119. Cavities 🍭🧁🍬🍫

As Maximo drove onto the Rivers' property, I could see A.B. and Monica standing outside. Once he parked the car, Maximo got out the front seat and opened the back door. He helped me out.

"Thank you, Maximo," I told him.

"I'm going to talk to Mr. and Mrs. Rivers about having a body guard with us."

I nodded my head as I walked over to A.B. and Monica.

Before I could speak, Monica ran and hugged me. "Cousin, are you okay?" She asked me.

"Yeah..." I looked at A.B.

He said, "Let's go inside."

We all took the side door entrance and headed to my bedroom.

"Where's everybody else?" I asked them.

Monica answered, "Zack is probably in his room somewhere, Zeke is taking a business call, Warren and Bridgette are watching the news in the kitchen, and Cathy is outside getting some air. Oh, and Zell is sleeping."

I opened my bedroom door and immediately sat on my bed. I grabbed my phone and checked for updates. These are the times I wish I was on social media, but I know I can always go to YouTube for a live video and Twitter with a hashtag.

Monica sat next to me on the bed. She looked at my phone. "I thought you witnessed everything. Why are you looking it up?" She asked me.

I shook my head. "I was in a meeting. There were protestors outside, but I never saw them. Then, I heard that someone was shooting."

A.B. spoke up, "Ricky Santana was entering the building when a protestor ran towards him. Ricky's security pulled out their gun and shot the protestor. Well, that was the initial story. Now, the news is saying the protestor grabbed the security guard's gun, and the protestor accidentally shot themself."

I arched my brow. "What?" Then, I thought about the scene in the parking garage. I told A.B. and Monica about T'keyna Brown's mom. "It was really sad to hear her scream and crying about her daughter. She kept saying Ricky said he would protect her daughter. She just wants answers."

Monica added, "RiSe Records is getting messier by the day."

My phone vibrated. I looked at the screen to see Rochelle's name. I answered it.

"Hi, Jamie. I just heard about what happened. Are you okay? Were you at the RiSe Tower today?"

I replied, "Hi, Rochelle. I was there, but I'm okay."

"Glad you're okay. I just wanted to update you on the lawsuit. It will be ready tomorrow. When you say the word, it's a go."

I sighed, "With everything that's been happening between RiSe Records and Ricky, do you think it's a good time to do this?"

"Everything that's going on is working in your favor. If they try to settle, then that means the ball is in your court," Rochelle continued, "You will win no matter what happens."

I sighed before looking over at A.B.

He looked up from his phone and our eyes met.

"Hold on, Rochelle." I put my phone on mute.

I said, "I need to know really quick what y'all think. Should I sue RiSe Records now or wait till later?" I looked between Monica and A.B.

Monica immediately answered, "Why are you asking us? Sue them for every penny, nickel, dime, quarter, dollar bill with Washington on it - all the way up to the Benjamins!"

I held my hand up to stop my cousin. "I got it."

A.B. walked over from the door and to the window. Then, he turned to me. "Do you want peace now or later?"

I looked up at the ceiling before falling onto my bed. "Why is there so much going on, right now?"

Monica sighed, "The man asked you a question, and I think you should choose having peace right about now."

I smacked my lips before sitting up. I glanced at A.B.

He pointed at my phone.

"Oops!" I quickly took Rochelle off mute. "Sorry, Rochelle."

Monica lightly laughed at me.

Rochelle asked, "What do you say?"

"I guess I'm--it's time to go to the dentist. Eating all that candy has given me cavities."

Rochelle chuckled, "Okay. I'm stealing that one."

"You have my permission," I stated.

"Well, I'll call you when the ball gets rolling."

I ended my call with Rochelle.

Monica nudged me, "You have a good lawyer. You got all our support. Don't ever feel overwhelmed or get stressed-out ever again. RiSe Records is gonna pay. Okay?"

Seconds later, Monica got a text from Zeke. She left us faster than the Road Runner.

A.B. remained quiet.

I leaned back onto my elbows. "Am I doing the right thing?"

He sat next to me on the bed. "Has anything you done hurt anybody?"

"I was just about to say no, but when I think about Aja Frost... I think I hurt her."

"No," A.B. said, "She hurt you. I haven't heard or seen you ever do anything to hurt anyone."

I randomly asked, "Do you want to have another sleep over?"

"That's a hard no."

We both laughed.

"Why not? I thought the air mattress helped you."

A.B. shook his head. "No more air mattresses or floors for me."

