Lethal

Chapter Thirty-One.

Jibri's jaw was clenched tightly in anger, "You're going hard for no fuckin' reason, Za."

"You're a fucking asshole, you know that?" I asked Jibri as he drove us back to his apartment. My body sagged with relief, I'd been trying so hard to keep the peace between us but it wasn't worth it anymore.

If I was being honest, I didn't even want to be around him after what he'd said but I had made a conscious effort to do better; and better meant handling issues as soon as they came up. Aisha's outburst was a mere distraction, when the dust settled all I could think about was Jibri's ridiculous comment after all Jericho had done was hug me.

Jibri kept his eyes on the road as he swerved through traffic, trying to get to his place as quickly as possible and his silence did nothing except aggravate me further. Everything felt too familiar, I honestly didn't want to fight with him but there was no way that I could let his words slide, not this time; maybe that was just the way our relationship would always be. We either fought, or I let him walk all over me and neither option was good enough- I has matured throughout our relationship and wasn't sure if I was okay with the back and forth anymore.

When we got to his building, Jibri got out of the car and slammed his door shut, then headed towards the doors without a backward glance. Before I got any angrier, I followed suit and hoped that someone would steal his unlocked car.

As soon as he unlocked his apartment door, Jibri turned on me and let loose. "You were on my ass from the fuckin' beginning about Yanise, saying that we were too close, and what did I do? I listened and took everything you said into consideration! Now you're hanging all over that nigga in broad daylight like it's nothing! Shit is disrespectful."

"It's not the same thing and you know it! Jericho has always been my best friend, nothing more! Meanwhile you and Yanise used to be in a relationship and it was obvious that you two had no issues with being all over each other. As a matter of fact, you're still all over each other, always together and I just stopped fighting you on it. Now you want to come at me?! What the fuck Jibri?" I was taken aback yet again, the two scenarios were not comparable in any way, not unless he was forcing himself to see things that weren't there.

It was almost like Jibri wanted me to accept everything that he did while he continuously tried to convince me that he was all that I needed. We were still on shaky ground from the argument that we'd had the week before and I didn't have the energy needed to sweep my feelings under the rug anymore.

Jibri groaned and walked further into his apartment, leaving me to trail after him, enraged and confused. "It's like you're purposely missing the point Zana, y'all don't have to be hugging and shit like that."

"He was comforting me because I was scared about how my sister would act around you! And you know why this whole shit is pissing me off? You leave me all the time, you put your friendship with Yanise over everything that I have going on and then try to make me feel like I'm the problem! Jericho has always been supportive of our relationship; you know that firsthand." I was trying not to raise my voice at him, instead of getting in his face and escalating the situation, I took a seat on his couch and waited for his response.

Jibri knelt on the floor in front of me, a position that brought back less than pleasant memories for me. "I honestly do not get this shit Za, why does it have to be an argument when I voice a concern? When you told me to put space between me and Yanise, I did it. Why can't you do that for me?" Jericho wasn't a new person and I could readily provide at least two other times where Jibri had seen the two of us hug each other. Furthermore, it was just a hug. "Promise me that you'll keep your hands to yourself from now on."

"I won't promise you that because Jericho is not fucking in love with me! Jericho is fucking engaged and has been since the day I met him! Jericho gave me a hug, he wasn't laying on my chest while I got a tattoo, he wasn't whispering in my ear at the club or holding my hand, we've never been in a relationship. It's a fucking hug, you're being ridiculous!" I lost my cool, "And on top of all that shit, despite the fact that you fell back momentarily, you still kissed her, you still got her back into your life and your daily routine. Don't try to make this into something it's not."