How I Got Good

Chapter 3

"Don't settle for less if you're giving too much."

Jackie's P.O.V.

"Hey, have you heard from anyone lately?" I ask my roommate and best friend, Jazz. "Just Jermaine."

I walk into the bathroom where she's doing her hair and I ask, "what's he talking about?" "Imani and Jamal breaking up." my jaw dropped, I go sit on the closed toilet seat, "since when? Did he say?"

She told me he hadn't told her when. That must be Why she hasn't called.

"Do you wana go visit?" she nods, "yeah, I'm almost done." I walk out of the bathroom, texting Carnisha, Yhana, Marie, Liyah and Yvette, letting them know what happened and we would all go visit her. "you ready," Jazz asked as she picked up her jacket. "yeah, we're all meeting at Imani's house at 1pm."

"What time is it now?" it was 12:52pm, so we rushed over.

When we got in front of the house, everyone was there, waiting. We all met up at Liyah and Marie's car. Liyah, in the driver seat, says, "It took y'all long enough." Yhana joined in, "I'm sayin! How you gont make the plans, then be late? HELLOOOO!" Jazz flipped her off and laughed.

Jermaine went home yesterday, so he didn't know about our plans. We walked to her door and rang the doorbell. "You know she gont be mad, right?" Marie chimmed in. Everybody looked at her.

She was new to the group ever since she started dating Liyah, she's nice, she just hasn't gained her FULL  potential in the clique.

"Aye! Turn around. Don't be lookin at my girl." I hear footsteps coming down the stairs. Imani opens the door. "What the hell? Hey?... what's everybody doin here?" We all walk in and sit on the couch. Carnisha steps to the front, "why you ain't tell nobody you and Jamal broke up?!" Imani said Jermaine's name under her breath. "What happened?" "When did it happen?" everybody started talking all at once. "y'all loud as hell. Get it together. Let her tell the story!" I yelled to everyone. They all calmed down. "so what happened?"

*Flashback to my "anniversary day"*

"I love you"

two years and happy.

"I been dating Jamal for about a year"

"I didn't mean for it to go this far"

*Door slams*

"And that's it." Imani walked into the kitchen.

"I don't think we should have barged in like this," Jazz said in a worried voice. Yhana walked in the kitchen behind her.

Yhana's P.O.V.

"Hunnie, what's really bothering you?... I know you're hurt, but what's really goin on?" She turned around to face me, in tears. She lifted her shirt and all I see were dark purple and blue bruises and red scars. My jaw dropped as tears started fall out of my eyes. I whisper, "what happened?"

"He came to my house. Broke through the back door. Threatened if I didn't stay away from Jermaine, he'd kill both of us."

"Where was Jermaine?" I tried touching her stomach but she cringed away, "He had already gone home. This happened in the middle of the night."

"Why didn't you tell anyone? Call the police?" She just looked at me. Her eyes were red and puffy, bags and dark circles under them and her nose red. She was tired of her lifestyle. She didn't say anything. "I'm telling Tony"

Tony is Imani's older cousin. Him and I had been dating for a while, back When Imani hooked us up with eachother. We been going strong ever since.

Imani gasped, "NO! You know how Tony is. Don't!" I took my phone out, she snatched it from my hand. "Don't call Tony! Please," she started crying more. I raised my arms in defeat. I took my phone and went back to the living room and sat down on the couch.

"what she say?" Marie asked worried.

"Nothin...I'm finna go. Tony waitin on me at home." I get up and walk toward the door. Imani walks to the living room. "this what we doin Yhana?" I look at her in a pitiful look, confused rather.

"I love you Imani. But I'm not finna sit here while you let 'this' happen." I open the door and walk out. Everybody looks at Imani, confused. "Y'all can go."

Later that Night

I'm sitting on my bed taking my shoes off while Tony is brushing his teeth in the bathroom. "I was at Imani's house today." He spits in the sink and whips his mouth with the towel. "Oh really? Wassup with lil cuz? She ain't been returning my calls. I been meaning to visit but I been taking those extra shifts at work."

"You need to go check on her, Tony," I said in the calmest way possible.

I feel like I should tell me him, but I don't wana betray my best friend. If I don't tell him, I'm letting it happen, but if I do tell him, I'm a bad friend. This is messed up.

"She ight?" We just look at eachother. I just shake my head and start crying. He runs up to hold me. "Stop crying. It's late, I'll check on her tomorrow mor--"

"No! Go now." He pulls away. "But its..." he checks the clock, "...2:15am." I look at him with a anxious look. "Please."

Tony's P.O.V.

2:32 a.m.

I walk out of my car, rubbing crust outta my eye, tired as hell, ready to get my ass back in the car to go home.

I slowly make my way to Imani's door. The window, beside the doorknob, was shaddered. What the fuck?, is what I think to myself. I put my hand through the glass and open the door. I stop and look around the living room. Papers and pictures scattered all over the floor, but no sign of anyone. I go upstairs to Imani's room, see her asleep, and close the door. As I was thinking everything was good. I hear glass shatter downstairs. Now I'm wide awake and running down the stairs. I look in the living room, nothing. Closet, nothing.

I hear a gun get cocked back behind me, I raise my head and stand steal. I slowly turn around. Once I see that it's Jamal holding the gun, I chuckle. "You serious, bro? You in my lil cousin's house?" He holds the gun straight to my face. "What's on ya mind."

"If I can't keep her. God can." Instantly, I jabbed him in the face two good times, He loses his grip of the gun, drops it, and falls to the ground. As I was about to pick the gun up, he pulls my ankle and I fall. He jaws me once, I get him back, he tries to grab the gun, I grab his foot, he kicks me in the face. I try again and pull him away from the gun, jawing him, jabbing, blood running down his nose and left eye, he blocks my hand, grabs and twist my wrist, popping it, I yell. Imani gets up and runs downstairs, "TONY!!"

*POP*

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