You Had Me at Hello Read online

  As I stopped at the light, I dialed Ziyon’s number. The call went straight to voicemail without ringing. That meant one of two things; either his phone was dead, or he had it shut off. I tried again and received the same thing. I dialed Kyshawn’s number next.

  “What’s good Bre?” He answered over the sound of loud music and voices

  “Hey, are you with Ziy?”

  “Yeah, he’s right here. Everything cool?” He asked.

  I could hear his words slurring slightly and knew if he had been drinking then Ziyon had too.

  “Yeah, can I talk to him real quick?”

  “Aye Ziy, wifey’s on the phone,” I heard him yell.

  I caught butterflies in my stomach as I jumped on the highway entrance. About a minute later, I heard the music either getting lower, or they were walking away from the noise.

  “What’s up Ma?” Ziy’s voice came through the phone.

  “What’s wrong with your phone? I just tried calling you.”

  He got quiet for a few seconds.

  “Oh shit. I didn’t even know it died. My bad. Where you at?”

  “Just got off work. I’m heading home.”

  “Home as in your house or my house?”

  “My house,” I told him honestly.

  “I’ll be home in like fifteen minutes. Meet me there.”

  I rolled my eyes as if he could see me. I truly had this man spoiled.

  “Yeah, yeah, you got fifteen minutes, or I’m leaving.”

  I hung up before he could respond. I thought about where Ziyon and I were going with this relationship. A part of me felt like I was the only one who wanted this, but another part felt as though we both wanted it together. I sighed as I pulled into the McDonald’s parking lot and ordered a Big Mac meal. I grabbed my food and took off towards Ziyon’s apartment.

  Ten minutes later, I pulled into the driveway and noticed a car in the spot where I normally parked. I thought nothing of it and parked in Ziyon’s spot. I grabbed everything I needed, got out and headed towards the back door. As I got closer, I noticed a woman sitting on the steps with her head down. She couldn’t have been here for me, so I just excused myself and stuck my key in the door. I was about to close the door behind me when I heard her speak.

  “Ziyon, why won’t you answer me? I just want to talk to you. Call me please.”

  I heard her sniffle and became stuck where I stood. Ziyon? My Ziyon? Who the hell is this woman; I thought to myself. Normally, I never did public confrontation, but I couldn’t help myself.

  “Excuse me,” I said, catching her attention. “I couldn’t help but overhear you. Did you say Ziyon?”

  She wiped her eyes as she turned and looked at me. She then stood, wiped off her pants and stepped fully onto the porch.

  “Yeah, why?”

  It was then that I recognized her voice. I instantly smirked and nodded my head slightly.

  “You must be Miranda.”

  “Who are you?”

  “Breionna.” I stuck my hand out for her to shake it. “Nice to put a name to the voice. Ziyon’s not here, but he should be coming soon. Feel free to wait out here for him.”

  I closed the door in her face and went up to Ziyon’s apartment. On the outside, I played it cool, but on the inside, my blood was boiling. I was confused as to what Miranda was even doing in Rhode Island. Oh Ziyon had all of five minutes to get his ass home, and he definitely had some explaining to do.

  I put all my things in Ziyon’s room just as I heard his voice escalating outside. I smirked as I headed to the back of the house and back downstairs where he was yelling at a crying Miranda. I stood at the bottom of the stairs with my arms folded across my chest.

  “Bre, go upstairs please,” Ziy stated.

  “Uh no, I’m alright right here.”

  I heard him sigh deeply. My eyes landed on Miranda’s tear stained face. She looked me up and down a few times. She rolled her eyes and went back to focusing on Ziy. I scoffed and leaned back against the wall. Ziyon washed his hands over his face.

  “This shit is way too much,” he said. “Y’all just doing the fucking most.”

  I went from looking at Miranda to snapping my next at Ziyon.

  “Excuse me? I didn’t even do shit, so don’t say I’m doing anything.”

