Because I Love You

by A'zayler

  That was only if Egypt didn’t find out. After a long talk, we’d concluded that it was time for me to stop that hoeing shit. He’d been so riled up about the fight and the way Joshua had put his hands on me that he’d darn near forced me to stop selling my ass. I hadn’t officially told Master yet, but I was sure he had to have an idea about something.

  He’d been calling me nonstop for the past two days, and I hadn’t answered any calls. Even if I hadn’t been afraid of the anger that I was sure he was ready to unleash on me, Egypt wasn’t having that shit. The moment he saw Master’s name on my phone, he’d ignored and dared me to answer any of the following times.

  Of course, I’d rather be with Egypt, so I went with whatever he’d said. The only reason I’d been able to duck him today was that he had to hit the block, which left me just enough free time to slide off with this Crip nigga. I closed my eyes as I realized yet another reason Egypt would kick my head off if I got caught out there today.

  The bus had just come to a stop in front of the mall. I wasn’t big on him knowing where I lived, nor the hood I paraded around in all day, so we’d chosen a designated place for him to pick me up. Egypt seeing me get into a car with another nigga was bound to end my happiness before it got started good, so I took drastic measures to prevent that from happening.

  Like he’d said he would be, he was waiting for me at the end of the parking lot in a black truck with tint too dark to see through. He flashed his lights at me as I walked slowly to the car. My heart was beating fast, and I could hardly keep my legs from shaking as I headed for the truck.

  I heard the locks click as soon as I got closer to him. When I opened the door, there he was, looking just as mean as he’d looked the first time we’d met. He didn’t offer any type of greeting as I got in and made myself comfortable. At least as comfortable as I could get because there was absolutely nothing comfortable about being in that nigga’s presence.

  “Hey,” I spoke lowly without looking at him. “Umm, I don’t know your name.”

  “Pat.”

  I nodded while fiddling with the strap of my fanny pack.

  “What’s up? You scared again?” His voice was calmer and a bit nicer.

  I tried to relax as I looked at him and smiled. “No, I’m fine,”

  “What happened to your head?” His voice got hard like it had been when I tried to run out on him at Master’s house that day.

  “I got into a fight.”

  “With who?” He finally drove off.

  “Some girls and this dude.”

  He stopped in the middle of the parking lot. “A nigga hit you?”

  I nodded, a little disarmed by his obvious concern for my wellbeing.

  “What’s his name?” he halfway yelled at me.

  Since I didn’t like his tone, I didn’t respond. This nigga was tripping, and I had no idea why.

  “I said what’s his name!”

  Whoa! If I hadn’t been deathly afraid of this nigga before, I definitely was then. I looked over at the door to see if it was unlocked. He was acting really crazy, and I would jump out of that car before I let him drive me off to someplace I couldn’t escape and kill me.

  “Dream, stop acting so fucking simple and answer my question.”

  “Simple? I’m not acting simple. You’re just acting crazy.” I said that a little louder because he had me fucked up calling me names and stuff.

  I still wasn’t as loud as I could get, or even as sassy as I normally was, but I knew he’d heard my attitude. He wasn’t the only one who could get mad.

  “You’re so fucked up in these streets that you don’t even know how to let a nigga care about your ass.”

  “Care about me? Nigga, you don’t need to care about me. You don’t even know me.”

  He cut his eyes at me before pulling his truck over on the side of the road. I grabbed the door handle because I was hopping out as soon as he stopped.

  “Dream, I do know you. You just don’t know me.”

  I rolled my eyes at this clown. “How?”

  He sighed and bit his bottom lip before looking me dead in my eyes. “I’m your father.”

  …Sincerely, A’zayler

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  About the Author

  I'm Patrice Watts, and I happen to write under the name A’zayler. I am the newly found voice of urban romance at Random House Publishing, as well as the founder and CEO of A’zaylerINK -a domain built upon the core foundations of FAITH, HARD WORK, and the visionary aspects of PERSISTANCE and GOALS.

  A native of Columbus Georgia, I've always been a fan of reading but found my passion for writing during my sophomore year in college. Being that I used storytelling as an outlet, I spent a lot of time writing privately. That all changed with the release of my first novel. Now, I allow the world to experience my stories as they're written.

  In the year of 2014, I published my first novel, which debuted my immeasurable talent. Thirty plus books later, and with greater plans ahead, I've quickly become an urban romance phenomenon. Greatly inspired by the various writers that have come before me, I have plans to surpass an array of personal expectations while paving the way and leaving my mark in the literary world. If you’d like to feel my love, visit any of your local bookstores, nearest Walmart, or continue browsing Amazon 

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