Dear Beloved,

26| Arizona

I'm trying to wrap this book up 🙃

R A Y N E

~ Chapter Twenty Six ~

"You lost your mind?" He looks at me through hooded eyes. Shrugging my shoulders I stop to think if I did but I declare that I certainly did not lose my mind. My dad was just telling me about this retreat that has therapy, meditation, and all kinds of relaxing things to get your head straight. At first I didn't wanna go because I wouldn't have anyone to go with for starters, Nova has a baby and Jordan wouldn't wanna go on a trip for "bettering" yourself because she's perfect in her eyes. Hearing Lexus talk about him not liking the person he's been lately urged me to extend the olive branch. "No I haven't." I sit up. "My dad was telling me about this place in Hawaii that has therap-"

"Ion need no therapy Rayne. Nope." He cuts me off. "Please hear me out. If you don't think you need it come to support me, please?"

"I'm listenin' but I ain't going." He mumbles. "Okay so, it's kinda like a retreat but with therapists on duty in the hotel. I've been having a tough time lately believe it or not and I want- I need this weight off of my shoulders."

"I hear you, I really do but who bouta pay for all that?"

"My dad." He shakes his head no for the thousandth time. "I'm not letting your daddy pay fa me to go to Hawaii, I'm a grown ass man." He mumbles. "If you tryna go outta town with a nigga, I can take you ta Atlanta or some shit but my pockets can't do Hawaii." I laugh until I see he's actually being serious. "I'm bein' deadass."

"I see. I wasn't asking you to take me out of town Lexus, that would b- why would I-" I try to collect my words. "You think imma go out of town with a girl and not pay fa shit? If we going out of town tell me so I can take off work."

"This conversation turned into something completely different." I rub my temples. "We're not going out of town Lexus. I'm inviting you to Hawaii, expenses paid."

"And I said no. I invited you ta come out of town with me, expenses paid so wassup?" He exhales smoke out of his mouth effortlessly. His eyes red and low he waits on my response. "Going on a trip wasn't the point of this conversation."

"I know but you can open up ta me, tell me how you feelin' instead of paying all that money. I've been told by many I'm a good listener." He smirks. Rolling my eyes I sigh loudly. "If I say okay?"

"Then you get ta spend a couple days with yung boy. Just say tha words and I gotchu." I sit on his bed seriously contemplating choosing a real therapist or Lexus an eighteen year old whose not even close to being a therapist. I might've really lost my mind. "Can I chose somewhere other than Atlanta?" I ask clasping my hands together. "Like?" He gets on his phone.

"Likeee..Arizona?" I ask myself. "Yeah. Arizona." I say confidently. He stays quiet not paying me any mind. "Or wait, what about- no." I stop myself. "Ight flights is like two hundred dollars round trip." He looks up. "I'm only going under one condition. I pay for the flights and you pay for everything else." He nods holding his hand out and we shake on it. "Dawg." He sighs. "I ain't never been outta town with no girl. This should be interesting."

"When are we going?" I ask checking the time; my phone reads three fourty eight am. "You wanna make shit more interesting?" He smirks. I laugh at how high he is, this boy literally smoked two full blunts back to back. "Sure, why not?"

"Let's leave ina' morning." I squint my eyes at him trying to see if he's being for real. He slides his phone over to me with flights up leaving for nine o'clock am. "And you asked me if I lost my mind? This whole thing is crazy and sporadic Lexus, you do know that right?"