis??? Go listen. Also I apologize for taking so long to update, I'm working on another book.