Page 93 of Obsessive Love
“Oh no, don’t,” she waved him off and shook her head. “My family knows how I am. I want this to be authentic.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Emrick said. “So, you can start whenever you’re ready.”
Ms. Arlene took a deep breath, nodded, and straightened her shoulders. “If you’re seeing this, then that means my time is up, and I’ve gone on. Wipe your eyes; this ain’t the last time you’ll see me.” She laughed softly and shook her head. “Oh no, this definitely isn’t the last time. I got plans, even though I’m no longer here. I’ll be around, waiting for the perfect moment to show my face or for you to hear my voice.” She smiled brightly. “I hope y’all followed my instructions and kept it simple. I only want my family around, whether we’re related by blood orfriendship. Y’all are my family, no questions asked. My sisters, son, daughter, nieces, nephews. The love of my life. Y’all are family.”
“Oh, she is talking about me with that one,” Krude said, shaking his head. “I thought she forgot about me for a second.”
“Shut up, Krude,” his cousin Judge said, shaking his head.
“Y’all are the reason I fought for so long. I knew Bowlin, Aceyn, and my Legacy would need a strong support system, and they have one. I’m leaving them with y’all to look after until it's their time to come be with me.” She narrowed her eyes and pointed her finger. “Which won't be for a long time, so enjoy your life until then.” She lowered her hand and smiled. “I want you all to promise me something: love hard while you can. Hold on to your person while they’re here. It won't be easy, but nothing in life is. It doesn’t matter what kind of love it is, easy or hard, obsessive or stolen. It will be hard like a corner short and exhausting like countless sprints.” She laughed. “But it’s going to be worth it, okay? Just trust me. It’s going to be worth every second of it.” She looked over her shoulder to the window and smiled. “It will be worth it because life is meant to be spent with someone who loves you just as crazy as you love them. I had it, my son has it, and so will all of you. For those who have found it, hold on to it. For those who haven’t, don’t worry, it's coming. Trust me, I know what I’m talking about. When it gets scary, hold on to it. When it's hard, hold on to it. When it wants to run, let it go; it’ll come back, trust me.” She turned around to face the camera and winked. “It will come back.” A truck echoed in her background, and Ms. Arlene rolled her eyes. “Alright, let me wrap this up; my boyfriend is coming to visit me and bring his affair baby.”
“Ms. Arlene!” we heard Krude yell in her background. “Whose car is in my spot, baby?”
“Lord, Mary, sister friend, I love you more than you know, but you shouldn’t have dropped that boy on his head so many times,” Ms. Arlene laughed. “He never behaves. Anyway, let me off here so I can enjoy my last days for what they are. They are my eternity. I love y’all, I’ll be back.”
The video ended with her smiling at the camera. We waited, hoping something else would play, but it didn’t. It went black, and the dam finally broke. Our laughter ended, and the tears flowed. She was really gone, and there was nothing we could do to change it.
“I’m going to take the ankle monitor off her,” I said to Yamari as we walked through the arena. The AAU tournament was starting tomorrow, and Fable had spent the entire day at the house getting ready. She still didn’t know about the storefront being finished, and I wanted to keep it that way until later.
“I can’t believe you put that monitor on her,” Yamari confessed as she shook her head. Her long braids swayed behind her. Yamari was beautiful; that was undeniable. She was tall, standing a little under six feet, curvy, with a round face, full cheeks, a small button nose, and big brown eyes. Her skin was golden brown, and she had a few freckles across her nose and cheeks.
“You gave me the idea,” I said with a shrug. “I thought the shit sounded like a good idea since you’re her best friend.”
“I was just joking when I said it, Pyrite,” she laughed. “I even said I was joking when you told me you would look for a monitor.”
“Sounded like solid advice,” I replied. “Next time-”
“There won’t be a next time,” she interrupted me to say. I started to say something, but she shook her head and gave me a pointed look. “There won’t be a next time, Pyrite.”
“Alright,” I agreed as I nodded my head. “No next time.” We approached the storefront, and I pulled the key from my pocket to unlock the gate. “I had Zane and Yuri working nonstop on this.”
“I know, they told me,” she said, looking around, “We talked daily, trying to make sure we got all the small details down.”
I unlocked it and then lifted the gate. It still smelled like paint and new wood, but I knew the smell would disappear as soon as Fable started working. I turned on the light and couldn’t help but nod in appreciation. They’d gone above and beyond to make it perfect.
“So, what do you think?” I asked Yamari as she walked around inspecting everything.
“They did amazing,” she said, walking around. “It’s almost identical to the shop back home.” She glanced over at me and smiled. “Which was your plan the whole time, right? Make her feel like she’s home so she won’t want to leave?”
“Something like that.” I ran my hand over my braids and refused to meet her eyes. Yamari and I talked daily, and not because she was Fable’s best friend. She was easy to talk to and didn’t judge me for how fast I fell for her friend. If anything, she encouraged it. Saying that Fable deserved to be loved unconditionally.
“You know she’s going to love this, right?” she asked, and I shrugged. “Pyrite?”
“Yeah?” I finally met her eyes and found her smiling.
“You did a good job, and she’s going to be happy.”
“Happy enough not to leave?” I asked, and she looked away. “Exactly.”
“Would it be so bad if she left?” she questioned, instantly putting me in a bad mood.
Hell yeah, it would be bad if Fable left. I’d spent the last two months trying to live in her skin to be close to her. When we weren’t together, I was stressed and yearning to be back in her space. We hadn’t had sex in the last two weeks, but she slept on my chest every night so that I could have physical contact. I’d even intentionally pissed her off one day to see how she would respond, and she blacked both of my eyes. I wasn’t even mad at her. I was so damn turned on that I ended up jacking off in the shower while she slept. The next day, I asked her why she thought it was a good idea to keep putting her hands on me, and she said it was Xoey's idea. She said that Xoey said I needed to get my ass beat from time to time. I sent Xoey Gift’s number as a thank you.
“I don’t even know how to say how I would feel if she left,” I said, shaking my head. “It’s like trying to imagine functioning without your heart in your chest. It’s not possible.”
“If it makes you feel any better, I don’t think she will leave,” Yamari confessed, and for the first time, I realized how hurt she would be. If Fable moved here, that would leave Yamari all alone. “She loves it here, even if she won’t admit it to you.”
“She enjoys it, the people she’s met, the opportunities she’s had, but that’s it.”
