Scars. |✔️|

Chapter 36: Death Of Me

Saturday, August 10
Los Angeles, CA
10:02 AM

Aaliyah.

"Well at least you know," I shrug.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

My phone rings and I sigh as his name flashes across my screen. Anthony.

"Who is it, Liy?"James asks.

"Um..." I stutter, not really knowing what to say.

The thought of the kiss between me and Anthony rushes through my mind. If James ever found out about the kiss, he'd not only kill Anthony, but he'd probably end up killing me too. Even though, I pushed him away, I still feel bad. It's been this weight on my shoulders since it happened, but I haven't been able to find the right time to tell him.

"Aaliyah?!" he says, raising his voice a little.

"Oh my bad. My brain is somewhere else," I laugh.

"Weirdo," he laughs. "But for real, who is it?"

"Anthony..."

He squints his eyes as he turns his head in confusion. We sit in silence for at least a minute before he says anything.

"Why the hell is Anthony calling you?"

"We're friends now," I say, looking everywhere but his eyes.

"Aaliyah? What's wrong?" he asks, pulling my chin toward him.

"What do you mean? I'm fine."

"No you're not. Why won't you look at me?"

I guess now is the time to tell him. I don't know what his reaction is gonna be, but I might as well tell him now before he finds out from Anthony himself. I decline the call and sit down on the couch. I put my head in my hands, as I let out a sigh. James sits down next to me then removes my hands from my head.

"Baby girl, tell me what's wrong," he says, pulling me closer to him.

"Anthony... he..."

"He what?" he asks sternly. "Aaliyah, what did he do?"

"He kissed me."

James slowly moves away from me. A movement that makes my heart shatter into a million pieces. As I look up, James clenches his jaw and sighs, staring at the coffee table. My phone rings again and he just shakes his head as I decline the call again. A lengthy, tense silence stays in the room for a while, causing me to get extremely nervous. I start to play with my necklace, spinning it around my neck over and over again. He gently grabs my hand and chuckles to himself.

"Did you kiss him back?" he asks softly.

"I pulled away."

"Come here," he says, picking me up and placing me on his lap.

"Are you mad?"

"Not mad, but I am annoyed. Mostly because he knew you had a boyfriend. But you didn't kiss him back, so there's no reason for me to be mad at you."

I love this man beyond words. His forgiveness and kindness are things that I don't think I'll ever get used to. It's great how he didn't just pop off and storm out. He's beyond mature, kind, and amazing.

I pull his chin to mine as I kiss the life out of his lips. He slides his tongue into my mouth, which quickly turns into a fight for dominance. But no matter how hard I try, I'll never be able to win that game. He pulls on the tie of my robe, but I quickly swat his hand away. I hop off of him and start to walk to the bathroom. I smirk when I hear him kiss his teeth in disappointment.