Chapter 1: The Promise That Destroyed Everything
“Damn, bitch, you suck dick real good, I need to marry your ass.””
Romeo said it with a grin so confident that I almost believed him.
I was sitting beside him on his gray sofa, my brown dress smooth against my knees, my little handbag resting on the cushion beside me. Late-afternoon sunlight poured through the windows of his Atlanta apartment, lighting up the gold hoops in my ears and the expensive watch on his wrist.
He looked like a man who had everything under control.
And I was foolish enough to think that included his future with me.
I turned toward him, smiling despite myself.
“Then when you gonna do it?””
Romeo laughed and leaned back, stretching one arm across the sofa behind me.
“Damn, you don't waste no time, do you?””
“You just said you wanted to marry me. What am I supposed to do? Pretend I didn't hear you?””
“Girl, I'm playing with you.””
My smile weakened.
He noticed.
Then he reached over, pulled me closer, and kissed my forehead.
“I'm playing, baby. You know I mess with you. You know you special.””
I studied his face.
Romeo was twenty-nine, with a neat fade, a trimmed beard, and the kind of smile that made strangers feel like they had known him for years. He knew how to lower his voice when he wanted to sound sincere. He knew when to laugh, when to touch my hand, and when to look into my eyes long enough to make a lie feel like a promise.
We had been seeing each other for four months.
Four months of late-night phone calls, dinner dates, little gifts, and conversations about what we wanted from life.
He had told me he wanted a woman who understood him.
A woman who brought peace.
A woman he could build with.
I had told him I wanted honesty.
Apparently, that was where things had gone wrong.
“Romeo,” I said, tracing the edge of my handbag with one finger, “I'm not asking you to marry me tomorrow. I'm asking whether you're serious about us.””
He stopped smiling for a second.
Then he reached for his phone on the coffee table.
“Baby, why you always gotta turn a good moment into a whole interview?””
“Because every time I ask where this is going, you start joking.””
“I'm right here, ain't I?””
“That doesn't answer my question.””
He looked at me, and for one brief moment, the charm slipped. Something impatient moved behind his eyes.
Then he smiled again.
“Look, I like you. I like being with you. Let's just enjoy what we got.””
I should have recognized the warning.
Instead, I nodded.
Outside, Atlanta traffic hummed beyond the windows. Somewhere in the building, a dog barked twice. Romeo picked up the remote and turned down the television, then reached for my hand as if the conversation had never happened.
I let him hold it.
That was the last peaceful moment of my afternoon.
The first pounding against the apartment door sounded so violently that I jumped.
BAM. BAM. BAM.
Romeo's fingers tightened around mine.
Another round shook the door.
“ROMEO! OPEN THIS MOTHERFUCKING DOOR!””
A woman's voice.
Loud. Furious. Familiar with the apartment in a way I suddenly wasn't.
I turned toward the entrance.
Romeo went completely still.
Not confused.
Not curious.
Terrified.
I pulled my hand from his.
“Oh hell nah, who the fuck is that?””
He stood up so quickly that his knee struck the coffee table. His phone slid to the floor.
“Man, fuck.””
I stared at him.
“What do you mean, 'man, fuck'?””
He bent to retrieve his phone, avoiding my eyes.
“Just sit down for a second.””
“Sit down? Somebody is beating on your door screaming your name!””
“Can you chill?””
The pounding came again.
“ROMEO! I KNOW YOU IN THERE!””
I rose from the sofa.
Romeo stepped between me and the entrance.
“Baby, listen to me.””
“Don't 'baby' me. Who is that?””
“Ain't nobody you need to worry about.””
The woman outside let out a bitter laugh.
“YOU GOT FIVE SECONDS BEFORE I COME THROUGH THIS DOOR MYSELF!””
I looked at Romeo.
He looked at the floor.
And in that instant, I understood something that made my stomach twist.
Whatever was waiting outside that door, he had been hoping I would never find out about it.
“Romeo,” I whispered, “what did you do?””
He rubbed both hands over his face.
“Just let me handle this.””
May you like
Then he unlocked the door.
And the woman who walked into that apartment looked at me as though she had been waiting months to find me.