Family suffered a death, so I was out of it for a few days. But here you go. <3. Vote and comment, please. Thank you! *still a few grammatical errors. Correcting now.
Ashley
"Hey Erika, that time of the month?" Kenzie asked, walking down the stairs with his gun tucked under his arm.
Erika, covered in blood, eyes wide, looking frantic, stood by the door, hands stretched out like she was about to take flight over Brooklyn. "I made a mistake."
"You should have used that brand with the smiling woman," Kenzie noted, I was in too much shock to stop him and so was Dennis, who guided Erika into the living room.
"Why is all this blood on you, Erika?" I asked, looking for something she could sit on, but maybe the best thing was for her to go take a shower.
"It all just went by so quickly," Erika said. "I mean, I didn't mean to push her."
"Wait," Kenzie said, creeping closer, untucking his gun and holding it with a tight grip in his hand next to me. "You killed that lady?"
"I didn't mean to," Erika said. Her voice neither shook nor trembled. It was just as relaxed as ever, but her eyes glistened with fear. "I'm trying to make sense of it."
"Okay, look. You're going to have to take a shower."
"Not here," Kenzie said. "Get all that woman blood over our shit. Then we looked like we killed her."
"It's too late," Dennis chimed in. "We know she pushed her. If we don't turn her in to 5-0, we're aiding and abedding a murderer."
"So we fucked then," Kenzie asked, sucking his teeth and grabbing his hair. "God damn it!"
"Is this your blood or hers?" I asked Erika. "If this is her blood, then you must have cut her."
"It's hers," she said and I internally groaned. "I hit her over the head with something while we were fighting and it busted her wide open."
"You had anything on your hands?" Dennis asked. "How did you get out of there without being seen?"
Erika sighed. "Lola helped me get out through one of the back doors." She looked at Dee. "I think I still had on my gloves."
"Good," Kenzie said. "If they can't find no prints, you in the clear."
I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Erika, you can use Kenzie and I's bathroom to shower off. I'll bring you one of mom's night gowns to wear. You can crash on the couch if you don't feel like going home."
"I'm sorry for all of this," she said.
I waved her off, but Kenzie stuck up his middle finger behind her head. "Go and get rested," I said.
As Erika trotted up the stairs, Kenzie looked at me with narrowed eyes. "Do you know the blender of fuckery that woman has just put us in?" he asked me.
"She's my mentor, Kenneth," I replied. "If it were Dennis or anyone of your boys, you'd do the same."
He rolled his eyes and kissed his teeth again, "That shit is different, Ashley," he tried to debate. "My negroes ain't dumb enough to be this sloppy."
"Look, she's fine and we're fine. The police don't have any reason to suspect foul play," Dennis said.
"Not until they see the brute force to her head," Kenzie responded, gripping his braids. "Bitch went Babe Ruth on us and now all of our colored asses gonna go to prison for helping Female Ike out."
"Don't call her a bitch Kenzie, this isn't one of your short bus rapper videos and until the day the police knock at our door, we're fine."
There was a knock at the door. "Police."
The three of us stared at each other for a moment. "C-coming?" I said.
"This is it, tell moms I was the one who stole that 50 from grandma when we was eight and blamed it on Uncle Ben, causing his wife to leave him, then him kidnapping her cat and feeding it to that oversized iguana," Kenzie spewed. He cocked his gun. "I ain't going down with a gun battle. Set It Off in this bitch and I'm Queen Latifah."
"Will you calm the fuck down?" Dennis growled. "Put the gun away and just go upstairs."
"What is going on?" Mom asked, descending the staircase in a bathrobe. "I heard knocking."
They knocked again. "Police, open up."
Mom's eyes snapped open and eyed the three of us. I felt fourteen again, and Kenzie and Dennis had gotten me caught in one of their messes again. "What did you do Kenneth?" Mom barked.
Kenzie raised his hands, gun still inside it. "I swear Ma, I ain't do shit this time around. I'm like the opposite of OJ. I ain't murdered no white women."
Mom looked at me with less accusing eyes, but rage and utter confusion still swirled. "What is happening, Beautiful?" she asked, as she went to the front door, with us in tow.
I couldn't verbalize an answer.
Black Mother's knew when you were lying. The reason being because even if you weren't lying, they'd still think you were, so their success rate was high.
