New Girl

Chapter 23*

He sighs and passes me the blunt "I don't hate him," He starts but then thinks about it and shakes his head " Nah, that's a lie, I do hate him. But it's not the kind of hatred that I can explain Mari."

"Can you try?" I say before inhaling the smoke.

"Nah I don't think I can. It's a long sad story and I really don't want to get into it. If I do I might get mad all over again and want to blow his cap back." He shakes his head and stares at the poster on his door. I don't want to press him further but it's going to bother me so I continue.

"Did you at least know him and Tiny were cousins? Are you even really cool with Tiny?" I ask. My mind is going at a thousand miles a minute and I'm trying to keep track of all the questions I want to ask.

"Yeah I'm cool with Tiny. That's gang for sure. I did know they were cousins because me and Tiny talked about it before."

"So you talked about it with Tiny but can't talk about it with me?" I'm slightly disappointed deep down but I understand.

"It's not that simple, Tiny was on the phone with him one day while we were smoking together and me and him got into it once he heard my voice. She knew there was beef before because he told her but she didn't know what it was or how deep it really ran." He kisses his teeth together and sighs "It's not even beef for real I can't explain it. We just opps. He throws five, I throw ten type shit" He shrugs but I don't know what that means.

"Well he seems really sweet, I have no problems with him. I want to give him a chance but I also don't want you getting mad at me." I say staring at him. After how he treated me outside of the park I don't know if I could deal with that again. He rolls his eyes and nods.

"That's fair but just remember that people can be wolves in sheep's clothing. He hasn't done anything to you yet. Trust if he ever does hurt you Mari," He stops himself but the look on his face tells me what I need to know.

"Now that he knows we're close he's going to use you to get at me Mar. I'm not gonna make you uncomfortable or say you have to choose right now but you will have to choose."

"You're not even going to explain to me the beef you're just going to tell me to choose?" I start getting mad "I don't know if I'm high or if that just sounds fucking stupid."

"Mari, it's just how it is. He going to use you to get to me. Whether that's through sex or at a party or a session or having your lo and knowing where my crib is." He stops to exhale "We opps okay that's just that and I'm choosing to keep me and mine safe period."

"Okay well I don't want the long story, well I do, but just give me a summary or something. Why do y'all hate each other?"

"Amari you're pushing please just stop." His leg is shaking. I feel like I've hit a nerve but why doesn't he trust me with this information?

"You know what fuck it, I'll just ask him." I get up and grab my bag. I just got here but if he's not going to explain why I have to choose I might as well get it from the other side. I need to understand. I reach for the doorknob to open it.

"No bruh," He gets up out of his chair and pins me against his door. "Why can't you ever accept a fucking no." His eyes are low but there's something there that I can't read. He's looking between my eyes and my lips trying to find an answer.

"If I told you to choose between me and another bitch that you just met and she seems really chill but I told you I had this secret beef with her but won't explain it to you what would you do?" I ask looking into his eyes.