Gunz and Roses (25 page)

“Nah, you make me crazy,” Gunz joked.

“That's good to know,” she replied in a sarcastic tone.

“Straight up. You fuck me up how you try to pretend that the past don't count, but I know it does.”

“That's the problem, though. In the past, all I ever wanted was to be a part of your heart, but you wouldn't let me. Now I've moved on. I got a child with that man. I promised to be his wife. I can't just up and leave like that.”

“So you tellin' me no?” he countered.

“I don't know what I'm sayin'.”

“If you can look me in my eye and tell me that you don't wanna be wit' me then I'll leave and never bother you again.”

Gray stared Gunz square in the eyes, but the words she so desperately wanted to say were too hard to form. She needed Gunz as bad as she needed a heartbeat.

“I promise I got you. I swear to God everything gon' be a'ight. I'ma give you my all, and I'ma love Aoki as if she was my own.”

“Like, I wanna say yes, but I honestly don't think we're ready for all of that.”

“And you're sure about that? No is your final answer?”

“Yeah, I just think we should wait. If we're going to do this again, then I need to make decisions with my head and not my heart.”

“I can dig that,” Gunz replied. He was hurt, but deep down inside, he knew that she was right.

“I just don't want you to hurt me again.”

“Trust me; I won't.” He took her into his arms and kissed her forehead.

 

“I can't believe you are playin' that mess,” Gray said, sitting Indian-style on the living room floor as Gunz played Grand Theft Auto.

“Quit hatin'.”

“I'm far from a hater, sweetie.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's what your mouth say.”

“Whateva.” Gray laughed, focusing back on her work.

“Baby, you mind getting me a beer?”

“Gunz, you see I'm working.”

“Please.” He looked at her and winked his eye.

“Ooh, you get on my nerves.” She smiled as her cell phone began to ring.

By the ringtone, she knew it was Truth. She'd been dodging his calls all day.

“Hello?”

“What you doing? Why you ain't been answering your phone? What, you got a nigga over there or something?” he joked.

“No. You know I told you I had work to do today.” She halfway told the truth. “What's up wit' you?”

“Shit, I was tryin' to come see you. Ain't Aoki coming home today?”

“Uhhhhh . . .” She stalled. “Actually, I asked Tee-Tee to watch her until tomorrow. I thought you had to work tonight.”

“They told me I ain't have to come in.”

“Oh.”

“Are you all right?” he questioned, sensing her nervousness.

“Baby, what's taking you so long?” Gunz yelled, interrupting her conversation.

“Who the fuck was that?” Truth questioned, heated. “Don't tell me it's some nigga over there for real.”

“Truth, just let me—”

“Yo, you
wild
than a muthafucka! You straight up got some cat over there like I ain't yo' fuckin' fiancé! Who the fuck was that?” he asked, heated.

“Gunz.”

“Gunz! So you back fuckin' wit' him?”

“Truth, it just happened. I was going to tell you.”

“When? When were you gon' tell me, Gray, huh? On our wedding day, or the fuckin' honeymoon?”

“Can you please calm down?”

“Fuck nah! Here I am tryin' to be the man you need, and this is how you do me? You know how much bullshit I had to go through to be wit' you! You got life fucked up if you think you just gon' ride off into the sunset wit' that nigga and I'ma just fade into the background like ain't nothin' happened. Bitch, please.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. You just like all these other hoes out here. Any nigga wit' a li'l dough can get it.” He tried his best to hurt her.

“Okay, I know your feelings are hurt, but you buggin'.”

“Nah, you the one trippin', and if you think I'ma let you have my fuckin' daughter around that nigga, you got another thing coming!”

“Truth, I understand that you're upset, but you need to calm down. Holla at me when we can talk like adults,” she spoke before hanging up.

Gray knew it would never be an easy way or a good time to break Truth's heart, but it had to be done sooner or later. She just hoped that ultimately, they could maintain a friendship for the sake of the baby.

Gray popped open the fridge and pulled out a cold Boulevard Wheat Beer. Back in the living room, she handed Gunz his drink.

“Who was that on the phone?” he asked, seeing that she was upset.

“Truth.”

“Everything good?”

“I hope so,” she answered, praying that it would be.

