Newport News, VA
Mama Said Knock You Out by LLCoolJ
Tues. Dec. 14th, 3:45PM
"Deal or No Deal"
🏀

"I'm so glad your windows are tinted 'cause if someone sees me like this they'll call the cops immediately!" Dess emphasized while smoothing out the blindfold over her eyes.

Shai chuckled at the comment, yet thought the same. Any random looking in the car would think she was getting kidnapped or something else illegal was taking place right before their eyes. That's why he kept the windows up and tried to avoid as many stops as he could. Thankfully, where they were heading didn't require many, so he didn't have to worry. He made a left and entered the neighborhood that was filled with spaced out two story homes and their football field front and backyards.

He drove all the way to the end, coming across the End of the Road sign, and pulled into the long driveway of the white and black home. Dess felt the car come to a complete stop and knew they were at their destination. She had no idea where they were but was still thrilled to find out.

"Alright, I'm coming." Shai told her after cutting the car off. He got out and hurried to the passenger side to help Dess out.

"Are you going to tell me where we are?" She asked, reaching her hand behind her head. Shai moved it to keep her from taking the blindfold off. Seeing her smile turn upside down made him peck her lips. He didn't need her to be sad. Not even remotely close to it as this was far from a sorrowful moment.

"Relax. Come on." He said. He held her hand tightly and led her up the driveway to the house. He informed her to take her time as they went up the stairs then entered the home.

He guided her down the cleared hallway. "We're almost there." He reached the open kitchen and stopped. He let go of her hand and reached inside his pocket, taking out the key. He held it behind his back and was ready for her to finally see what he's been silently working on.

"Okay, you can take your blindfold off." He instructed.

Dess reached for her face and slide the blindfold off her eyes. She blinked a couple times to clear her vision first then scanned the place she was in. Shai stood there on edge while he waited for a response from her. He could receive a good or bad reaction, so he prepared himself for either one. Desperately, he wanted her to be happy about the place. He had dropped a lot of money so they could have a home they can call their own. He was already beginning his husband duties. He wanted this first move to set the tone for everything else to come. He had a lot coming for them.

"This is beautiful." Dess finally expressed.

She continued scanning the area, taking note of the two open spaces near the kitchen. The large windows letting in plenty of sunlight. The grey tiled flooring that matched the white and marbled countertops and cabinets. The island with a built in stove top and an oven light over it. The style of the home was similar to the ones she seen in movies. Clean, spacious, easy to navigate through. As she kept looking around, she had began thinking of how she would design the home. But something made her stop and abruptly turned back to Shai.

"Umm, whose house is this?" She curiously asked, becoming worried that they weren't supposed to be here.

They had went on a house tour just the other day and the homeowners showed up to shut it down. It was embarrassing, so she was hoping it wasn't a part two. Luckily, she didn't have to worry about anyone coming to kick them out. Shai was thankful she asked that specific question too. He was itching to tell her.

Moving his hand from behind his back, he held the key in front of her face. "This is our home." He told her.

Shocked, Dess looked past the keys and made eye contact with him. She searched in his eyes, deeply, for something. She wasn't entirely certain what she was looking for. Maybe a sign that he was joking around and lying. This was too good to be true so struggled to believe it. However, his hand never reached for his hair and he maintained eye contact with her. They had a short nonverbal conversation, Dess squinted her eyes and Shai nodding his head to confirm. She looked back at the key dangling in her face.

Her house key. With slight hesitation, she reached for the key and rubbed her thumb against it to feel if it was real. Her reaction may have been dramatic to some degree. She didn't know what to say. No words could describe how thrilled she was feeling knowing she had her own home. But a part of her needed the reassurance.

"Is this real?" She questioned. She was in need for confirmation that she wasn't dreaming. She had a feeling she was which caused her to be skeptical. Shai chuckled then stepped closer to her. He rested his hand on top of hers that was holding the key.

"This is real." He confirmed to ease her mind.

"What—when did you do it?" Several thoughts ran through her mind. She mainly wondered when he had enough time to do all of this without her knowing.

"Well, this technically wasn't the house I showed you at our picnic. Someone bought that already. I seen this one while we were at your dad's and really liked it. So, I talked to the realtor about it and we came to an agreement. I payed for it, straight cash, on Monday." He explained.

"What about the house yes-"

"Unimportant." He cut her off. "I only took you so I could have you distracted while I finalize everything with the realtor."

Dess suck her teeth and shoved his chest. "I felt so embarrassed when the family came back to the house." She admitted.

"Sorry. I didn't expect them to show up. Doesn't matter though since we have our own home now. Paid for completely." He made known once again. No janky mortgage for them to be stressed over. It was all theirs , every square inch.

"So, this is all ours?" Dess asked, looking around the space again. Shai hummed, putting his arms around her.

"This is all ours baby." He answered while rubbing her ass. Dess couldn't believe her eyes so she wasn't concerned about him feeling her up. It helped calmed her though and made the sexual tension present itself.

"That means no more crowed spaces. No more shared bathrooms. No more annoying roommates. No more fees, dorm meetings, lockouts, id checks." Dess expressed cheerfulness going through all the mishaps she didn't have to deal with.

