chapter forty-four

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"Hello?" Rashir answered his phone, confused as to why Nala was calling him. He had just gotten home from eating out with Nico and Mateo after practice and was getting ready to get into bed.

"Hi, are you busy?" Nala asked and Rashir was now doubly confused. He could hear loud music in the background, so it seemed like she was at some sort of party, but he didn't know why she'd be calling him to ask that. He sat up in his bed, turning on the light and checked the time.

"Uh, not really? What's up?" He asked.

"Can you come to this party in D.C? Lo isn't listening to any of us and I'm worried about her–Lo! Get off of the damn table!" He heard her yell in the background.

He hadn't spoken to Lourdes for a couple of days since their fight. He was frustrated that she refused to open up to him, they'd been dating for 4 months now, but he had to practically pry her feelings out of her. They simply weren't seeing eye-to-eye on things and it was starting to get in the way of their relationship.

He was giving her time to cool off from the argument and he needed some time as well. After a couple of days, he'd felt bad for assuming that she was cheating but she really hadn't given him a choice. Whoever was on the other line of the phone she clearly did not want him hearing what they had to say, so now he was curious. While he trusted Lourdes, he was still wary about the entire thing and really just wanted the truth from her, but he knew he wouldn't get it unless he forced it out of her.

He was tired of arguing about the same thing over and over without any change. He knew that she had a fucked up past and he understood that, but bottling it all up inside wasn't healthy and she wasn't understanding that. She insisted she was fine when she wasn't, and resulted to snapping at him when all he was trying to do was help and he was getting sick of it. 

"Send me the address," He sighed, hanging up the phone and getting his keys. He slipped on his crocs and jogged down the stairs, getting a jacket and opening the front door,

"Where you going?" Nico came out of the kitchen when he heard someone opening the door.

"To go pick up Lo, I'll be back," He told him and Nico nodded, telling him to be safe. He got into his car and connected his phone to Bluetooth, typing in the address that Nala sent him and speeding away.

20 minutes later, Nala got a text from Rashir, telling her that he was here. She ignored the fact that it took at least 35 minutes to get here, figuring he was worried and rushing. She told him they were in the kitchen, trying to convince Lourdes to sit down while she insisted on trying to stand on top of the counter to dance to the music–when there was no music playing.

The girls breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Rashir approach them, looking irritated but concerned as he eyed Lourdes.

"Y'all can go home, I got her," He told them while keeping his eyes on her, trying to figure out what tactic he could play to get her to come with him.

"You sure?" Aaliyah asked him warily, she was ready to go home, it was going on 12 in the morning and she had an 8 am in the morning, but she didn't want to abandon them.

"Yeah, thanks for taking care of her, I appreciate it," He thanked them and they all nodded, telling him good luck. When they exited the house Rashir turned back to Lourdes, who still hadn't realized he was there. She had dazed off into her own world and was starting to get tired. She never really threw up when she got drunk, she just ended up getting too tired and passing out somewhere. She looked like she was close to doing that, so Rashir knew getting her to the car wouldn't be that hard.

"Lourdes," He called out, and she whipped around, a confused look turning into angry when she saw it was him calling her. His eyes traveled up and down her figure, nostrils flaring at the sight of her outfit. She practically had everything on display with the tight-black and short dress that had a plunging neckline and ties on the side, exposing the fact that she wasn't wearing underwear. The outfit was definitely getting her stares from the male population in the house which doubly irritated him.

She was out here acting like she was single and she wasn't.

"What are you doing here," She slurred, rolling her eyes and beginning to stumble past him, attempting to leave the kitchen, but he grabbed her arm, bringing her back to standing in front of him.

"I'm here to take yo' drunk ass home, let's go," He nodded his head in the direction of the front door but she scoffed and shook her head.

"No, I'm having fun," She said airily, wobbling a bit. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, not in the mood to debate with her about going home. He'd been at practice all day and he was tired. He was just about to sleep before Nala called him, so he was trying to get her in the car as quick as possible.

"Lourdes you playing wit' me right now and I'm not in the playing mood. Now bring yo' lil ass on, I'm not gon' tell you again," He said irritably, beckoning her over but she was refusing. She was incredibly stubborn when she was sober, when she was drunk it was even worse.