 

The next day, Truth rang Gray's doorbell with a bouquet of yellow roses in his hand. Nervous energy resonated through his system as he shifted from side to side. Gray wasn't expecting him, so he wasn't sure how she would react.

“Who is it?” she asked.

“Truth.”

For the first time since they'd known one another, Gray was uncertain about his presence. Checking herself, she opened the door. At the end of the day, Truth was still one of her very good friends.

“Hi,” she spoke.

“Hi. These are for you.” He kissed her cheek.

“Thanks.” Gray took the flowers and inhaled the fragrant scent.

“Can I come in?”

“Sure.” She stepped aside.

Truth came in, and Gray closed the door behind them. They both sat on the couch.

Gray tried to be as normal as possible and asked, “So how are you?”

“As good as I can be, I guess. Where's Aoki?”

“Upstairs asleep. Look, Truth, I am so sorry about the other day. I never meant to hurt you. I just wish we could've talked about it face to face.”

“I know.” Truth reached out and touched her hand. “You gotta understand how I feel, Gray. I love you. I always have, and I know we could be great together. You just have to give me the chance to show you.”

“Truth, I love you too.”

“So what's the problem?” he asked, hopeful.

“Just not in that way. You're one of my best friends, and that's all I can ever really see you being. I hope you understand, 'cause I don't want to lose you as a friend.”

“But you just said you loved me.” He held her hands tight.

“I do.”

“Stop lying to me,” he shouted. Truth took her arms and shook her.

“Have you lost your mind? Let me go,” Gray screamed, trying to pull away.

“Tell me you love me!”

“Are you fuckin' crazy?”

“Just let me make you feel good.” He kissed her roughly.

“Get off of me!”

“C'mon, Gray. I know you want me!” His tongue slithered from her ear, across her cheek and to her mouth.

“I said get the fuck off of me!” She yanked her arm away.

Before Truth knew it, Gray had slapped him with so much force that her handprint was left on his face. Truth reacted quickly with a backhand slap of his own. His hit sent Gray flying backward off the couch.

“You think you can treat me any way you want and get away with it, bitch?” He towered over her.

Truth kicked Gray in the stomach. Off in the distance, she could hear Aoki begin to cry.

“Well, guess what?” He took a fistful of her hair in his hand and yanked her head back. “If I can't have you, no one else will either!”

Truth threw her head back. It hit the floor with a loud thud. Just like in the cartoons, Gray saw stars. She couldn't believe this was happening. Where was the man she'd known the last eleven years? Maybe she never knew him at all.

“I loved you, bitch.” Truth paced the room. “And this is how you do me? I can't believe you gon' choose that punk-ass nigga over me! He killed my fuckin' brother! I'll be damned if he take you and my daughter away from me too!” A sadistic thought crept into his mind. He ran into the kitchen and grabbed a butcher knife.

Tears streamed down Gray's face. What had she done to deserve this? Using her hands and feet, she stood up. Truth wasn't about to kill her without a fight. Gray ran around the couch with him hot on her tail. Spotting a glass vase, she picked it up and threw it at him. Truth blocked the throw by placing his hands in front of his face, but pieces of glass still became lodged in his arms.

“Fuckin' bitch!”

Gray was more scared than ever. As she continued to dodge his attempts to grab her, she heard the sound of someone buzzing her door. If she could just get to the door and press the button . . . Gray held her side and tried making it to the door, but Truth had caught up to her. Swinging the knife, he slit her back.

“Awwww!” she screamed out in agony as she fell to the floor .

The exposed skin burned, and blood began to spurt out and drench the back of her shirt. Determined not to give up, she struggled with all her might to crawl, but Truth had grabbed her leg.

“Get off of me, you sick fuck!” She kicked and screamed.

“Oh yeah, I'm sick all right! You know that night we fucked and you told me you loved me? You thought I was Gunz! You still love me now, Gray?”

“You raped me?” she shrieked, shocked by his confession.

“Bitch, you enjoyed it! Just like I enjoyed killing Bishop!”

“Oh my God, you are fuckin' crazy!” Gray used her free leg and kicked him.