"No more of that." Shai mumbled.

He wasn't listening entirely since he was busy being mesmerized over her. He licked his lips thinking of all the things he wanted to do to her in their new home. No furniture wasn't going to stop them from having fun. They might as well get a head start on their honeymoon and what better way than in their new kitchen. Dess turned back and seen the way he was staring at her. She playfully rolled her eyes since she knew he wasn't listening.

She grabbed his chin and squished his cheeks. "You're not even listening." She joked.

"I'm listening. I'm definitely listening." He slowly responded, gazing closely at her lips.

That two-tone lip combo she had done was making him want her plump lips touching every body part of his. Just kissing them would turn him on more than he already was. Dess rolled her eyes again. She rested her hands on his chest, upturning her head a bit to look at him. She couldn't blame him for staring, she found herself doing the same. She bit her lip, admiring the sexiness of her husband. Now, that they were back in town, in their own home, Dess couldn't help but want to be all over him like never before. She slide her hands up his chest and threw her arms around his neck.

"I'd like to thank you for buying me this beautiful home baby." She thanked him, cutting her eyes to his lips every so often. The temptation of wanting to kiss came through. Shai felt it too and wanted to speed up the process.

He caught Dess off guard when he lifted her feet off the floor and sat her on the island. Giggles escaped from her mouth as Shai kissed down her jawline to her neck. Her giggles shifted to low moans when he hit her spot on her neck. Her bottom lip went in between her teeth, her moans raising in octave slightly as Shai rubbed her vagina. She leaned back on one hand while the other grabbed his arm.

Life couldn't be any better.

🏀

Hampton University

The boys entered the locker room together, quiet as a mouse unlike how they were before their game. Tonight marked their first embarrassing loss of the season against their rivals, Howard University or the real HU as they like to claim. The amount of trash talking both teams been doing, it was the moment for them to put money where their mouth was. Unfortunately, all the talk Hampton doesn't went out the door soon as they touched the court. The ending score 110 to 22. Things were only going to get worst.

"Alright, let's talk." Danny Adams spoke once he was in the room.

Shai stood at his locker and started changing his clothes. Listening to Adams after game speech was a no-go for him. He was exhausted from playing the entire game with no breaks besides halftime. The team was down two players leaving Shai and Dustin to carry. They were the only two who had the most points, their points averaged out to forty. So, whatever Adams wanted to speak on went for everyone else and not him.

"Tonight was a rough night and it shouldn't have been. I'm steady asking myself what more needs to be done and at this point I'm lost. There's no reason for us to lose by that much when we practice every damn day. It's ridiculous!" Adams yelled while he banged his hand against the locker.

The effect he thought it might have on the team didn't work. None of the boys were listening to him speak. The main reason why they were struggling at every game. Shai being among them as he was texting Dess that he'll be out soon.

"We speak on this every time, so there's no reason why we're struggling to reciprocate that on the court. Does anyone have the answer to that?" Danny asked, searching around the room for a response from one of the players.

Nothing.

"I have an answer!" Heads turned to face the person who spoke. Shamar. His voice of concern invalid since he didn't play. Yet, his comment was hardly on topic.

"Shamar, not now." Danny held his hand up and shook his head to get him to not talk. Shamar ignored him. He moved from his spot and walked in between the boys, going straight to Shai.

Getting close made Shai raise his head off the floor. He finished tying his shoes and stood up. His trouble alert going off. Deep down, specifically after their conversation, Shai had a feeling their deal wouldn't last. It was something about Shamar, maybe his brain, that struggled to understand and comprehend what's being said. Knowing that this day was coming, Shai prepared himself for what's to come.

Chaos.

"Wassup," Shai nicely said. His approach different from other unpleasant interactions with Shamar.

"Wassup?" Shamar responded in a question form. His face scrunched up leaving Shai unbothered. He was going to avoid a potential fight or argument. It wasn't up his speed this evening.

"What's good with you? Why you so close?" Shai questioned with a chuckle. He didn't mean for it to come out but he was finding the staring to be funny.

"What's so funny?" Shamar offensively asked. His biggest pet peeve was people laughing in his face. Considering this was a serious matter, Shai laughing really set him off.

Shai shrugged, a couple chuckles coming from him. "Ion know man. You're in my face serious as hell. Back up." He told him. He extended his hand out as he got ready to lightly move Shamar back. However, Shamar didn't take the sudden movement kindly, and smacked Shai's hand away.

"Now, why?" Shai mood shifted. Clearly, staying calm and collected wouldn't get him anywhere. He didn't want to fight. He wasn't in the mood. But Shamar had other plans and that was the problem.

"You wanna know why? Because of that evil woman you call a mother. That's why!" Shamar angrily expressed.

"Whatever issue you and Allison have going on doesn't concern me. You talking to the wrong person." Shai quickly shut down. He scoffed, taking Shamar as a joke. That only made the young man more pissed.

"It does concern you asshole. That woman said the most disgustingly vile thing to me that no mother should say to their child." Shamar went on.