  “Yeah! You are! Your ass won’t go upstairs,” he pointed to me then pointed at Miranda. “And your ass won’t leave and leave me the fuck alone. I swear, this is why a nigga would rather stay single.”

  He pushed past me and went upstairs. I looked over at Miranda who was following Ziyon with her eyes. I then focused all my attention on Ziyon. Fuck Miranda, she no longer mattered, but Ziy on the other hand was about to meet the side of Breionna that I tried hard to keep under wraps. I took the stairs two at a time. I slammed the door behind me and stomped through the house until I found Ziyon in his room lighting up a blunt.

  “So you want to be single, Ziyon? What, you think I need you to be with me? Fuck outta here. There’s a difference between needing and wanting you. I want you, but I for damn sure don’t need you. It ain’t my fault you can’t keep your bitches in check.”

  I walked over to where I had dropped my bags at and picked them up. Ziyon didn’t break his glare from a blank spot on the wall. It only pissed me off even more and had me wanting to snap his neck.

  “Since you want to be single, go ahead and do you. You’re a free man.”

  A part of me wanted to cry, but I would be damned to let him know he got to me. Fuck it, it’s time to let go and continue on with my life. For months I put Ziyon first before any and everything; even when we weren’t together, but he just showed that he cares about nobody but himself. I wasn’t going to kiss his ass for him to show me love and affection. If he didn’t want to be with me then fuck it, I wouldn’t force it. I loved him, and that wouldn’t change, but I had to go back to putting Breionna first.

  Before leaving his apartment, I went ahead and removed his keys from my key ring, dropped them on the kitchen table and walked out the back door.

  ***

  The moment I entered my bedroom, I noticed an envelope lying on my bed. Looking in the top left corner, my breath was caught in my throat as I noticed it was from a college I had applied to out of state; Florida State College. I had wanted to go out of state since I was in high school but decided to stay close to home first. Seeing as how I was one semester away from graduating with my Associates in Criminal Justice, it was time to prepare for life after graduation.

  My hands shook slightly as I slid my finger under the flap. Taking out the paper, my eyes scanned over the first line and I couldn’t do anything but scream at the top of my lungs. My mother came running into my room.

  “What is wrong with you, child?”

  “I got in! Mommy, I got in to FSC!” Tears of joy raced down my face.

  “Congrats baby! I knew you would.” I couldn’t stop staring at the paper as I reread the first line over and over. “Let’s go out and celebrate. We’ll go have dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. Call Brittanie and Ziyon, I’ll have your father and Brandon get ready.”

  The moment she said Ziyon’s name, my mood shifted. This was something I wanted to share with him, but after what just happened, I don’t plan on dialing his number for a long time.

  “I’ll just call Azariah instead,” I mumbled as my mother walked out.

  I quickly called her and paced impatiently.

  “What’s up, Bre?”

  “Zari, I got in! I got accepted to FSC!”

  “Wait what?”

  “I got in, Zari. Remember I applied to Florida State College? I got my acceptance letter today,” I shrieked into the phone.

  “Oh my God! Congratulations my love. I’m so proud of you!”

  “Thank you! Ma said we’re going out to celebrate. Do you want to go?” I couldn’t hide my excitement.

  This was something that I had wanted for so long, so I was going to make sure that I went.

&nb
sp; “Sure. Let me throw something on, and you can come pick me up.”

  “Cool.”

  We hung up, and I thought about texting Ziyon and telling him. He knew that I had applied and even talked about leaving with me should I have gone. I decided against it and left back out of the house to go pick up Azariah. This was just what I needed after this long day. I dialed my sister Brittanie’s number on my way to Zari’s and told her the good news. She agreed to meet us at the restaurant.

  Twenty minutes later, I pulled up to Azariah’s. She was just locking her door as I rolled up to the curb. She climbed in and leaned over and hugged me tightly.