Mom opened the door and an officer was standing out in front. I could see the flashing of his lights behind us. "Can I help you, Officer?" Mom asked.
"Yes," the officer said. He handed Mom a letter and she went over it, scanning it, looking up at the cop and then looking back down. "Where is he?" she asked.
"He's in the back of the cruiser," he answered. "If he's allowed to be stay here, I will release him into your custody."
Mom folded the paper and looked at us. "What is it Mom?" I asked.
Her eyes were wide, her hair was uprooted, but a small smile sat on her lips. "Your father's home."
Reece
Waking up this morning and having to do a hundred interviews was death. If I hadn't had my coffee and jerked off, I might have passed away.
Most of them briefly touched on the death of Jasmine, but the main course was mainly about my stunning engagement to some kid no one had heard of. Ashley King, Brooklyn born. The exact opposite of myself. Frankly, I was tired of talking about our fake relationship and the fact that we had a scheduled interview with Marie Luther tonight wasn't helping things.
"Is Ashley here yet?" I asked Lola, resting my cheek on my desk, next to another cup of coffee, doused with scotch and three Advil's.
"He just got in," she said. "He's with The Female Ashley and they are recording his first ever Minority Report, covering first the death of Jasmine and then moving onto the riots that took place in New York last weekend."
"I need him up here," I said. "I've got to tell him about the interview we have."
Lola rested herself against my door. "And how do you expect that one to go?" she asked.
"Maybe it'll end with him giving me a blowjob, best case scenario," groaned, pivoting in my chair.
"It shouldn't be long now," Lola said. "Until then, you have two visitors."
I sighed. "Will I enjoy either visit?" I asked. "Will I get to have dirty, sweaty office desk sex with one of them?"
"I'd try for Declan," Lola answered, "I don't think Anna Elise is up for that anymore."
I groaned again, as Declan, smiling and Anna Elise, growling already like a PMSing Hyena walked into my office.
I held out my hands, cheek still stapled to my desk. "Look, I'm exhausted and I don't have the energy to argue with you, Anna."
"I'm not here to argue about us," she said, dressed in a tight fitting red dress and black pumps, her white designer shades still covering her eyes, even indoors.
"Yeah, and I'm just here to check up on you and see if you're out of your mind," Declan continued, wearing a pink polo shirt with white shorts.
As much of a narcissistic asshole as I was, even in the back of my mind, I knew that Declan Pmurt was the worst kind of person. Sexist, racist and color blind, but the dude had his redeeming qualities. He did give to charity that one time. And wasn't an inherently awful person. No one is pure evil. He cared about me, and the people he loved, it's just that he cared about little to nothing about anyone else.
"Out of my mind about what?" I asked.
"Marrying...him," Declan said. "I mean, he's..."
"Black?" Lola asked from the door in her 'I kinda sorta dare you to say yes' voice and was standing her in 'come on say yes and get dropped' pose with those 'please I beg to say yes so I can end your entire life' eyes.
"Poor," Declan said. "I actually have nothing against black people."
"Lola," I sang, just as she opened her mouth to retort, "can you down stairs and just get Ashley please?"
"Yes sir," she replied. "Right away."
"I don't fully understand this arrangement," Anna said. "Your mother tried to explain it to me, but I don't really get why you need to be engaged to Ashley to somehow fix this company's image."
Dec nodded. "Let's be honest here Reece," He began, "this is a conservative news station. Nationalist, alt-right, white supremacist love this shit. By being more ...racial friendly, you sort of alienate a key audience of your viewers, ergo, your money."
I raised a brow. "So I should be intentionally racist for viewers?" I asked him.
"Not racist," Dec said. "But ambiguously agree with them. Question the black lives matter movement, label it how they want you to label it. Have your pundits call it a race war. Say Trayvon Martin broke the law. That's what your viewers want to hear. By dating a black man, you come across as not agreeing with their beliefs."
"Their beliefs are racist," I argued. "I may be an asshole, but I'm not racist."
"Neither am I?" Declan said. "I am, however, a believer in money and picking up liberal issues will strangle your conservative dollars."
"I'm not as hard right as that, but I still don't think I should have been humiliated like that," Anna said. "If I were in on this whole thing, sure. But I wasn't. I was treated like some old rag doll, used and thrown out. I will not be the plastic bag Katy Perry's clumsy, uninspired simile."
