Cilia sighed as the coach bus finally pulled back into the drop off station. The engine cut off and everyone cheered, thanking the bus driver for a safe trip as bags were gathered and passengers got out. She felt so relieved. It was a long five and a half hour ride back due to traffic, so now that it was 9:00PM, Cilia was grateful to be back in New York.
Cilia and Allele stood at the end of the block while Allele called a taxi. They waited for about ten minutes before the yellow taxi pulled up and they got in. After Cilia rattled off their address, the two fell back into their seats drifting off into their own worlds. Cilia noticed for some reason Allele was quiet and had been since they left New Jersey. She wasn't really feeling uncomfortable around him after what they did, and she didn't think he was either, he didn't seem like it. But for the day he had just been really distant. She shrugged it off thinking he just wasn't in the mood to talk; she understood because everyone had those kind of days.
"Um, I'm going out tonight...friend's house." Cilia uttered after twenty minutes.
Breeze's house was the only place on her mind. She really missed him. She had called him several times while on the way back down, but he didn't answer. She found it a little odd, because he usually called back within a few minutes if he didn't get her right away; but then again he was a busy man, so it wasn't out of the ordinary if he didn't return her calls immediately.
"That's cool." Allele mumbled, staring out the window. He had a feeling exactly where she was going but he said nothing.
Once they pulled up to the apartment building, Allele paid the driver and they got out. They got up to their apartment door and Cilia pulled her keys out, turning around to look over her shoulder at Allele. "Make sure you put that money away." She said.
They usually kept all the money in the small storage closet in the hallway. It was clustered and full of junk so nobody really went in there. They had seventy thousand dollars in their possession now. The most amount of money they had ever gotten in their lives and also in one of the robberies they did. They had to make sure nothing happened to it.
Cilia opened the door and walked in, not surprised to see all the lights off. Iris was really lame and usually went to bed early. Cilia flicked on the living room light and went into the kitchen to get something to drink. The noise must have disturbed Iris because seconds later she came trailing into the living room, dressed in blue pajamas with little white rabbits all over it.
"Guys?" She called out, rubbing her eyes.
Cilia took two big gulps of the fruit punch she poured out before rushing her sister. Iris laughed and hugged her back.
"Your so cold." She said, "where's Allele?"
"I'm here." He mumbled, taking his jacket off. He then travelled into the hallway to put the bag of money away.
"How was your trip? Did you guys win any money?" Iris asked crossing her fingers.
Cilia sighed, "It was okay, but no, no money." She smiled. She wanted Iris's eye surgery to be a complete surprise to her. So she didn't want her knowing they were working on it. That was how Cilia moved. Iris didn't need to know anything, all she needed to do was know that her sister would take care of it for her.
Iris sighed, "Aw man...that's okay though. Did you guys have fun?"
Allele walked back into the living room and caught eye contact with Cilia. Cilia looked away first, clearing her throat. "No, not really."
"Oh...Al?" Iris called, looking around. He walked in and hadn't said more than two words. "No hi?"
Iris didn't hear a step in her direction, but was surprised when she felt Allele's tongue in her mouth. She tasted some kind of chocolate and mint on his tongue, her favorite type of treat. He must have been eating it recently. He pulled away then kissed her lips one more time.
"Hi." He said.
"Um, okay," Iris giggled, "what was that for?"
What it was for...hell, he didn't even know what it was for. Allele looked up, thinking of something to say when he saw Cilia roll her eyes. When she saw that Allele had saw her she quickly looked away and began rubbing her eye like something was in it.
Allele looked back at Iris and just smirked. "'Cause I love you."
"Aw, I love you too baby." Iris replied with a smile on her face.
"Anyways, I'm leaving, I'm coming back in the morning." Cilia said.
"Leaving already?" Iris frowned. She wasn't trying to act like a cock block. They were both grown and had their own lives, but Cilia loved going out a little too much. It was like sometimes she forgot about her own family. "Cil you just got back, why don't you just go out tomorrow?"
Cilia started to think about it, until Allele tapped the side of Iris's leg. He mumbled something in her ear and Iris suddenly smiled, looking somewhere toward Cilia. "Okay bye, forget it." She laughed.
Cilia rolled her eyes knowing what that meant. "I'll be back in the morning." She travelled into her bedroom and closed the door behind her. She stripped out of all of her clothes and placed them in a pile of clothes that had to be washed soon. All she came home to do was take a shower. She wrapped a towel around her and quickly dashed into the bathroom.
She spent five minutes shaving making sure she was clean everywhere before setting the water and getting in. After the long trip on the bus, she made sure to scrub every part of her body. She used an apple and cherry scented soap, making sure to wash her hair with coconut shampoo. Breeze loved when her hair was in it's natural curly state. After thirty minutes Cilia stepped out and headed toward her room.
