Karma II.

Chapter 10

Houston, Texas:

"Girl, you didn't say you were gonna bust his mouth open," Phoenix said, chuckling as she pulled away from Chris's house.

"He's so damn stupid," Journee replied, shaking her head. "It's like things are good for a minute, and then he just ruins it."

"Well, sis, I'm glad you knocked some sense into him. Maybe you should've hit him harder, but that's beside the point. Have y'all really talked about the stuff that went down five, six years ago?"

"We've touched on it a little," Journee admitted.

"All I'm saying is, from the way he was throwing that old mess in your face, there's still a lot of pent-up emotion. Y'all need to deal with that hurt, not just keep jumping into bed. Otherwise, here we are, and you're throwing punches."

Journee sighed. "He just knows how to push my buttons, and I feel like he's doing it on purpose."

"No, girl, I think y'all need to step back from all the physical stuff and actually work out the real issues."

"I hear you."

"I'm serious, Journ. I've never seen you like this over anybody, so I know you love him. Why not try something different this time? I know emotions are high, but think about it—for the kids, too. That toxic back-and-forth isn't good for them."

Journee smirked. "You sound like a therapist."

"I've been going," Phoenix replied, and Journee turned to her, surprised.

"For real? Not 'Ms. Black People Don't Go to Therapy' herself?"

Phoenix laughed. "Remember that case we worked last month? The little girl with nowhere to go after her dad killed her mom?"

"Yeah, I remember."

"It stirred up a lot of memories, stuff I'd buried. I started having nightmares, sleeping with my gun... I even took it grocery shopping. I was always looking over my shoulder, convinced he was coming for me. Eventually, I just broke down and got help. It's been peaceful since."

"Why didn't you tell me? You know I'd have been there."

"You fought that battle for me 12 years ago. I couldn't ask you to do it again," Phoenix said softly.

"Phoenix, I don't 'save' people. That's Michael's thing," Journee said with a chuckle. "I help people who are already fighting for themselves. That day I found you hustling out on the street, I could've just taken you in, but I saw you out there, trying to survive at 13. You were saving yourself."

"Yeah, but when he had that cord around my neck, ready to kill me, you didn't have to come in without backup. You didn't have to risk your life fighting him to get me out."