Jaquan Carter | Quan
Atlanta,Ga
I stormed out of Paris's senior night, my mind a whirlwind of anger and suspicion.
The drive to the house was a blur, my knuckles white from gripping the steering wheel too hard.
I ain't even bother knocking or announcing my presence when I arrived—I still paid the bills round this mafucka.
"Yo Promise, where you at?" I yelled as I walked through the downstairs area, finding it empty.
The sound of movement from upstairs drew me to our once-shared master bedroom.
I opened the door and heard the shower running.
Sitting on the bed, I waited, my leg shaking with anger as thoughts about Jayceon's coach and Promise gnawed at me.
The bathroom door opened, and Promise stepped out, wrapped in a towel.
She jumped slightly, clutching her chest when she saw me.
"Ooo, you scared me. What you doin' here, Quan?"
I ain't answer at first, my eyes following her every move as she walked to the closet.
"You know why I'm here. We ain't done talking."
Promise sighed as she emerged from the closet, now dressed in her nightclothes.
"Jaquan, I'm done talking about it. You came back to tell me that something happened and that it's supposedly all over, but you won't even tell me what happened," she said, her frustration mounting.
She had tried to start allat yelling shit at the game, but y'all know ion even play like that, had to shut ha down quickly.
"First of all, lower yo voice, for real. And I told yo ass, I ain't tellin' you 'bout that shit 'cause the less you know, the better," I said bluntly.
Ion sugarcoat anything.
"Stop talking to me like that, Quan. Seriously. I understand that, but this is way more serious this time around. You know how your dad is. I don't want us to have to walk around looking over our shoulders for the rest of our lives," she said, now standing in front of my side of the bed.
"How many times I gotta tell you, y'all don't. The situation's handled. He's not coming back. I just need you to trust me," I pleaded, trying to keep my composure.
But her persistence was making me upset.
"Oh my gosh, Quan, how you expect me to trust you in a situation like this? Need I remind you, you said this same thing 18 years ago and yet here we are," she retorted, anger and attitude clear in her voice.
Instantly, I flew off the bed. The fuck.
"So you just gone throw that shit in my face, huh? You know I'm only back in this shit 'cause it had to do with our son. What the fuck is you really sayin' right now?" I said angrily, now standing in her face.
She rolled her eyes slightly and pushed me back lightly.
"Okay, that was low, my bad. But exactly like you just said, OUR son. The least you can do is tel—"
"MAN, WHY THE FUCK YOU WANNA KNOW SO BAD FA?" I cut her off, knowing she was about to ask me to tell her everything.
"I'M JUST TRYNA HELP YO BLACK ASS. You know what? Fine. Be that way then, but when this shit backfires and the cops come knocking, I can't help you," she said, shrugging her shoulders as she walked away from me and laying in the bed.
I smacked his teeth, cursing to myself.
"'Scuse you, you not made of glass," she said as she turned on the TV, flipping through the channels like I wasn't standing there.
I glared at her, feeling the urge to rip the TV off the wall.
Ion give a damn if im the one that mounted that bitch.
She landed on the news channel momentarily.
"Breaking news," the anchor said, "we are still getting word about a fire that..."
My heart skipped a beat.
The footage showed the smoldering remains of Jared's warehouse.
My eyes widened a bit, and I side glanced at Promise, who was now watching the screen intently.
"What the hell...?" she murmured, sitting up to look at me. "Quan, is that...?"
"Yeah," I said quietly, my anger momentarily forgotten.
"That's my Jared shit ."
We watched in silence as the news anchor continued, "Authorities are investigating the cause of the fire, which started earlier this evening. The remains of three have been retrieved the rubble, but the building has been completely destroyed. If you have any information authorities are asking that you call their number."
I felt a mix of relief and dread.
The warehouse was gone, and with it, hopefully, Jared and his grip on our lives.
But I knew this wasn't the end.
There would be questions, investigations, and potential fallout.
Promise turned to me, her eyes wide with a mixture of fear and confusion.
"Quan, what does this mean?"
"It means it's over," I said, though I wasn't entirely sure.
"For now, at least."
She nodded slowly, absorbing the information.
"Okay. But promise me, no more secrets. We need to face this together."
I sighed, nodding. "Ight. No more secrets. We'll face this together."
I still ain't intend on putting her in none, the more she don't know that's better.
Just in case 12 do pick ha up, sheon know none.
Hopefully that shit don't happen.
For now, the immediate threat was gone, but I knew we had a long road ahead.
As we sat there, watching the news, I silently vowed to protect my family, no matter what.
✩✩✩✩✩
I sat heavily on the bed, letting out a deep sigh as I stared up at the ceiling.
The weight of the situation was pressing down on me.
I had to let the blame fall on me; I couldn't rat out Draco.
This was why I ain't want anyone involved in this shit in the first place.
"Hss mmm," Promise murmured as she laid next to me in the bed.
I looked over at her, noticing how she rubbed her stomach lightly as she sat up.
"You good?" I asked, my eyes switching between her eyes and her stomach.
"Yeah, I'm good," she replied, stopping the motion and sitting up to drink some water.