She towel dried her hair but left it a little damp and rubbed herself down in Cocoa butter lotion. A quick idea came to her as Cilia bit her bottom lip and grabbed the long trench coat from her closet, putting it over her naked body. This really wasn't like her but she wanted to surprise Breeze. She tied the strings across her body tight and grabbed some black four inch heels from under her bed. Then she went over to the mirror and placed some silver hoop earrings in and some shimmery pink lipgloss. She smiled at herself, repacking a few items to change in the morning and grabbed her bag.
Cilia stepped out and saw Iris sitting on top of the kitchen counter and Allele standing next to her. Cilia's heart skipped a beat once Allele eyes darkened when he laid eyes on her. He looked like he wanted to choke her. Cilia was actually intimidated and she didn't like it.
"Allele what the fuck you in my face like that for?" She barked.
Iris frowned. "Cilia is something wrong? I was just telling Allele when you guys left for your trip, a police officer named officer Gray came by looking for you guys. He said nothing was wrong, but he did take a look around the place. I told him where you guys went, but—"
"You told him where we went Iris?" Cilia said in disbelief.
"Yeah, b-but not exactly, because I didn't know the exact place either. I just said you guys went to New Jersey. I mean h-he's a cop, so I didn't think it was an issue with him knowing. If I said something else wouldn't that be lying to the law? T-that's a crime right? So I just told him. Did you guys do something wrong?"
Cilia looked back toward Allele and saw him clenching his jaws. This was exactly what he had been warning her about all along. They had police on their backs hard and she wanted to be a dumb ass and continuously hang around a nigga who would make it easier to have them under a microscope. It was exactly why he had to put a stick in her little bullshit relationship. He was not going down because she wanted to be dumb.
Cilia cleared her throat and smiled. "No Iris you didn't do anything wrong. And it's okay we didn't do anything wrong either." She walked over and hugged her sister, ignoring Allele burning a hole through the side of her face.
"Love you."
"Love you too sis." Iris said.
Cilia gripped the bag handle in her hand tighter, heading to the front door. "Bye Allele." She mumbled. He didn't say anything but she couldn't care less as she closed the door behind her. She called another taxi and waited out front her building. It was extra cold since she had on nothing underneath her trench coat. The taxi pulled up within six minutes and on her way to his home, Cilia texted Breeze again just to let him know she was on her way. She wasn't really the type to show up without notifying.
Several minutes past and he never responded. Cilia even called, the call went straight to voicemail. When she arrived she paid the driver and got out the car. I hope he's home, she thought to herself. Cilia walked into the building, and the male receptionist who was at the front desk didn't bother to ID her knowing she was here all the time. Cilia took the elevator up to Breeze's floor and sashayed down the hall. She softly knocked on his door once she got there and waited a little bit.
He had such a nice building. They had circular orange lights in the ceiling, clear glass windows to see outside on the street and nice wooden tables holding either plants, magazines or little candies in glass bowls. Cilia sighed and pulled out her phone again. She wanted to send just as least one more call or text but she didn't want to be annoying about it. She was pretty sure he would realize he missed her calls and texts once he took a look at his phone.
So instead she just played games on her phone, telling herself she would wait a few more minutes. There were no chairs in the hall and she wasn't gonna sit on the floor, so she stood. Ten minutes later, she was on level 6 of Diner Dash when she saw someone approaching. She looked up from her phone and smiled at the sight of Breeze coming toward her. He looked so cute with his little black NorthFace backpack on his back and his red Nike sweater, with the hood on his head, looking like a college kid.
They kept eye contact the entire time as he approached. Cilia with a smile on her face and Breeze with a straight face. She assumed he was playing so she smiled harder. "Hey."
When he walked up, he just looked at her, pulling out his house keys. Cilia was a little surprised. No smile. No kiss. No pick up and twirl like he would normally do. He just opened his door and walked in. Breeze didn't notice that she caught the door after him, coming in.
He took the bag off his back, dropping it on the floor near the recliner. He just came from his grandmother's house and had to go back out in about an hour and a half to his club. Tonight was the night he was finally meeting these bold niggas who didn't want to pay for the cocaine shipment they ordered from him. Breeze was stressed out, and Cilia's sneaky ass was the last thing on his mind right now.
He turned around to head back toward the door to lock it, surprised and irritated at the same time when he was suddenly facing Cilia. He closed his eyes, running a hand down his face. He reopened his eyes, his long eyelashes framing his peanut butter skin so beautifully. "Why are you here Cilia." He muttered, his voice low and slightly raspy. It sent a shiver down Cilia's spine.