  “I’m so happy for you, Bre! I know how bad you’ve wanted to go, so you know I have your back regardless.”

  “Thanks Zari.”

  We made small talk as I drove in the direction of the mall. My mother had called and said they would meet me there. I pulled into the parking garage and was glad I found a parking spot right outside of the restaurant. As we walked inside, I shared my good news on Facebook and Instagram. I was on cloud nine, and I wouldn’t let anything or anybody ruin my night.

  Chapter Twelve

  “Throwback” Usher

  Ziyon

  Three Weeks Later…

  I haven’t talked to Breionna in weeks, and I was missing the shit out of her. I knew she recently went back to school, so with that plus work, I knew her schedule was full. I thought about reaching out to her, but after the way things ended, I don’t think I’m who she wants to hear from. I can’t lie; I was fucked up in the head. I had found out that she was accepted to her number one school in Florida and had plans on leaving right after the New Year. I wasn’t sure which one fucked with me more; the fact that she was leaving or the fact that she wasn’t the one who told me.

  I sat on my couch smoking a blunt and watching the muted TV. My phone rang, jarring me from my thoughts. I smirked as I noticed my boy, Quan, calling. I hadn’t spoken to him in almost a month and a half, but I was glad he was calling. I needed advice, and Quan always kept shit straightforward with me.

  I had known Quan since I was fourteen. I went to school with his younger sister, Keyosha, and met him on a few occasions. We kept in touch from time to time, although he was older than me by a few years. He was married with kids now, so we didn’t kick it as much as we used too.

  “What’s good nigga?”

  I blew the smoke from the blunt out of my mouth.

  “Can’t call it. What’s good with you? I haven’t heard from you in a month of Sunday’s, and you ain’t been by the club. Talk to me homie.”

  I puffed the blunt harder, thinking about the shit that had been going on lately.

  “You at the club now?” I asked him.

  I looked at the time and noticed it was only going on seven.

  “Yup.”

  “A’ight. I’m about to swing up there. I gotta holla at you about something,” I told him.

  “Cool. Hit my line when you’re outside.”

  “Say no more.”

  We ended the call, and I put out my blunt. Seeing as how it was cooling off and outside had a light breeze, I kept my basketball shorts on and just threw on a black Champion sweatshirt as well as a fitted cap and my sneakers. I took my blunt with me and left to meet Quan. As I drove to Encore, I smoked the rest of my blunt. I searched the streets I rode by, hoping I would see Breionna.

  I pulled into the parking lot across the street from the club. I called Quan as I stepped out of the car and crossed the street. He came down and met me then led the way back up to his office.

  “To what pleasure do I owe this visit,” he asked as he sat behind his desk, leaned back and kicked his feet on the desk.

  Q was definitely a boss nigga.

  I sighed and shook my head then looked back up at him.

  “I fucked up. I let my shortie get away,” I admitted.

  “What do you mean you let her get away? Where is she?”

  “Right now, I have no idea, but I know come 2014, she’s gonna be on the plane heading to Florida and probably for good.”

  A wave of sadness came over me as I thought about Breionna being so far.

  “A’ight, you gone have to back up and explain what’s going on because these bits and pieces you’re giving aren’t really doing much for me right now.”

  I let out a deep breath and retold the events of the last few weeks, including my saying I would rather be single. I truly was speaking out of frustration. I never expected Bre to leave.

  “Damn Ziy. Let me just tell you a little story. Now you know I almost lost B. I fucked around, had a slip up, I even used a condom and still ended up with a shortie. B knew I cheated and still came back, but when my baby mama showed up at my wedding reception claiming the child was mine in front of everybody, it put me in a fucked up situation. At that moment, I thought she was gonna take my daughter and walk away forever. I did all I could to get her back. It took some time, but it happened. She now accepts my son and treats him like she treats our two shorties. Moral of the story, don’t give up because shit gets tough. When shit gets tough, that’s when you fight harder than ever. If you really love your girl, go after her because let me tell you what, if she leaves and you don’t talk to her, it’s gonna fuck both of you up.”

