"Nyla, where the fuck have you been? I told your ass you can't be running away like that." Colson growled as the tone beeped for the fifth voicemail he's left for her.
Nyla was a wild card, her energy was addictive and explosive, and other than Casie, she is the only woman able to make him give a fuck about anything. He dropped everything when Nyla got like this, knowing her history, she could end up in a very dark place and Colson worked very hard to keep her out of that place.
He was oblivious to the fact that, this time he was the one that sent her to that place. He's been different lately and it set Nyla off. The energy around Colson and Nyla balances perfectly most of the time but there are some instances where the smallest thing will shift the chemistry between them becomes toxic.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
"Yo, Ny...your phone is going crazy. Just turn that shit completely off." Briana snapped as she looked over at Nyla's phone that was vibrating on the table next to her.
Nyla laughed and put her pen down. "Nah, if I turn it off it goes straight to voicemail. I want him to keep wasting his time calling me over and over again, only to be disappointed by my voicemail message." She laughed.
"Ooo you're a petty bitch." Briana laughed, rolling her eyes.
Nyla shrugged and went back to writing her lyrics. "Whatever, he has been an absolute asshole lately."
"But you still won't tell me exactly what he did! How am I supposed to understand how you're feeling? Did he put his hands on you?" Briana suddenly raised her voice, now feeling more anxious. She never had solid proof that he physically hurt her but Briana knew that he could be aggressive at times and Nyla doesn't know how to ask for help. Instead, she bottles it up and writes lyrics that she never shares.
"No! Stop always assuming he's abusing me before you end up getting him locked up somehow. We've just been going through some personal shit." Nyla shot back.
Nyla loved her best friend, but Briana could be very paranoid sometimes...at least when it comes to her. A couple of weeks ago Briana saw a text conversation between Colson and Nyla that led her to believe certain things so every time they have an argument Briana thinks the worst.
"You aren't even in a relationship with the nigga, so what personal shit could you possibly be going through with him?" Briana raised her eyebrows, confused as to why her long-time friend was having relationship problems with someone she supposedly had no romantic ties to.
"I don't expect you to understand! When your ass ditched me to ride your fucking skateboard around the country, Colson was the one who took me in, took care of me, and held me when I was in the darkest times of my life. Nah he's not my man but his friendship means a lot to me." Nyla sighed.
Briana stood up and started to get upset, Nyla would be the one to have the audacity to throw that back in her face. "You cannot blame me for wanting to better myself and get out of the shit we were in!"
"I blame you for leaving me in that shit with no way of getting in contact with you. I lost a home, a best friend-"
Briana cut her off. "It's not my fault that you decided to stop your whole world when I left!" She screamed.
Nyla bit her lip and sighed. "Yeh, I forgot that you were always one disloyal ass bitch." She got up and started gathering her things and Briana stormed back upstairs. She couldn't help but compare her two best friends. Colson made it obvious that he left no one he loved behind. No matter how much money he is offered, he has never taken the chance to leave his crew and family behind...if he makes it...they all do.
'Fuck! That bastard isn't even here and he's making me forget why the hell I was upset with him in the first place.' She thought to herself.
And right on cue...
incoming call from 'the gunner'
As soon as she accepted the call she heard:
"FUCKING FINALLY!"
"Colson..." Nyla sighed.
As soon as she said his name in the tone that she did, he dropped his attitude and metaphorically dropped to his knees.
"Can we just skip to the part where we forgive each other and laugh?" She asked.
"Send me your location and we'll get you home...where you belong."
- - - - - - - -
Colson pulled up to an unfamiliar but decent-sized home a little over 100 miles from his home in Cleveland. He wanted to know what the hell she was doing out here and with who.
The person who answered the door was a tall, attractive melanated woman. At first, she was confused but that quickly turned to anger.
"How did you find her? The last thing she needs right now is you." She scoffed and crossed her arms.
Colson laughed. "I don't know who you are, but she wants to come home. It's not like her to just drop it, so you must have pissed her off." He ended with a smirk.
Defeated, she rolled her eyes and moved aside to see Nyla all ready to go; she obviously wasted no time packing up her shit so she could hit the road.
"Ny...are we really doing this shit? I know we have our shit too but don't you think it's better if you just stay here? At least for a little while?" Briana spoke up, trying to grab Nyla's arm.
Nyla laughed and shook her head. "Nah, you can't flip your switch on and off like that Bri. You were literally making me feel like shit for needing you."
"That's your problem! You always need something to distract you, whether it be me, a troubled man that doesn't treat you right, drugs, alcohol, expensive clothes..." Bri yelled.
Colson bit his lip as his eyes darted between the two, he was concerned but was definitely not going to get in the middle of this shit show.
"You think you know everything, right? Fuck you." Nyla hissed and stormed over to Colson's truck.
Colson took a deep breath and followed Nyla, nervous about the ride home. He knew that they still had their issues to work through and now they had a stretch of 100 miles to do so.
Before he could even back out of Briana's driveway Nyla opened up the center console and grabbed a pre-rolled blunt and a couple of pulls from Colson's stash.
Colson eyed her warily wondering if that was the best idea for her already heightened emotional state. "Maybe just leave the pills, babe?"
Nyla scoffed. "Says the guy who kick-started my addiction." She added a laugh. "Enjoy the car ride....babe." She smiled devilishly.