"I came to see my boyfriend." She smiled, she low key liked saying that word now. The tall amber eyed girl bit her juicy bottom lip, undoing the knot in her coat. It fell to the floor with a gentle thud as she stood there in four inch heels, showing off her birthday suit.
Cilia leaped forward but her lips didn't even get to graze Breeze's. His reflex was much quicker as he firmly pushed her back with one hand, her heels clicking against the floor as she stumbled back one step. He bent down and picked up her coat, tossing it at her. "Nah, put it back on, I'm good." He said walking away.
Embarrassed, Cilia just held the rough material in her hand for a second, watching him travel up the stairs. Breaking out of it, she quickly slipped the coat back on, tying the strings extra tight across her body. As sweet as Breeze was, he did have a tendency to be an asshole sometimes without realizing it. Cilia felt hurt and rejected like the time he told her she didn't make him hard.
She felt silly now as she just stood there, basically naked under her jacket. She went into her little overnight bag and pulled out a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. She headed toward the bathroom in the back to change. When she came out, she went straight upstairs. She turned the doorknob to the bedroom and walked in.
Breeze huffed in annoyance, thinking she had left when he threw her the cold shoulder. She usually would react that way. "Cilia can you please leave? I have company coming over."
Cilia shrugged. "Okay, that's fine, I can just wait up here until they leave Dion. It's no big deal. Is that why you acted like that downstairs just now? Because I came over while your expecting company? It was that serious Breeze?"
"It has nothing to do with any of that. I just don't want you here—at all." He responded.
Like glass Cilia's calm demeanor cracked, no longer in the mood to take the nice approach. If it was one thing she couldn't stand, it was when someone was having a bad day and instead of being asked to be left alone, they took their anger out on everyone else. And to he honest, he was hurting her feelings. Cilia shifted her weight to one left and put her hands on her small waist. "I don't know what your problem is but I'm not feelin' how you acting right now. I come back from a trip to you being mad at me for no reason."
"Nah I'm mad because you fucking with some other nigga, then wanna have the audacity to walk your one hundred ten pound ass in here calling me your boyfriend."
"What?" Cilia said with a screwed up face.
"Yeah, what?" Breeze mocked like she was retarded. "Man, what nothing. Go chill wit' the nigga who's bed you were just laying in."
Cilia was honestly at a loss for words. She was shocked because obviously he had some kind of knowledge about her trip. She watched him pull his sweater off and go in search of some clean clothes to take out. All Breeze wanted to do was soothe his aching muscles under hot water and change his clothes. He had to be out of here soon. Hopefully he didn't have to smoke anybody tonight, but with the way he was feeling, he didn't really care if he had to.
"Are you talking about my brother Dion? That's the only guy I went on the trip with."
He scoffed. "That ain't ya fuckin' brother so you could stop with that."
"I mean okay biologically no, but I told you that." Cilia reminded. She mentioned the fact that Allele was not blood related to her numerous times already, but he was acting like now all of a sudden he had a problem with it. Cilia shrugged. "I mean he's my brother in law, but so what."
Breeze chuckled, a smile on his face as his sugar brown eyes lit up in amusement. He couldn't believe this girl right now. "Brother in law? As in your sister's husband?"
"Yeah."
He narrowed his eyes at her. "You never told me that. You made it seem like he was your brother on some adopted shit. Not that he was only your brother because he was married to your sister by law."
Cilia furrowed her eyebrows. "Okay what's the difference? I don't call him my brother in law because it'll sound weird. I've known him forever, he's more than just my sister's husband. Him and I will always be family, even if they get a divorce. That's why I call him my brother."
"There's a big difference. No wonder every time I walked into the room and you were on the phone with him, you was quick to hang up or start whispering an' shit. But that's just ya brother right? So that's what you doing, fucking your sister's husband? That's why you was going so hard for us not to meet? Is that why you kept calling him your brother so I wouldn't get suspicious and figure out he really wasn't?"
Cilia pulled her head back. "What?! Dion what the hell are you talking about?! Do you hear yourself?" Cilia asked.
"Did you hear me the first time when I said get out? Because I'm pretty sure I said it, or maybe that's just me." He said, walking toward the bathroom adjoined to the bedroom. Before he even got three steps inside, Cilia rushed in behind him.
She reached out and grabbed his arm. Even though he didn't mean too, he turned around. When he saw her hand come out toward his face, he jerked his head back and flinched thinking she was about to slap him, but she only put her hand on his face.
