The Role of a Lifetime

4

Endless corridor after endless corridor. They just never seemed to end. Jai's night was obviously off to a good start. Not only was she lost, but she was missing a good chunk of the Migos' performance. If only she hadn't been so proud, maybe she could have found some semblance of dignity and asked Drake for help, but here she was, stuck in the trenches of an arena with little to no cell coverage.

"Best nationwide coverage my ass," Jai huffed as she watched the  AT&T cellular icon struggle to fill up the first bar. She didn't even have her usual LTE. Who used 4G anymore? She tried to make a call to Erica and watched as the call faltered. "OH MY GOD!!" Her feet hurt like hell from the booties she'd still been wearing and she was frustrated beyond reason.

"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING DOWN HERE?" Jai felt her body go rigid as the voice echoed through the halls. God was really quick with his punishments.

"Look, I just came from talking to Drake and-"

"Yeah, sure you were," the large white guy beckoned as he stomped his way towards her.

"No, really. I'm a cast mate of his-"

"Yeah and I'm the son of the President of the United States," he scoffed.

Jai looked him up and down. With that fake tan of his he surely could pass as the son of Trump, but that was none of her business. He was a large man, buff, complete with a bald head. He could be some kin to Mr. Clean, she thought, but right now wasn't a laughing matter.

"-And I got lost trying to find my way back," she continued.

"I bet you did. Let's go!" Jai winced as he manhandled her, clutching her wrist and pulling her.

"I haven't done anything wrong. I'm telling the truth," Jai became increasingly angry and frustrated which led to tears pooling at her eyes, not to mention the physical assault he was exacting on her.

"Save it!" He snarled.

"Get off me! You don't have the right to touch me if I'm complying!" Jai pulled from his hold, "OWWW! YOU'RE HURTING ME!" she screamed at the top of her lungs hoping someone would hear.

"Shut the hell up!! I can do whatever I want to you and you know why? Because who's going to believe you over me?" He snarled as he pulled her in closer. "Who are you going to tell anyway?" He laughed as she struggled to get out of his hold. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she silently gave up. She was so terrified, never once thinking she'd find herself in a situation like this.

"Me!"

They both turned towards the voice. The large man released her wrist immediately as he watched Drake put his phone into his pocket. It was obvious that he had recorded the incident. Not like it really mattered if he'd seen the whole thing, but Jai would get to that later.

"Let her go," he'd ordered calmly.

"She's trespassing, sir! She has no right to be back here!" Jai wasn't the reason he was upset now. He was upset because of his lack of authority, which is precisely why he had behaved the way that he did against a woman, a black woman at that.

"And what was this innocent woman doing that was so bad?" Drake took calculated steps forward, getting angrier with every step. Jai could see the creamy tint to his skin slowly turn red. "An innocent woman who you could have done worst to if you'd wanted!" Drake projected his voice. He was now standing face to face with the man who had managed to grab Jai once more,  squeezing her limb with a painful force.

Jai didn't need the show of male dominance and power that was going on right now, what she needed was to be free of the both of them.

"Let her go!" Drake barked.

"I will not. It is my job to follow the law and the protocols of any governing situation that is deemed inappropriate and out of line."

"I won't tell you again," Drake was losing his patience.

"You think I care, you half-breed!! You're not above the law and neither is this mongrel." Jai stared in shock, wondering what would happen next.

"Honestly I-"

Amidst the white privileged, racist, and belittling words that spilled from the security's mouth, Drake had cocked his fist back and punched him square in the mouth, shutting him up and making him release Jai, who Drake grabbed and shoved behind him.

"All for that BITCH?" The security personnel had stepped to Drake and pointed at the smaller woman attempting to shield herself behind Drake's broad shoulders.

Jai closed her eyes and stood still as she clutched Drake's sweatshirt. Never had she ever felt so insignificant and low. She didn't want to see any parts of that man again. She'd dared not look at him.

"I'm done talking."

Drake reached for his iPhone with his left hand. With the press of a button all Jai could hear were the sounds of reinforcements coming down the hall. They were coming from behind her. Panicking, Jai attempted to step from behind Drake, but he motioned for her to stay put, taking her hand in his, squeezing reassuringly. Jai held on to that hand, squeezing it in return.  She looked behind her, seeing some familiar faces.

Drake hadn't called the police. He'd called his crew. One had stepped forward and stood at Drake's side. She knew exactly who he was. He wasn't hard to miss.

"You good, Aubs?"

"Aye, I'm good Chubbs, but do me a favor and dispose of this fool?" Drake huffed as he squeezed Jai's hand.

"No prob," Chubbs laughed before he gave all of his attention to the security personnel who now stood in fear, clutching a now swollen mouthpiece.

"Look, it was just a big misunderstanding," he let out a small chuckle.

Chubbs cracked his knuckles as he loosened up his shoulders, "I bet it was," he laughed, signaling for the rest of the crew to leave with Drake.

"I got this. Y'all go ahead."

Jai watched in horror as she looked at the two men, tapping Drake on the shoulder. He let her hand go and turned around. His hands went to her waist. Jai had to keep it together if she was going to get anywhere. She took a deep breath before looking up at the face that she knew was now assessing her.

"H-he's not going to kill him is he? I mean Chubbs isn't going to kill him, right?" She asked nervously as she could hear the man groan in pain at the sound of skin meeting skin. Drake shielded her view.

"He won't, but he will teach him a lesson. You don't have to worry about anything, but you will be staying with my guys for the rest of the night," Jai hadn't been listening one bit. Her ears had tuned in on the sound of punches being thrown.

"Yeah...ok," Jai had agreed incoherently, not knowing what it was that she'd just said yes to. Drake turned her around and led her back towards the upper arena, with his OVO crew leading. He shielded her view the entire way. When Jai had tried looking back, her eyes made contact with Drake's chest. That was the last time she tried. She couldn't help but feel sorry for the man.