me & tomfoolery

Cold as Ice FINALE | Shilo Sanders Short Story

"So you're just going to run away?" Shelomi and Shedeur took a seat next to Tennessee at the bus station. She had been waiting for an hour and the bus she needed to get on hadn't shown up. "I'm not running, I was asked to leave."

"But not by my brother. So it seems like you're running away."

"What is it that you want from me?" Tennessee didn't know what she was expected to do next. At this point it seemed like the whole family had a game to play and she was the centerpiece.

"I didn't think you was a quitter Ten." Shedeur added. "That's honestly so crazy to me."

"Would you deal with your family? Like if you were in my shoes?" Tennessee needed to know what everyone was up in arms about at the moment. Her and Shilo never got serious enough for any of this to be worth it.

"Listen, if Dallas family hated me, they would just have to hate me. I wanna see where it goes with her and it's worth it."

"I'm single but I love that my siblings are getting these chances. I want it to be worth it for you but, you gotta at least get to seeing something happen."

Tennessee thought about the advice she was being given. And it helped a bit.

"To be honest, we'll take you right to the source. You can say what you gotta say and then from there you can decide."

"And who is the source?"

••••

Sitting with her arms crossed, Tennessee waited. She waited for Shiloh who just didn't seem to be close to reappearing. Shedeur and Bucky were out searching for him and Shelomi would be opening that door at any minute. Nessee wasn't sure why she came back. Her head was spinning at the thought of it. Everything was happening too fast.

The click of the door alerted her, she could hear some footsteps and hushed voices.

"Sit, please." Shelomi reemtered with Deiondra on her hip. It was awkward beyond belief. "Now, I have you both here because what happened today was not supposed to happen. D, you should be ashamed."

"Now why would—"

"I'm not finished. You always interrupt me, I have a voice too."

Their family drama was just as overwhelming as her own. Tennessee just didn't know how she got wrapped up in this.

"You owe Tennessee an apology. She's been nothing but kind to you and she treats Shilo like he's a regular guy. She's not a groupie. She has her own path and she's going places. This is the type of woman you want for your brother. Driving her away so he can run into the arms of these girls after his money, is what you're doing."

The air was as cold and brutal as the sky outside of those four walls. They were supposed to be having fun. This wasn't fun.

"I'm sorry. I just get defensive about my family. I don't know you so I don't trust you. But, I shouldn't have acted like that. I was wrong."

Shelomi looked to Tennessee hoping she would accept the first step in a possible blooming relationship. She understood, more than she would like to admit it. Looking around the room, Tennessee felt the tension slowly dissolve. She felt less anxious about whatever was going on, and decided to let it go.

"For one, thank you for apologizing. Two, I'm not the girl you need to worry about. The main problem is this concubine, Bria. She's the one with bad intentions. Three, I accept your apology. I don't have the energy to be mad. But believe me, I'll go to war to defend myself. And I don't tolerate disrespect."