Cilia could see Breeze was insecure about finding out she and Allele had such a strong relationship, and she thought it was cute. Cilia didn't know what she was suppose to do, but she guessed as a woman she was suppose to comfort her man in a situation like this and let him know he was number one. "Baby—"
Breeze grabbed her hand and placed it back by her side. They stood across from each other in the bathroom doorway. "Yo' forreal you need to get out my face. You disrespectful as fuck, you cheated on me doing whatever you wanted to do with ole boy and now you wanna come over here?"
"Dion I didn't cheat on you!"
"Yes you did! The nigga told me! Your brother! Ya man! Ya side nigga! Whoever he is. I called ya phone to check on you and he answered it. He told me that he was fucking you and wanted me to fall back because he don't like sharing."
Cilia's mouth fell open as she stared at him in disbelief. She didn't believe that—she didn't want to believe it, but there was no other way for Breeze to suddenly come up with this theory without having spoken to Allele. I wonder if that's why he was so quiet on the way back. Cilia thought. "He said that?" She questioned, her voice just above a whisper.
"Yeah and I believe him too, because when I called I heard you right next to him. Mumbling shit in your sleep. So that's how you move, fuckin' married dudes?"
Anger flooded through her body, seeing nothing but red. "Dion he's lying! We never had sex! Don't you know me? You know I would never do that to you! Why didn't you curse him out or tell him to go fuck himself!" She questioned angrily. Usually Cilia would never permit Breeze to curse out her family, but he would have gotten a pass. Especially since Allele came at him like that and lied on her. She had no clue who he thought he was; but he definitely lost his mind. "He was lying Breeze! He's my brother! Allele is just my brother! You know me, I wouldn't do that to you. I promise, I never slept with him!"
Breeze chuckled raising his eyebrows for a split second. "Okay Cilia, cool." He tried to walk off but she tightened her hold on his arm.
"No Dion, I never slept with him!"
"It doesn't matter!" Breeze was tired of talking to her, and he was even tired of looking at her to be honest. He already went through this kind of drama in his past relationships and he was disgusted with Cilia at this point. Disgusted with the fact she couldn't take any responsibility and see no wrong in anything she did. "All you could say is that we didn't have sex, but whether he lied about that or not is irrelevant, when you were still in his bed with him and barely had clothes on!"
Cilia screwed her face up. "Where'd you get that I barely had clothes on?"
"That's what he told me. Something about he didn't wanna wake you because you were only in some panties."
"And you believed him? He was obviously just tryna piss you off Dion. I was not in panties. I had on a tank top and some boy shorts."
Breeze immediately tossed his right hand in the air and looked around, like he was looking for somebody else in the room, letting his hand fall back against the side of his leg, making a 'clap' sound. "Same shit! That's not any better so why you tryna down play it? And this is what's pissing me off with you. You dead wrong and you standing in my face tryna justify the fact that your wrong. Even if the nigga lied about ya'll having sex, you were still in a hotel room with him, and still sleeping in bed with him. That's not cool when you in a relationship!"
Cilia suddenly felt water coming to her eyes but she never moved. She just blinked profusely, hoping to defuse the tears while staring Breeze in his face. She felt like a child being scolded by a parent. She really found nothing wrong with it really. It was just Allele, why was he getting so upset? It was strange to her. The only reason she was feeling bad was because he was so upset.
Cilia tossed her head back and sighed, quickly wiping her eyes. Her nerves were all over the place, but she was not about to make crying a habit. As she stared up at the ceiling, Breeze glanced at her neck, seeing the large red passion mark that marred her light brown skin. Hurt, anger, jealousy, disappointment...so many emotions flooded through him at once that he didn't know how to react. "...Wow, and the nigga even put a hickey on ya neck too."
Out of instinct Cilia covered the mark with her hand like she was trying to hide it, quickly bringing her head back down. She stood there quietly, eyes slightly wide as she stared at him.
"Now justify that," He said, "since you got a response for everything. Justify another man sucking on your neck."
Cilia was silent.
Breeze pointed at the mark. "I couldn't even do that shit to you, and I'm suppose to be your dude. But your sister's husband could? This is the same guy you told me would have a problem with that and I accepted it, out of respect for you. But he was messing with you the whole time? Man, we're through, get out my house."
"Dion, no, stop! No we're not, it's not what you think!" Cilia said, jumping in his way as he once again attempted to step into the bathroom. They were still standing between the door of the bathroom and bedroom.
Cilia wanted to tell him so badly what went down, but she couldn't. It was like growing up with the no snitching mentality. He was not part of what happened, so she couldn't tell him. Breeze wasn't her partner in crime, Allele was. If she told him what she did at the Casino, and admit that it was for money since her sister was blind, he would piece together why Keshawn was probably on her so hard. That might make him realize she was the one committing all these crimes and she couldn't have that. She liked him but she was not stupid. She was pretty sure Breeze wouldn't be down for a murderer. She would be in prison before she even finished confessing to him.
