Streets

12. Blindsided

Adina had finally finished the final touches of her new penthouse, she was expecting Derek any moment now. They have gotten much closer and he spent a lot of time with her not just because of the boutique but because he genuinely loves spending time with her. He is stressed out and she understands, he has been open and honest about his divorce. There was a knock on the door, odd she thought, Derek had the password to come in. Maybe his hands were full, she goes to answer the door and she was shocked to see Darnell standing there. "What the hell are you doing here?" She asked and kept her body in the opening of the door to not let him in, "Why are you surprised? I always find you." The downfall of being involved with a gang member, "I don't even care, you aren't welcome here." Darnell looked at her and he felt so much anger toward her, she obviously is with someone else because how can she treat him that way, pushing her out the way he let himself in and she gets pissed off, "Who the hell do you think you are?! Barging in my house." Darnell turned to look at her, "I'm the same nigga who made you cum time and time again. The same man who protected you and held you through the nights of you having nightmares. I mean damn Adina you act like I'm the one who just up and left and decided I wanted nothing to do with you." Adina sighed clearly stressed out, "I had those nightmares from when you almost died, you had no choice but to protect me I was in danger because of you! Darnell being with you I either have to dodge bullets or pick fights with you. I'm done with that and I'm done with you now please leave." Darnell walked up on her, looking down on her, "Make me leave. You look me in my eye and tell me you don't love me. Stop acting so stuck up. Like you better than me." He grabbed her arms tight and she pulled away slapping her hands against his chest and breaking free, "I am better than you! I want better for my life than living in the ghetto! I love you Darnell, but not the way you love me. I am better than you because I refuse to let the grove hold me back from being better. I deserve better than a thug." His anger overwhelmed him and before he knew it he backhanded Adina across the face making her fall to the floor, gasping she looked at him in fury with blood on her lip. He regretted it immediately and reached for her, "Fuck...Adina...Adina baby I'm so sorry." She slapped his reaching hand from her and got up, "You're dead to me. Leave my house." He tried to come closer to her, "GET OUT! GET THE FUCK OUT!" She pushed him out toward the door and he backed up slowly with tears in his eyes, "I'm sorry! Adina please." She pushed him out the door and he let her, "If you come back I'll kill you." Slamming the door shut she locked it and slid to the floor crying. Never before had he hit her and the fact that he did hurt her more than he ever could.
Luther had just arrived in the city with Monica, looking out at the sign of the restaurant it said Lillith's. "Lillith, that's a pretty name." Monica said, Luther looked out at it and at then told her, "It's my mama's name. This was her place, even though she never cooked a day in her life. Her...dealer, he got a lot of pull in the city and he didn't want her to make him look bad so he got her a restaurant. Even after she's gone." Monica looked at him not realizing that his mother had died, "I'm sorry for your loss." Luther shrugged as he checked himself out in the mirror, "It's okay baby girl, my momma was dead to me the day she left." He saw his brother sitting at a table outside, "Okay, don't say nothing unless I tell you to, don't make eye contact with him. What I say goes. Understood." Monica nodded, "Yes daddy." He leaned in and kissed her, a sweet and gentle kiss, "Warning, this is my brother we talking to." That instantly made Monica nervous.
