No Heroes Here.

10. Respeck On My Name.

Stephanie pov

"Do you wanna fight?" I ask him, my voice calm. He mugs me, "Man fuck out'ta here with that shit, Stephanie, don't get ya' little ass hurt."

"No, you wanna disrespect me, then you obviously wanna fight Daniel, so what's good?" I ask, taking my heels off in all seriousness.

I'm seriously about to deck him ass dead in his mouth. You wanna call me a hoe? Okay, Imma make you my bitch. Catch this fade.

"Stephanie, I ain't none of these other fuck niggas you been talkin' to, I'll put you on ya shit and walk away." He threatens.

 I walk up to him and start swinging, connecting with anything I can reach. At one point I tripped him and he fell into the wall of the club. I sit on top of him and whale his shit until he wrapped his arms around me, got on his knees, lifted me and slammed my ass. But that ain't stop me. 

By the end of this fight, he gone put some Respeck on my name. 

Someone lifts him off me and I'm picked up so gently that I already know that it's Davids arms that I'm in. "Yo', put her the fuck down!" Daniel snaps while Andrew has him pinned against the wall. "Calm down--" "Tell him get his hands off my fucking girlfriend!" Daniels yells but his voice fades as David carries me away, presumably towards his car, with Kara and Tee right beside us. 

---

I'm sitting at the island in David's hotel room, my head on my arms. I'm simply sitting here peacefully, thinking. I feel a little bad for swinging on Daniel but then I feels like he deserved it.

What changed? The Daniel from 2 years ago would never talk to me like that.

Footsteps heading towards me makes me lift my head. I smile as my friends walk into the kitchen. "You feelin' okay? No pain anywhere?" David asks, standing beside me.

"Yeah, 'cause Daniel surely did do what he said he would-- oww! Hoe." Tee snaps at Kara after she pinched her to get her to shut up.

I shake my head. "Things are different, we're different."

"Maybe y'all should've went through the dating stage before just jumping into a relationship. I mean y'all aren't the same people y'all were two years ago." Kara says, her tone soft. I nod, "it only seemed right that we got into a relationship on sight. I didn't consider that he would change, shit, I didn't consider how much I would change." I respond, staring at the  marble island top.

I shake my head, "he was all I thought about while we was down there, all I thought about. I couldn't wait until he made me laugh, I couldn't wait until he acted goofy, I couldn't wait to be carefree. I couldn't wait to be carefree with him. But he isn't even the same person!" I snap, slapping my hand on the island. I spin around, getting off the bar stool.

I begin stomping towards the couches, pacing, "what the fuck am I supposed to do?! He's not him and I'm not me any more! I don't want to be fighting with him!" I shout.

"Then don't fight with him!" Tee answers.

"But he disrespects me!--"

"He's only done it once." Kara points out. "Meaning he'll do it again!" I counter, throwing my hands up. "We aren't the same people any more! No matter how much I try to ignore it, we are no longer compatible! We haven't had a good gut laugh since we seen each other! But two years ago after hanging out with him for a few hours I would've be on the floor!" I run my hands through my hair and sit on the couch.

I put my elbows to my knees and groan. "I'm happy you realized this, Steph." Kara says as she eases down beside me.

"I went away to change, to get better for him. He wasn't supposed to change. He was suppose to stay him. The man I loved." I mutter.

"Prison changes people," I hear Tee pipe up. "After being in a cell with men more dangerous than you, possibly endangering your existence, you have to adapt some how." She says.

"So what am I supposed to do? Force myself to love a man who isn't who he used to be?! That's what the fuck I did with Christopher!"

"No, you don't force yourself to love him. You can get to know him again if you want? Get to know each other again because he wasn't the only one whose changed in that span of time Steph."

"Right. Two years ago, you were a sweetheart. Now? Ya' ass is savage." Tee dumb ass adds, making me look up at her and smile. I shake my head, "maybe we just need to talk. Yeah, y'all come with me to go talk to him." I command without actually commanding.

Kara mugs, "Why we gotta go?"

I tilt my head, "because I'm going to need people to help me hide his body if I kill this nigga-- so shut up and come on!"