Quentin's Way

Chapter 24

            "I'ma kill that nigga," I said as I climbed out of Demi's bed.

            "Quentin, wait," Demi said as he climbed out behind me.

            "Nope, there's only one way he's gonna learn." I picked my boxers up from the floor and put them on. "I'm gonna have to put hands on him again."

            "We don't have to go to the door. I'll call the campus police and make a report. They'll ban him from campus."

            "What about when we're back in Virginia? He's just gonna keep tryin' shit, boo."

            Malcolm knocked on the door again and called out, "Demi, just open the door. I know this is unexpected and I didn't wanna just pop up on you like this, but I promise this is good news."

            I picked up Demi's phone and handed it to him, telling him, "Be ready to call the campus police if this shit gets out of hand." I quickly snatched my boxers back off so that both me and him were naked.

            "Quentin, what are you doing?"

            "I'm gonna open the door just like this. He needs to see us like this, baby. Maybe it will trigger somethin' in his brain that will make him finally back the fuck off." Before Demi could even attempt to stop me, I went over to the door and opened it. I stared into Malcolm's eyes as I asked, "What the fuck do you want, nigga?"

            His mouth dropped as he looked me up and down. He backed away a little as a look of disgust formed on his face. After a few seconds of silence, he asked, "Where's Demitri?"

            I stepped back to show him Demi, who was just as naked as I was, and told him, "He's right there. Say what you need to say and then step the fuck on, Malcolm. As you can see, you're fuckin' up our groove up in here."

            Tears formed in his eyes as he asked Demi, "Were you just having sex with him?"

            Demi threw his hands up as he exclaimed, "Malcolm, he's my boyfriend! What do you expect?"

            "But what about us?"

            "There isn't an us anymore. There hasn't been an us for a while now. I told you I was over what we had because you crossed a line."

            "You don't even love him."

            "Yes, I do. While you were busy outing Quentin with that stupid Twitter thread, I was prepared to die with him when we were trapped in his car after the accident. I refused to leave him in there because I knew in my heart that I wouldn't be me without him in my life. When it comes to you, I simply feel nothing anymore. I have gone weeks where I haven't even thought of a single memory of you or a significant moment I shared with you. If my indifference towards you doesn't prove to you that it's over, then I don't know what will. I don't feel anything for you."

            "Demi..."

            "You have a few seconds to leave before I call the campus police."

            Malcolm stood there in silence for a few seconds before revealing, "My dad finally accepted me. I asked him to say a prayer for me to help me win you back. He gave us his blessing. That's the news I wanted to tell you. Remember how I wanted you to be by my side when I came out to him and my mama? I knew once he realized how much I loved you that he'd support me and now he is. I still love you, Demi. We can make this work."

            I laughed a little as I chimed in, "And now you see how I felt. Do you feel that loneliness in the pit of your stomach? You better get used to it because that shit is gonna be with you every day and every night."