When she turned around, without even replying to him, he looked up at the ceiling, counting to 5 and taking a deep breath. He followed her back to the living room where she was attempting to go back to the dance floor and before she could begin dancing, he grabbed her arm, pulled her into him, and hooked his arms onto the back of her legs, throwing her over his shoulder, warranting some protests from her.

"Rashir! Put me down!" She yelled all the way to the car, hitting his back and thrashing around but he ignored her, opening his car door and placing her in the front seat. He locked the door, just in case she tried to escape, and quickly jogged to the driver's side, hopping in and slamming the door shut. He didn't even glance at her as he started the engine, pulling away from the house.

Rashir parked in the driveway of the boy's house, turning off the engine, and got out, going to the other side of the car to open the door for Lourdes who had now sobered up. She was slightly buzzed, but aware of her surroundings and now aware that she had fucked up. The tension in the car had been unbearable and she was happy to finally get out so she didn't have to deal with the awkward silence.

She muttered a "Thanks" but Rashir didn't say a word as he slammed the car door shut and locked it, jogging up the stairs of the house and opening the front door while she scurried behind him. He held the door open for her and she thanked him again before he took his shoes off, going to the kitchen while she followed him, getting mad that he was ignoring her. He went to the fridge, opening it and she stood behind him, waiting for him to say something but he didn't.

"Rashir," She called, expecting some sort of response but got none. "Rashir!" She yelled this time and he turned around while drinking water from a bottle. "So you're not talking to me now?" She crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows, getting irritated.

"I ain't ever said that,"

"Yeah because you're not saying anything," She snapped. When he didn't respond she waved a hand in front of his face but he snatched it, putting it back at her side.

"What Lourdes?" He sighed, sounding genuinely tired. His tone felt like a punch to the gut, on top of the fact that he called her Lourdes. He almost never called her by her full name, it was always a cute pet name or "Lo". She could tell that he was mad and she knew that she should stop, but for some reason she couldn't. It was like the words kept spilling out of her mouth like word vomit and she kept going.

"If you're mad at me just say that, stop fucking ignoring me," She snapped at him and he just rubbed his temples, not feeling like arguing. It was late and the boys were upstairs, asleep. He didn't want to wake them up because they had practice again early in the morning tomorrow.

"I'm finna go to sleep, you can take a shower if you want, there's clothes in the laundry room," He simply said, making a move to go around her but she stepped in front of him, blocking his way.

"Rashir you're acting like a damn child, just tell me what the issue is," She threw her hands up, raising her voice at him and he laughed, like genuinely laughed at her. "What's funny?!"

"You! You is so damn hilarious Lourdes. How I'm the one acting like a fucking child? You the one spiraling and can't ask nobody for some damn help. I try my damn best to make sure you okay and, you feel loved, then you turn around and try to make me feel bad for trying to help you. I ask you what's wrong and you say nothing, then you go and get fucking drunk as hell to cover up the fact that you hurting. Everybody around you is trying to help you and you still don't understand that? You need serious help and therapy bruh. I'on know what the hell you got going on, but you need to fix that shit cause you pushing everybody away from you and you can't even see that shit. I'm done trying." He finished his rant, breathing hard and clearly angry while she sat back, shocked that he felt this way.

He had never spoken to her the way that he just did and it had her losing her mind. She held back the tears that were threatening to fall and just blinked at him, not even able to respond.

He started to feel bad at the way that he came at her but he knew that someone had to be the one to tell her, it just happened to be him. He sighed, running his hands through his hair and placing the water bottle down, reaching out to touch her but she flinched, making him snatch his hand back, insulted and he chuckled.

"Listen, when you ready to talk, I'm always here and you know that. But you need to take some time by yo' self and figure yo' shit out. I can't keep doing this wit' you," He shook his head and finally stepped around her while she stood there frozen.

"I–I'm sorry," She choked out and he stopped in his tracks, taking a deep breath.

"Me too," He said nothing else as he ran up the stairs into his room, closing the door.

Did he just break up with me? She said in her head, not able to form a sentence. She felt a tear fall down her face and before she knew it, she was full-on crying, not being able to breathe while stumbling out of the house and attempting to call someone to pick her up.

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hey y'all 😬 i'm sorry but i had to do it to em' 💔 this is a short chapter but i wanted to get this up for now. don't forget to vote and comment!

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