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NAIARI
The door slams open so hard it rattles the frame, and my heart leaps in my chest. For a second, I think Zayvion forgot something and came back, but when I sit up and focus, it's not him. It's my dad.
Kiss me teeth, it too early fi this.
"What the hell?" I mutter, rubbing my eyes as I prop myself up on one elbow. "What's your problem, busting in here like that?"
His eyes are blazing, and his whole posture screams anger. He marches in like he owns the place, but that's how he's always been—like everything revolves around him.
"You let that man sleep in my house?" he thunders, his voice shaking the walls. "A criminal?"
I blink, still trying to shake off sleep. "What?" It takes a second to register what he's saying, but when it hits, I'm instantly irritated. "Seriously? That's why yuh out fi mash up me door? Because Zayvion stayed over?"
"Zayvion!" he spits the name like poison. "That's the man's name? Him? Of all people?"
Wah wrong with him?
I throw back the covers and sit up fully, glaring at him. "Yeah, him. My boyfriend. Yaav a problem with that?"
Dad takes a step closer, his fists clenching at his sides. "My problem is yuh don't even know who he is. That man is a criminal. A dangerous man!"
And you aren't?
"Oh, like you're some kind of saint?" I shoot back, crossing my arms. "Please. Don't act like you've never been mixed up in shady stuff. It kinda obvious say yuh get yuh hands dirty when yuh ready. At least Zayvion is straight with me."
He looks like he's about to explode. "You let him sleep in my house! How yuh fi disrespect me like that?"
I roll my eyes and get out of bed, standing toe-to-toe with him now. "Your house? You cheated on my mother, and yuh have the nerve to talk to me about disrespect?"
Dad's face flushes, but I don't care. I've been waiting for this moment for years. The moment where I finally tell him what's on my mind without holding back.
"You have no right to tell me who I can and can't be with," I continue, my voice rising. "Especially when you've been dragging this family through the mud for years. Zayvion treats me good. That's more than I can say for you and my mother."
His jaw tightens, but he doesn't back down. "You don't know him, Naiari! You don't know what he's capable of. The things he's done. I don't want that man near yuh."
"Well, guess what?" I snap, throwing my arms up. "I don't need your approval. I'm not a little girl anymore. Mi can make mi own choices. And if Zayvion wants to stay here, he will."