Cilia desperately held onto his wrists with misty eyes, looking up at his six foot one stature. "Are you serious right now? Stop Dion. Your gonna seriously let him break us up?"
Breeze went off like a light switch, snatching his hands back from her. His light honey eyes darkening as he mugged her. It was the second time she's seen him so angry and it really put fear in her heart. "The fuck you mean? You broke us up! You were the one in his hotel room! You were in his bed! You was letting him put hickeys on ya neck! You were the one doing shit you weren't suppose to be doing! So don't tell me I'm letting somebody else break us up! I didn't break us up and he didn't break us up! You did!"
Cilia's lips quivered, he was making her feel like garbage.
"And then you have the nerve to ask me why didn't I curse him out? And say what? What the fuck imma say to a nigga that got my girl laying in his bed? There ain't nothing to say! How you expect me to say something when you showing me where you stand in the relationship. You obviously didn't give a fuck so I'm suppose to? You disrespected me, not him. I shouldn't have to curse no nigga out, 'cause my loyalty is with you, not him!"
"Dion I'm sorry!"
"No you're not! You knew the shit you were doing, you just didn't expect to get caught! Do you know how embarrassing that was? To call and check on someone who's suppose to be my woman, and have to answer to another nigga telling me he don't like me contacting my own girl and he don't want me to disturb you, while you slept on his fucking chest!? And you think imma say something? So I could make myself a clown? Hell nah, I ain't say shit. Because it wouldn't have mattered what the fuck I said to him. Because as soon as I hung up that phone who's bed would you still be in...his! So who would be winning in that situation? Me or him?"
Cilia couldn't help it when she put her hands on her face and started to weep.
"I feel so stupid man. I was feigning to meet this nigga and everything. And I'm glad I didn't! 'Cause I woulda been sitting there like a dumb ass, talking to the nigga sleeping with my girl." Breeze finally moved Cilia to the side and stormed to his bedroom door, making a head motion when he grabbed hold of the silver knob. "Come on, go, get the fuck out."
Just then from downstairs, Breeze heard knocking on his front door. He sucked his teeth in irritation. His company was here and he didn't even get to take his shower yet because he was too busy up here playing with Cilia.
"Cilia come on you gotta go!"
Cilia began to walk toward him but stopped short two feet away. "Dion please don't do this. My situation is complicated, what happened on my trip was for an important reason. It's not what it seems. I promise I would tell you if I could."
"Sure." Breeze said grabbing her hand as he proceeded to drag her down the stairs. Cilia tried prying his hand off her, fighting to stay back as he struggled to carry her toward the door.
"Dion don't do this, please!" Cilia cried. She wanted to tell him she loved him so badly but she couldn't, because she didn't, but she was falling in love with him. She was sure of it. "I'm sorry, please don't do this! I think about you everyday! I miss you! I really really really like you! You're my first boyfriend Dion, please, I love you!" She screamed.
Breeze stopped dead in his tracks, standing in the middle of his living room with Cilia hugging him. Her arms were wrapped around him as she cried into his chest. She lied and it made her feel slightly bad, but she was pretty close to loving him. She just didn't want to lose him.
"Don't say that Cilia." He mumbled, his tone much lower. Her falling in love with him is all he really wanted, but he couldn't take her seriously right now. He wouldn't believe that. He didn't even believe her when she said she didn't fuck the nigga that picked her phone up. It was too much evidence indicating otherwise. "Lying is not making this shit any better."
"I'm sorry," She mumbled. "but you know what I mean. I really feel like I'm headed there with you. So don't leave me, Dion. You know almost everything about me. You know my history and I don't talk to anybody about what I've been through."
"Exactly, which is why you should know why this shit hurts so much for me." He said causing Cilia to look up at him. His heart wrung at the dried wet trails on her face, as her multicolored eyes shimmered up at him. He wanted nothing more than to hug her and forgive her but he couldn't. "I told you about me too, so you should know that you made me look stupid. I introduced you to my family...and what about Keshawn? Do you know we still not even talking—all because of you. Because I took your side over his. I don't go against my brothers for anybody. Now you got me looking dumb. How am I suppose to go up to this man now and let him know he was right about you? I put my confidence in you like I did the first one, but again I get fucked over, proving Keshawn right again. The shit is humiliating Cilia."
Cilia sniffled, "Keshawn never liked me from day one. He never gave me a chance, so that's not fair. And I didn't fuck you over. I'm really sorry, please."
Breeze just looked away, shaking his head. He didn't want to hear any apologies. He didn't wanna hear anything. "Whatever man..." he looked back at her after a moment. "This guy...do you love him?"
"What?"
