"Damn. Sorry to hear about your brother." I said. "It's all good. If he was still alive I wouldn't even be doing this shit." He said. "Why not?"
"He wouldn't have let me. My brother made sure I stayed out the streets and followed my dreams in school. He wanted the best for my ass." He said shaking his head. "What were your dreams?"
"I was supposed to go to college. Start my own clothing business. I used to making clothes back in high school. I had actually started making money off of it. My brother and my parents were helping me get it together. But when he died it was just like I didn't give a fuck anymore." He shrugged. "Damn. Sounds like you really would've went somewhere."
"Enough with this sappy shit. How you liking the house?" He asked. "I mean it could be better." I shrugged making him look over at me. "I'm kidding. It's nice. More than I could've asked for." I said with a little smile. "Good." We pulled up to an outlet that had hella stores in it. "C'mon."
**
We had spent almost five hours shopping and getting to know each other. I bought clothes, shoes, and a lot of decorations for my room. "It's already five o'clock. We been gone all day." Khalil said as we got back in the car. "Thanks for this. I don't know how I'm going to pay you back for all of it." I said. "What you talking bout?" He said. "You spent over five grand on me today."
"I know, I seen the receipts. You don't owe me nothing kid." He said. "Are you sure?"
"Positive." He said pulling off.
**
Once we made it to the house and everything was in my room I started putting all my things up. "Looks like y'all went splurging." I turned around seeing Jayda. "And he won't let me pay him back for it." I said shaking my head. "Trust me that man won't let you spend a penny if you're around him. I done tried to pay him back plenty of times." She said. "Need some help?"
"Sure."
"So what do you do?" I asked. I didn't want to just straight up ask if she's a killer like Khalil. "I work at the youth center for now. I'm in the process of getting my nursing license." She said. "Wow. That's amazing." I said. "And time consuming as hell. Me and Khalil barely get time with each other. And when I'm not busy, he is." She said. "How long have you two known each other?" I asked. "We met when he was seventeen. I was fifteen. He worked for my dad in the streets. My dad did not want me and Khalil messing with each other so we were sneaking around until I graduated. We made things official when I was twenty and been dating ever since." She said. "How does your dad feel about him?" I asked.
"I could care less about how he feels. I'm grown now and his opinion doesn't matter." She said. "True."
"What about your parents. Where are they if you don't mind me asking."
"My parents were like the modern day Bonnie and Clyde. They would do anything for each other. My dad got caught up in some shit and my mom took the blame for him. She was arrested six years ago. My dad fell off the wagon and left me and my older sister April and I haven't seen him since. I miss both of them like crazy." I said. "And your sister?"
"She's the reason I'm here. But I could care less about what shes doing right now." I shrugged. "What about the boy that was here yesterday. Is that your boyfriend?" She asked. "God no." I laughed. "He's my best friend."
"Really? Well I think he wants to be more than that." She said. "What? You don't even know him." I said. "Yeah well yesterday he seemed pretty eager to get to you. I told him I couldn't let him in and he was ready to barge in." She said. "He's just overprotective of me. There's no way he likes me like that."
"Whatever you say."
**
We had finally finished getting everything together in my room.
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All my clothes and new decorations were up. "Looks good in here." Khalil said. "Hell yeah. The girls got good taste." Jayda said. "I'm going to make some dinner." She said walking out. "So you like her?" Khalil said sitting next to me on the bed. "Yeah. She's cool people." I said. "Look." He said pulling out a ring from his pocket. "Woah. You gone marry her?" I asked. "I been thinking about it. We been off an on for the past year so I had slowed down the process." He said. "And now?" I asked. "I don't know. Got to make sure there's no more fuck ups before I get down on one knee cause I'm only doing it once." He said. "I hear you."
"Well I got some people coming over here to talk about Darrell. Let's not go snooping around this time." He said. "Yeah whatever." He walked out the room.
About twenty minutes had passed and I was starving. I pulled my hoodie over my body to go out and see what was going on with dinner. When I walked out, I seen Khalil and his friends in the living room. It was the two of the guys from yesterday. "Are you one hundred percent sure Darrell is the one stealing from us?" One guy asked. "Positive. We need a plan to catch his bitch ass." Khalil said. "Yeah but what? Walking up to him aint gone stop shit."
"Set him up." I said walking completely in the room. All eyes were on me. "I thought I told you to stay in the room." Khalil said. "No. You told me not to go snooping around. I came out here to check on dinner and you're sitting in the living room. Where anybody can see you. Plus, you told me to talk more and make my presence known." I shrugged. "I ain't mean like that." He sighed.
"Ace, who this?" One dude asked. "Trevae, this is Kendrick and this is Rondo. Rondo and Kendrick, this is the smart mouth, hard headed girl I was telling yall about the other day." He said. "Nice to know I'm the topic of discussion." I said. "Can you please excuse yourself kid. This ain't got nothing to do with you."
"Technically it does. I am the one that sniffed out Darrell." I said. "Ace what she talking about? You telling her our business." Kendrick asked. "Last time yall were over here she was listening to our conversation. She told me to look into Darrell and I did." Khalil said. "So the dude who's trying to step up to run this business let a snot nose kid do his job?" Kendrick said. "I ain't no kid. I wish both of yall stop calling me that." I said. "It's not like that Kendrick. She just made the suggestion."
"The decision that saved your money." I mumbled. "Come sit down." Kendrick said looking at me. I walked over sitting on the couch that Khalil was on.