I rested my head on his shoulder. "I'm glad you're here."

A.B. took my hand in his and caressed it. "What's your schedule for the week?"

I rolled my eyes. "I have two interviews tomorrow. One is for L.A. Fashion Magazine, and the other is on a new late night show. I'm performing there, too. Then, I'm preparing for my concert movie. A cinematographer is going to follow me around and record what I do before the concert. That's gonna be my schedule for this week."

"You need to get some rest," he stated.

I stood up. "Let's go to my house."

A.B. grinned, "Jamie, none of your stuff is there. And after all that's happened today, I think you should stay here."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "I'm giving you hints that I want to spend time with you -- away from others."

A.B. released my hand before standing up. He walked over to my door. "I'll be back early tomorrow morning before you leave. I'll spend the whole day with you. Okay?"

"What are you about to do?" I asked him.

"Allow you to get some rest. Have a good night, Jamie." A.B. left my room.

Rest? Now? It's nowhere near dark. Well, that distraction is gone. I got back in bed. Then, I called Deonte.

He sounded tired after he answered.

"Did I wake you?" I asked him.

"No. I needed to wake up. I've been sleep all day."

I asked, "That means you haven't heard about what happened today."

"What happened?"

I informed him on today's events.

"Jamie, I'm so sorry. I know you're sick of the drama. If you want a distraction, you're free to come over or I can pick you up and we can hang out. It's whatever you want to do."

"Sure. Did Cha-Cha cook?"

Deonte chuckled, "See, this is why you and me get along."

We ended our call after making the arrangement for our hang-out. Deonte would pick me up, we'd eat whatever Cha-Cha cooked, and enjoy each other's company.

As soon as I got in the car with Deonte, he had the old school music blasting as we jammed. When we made it back to his condo, we went to Cha-Cha's apartment.

"I don't think she's here, but you can get what you want. We'll take it back to my place."

I nodded my head as I ran to the kitchen.

We left Cha-Cha's apartment with two full plates and two drinks.

"Want to watch a movie?" Deonte asked me as we sat on his sofa in front of the TV.

"Yeah." I got comfortable before putting my plate on my lap.

Deonte picked up the remote and turned on the TV. "I actually been watching a lot of old movies from like the 70s and 80s. They had some really good stuff."

"Really?" I took a sip of my drink before putting it in the cup holder in the arm rest of the couch.

"Wait. I got you." Deonte lifted up my plate and pulled out a tray that was hidden in the arm rest. He put my plate on top of it.

I was in disbelief. "Where did you get this couch? I want one."

Deonte smiled, "I had it custom made. The button there turns it into a recliner."

I pressed the button and the recliner was in full effect. A.B. needs to upgrade my movie room chairs A.S.A.P.

We ended up finding a good Sylvester Stallone movie. The action was non-stop, but for some reason, I fell asleep half-way into it. It wasn't long until the sound of explosions woke me up. I opened my eyes to see an empty plate in front of me. I stretched before looking over to my left. Deonte was knocked out.

I giggled at the sight of his hand holding a fork. The man fell asleep in the middle of eating. I quickly grabbed my phone and took a picture. Okay. I took about ten of them. A few seconds later, he started to move. I tried to get back in my seat, but ended up tripping over his leg.

Deonte quickly sat-up, trying to help me. "Jamie, are you alright?"

I laughed, "Yeah..."

"What?" Deonte asked me, "Was I snoring too loud?"

"No. You fell asleep with the fork in your hand."

Deonte chuckled as he picked up his plate and pushed the tray back into the arm rest. Then, he grabbed my empty plate and took it to the kitchen.

I lied down, stretching my entire body. Yeah, I shouldn't have fallen asleep sitting-up.

Deonte smiled when he saw me. "You could've slept in the bed. I have a guestroom."

"For your girlfriends?" I teased him.

"For friends and family that are visiting," he replied.

"Riiiight." I looked at the TV and the movie credits were rolling.

Deonte turned off the TV. "What time do you have to get back?"

I picked up my phone to see the time. "It can be around midnight."

"Oh, you really want to chill."

We smiled at one another.

"I got arcade games, VR game, board games, a pool table, umm... foosball--"

I interrupted him. "I know you never get bored."

"Never. What you want to play?" He asked me.

"Everything."

Deonte didn't hesitate to take me to his game room. The place was set-up like an arcade for real. We had to have spent hours in there. Deonte looked just as interested and engaged in the games as if he were playing them for the first time, like a kid in a... You know what? I might actually need to go to the dentist.