"Whoever ole boy is...are you in love with him? Is that why you don't love me? Because you love him?"
Cilia pulled away from him, rubbing her eyes. "What kind of question is that Dion."
"Are you in love him, simple yes or no. I ain't ask you anything else." Breeze said calmly.
Cilia narrowed her eyes and shrugged. "I mean of course I love him, he's my brother."
Breeze sighed. "Aight man, I'm done." He said. He already knew what the answer was. He started walking toward the front door with Cilia still holding onto him.
"Really Dion!? So this is it?! Your done?" She asked just as he grabbed onto the doorknob.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"Hold on!" Breeze shouted to the person standing on the other side. He then turned back toward Cilia, speaking very lowly so only she could hear. He looked down at her, taking in all the features of her small apple shaped face. "Yes, I am."
Cilia felt the breath leave her body. Her little travel bag was still on the floor and everything but she didn't care. She didn't care about leaving it, she didn't care about anything else except this moment. She didn't care about anything right now except the man in front of her.
Breeze furrowed his eyebrows, lowering himself so close their lips were almost touching. "I'm not about to sit here and front or lie to you or try to be hard. Because honestly, listening to you in the background sleeping in bed with that nigga while I called to check on you, broke my heart Cilia. It really did. Especially since I told you I loved you. You coulda did this shit earlier on, but it's more fucked up that you waited until I told you I loved you to do this to me. We haven't even been official two weeks and already you cheated on me. I can't do this ma, I'm done."
Breeze tried to turn the knob but Cilia quickly shut the door back. "Dion please I'm sorry! I'll let you meet them, my sister, my brother, okay I'll let you talk to them. Dion, I thought you loved me!"
The doors in the building were thick and very heavy, almost sound proof. With expensive rent came quality things, so Ty'kerah wasn't hearing anything going on inside. She just saw the door open and close and heard Breeze telling her hold on so she didn't realize someone else was in there with him. She just assumed he was playing. "Dion come on!" She shouted from the other side.
"Look at me," Cilia said turning Breeze's face toward her. "Dion I'm begging you!"
Breeze sighed, placing both his hands on her face. "I think you're a great girl Cilia, and I love you that's not gonna change in one night. But I can see that your heart and your mind is somewhere else and we both know it. I don't hate you and I'm not gonna randomly take Keshawn's side. But I can no longer defend you either. I hope you get yourself figured out. Good luck, Princess." He placed a soft kiss on her forehead that melted Cilia's heart.
This time she allowed him to open the door. Cilia saw something in her peripheral view and quickly turned her head. She made eye contact with Ty'kerah who stood in front of the door. In that moment the two had tunnel vision. Every thing around them turned to black but each other. Cilia could feel it and so could Ty'kerah. They knew. Cilia didn't know if Keshawn kept his promise and told her and Ty'kerah didn't know how Cilia knew, but she knew this was the girl that slashed her face; and Cilia knew this was the girl who's face she slashed.
Ty'kerah punched Cilia in the face with so much force it caused her to fly back into the apartment. Cilia's reflex was golden as she snatched Ty'kerah's shirt collar, slinging her to the ground. Ty'kerah landed on her back, the impact vibrating the entire condo. Cilia got on top of her, straddling her with viscous punches. Ty'kerah didn't back down as four seconds later she had Cilia under her, throwing heavy punches at her.
Cilia managed to get Ty'kerah off of her with a kick to the stomach that landed her on her side, but before one of the girls could get back in the dominating position, they were both back on their feet, throwing punches at each other like men.
Breeze ducked low so he wouldn't get hit and grabbed Cilia around the waist. She was skinny so it was easy for him to pick her up with one arm as he quickly tried walking her out the door. But she stretched her arms across the doorway. Breeze saw Ty'kerah coming over but he put his hand out and lightly pushed her back. "Ty! Chill, please." He didn't know why his house was the attraction spot for fighting.
Ty'kerah put her hand up. "You know what, a'right. Only because I respect you and your house. But you," she said pointing at Cilia. "Every time I see you, I promise. You wanna be cutting faces? On sight, every time I see you your getting smacked! That's on life! You dirty hoe!"
"Shut up bitch! On sight nothin'! Next time you getting slashed again! It was your knife! You pulled it out 'cause you wanted to be pussy and look what happened! You got cut with your own shit! You mad? Ahhh!" Cilia mocked. "You ugly bitch! That's why you look like a man now!"
Breeze saw Ty'kerah racing toward them. He knew the topic of her face was a soft spot for her. He quickly raced out into the hallway and closed the door behind him. He held the knob with one hand, while Ty'kerah desperately tried turning the lock from the other side.
Breeze sighed, putting the amber eyed girl on her feet. "Please Cilia just go."
