Page 104 of Obsessive Love
I turned the TV off and stood. Today would be the hardest one we’d had in a long time. We just buried Ms. Arlene not even a month ago, and we were gathering again for another funeral. I looked up as Fable came down the stairs. Her eyes were puffy from crying. No matter how many times I tried, I couldn’t take away the pain that she felt.
“You ready?” I asked, pulling her to me.
“No,” she mumbled and wrapped her arms around my waist. “But I don’t have any other choice.”
“Come on, baby,” I said, then let her go and took her hand. We intertwined our fingers and walked her to the car.
The drive to the gravesite was quiet, which I had expected. I parked my truck, got out, and rounded it to help Fable. We walked to the gravesite with our heads held high and backs straight. Someone tried to break us and failed.
“Baby, I want you to see something,” I told Fable. She looked up at me, and I nodded my head at the people at the gravesite. Everyone was here, even the ones who hadn’t been able to make it to the engagement party for whatever reason. They were here now when we needed them the most. They were here to mourn for the person no longer with us. They were here to show love, support, and unity. They were sending a message to our enemies.
“The tree,” Fable said, and I looked down at her, confused about what she was talking about. “Xoey told me once that you were a part of this big family, but she described it as a tree. She said that each family was a branch, that you didn’t see each other all the time, and everybody wasn’t always together, but you were still a family. You all came together when you needed to for the super important stuff that couldn’t be missed. The celebrations and the mourning.”
“Yeah,” I said, nodding.
“Why does it seem like every time y’all celebrate, you mourn not too soon afterward?” Fable asked. She squeezed my hand, and then we started walking. We stood next to my brothers, who wore mugs identical to mine.
Pastor DeCorte stood at the head of the coffin with a solemn expression on his face. “I told my wife I wasn’t ready to come back here,” he said, then chuckled. “I told her that our family had mourned enough for the year, that God wouldn’t give us anymore battles because we’d fought enough.” He looked around. “I had to tell my wife last night I was wrong.”
The sirens echoing through the cemetery made us all look up. Police cars circled us, and even though they looked legit, all our hands went to our guns just in case.
The driver's door to the last car opened, and Gift got out of the car. He wore a mug on his face, and his body language was off. He looked around, eyes on us, before stopping at the person he was looking for. He ran his tongue over his teeth and then approached the group. He pulled his handcuffs from their holder on his waist and approached Xoey.
“Xoey St. Thomas, you’re under arrest,” he said as he turned her around and put her in cuffs. “You have the right to remain silent.”
“Baby, that’s not going to happen,” Xoey laughed and shook her head. “I have a lot of shit to say. Especially to your fine ass!” She looked over her shoulder at him. “You into role-playing because these cuffs got me tingling. You're gonna be the mean cop that takes advantage of the innocent woman who he arrested because she didn’t realize her license was expired?”
“Xoey,” Gift warned her. “Now ain’t the time for that shit.”
“Oh, this is a serious matter?” she questioned. “Alright, give me a second to get into character.” She dropped her head and took a few deep breaths before lifting it. “Alright, I’m ready.”
“I make this shit believable too,” Gift said, shaking his head.
“Get the fuck off me!” Xoey yelled and tried to pull away from Gift. “Get off me!” Xoey winked at me, and I stepped up.
“Ay, what the fuck is going on, Gift?” I said, approaching him. “Take them fucking cuffs off her!” I reached for Xoey, but Gift pulled her to him; her back rested against his front, and his hand rested on her stomach.
“I got this, Pyrite,” he said, shaking his head. “It was either me or one of them muthafuckas up there.” My eyes went to thegroup of punk-ass cops who stood less than fifty feet from us. Their hands rested on their guns like they were waiting for us to show out so they’d have a reason to kill us. “Let me handle this. I got her. I promise.”
Even though I didn’t want to, something told me to trust Gift. We’d been boys for years; we looked out for each other. If he were here, then that meant he was helping. I nodded, then turned my attention to Xoey.
“Plus Twelve, behave,” I said to her. “We will follow Gift; you won't be there long.”
Xoey tried to pull away from Gift, but his hold on her was too strong. “Chill, Xoey,” he said into her ear. “Don’t show out too much because if one of them niggas think about touching you, I’ll kill’em.”
I watched as Gift escorted her to his car and helped her in.
“Somebody gotta call Xayne and Xia and tell them their daughter was arrested,” Amethyst said as he came to stand beside me.
“I’ll do it,” I said, nodding. “Xia is going to wreak havoc on the police station, and Xayne is going to kill anyone who says the wrong thing.”
“That nigga is going to want blood for his daughter being in cuffs,” Amethyst said, and I nodded.
“She’s safe, though,” I said, watching Gift drive away. “She’s with Gift.”
“I hope you’re right because I got a feeling none of us are as safe as we think.”
