Page 99 of Obsessive Love
“Okay,” I agreed, nodding. “He’s the love of my life. His psycho ass is the love of my life, okay?” I threw my hands in the air. “But he also kidnapped me, put a damn ankle monitor,” Ipointed to my ankle, and she smirked. “Shocked me with said monitor, locked me in the basement, bedroom, chair, and bed.”
“Okay,” she nodded. “But that doesn’t change the fact that you’re in love with him.”
“It doesn’t, but damn, doesn’t that make me off, too?” I asked, and she nodded. I fell back on the couch and pouted. “I didn’t ask for this.”
“Which is why I know it was meant for you,” she laughed. “Listen, Fable, I understand that this shit is unconventional, but I dare you to say it hasn’t been exciting! Friend, who the fuck can say they fell in love with the nigga that kidnapped them because their brother sold her for a debt?”
“Nobody,” I said, shaking my head and crossing my arms. “Just me.”
“Exactly!” She slapped my leg and then shook it. “You fell in love with a psycho! I know your life will never be boring. It started exciting, and it will stay that way.”
“Only you would find enjoyment in something like this,” I laughed. I shook my leg to get her hand off me. Yamari laughed and patted my leg. “Stop touching me, heffa.”
“Ohh, you only want Pyrite’s hands on you now, huh?” she joked and rubbed my knee. “That’s how you're acting.”
“Yamari Gray, get the hell on,” I laughed. “Because we both know that us bumping coochie was never going to be a thing.”
“I mean, I’m with you when you’re right,” she said, then shrugged. She sat up, grabbed her bowl from the floor, put it on her lap, and gave me her full attention. “So what are you going to do?”
“About?”
“Being in love with a psycho,” she replied.
“I don’t know,” I shrugged. “I haven’t figured out how to tell him.”
“When he says I love you, just say I love you back,” she suggested.
I smirked and shook my head. “He’s never said I love you,” I said, and her eyes damn near popped out of her head. I laughed and shrugged. “He says he’s obsessed with me.”
“Only his ass would think that’s okay.”
I grabbed a few pieces of her popcorn and ate them. “I can’t lie; I would rather hear that than I love you.”
“Why?”
“Because I’ve been in love before, being obsessed is so much better.”
“Are you sure he’s the only one that’s a psycho?”
“Let’s go!” Xoey yelled as she stood on the table with her hands in the air when we walked into her house. I shook my head and tried not to laugh at the surprised look on Yamari’s face. I tried to warn her about Xoey, but she didn’t believe me, so she was going to learn the hard way. “You came!” She jumped down, wiped her hand over her shirt to ensure everything was in place, then approached with a smile.
“I told you I was,” I laughed as she hugged me.
“You did, but I didn’t know if Pyrite was going to let you out of the house,” Xoey said, stepping back. Her attention went from me to Yamari, and her eyebrows damn near touched her hairline. “You are beautiful!”
“Thank you,” Yamari said. Xoey pulled Yamari into a hug and then let her go. “I’m Yamari.”
“I know, my bestie talks about you nonstop,” Xoey said, nodding. She looped her arms through ours and led us into the house. “You’re an art curator, right?”
“I am,” Yamari answered. “And you?”
“Do a lot of things,” Xoey said. Yamari looked over at me and shrugged. “But tonight, I’m just Xoey, nothing more, nothing less.” I didn’t know what that meant, but I had a feeling that it had something to do with the voices. She let our arms go and turned around to face us. “Before we go inside, just know it’s a lot of people in there.”
I looked at the closed door and then back at Xoey. “The whole tree?” I asked, and Xoey shook her head.
“Not this time,” Xoey laughed. “Just a couple of branches.”
“Umm, excuse me. Tree? Branches?” Yamari looked between us, confused. “What are y’all talking about?”