"The both of you need to chill," I said. "We'll figure everything out."
The door opened and Ashley, along with his two friends, one being his brother, the other being that other guy that I don't remember name – light skin, tooth gap, light eyes – in tow.
Anna rolled her eyes and sighed. "That's my cue to leave this building."
She walked passed the three boys, bumping into Kenzie who nearly took off after her before Reece grabbed him back. He muffled something.
Declan stood up and turned to face the boys and Lola. "Nice to see you gentlemen again," he said.
Declan went over and shook their hands while Ashley came over with Lola, who handed him a portfolio as they started talking in the corner.
The boy who I didn't recognize came over and actually traveled around my desk to stand next to me, as tall as I was. He held out his hand. "I didn't catch your name."
I took his hand. "Reece Red."
"Dennis," he said, "but you can call me Competition."
I smirked. "I always admire the direct approach to these things." I shook his hand more forcefully. "I call it the Ned Stark approach." I shrugged. "We saw how that ended up."
"I don't watch Game Of Thrones," he said. "More of a Walking Dead type of guy."
I nodded. "And how many black main characters have indeed on that show?"
Before he could answer, Ashley spoke up. "What interview am I hearing about?"
"It's just a small thing Mother wants us to do," I said. "Just appear as though we're in love."
"And why he going along with this again?" Kenzie asked. "What's stopping him from just saying fuck you and yo company?"
"He can do far greater with a billion dollar establishment behind him?" Declan asked, snorting. "I wouldn't expect any of you to really know how this thing works."
"How what works?" Dennis asked. "How to manipulate and use people?"
"Business," Declan said. "This is a business."
"I'm not sitting down and pretending that I'm in love with you," Ashley said. "I can't fake that emotion."
"It's easier than you possibly imagine," I said. That stung me a bit, but it was true. "Just read off the prompter."
"I won't," he said and handed the folder back to Lola. "I'll go along with this, but don't make me sit down at pretend to be in love with someone I'm clearly not even remotely interested in."
"I have actual work to complete," he said. "I'll see you for whatever photo op we have to do."
"You have to move in," I said, before he could leave. "It makes it more believable."
He blinked. "You're gonna have to ask my parents for that one."
I raised a brow. "I have to ask your parents?" Didn't he just have the one? "Aren't you like 20 or something?"
"Yes. And black."
The crew left, leaving Declan and I alone in my office. I sighed. "That went over well."
"You know I'm your best friend right?" Declan asked, patting my on the shoulder as everyone left the room.
I nodded slowly, turning just my head to look at him.
"That Dennis kid is going to try and blow this whole thing up," he noted. "Here's some best friend advice, deal with him."
I turned my entire self to face him, eye him. "And how do I do that?"
Declan smirked. "Let me sleep on it."
Ashley
Dennis stopped me while were in the parking lot, so I could see them off. "I'm jealous," he said.
Kenzie looked over and held up his hands. "I'll be in the car."
Dee did not take his eyes off of me. "This is bullshit. You're mine."
"Dennis, my father is home for the moment. Erika committed murder. And I'm supposed to be on tv with my fake fiancé. I can't deal with this love triangle thing right now."
The lot was dark and the lights weren't enough to light it up for me to see well, let alone, really see Dennis right now. But I saw his eyes and how beautifully grey they were under what lighting was in here. Everything else was either dark black, or light black – yes that distinction existed in my mind.
"I can't," he said and dropped his head on my shoulder. "You're gonna choose him. I can feel it."
"If you think I'm going to stay with him, then you don't know me at all."
He lifted his head back up. "People surprise you."
I touched his cheek. "Go home, Dennis. Let me handle this."
He sighed. "I'll check up on Erika then," he replied. "Stay safe."
"Always," I answered, smiley with a faint glimmer of whatever semblance of happiness I could muster up. Shock, anger, and amazement had monopolized all of my energy to feel any other emotions.
I watched as the boys drove away, just as a black SUV came into the lot. IT stopped right in front of me. And before I could react, men jumped out, all black.
There were five of them. I remembered the one in the middle. The one who threatened me about Kenzie. He held up a pistol and pointed it at me. "Time to send your brother a message."