Lethal

Chapter Sixteen. But Let Jibri Tell It.

I strolled into my mother's house late Sunday evening. Despite Yanise's efforts, Zana and I were able to get back on track after a day of space. She was at an event at the time and I had about three hours before my next appointment with a VIP client. My mom was in the kitchen, humming a familiar melody while she cooked.

"Hey ma." I made my presence known, causing her to jump a little.

She sucked her teeth at me before laughing, "You're too damn light on your feet Jibri!"

"What's up? Where's everybody?" I asked, referring to my siblings while hugging her.

My mother shrugged, "Olivia is at her piano lesson and Raquel is at her boyfriend's house" Though I had many siblings; Olivia and Raquel were my only ones who had the same mother as I did; I wasn't sure if it was that, or the fact that I grew up in the same house as them that made me closer to the two.

"Boyfriend? Since when?" I asked her, taking on the typical older brother role. Raquel had turned eighteen a few months prior, but she'd always be eight to me. I made a mental note to call my sisters later on, suddenly feeling out of touch with their lives.

"Longer than you had that girlfriend." It seemed like she'd been waiting for a chance to say that. "Though five seconds isn't a hard time to beat."

Regardless of the fact that she'd taken my side in front of Yanise, I knew that she was also hurt by the situation that I'd unintentionally put her in. However, I wouldn't let her disrespect Zana or my relationship because her emotions were compromised.

"Don't even go there ma, I love Zana." I braced for impact after the words left me.

She looked at me for a while without speaking, then quickly turned the stove off and sat me down. "I stay out of your business for the most part, but you and this girl are moving very fast."

"Maybe so, but she's really special. What Yanise did may have actually brought us closer." I admitted, there was nothing superficial about my relationship with Zana; we might have teased and flirted heavily in the beginning, but our conversations always had a level of substance. After the Yanise fiasco, she'd been very apologetic about the way she'd reacted and promised me that in the future she'd listen before she reacted. Yanise herself had apologised to me for her actions and blamed her useless friends and alcohol for encouraging her to act out in the way that she did.

My mother held one of my hands as she spoke, "That's great and I'm happy for you, but I just wish that you and Nise were on better terms. A new girl shouldn't be able to come between you and your best friend- no matter how special you think she is."

"Ma, Zana is special and Yanise and I both decided that we didn't belong together, she knew that I looked at her as another sister. I've never led her on after our failed attempt at a relationship." I sighed, I hadn't intended to talk about Yanise and though I missed her friendship, I appreciated and respected my relationship more. "Zana isn't coming between us, Nise is doing that all on her own."

"I can't entirely blame her, the two of you have been joined at the hip since you were toddlers; it's natural that she'd love you the way she does." My mother reasoned. "I thought that you'd come to your senses about her and she'd officially be my daughter."

I grimaced at her words but kept my emotions in check. "Well I'm sorry ma, I don't see her that way; never have." I said honestly, I'd only given a relationship with her a try because we were always around each other and everyone seemed to think that it was meant to be. "Would you be open to meeting Zana? Hopefully you'll be able to see how great she is and get this Yanise fantasy out of your head."

Family was important to me and I'd planned on asking Zana to meet them, my mother had simply moved up the timeline with her words. I wanted Zana to be in every aspect of my life, and I wanted to keep her there. No matter what fights we had, I had the sense that I'd never be able to stay away from her. If any other woman had gone ballistic the way she did after Yanise's messages, I would've ended things on the spot, not with Zana. I loved the fire that she possessed, it reminded me of a similar flamed that burned in me.