"Oh so you brought this bitch over here? You mad at me but you being any better? You brought here over here to fuck? It hasn't even been ten seconds yet. This was the hoe you was dating?"
"She's not a hoe and we're not really dating, we had a friends with benefits relationship. She's here to talk like friends do. I'm not doing anything else with her. I cut that off for you, remember?"
Cilia felt slightly hurt. "This was the bitch that sent me to prison for six years Dion! She jumped me and pulled a knife on me! I only used it in self defense and still got sent to prison because of her and her punk ass friends. How could you be messing with her?" Cilia asked. She knew he didn't know from the beginning, but it sure seemed like he found out about it some time ago.
The door was roughly being pulled from the other side as Ty'kerah screamed and banged, trying to open it. Breeze ignored her, his voice still low. They were in the hallway and he was tired of his apartment bringing the drama to the building.
"She's someone I've known for years and you slashed her face. I think she'll have the the same question for me when I go in there."
"Right. So does Peyton know her slutty ass friend fucking you too? Do you fuck all her friends? You know what I don't even care, because fuck that bitch and fuck Ty'kerah. Can you hear me? Fuck you hoe!" Cilia shouted.
"Cilia—"
"Get my shoes then." She said knowing he was about to ask her to leave again. She was defeated, tired and hurt. She was ready to go.
Breeze nodded his head and managed to slip inside. Cilia was outside for a couple of minutes and didn't know why Ty'kerah hadn't come out. Breeze must have been holding her back, or had taken her to another part of the house. In four minutes he was back out with a different pair of shoes she didn't come with, but which also belonged to her.
"She threw the other pair out the window along with all your clothes."
Cilia closed her eyes and sighed. The world was trying her today.
"Take care, aight?" Breeze said.
"You're really gonna do this." Cilia said looking at him pleadingly. "Dion...please?"
Breeze gave her one last sad smile, "Take care, Princess." He said, softly closing the door in her face.
******
Allele watched the UFC fight taking place on the television. It was gory and bloody, with blood strewn all over the ring and one of the fighters having a face resembling mashed potatoes. But none of that bothered him. He grew up in that so the match happening to him was light work.
His cellphone lit up on his lap which he glanced down at.
Ron - Remember, be ready in like 45 minutes. We gotta go see this connect.
Allele didn't bother to respond, he'd just call him and tell him he was outside when he was ready to go. The kitchen light was on as Iris moved around making hot chocolate. All she could hear was the audience cheering on the TV and it made her wince. The things people turned into sports were ridiculous.
"Do you think they found him yet?"
"Found who?"
"The terrorist guy shooting up malls." Iris asked to start some conversation. She was tired of hearing this UFC garbage.
"Nah, not that I heard of." Allele said.
The front door started to be unlocked and Allele smirked. He already knew who it was and where she was coming from.
Iris turned around at the noise. "Oh is that Cilia? I thought she said she was sleeping over at a friend's house."
The door opened and Allele looked at Cilia who's eyes were red and puffy like she'd been crying. He watched her drop her overnight bag by the door and gently use her butt to close the door. His grin got wider as he stared at her as she did the same. The look on her face dead. He could tell homeboy probably cussed her ass out.
Allele put a closed fist up to his mouth, not being able to help it as he began to laugh. "Damn sis, you good?"
He wasn't expecting the pair of keys to be thrown at him but he ducked it, still laughing. When Cilia followed right after the metal, Allele was completely caught off guard when a punch to his mouth violently reared his head back.
"Bitch!" Cilia screamed, a couple more punches connecting to his face.
Iris gasped, turning toward the living room where she heard them. She couldn't exactly tell where they were, but she knew they were somewhere over there. All she could hear was grunting, the sound of sneakers squeaking against the floor and hits, they were fighting.
Allele quickly curled up in a ball, giving the angry girl the sides of his arms and legs to hit as he protected his head.
"Guys?!" Iris shouted, alarmed. "Guys? Oh my God stop! You guys stop!" She panicked.
Allele weaved the last two punches, easily flipping them over so Cilia was on the couch and he was on top of her. He held her hands above her head, breathing heavily as he stared down at her. "Yo' you fuckin' crazy?!"
"Get off of me! I hate you! I wish you fuckin' die! I hate you Allele!" Cilia screamed, trying her best to break free.
Allele was quiet as he just stared down at her until he noticed red droplets falling onto her face. He quickly switched both of her wrists to one of his hands and put his finger up to his nose, coming back with bright red blood. His anger soared through the roof as he got off of her and immediately put a distance of twenty feet between them.
"Why would you call him and say that you bitch!"