The force of the kick caused Truth to drop the knife. Always a quick thinker, Gray raced over to grab it. Truth quickly took a hold of her hair once again. The pain was excruciating. She could feel strands of her hair being ripped from her scalp, but Gray wasn't going to let that deter her. With her arm stretched forward, her fingertips touched the handle of the knife.

Gray used all the strength she had and slid the knife into her hand. Truth swiftly clutched Gray's hand in a desperate attempt to take the knife from her. Unwilling to die, Gray flung her head back and butted Truth in the face. Natural reflexes caused him to place his hands onto his face, giving Gray enough time to turn onto her back and plunge the knife into the center of his chest.

The universe stopped. Time stood still. Gray's and Truth's eyes connected. Regret and sadness swept over them like a winter's breeze. This was how their story would end—fatally. They would be forever bonded by the little girl that lay crying in her bassinet, but the friendship they'd built over the years would be buried along with Truth and his deceitful ways.

Gray's lips trembled as she sat up. Both of Truth's hands were on the handle of the knife. His soul was breaking right in front of her eyes. Blood trickled out of the corner of his mouth. He could hardly breathe. Gray sobbed hysterically as he pulled the butcher knife from his chest.

“I love you,” he whispered before closing his eyes. Seconds later, he fell onto his side, dead.

Gray raced to the door. Without hesitation, she ran out, screaming for help. Down in the lobby, she came face to face with Gunz.

“What's wrong?” he asked, visibly worried.

“Truth just tried to kill me!”

T
hree years later, Gray sat at her desk with her legs crossed, gazing out the window. Finally everything was as it should be. All of her hard work and determination had paid off. She now had a corner office on the twenty-fifth floor, right next to Sienna. Gray was the editor at large of
Haute Couture
magazine and Sienna's new right hand. After Jean-Pierre retired, she was a shoo-in for the job.

Gray had come a long way. She was no longer the little mixed girl with homemade clothes. She proved to everyone that dreams really do come true; you just have to reach out and grab them one at a time.

She now knew that to love someone, you have to be comfortable with yourself. When she first met Gunz, she wasn't. She was lonely and desperate for companionship. Instead of letting things go as they may, she latched on, determined to make him be the man she wanted. But what Gray had to learn was that love shouldn't be forced. It should come naturally, and eventually, in its own time, it did.

Sometimes nightmares of the day Truth tried to kill her invaded her mind, but Gray wasn't going to let the negative experience take over her life.

A scar from the cut on her back still existed, but she'd forgiven Truth and moved on. She even attended his funeral. Gray knew that no one was perfect. She'd made her fair share of mistakes too. Gray recognized that she hadn't been the best friend to Truth at times. It didn't excuse what he'd done to her, though.

At peace with her life, Gray took a much needed breath and spun around in her chair. A photo on her desk caught her attention. It was a picture of her three-year-old daughter. Aoki was her world, her inspiration, and the love of her life wrapped up in one.

“Gray,” her loyal secretary, Breann, buzzed her office.

“Yes.”

“You have a call on line one.”

Gray pressed the button.

“Gray Rose speaking.”

“You miss me?” Gunz asked.

It took him a minute, but after seeing how his choices affected the people around him, he backed out of the life and went legit. Gray couldn't have been happier. Their relationship was more solid now than ever.

“Of course I do.” She lit up and smiled.

“What time you gettin' home?”

“I'll be there no later than four.”

“A'ight, well, I was just callin' to see what was up wit' you.”

“How did the meeting go?”

“Good. I signed the contract. My fifth restaurant will be open in the fall.”

“I'm so happy for you, babe.”

“Thanks.”

“Love you.”

“I love you too.”

Gray hung up the phone and took a glance at the ring on her left hand. After dating exclusively for almost three years, Gray finally felt that they were ready for marriage. She wasn't willing to say yes until Gunz had proven himself worthy of a lifelong commitment, but surprisingly enough, Gunz had gone above and beyond proving himself worthy.

With his actions, he showed that he was the man for Gray. He lived up to his words and loved her unconditionally. He loved Aoki just like he said he would. She was his daughter, and he was the only father she knew. And no, getting to the point they were at hadn't been easy; but kinda like the old saying goes, if you love it, then you should let it out of its cage, and if it comes back, then you know it's there to stay.