Will Love Ever Come?

Chapter 89

Three Weeks Later

ESCHEWAL'S HEART BROKE WHEN Salacious spoke those words. He knew it was true but wished it was not, so he could again see that big smile that had donned Manna's face when he met her at the bus stop.

The traffic up ahead begins moving. Eschewal puts his brand-new car into gear. He squints his eyes, then turns up the beat from a hardcore hip-hop song. Rhythmically, he bops his head, and a feeling of returning to his brief bad boy days filters through him. Back in the day, he directed his ghetto mentality into channels of destruction, and by doing so, boys feared him, and girls loved him. He had respect, but at a price: the price of destruction to his soul and quality of life.

He shakes his head. Initially, he was glad the black book helped him redirect his ghetto mentality into positive channels. But right now, he feels those positive channels lead nowhere except to pain, which he presently feels.

He moves off but is stopped by another set of traffic lights. The feeling of just letting The Dog rip loose and give up on finding a wife imbues him. His jaw drops, his eyes become slits, and he speaks to himself, "I can't go on, bruv. It's all long; I'm gonna go back to being a player."

He looks to his left, then looks again as his heart races and his palms sweat. He blinks twice as he watches Manna board a bus. The traffic lights let him go. He drives through but allows the bus, which Manna has boarded, to take off.

As he trails the bus, the thought of returning to being a player leaves him. He has a grin and anxiety in his eyes as he wonders how Manna will react when he tells her what is on his mind.

Five stops up the road, and Manna steps off the bus. She crosses the road and waits at another bus stop.

Eschewal finds a nearby side road and parks his car. He jumps out and heads back over to Manna, forgetting that he came out to buy some clothes to relieve his depression.