"Yo', you see what you fuckin' did!" Allele shouted, blood dripping all over the floor and his clothes. He hoped his nose wasn't broken because it felt like it. He cupped his nose, the only thing on his mind was a mirror.
"Fuck you! You ruined my relationship! He broke up with me! I would have never did that to you!"
"Guys?" Iris whimpered, still standing in the kitchen as she cried. She was so lost and scared. She felt like no one told her anything. Wh-what's going on?"
Allele slowly nodded his head, turning his back to Cilia as he took one step toward the window, before abruptly turning around and sending three punches to the wall. Big black holes only inches apart sat from each other, dust and bloody cuts now covering his fists. Iris jumped, putting a hand up to her mouth as it sounded like gunshots went off. Allele was mad enough to kill Cilia with his bare hands but he had to remember it was her. He pulled his blood spotted sweater over his head and dumped it on the ground, heading toward the back to separate them, knowing he might end up really hurting her.
"You guys! What's going on?" Iris questioned nervously.
"Your bitch ass husband called my boyfriend and told him some stupid shit! And he broke up with me!" Cilia semi confessed. She knew Iris wouldn't figure out what was going on because she hadn't given her full details. "I hate him! I fu—"
Cilia didn't even allow herself to finish the sentence as she got up from the couch and flew down the hallway. She was so angry all she wanted to do was hurt Allele. She wasn't thinking clearly, she was enraged. All she saw was red. She knew his temper was on one thousand when he was mad and she knew he could easily kill her with a punch or two, but she didn't care.
Allele checked his face after he washed it, she hadn't broken his nose, but it was really hurting. He twitched it around a bit, sighing. This fucking little girl man...he thought to himself. As soon as he turned to exit the bathroom, he was met with Cilia. She swung at him again, making him duck her punch and once again get in defense mode as he blocked his head.
Iris heard the banging and slamming going on in the back and covered her ears as she started to cry. Why hadn't any of the neighbor's come to check about the noise? Her phone was in the back in her bedroom but she was scared to go back there. "You guys!" She screamed to the top of her lungs.
Cilia kicked and punched Allele angrily. She knew her assaults were hard because her own fists and knees were starting to hurt. As soon as she raised her foot to kick him again, Allele locked his arms around her legs and picked her up, ramming her back into the bathroom door. Iris jumped.
Cilia began to use the back of her elbow to violently pound his back. It was something that he taught her when they were smaller. That because the spine was very soft and a vital point on the body, a lot of damage could be done to that area.
Allele grabbed her by shirt collar her and threw her on the ground, where she accidentally hit her head. The fright in her eyes didn't register to him until he picked her up by her neck and put her against the wall. "You gon' make me fuckin' hurt you Cilia, stop!" He whispered in a shaky voice. When he saw her eyes widen, he quickly let go of her neck and backed up.
Allele was so angry he was shaking. He needed to get out and get some air. He didn't even mean to manhandle her the way that he did, but when he got mad he didn't know how to control himself, especially since she was someone who loved to provoke. "Move." He uttered, pushing her to the side as he exited the bathroom.
"No!" Cilia screamed as she ran up behind him, pounding his back. "Your not leaving! I hate you Allele!"
Allele swung around, his jaws clenched so hard a vein popped out on the side of his neck. He gripped her face, vibrating it a little as he spoke through gritted teeth. "Stop!"
Cilia roughly pushed him back and he kept walking, but she stayed right behind him, tears forming in her eyes. "Why do you hate me so much! Why do you keep ruining my life!"
"Allele?" Iris squeaked, reaching out as she heard quick footsteps approaching. It only sounded like him because as a man his feet were move heavier.
"Don't touch me." Allele breathed out, flinging Iris's hand off of him as he walked pass her.
"Nigga don't treat her like that!" Cilia said, flinging a sneaker at him she picked up from the hallway. It missed his head by a landslide as she continued to advance toward him, but when Iris felt her presence pass, she quickly ran the short distance and grabbed her hand. Cilia stayed still, allowing Iris to hold her back. "You just mad because I care about him more than you! I love him and I hate you! I hope someone shoots you in your head and you slowly die on the sidewalk!"
"Cilia!" Iris yelled.
As soon as Allele's chocolate orbs met her's, Cilia pulled her bottom lip into her mouth regretting everything she just said. But it was only for a split second, because as soon as he closed the door behind him, her anger was back full force.
"Cilia why would you say something like that," Iris chastised, "now what if he goes out on the street and gets hurt, then what?"
Cilia folded her arms across her abdomen, shaking her head. "I don't care Iris, I don't...I hate him, I really do." She whispered. She noticed her heart clench in opposition to every word she spoke, but she knew she hated him. Even if every fiber of her being was saying otherwise. She hated him.