  I took in all that Quan said. He was right, if I didn’t talk to Bre before she left, I knew it would probably be the end of us forever.

  “Thanks Q. I really appreciate this, my nigga.”

  “It ain’t nothing. If I can keep anybody from making the same mistakes that I made, I can and I will. I love Lil’ Quan to death, and there’s nothing that can change that, but if I could go back, I would have never fucked with Crystal. Yeah, me and B are together, and we’re married, but I know that trust barrier is still cracked, but I thank God daily that He gives us both the strength to move on with each other and build our family.”

  I simply nodded as I thought about Breionna.

  “Do you love her?” Quan asked, breaking my slight thought process.

  “With all of my heart,” I answered honestly.

  “So why has it been three weeks since you’ve last talked to her? The longer you wait to reach out, the more she’s going to start thinking that you don’t care. Once a woman feels as though their man stops caring and stops loving them, they then start doing the same. The only difference is, they may actually mean it.”

  Thinking about Breionna no longer caring and loving me brought a feeling over me that I didn’t like at all.

  “Stop thinking about it. Go get her.”

  I stood up from the chair I was sitting in and dapped Quan up.

  “Thanks again, my nigga. I’m gonna holla at you about some shit too.”

  “Before you go, let me ask you something else.” I looked at him waiting for him to speak. “You still doing the same shit?”

  I paused for a minute to read his face and make sure that we were thinking about the same thing.

  “Yeah man. I want a way out though because this ain’t life. I got racks; that ain’t shit, but I need something to wash that shit through. I’m looking into a few different things. We’ll be in touch though because a club might be something I need to invest in,” I told him seriously.

  It was true. I had more money than I knew what to do with, but it was all dirty money. I wanted to invest in some shit to wash it all through.

  “A’ight. Just hit my line.”

  “Cool.”

  I dapped him up again and left his office. The moment I got back down to the main floor, I pulled out my phone and called Breionna. The phone constantly rang.

  “Hello?” She answered, just as I was about to hang up.

  “What’s up?”

  “Nothing much. What’s up with you?” She sounded out of breath.

  “Did I interrupt something?”

  “Nah. My phone was in my room. I heard it ringing, so I ran to answer it.”

  “Are you busy right now?” I asked her, h
oping that she said no.

  “Not really. Why, what’s up?”

  “I’m gonna swing by so we can talk.”

  The phone became quiet. I thought she hung up until I checked the phone and noticed the timer was still running.

  “Hello,” I spoke up again.

  “I’m here,” she said, barely audible.

  “You alright?”

  “Yeah. Call me when you’re outside.”

  She hung up the phone before I could respond. I didn’t bother to call back. I just drove in the direction of her parents’ house. The sun was setting, and the breeze was picking up a little harder. I rode with the AC on low. I was surprised to pull up to her house and see her sitting on the porch. I parked my car on the wrong side of the street, killed the engine and hopped out.

  She stared at me, and I stared at her as I got closer.

  “What’s good, Ma? Can I get some love?” I noticed the hesitation before she stood and walked over to me. I embraced her tightly and put my face in her neck. “I miss you, shortie. Real shit, I been fucked up.”

  “I miss you too, Ziy, but shit gotta change.” She pulled away as she spoke. “I understand you have a lot going on. I get that, and I told you I would help you in any way that I can to keep shit as stressless as I can. You can’t lash out at me because somebody else did something.”

  “I know Bre. I know. Just work with me, Ma, please. I’m lost without you, man. These last three weeks have been hell not having you around. Truthfully, all I’ve been doing is getting high and hitting the streets hard. Being home proves to be too much because you aren’t there with me. I hate that shit, Ma.”

  I watched as a small smile spread across her face as she looked in my eyes.

  “Can we start over,” I asked her.

  She nodded slowly.

  “I would like that.”