They got out the car and made their way to the table, Luther sat down as did Monica right beside him and his brother, Lucious looked up at him from his phone. "Hmm I was beginning to think you won't gonna make it on time." Luther chuckled, "You know me, I'm never late." Lucious looked at Monica, "How you doing? I'm detective Maize, you can call me Lucious." Monica followed the rules, she didn't look at him and kept her mouth shut unless told otherwise, Luther kept that in mind and smiled, "Damn you got her well trained." Lucious said and Luther snapped, "Speak." Monica looked at Lucious and responded, "I'm doing great." Luther nodded and looked at his brother, "This is Diamond, my bottom bitch." Lucious smirked, "You got two bottom bitches? Or did you just replace the one I got?" Monica wanted to look at Luther for an explanation but she just kept looking around, embracing the city. It had changed a lot since she last been, "Cinnamon is too much of a risk, she either too high to work or so coked out she doing stupid shit, I can't have that. But me and you both know this meeting you called has shit to do with what I got going on." Luther responded looking at his brother with seriousness on his face. Lucious smirks and sits back in his chair, "This isn't the first time one of your whores made her way into the city, spreading their filth from house to house. This stops now, I can't have that." Luther chuckled again, taking out a cigarette and placing it between his lips and lighting it, after taking a quick puff he exhaled the smoke, "You are the most corrupt cop in this fucking city and yet here you are trying to act all high and mighty." Lucious knew he was right, he had been running a corrupt game within the force since he became a detective, now he's aiming for the narcotics department, once he gets in there, nothing can stop him. "Listen, you chose the grove, and I chose the city. I mean, one of us had to look out for mama." Luther looked at him with anger in his eyes, "You followed that woman, and still look where it got you and look where it got her. She still didn't accept you, choosing that white bastard over her own children, she still died at the hands of heroin even when he attempted to shower her with the world. Here you are a fucking cop and you let the man who killed her get away with it." Lucious stood up quickly wanting to strike Luther, "You say some shit like that again and I'll kill you." Luther chuckled, "No. You wouldn't, you've had chances time and time again. Now are you gonna return my property or am I going to have to get her the old fashion way?" Lucious scoffed and walked inside the restaurant and when he came back out he had Cinnamon who looked exhausted. "Diamond baby, load her up in the car we out of here." Monica got up and walked to Cinnamon and helped her to the car. Luther stood up and smoothed out his shirt, "Whether you like it or not I'm making some shit happen in the city. Baby brother ain't just gonna hide away in the grove." Luther nodded goodbye and walked to his car as Lucious stood there taking it all in, realizing now that his brother whom he hoped would stay in the south side has now broken the surface of the city.
Derek arrived at Adina's, letting himself in, "Babe? I brought food from this Chinese spot I know you're gonna love it..." he stopped mid sentence once he saw her on the couch crying with a bag of ice on her face, rushing to her aid he sat down and made her look at him, "What the hell happened?" He examined her face, her bottom lip slightly split and a bruise forming on her cheek. "It's nothing to worry about I took care of it." Derek shook his head, "No, we don't do this remember. Honest about everything. Even though you like to skate around your previous relationship. Is that who did this?" Adina didn't want Derek to worry, he already had so much going on. Her phone began to ring and Derek grabbed it off the coffee table for her, "Dammit, it's Monica I told her to meet me tonight to sign the modeling contract." Derek took her phone and answered it, "Hello this is Adina's assistant, how may I assist you?" Monica smirked, pretty cool that Adina has an assistant now, "Hey this is Monica I was supposed to meet with Adina to sign paperwork I just wanted to know where she wanted to meet at?" Derek responded, "Actually Adina needs to reschedule she's had a sudden emergency but she can meet with you sometime this Friday. Say her boutique around 6pm?" Monica looked at Luther, "Friday at 6 pm?" Luther nodded yes and she responded, "That's perfect thank you." Derek continued, "Okay see you then." He hangs up and returns to care for Adina, "Now would be the time to explain what happened before I go to the grove myself and start some problems." Adina knew now was the time to let Derek all in, it's tough speaking on her and Darnell's relationship because of how flip flop it was but she didn't want to keep secrets from him.
After Derek helped fix up her lip he laid out the food on the coffee table as they sat on the floor, "Okay, talk. Either way whoever did this to you is gonna have to deal with me." Adina loved that be wanted to defend her but she also didn't want to get him killed, "My ex, Darnell. Our relationship was never perfect, far from it actually. But he was there when I needed someone. This was the first time and last time he put his hands on me." Derek had a feeling she wasn't being honest, "He never put his hands on you?" She sighed, "He pushed me before and grabbed me a little too rough. He has a bit of an anger problem and he can be very cold at times, which is one of the reasons I wanted to get away. I was tired of the hot and cold, never knowing which side of him I was going to get. He didn't support my dreams but wanted me to be there for his every need, being a gang members wife wasn't on my bucket list." Derek nearly choked on his food, a gang member, he wasn't scared but just shocked that she would enjoy the company of someone so dangerous. "Why did he hit you? Why did he even come here?" Adina finished swallowing her food and leaned against the chair, "Because, I didn't want him. He was gonna propose and I said no. I told him I deserved better than what he has to offer and he didn't like that." Derek nodded, "You do. You deserve the world, and I wanna be the man to give it to you." Adina smiled at him, "But Derek promise me you won't go down to the grove looking for trouble. Darnell and MCG, they're dangerous." Derek didn't want to promise that because he had every intention to go pay a visit to Darnell, but he didn't want to cause anymore stress on Adina. "I promise." He kissed her forehead and they continued to enjoy their dinner and each other's company.