His voice cracked as he gained emotional thinking back to Allison's comment. It had him looking at life differently. His biological mother didn't want him alive and the mother he's been around was worrying about her new child. There were already talks of his room turning into a nursery. Where he'd be sleeping didn't seem much of a concern to Robin. All of this was happening and he couldn't take it. He had anger and hurt buried inside him that needed to be release. He had no one else to put it on that'll care enough to react other than Shai.

"Ion know what you want me to do about that homie. Talk to her, not me about it." Shai shrugged it off. He leaned down for his bag but Shamar kicked it over.

Shai blew out an annoyed breath then his attention fell on the coaches, specifically Danny. "Yo, can y'all get him? Like I'm tryna leave and I'm not about to fuss and fight over nothing." He called out for help from the adults in the room.

The ones who were supposed to monitor each player and keep a cohesive and positive team, as Danny Adams likes to preach. As of right now, his words were just that, words. Lies. Defamation. A bunch of nothingness combined together to make it seem like he had everything under control. But to everyone's knowledge, even Adams himself, he no longer had respect amongst this team. Or the power to keep them under wraps and behaving like adults. He had lost, so he didn't help. As expected.

"Nah, don't ask for help. You can handle your own. Ain't that what you always say? You don't need nobody?" Shamar remarked, bringing Shai back to him.

Shai rolled his eyes. "Man, I'm not about to do this with you. You're mad about shit that has nothing to do with me. Take that somewhere else." He shooed his off. He reached for his bag and this time was able to grab it. He got ready to walk around Shamar, ending this forced conversation, but Shamar stepped in front of him.

"You wanna know what your mother said to me?" Shamar questioned.

"I really don't care." Shai stayed. He attempted to move around him again and Shamar didn't allow it. He refused to try it for the third time. Instead, he rested his bag back on the floor and got ready for what's to come. But no matter how prepared he could get, Shamar was unexpected and he hated that.

"She said she rather I was dead." Shamar said anyway.

"Tragic." Shai nonchalantly spoke. That comment was incomparable to what he experienced throughout his life. He understood why Shamar was upset but it was nothing to what he experienced. He didn't feel the need to explain either.

"Do you know how much that hurts hearing your own mother tell you that she wants you dead? She went get the chance to get to know me and she wanted me dead the moment I was born. Do you know how hard it is to hear that?" Tears welled up in Shamar eyes that eventually fell.

Shai wasn't paying attention, he was avoiding all eye contact as he didn't care. His entire life was spent with being abused and hit by his mother. All Allison did was make a comment at him which was nothing new of her. However, Shai not looking and giving Shamar the attention made his blood boil. Shamar shoved Shai's chest hard making his back hit the locker. It felt like a defibrillator, that electric charge to the heart bringing life back to Shai. It also set him off and a conversation was lack of.

"Don't put your hands on me." Shai said while shoving Shamar back.

His head unclear and his emotions running high, Shamar swung the first punch and hit Shai in the face. Though it didn't hurt, it sent Shai into attack mode. He gripped Shamar up and attempted to swipe him onto the floor. That only made them both fall, Shai on top and Shamar squirming to get him off. Shai was ready to attack, one hand balled into a fist while the other wrapped around Shamar's neck to keep him down. He threw one strong and hard punch to Shamar's face, and that was all.

His hoodie was pulled by multiple people to get him off Shamar. One of the boys grabbed a hold of his arm to keep him from hitting. Everyone, who were previously sitting and watching it go down, were now up and trying to intervene. At the most inconvenient time. Aggressively, Shai was moved completely off and Shamar was escorted out the locker room, screaming curse words at him. Out of anger, Shai found himself chuckling. If anyone thought he was going to let it go then they were wrong.

Extremely wrong.

"Let me go," he said to whoever was holding him.

He didn't wait for them to move and pushed their hands off him instead. He got ready to chase after Shamar to finish what he had started. That ridiculous deal they agreed upon was out the door now. He tried to be reasonable. He tried to be the bigger person. He tried to keep the peace and it was as if Shamar's frontal lobe was destroyed, stopping him from thinking clearly on his decisions. Shai didn't care anymore. He was done having to be the peacemaker and nice to people who didn't deserve it. He took this as his sign and he wasn't letting it slide.

As he got ready to exit the locker room, Maxwell and Danny blocked the way. "Calm down." Danny told him, keeping him back.

"Stop touching me." Shai told him, smacking Danny hands off him.

"I said calm down!" Danny raised his voice.

"Nah, fuck that!" Shai shouted back. "I told y'all to get the nigga away from me cause I didn't want to fight and y'all sat there. Now, I'm livid and imma fucking kill him. Get out my way!"

"You're not killing anyone, so stop the yapping!" Danny told him.

Shai scoffed at being underestimated. Mister nice guy been around plenty of guys who were troublemakers and could handle business. He played ball with them throughout the summer and grew up in close proximity of them. He heard the stories and seen the aftermath of the events. The only thing he didn't do was watch in person but that's what crime documentaries were for. And he watched them often with Dess late at night. No matter who you were, everyone was capable of doing evil deeds. They just had to be pushed to that point.

He had reached it.

"Move out my way man." Shai repeated, moving Danny hands away.

"I'm not moving anywhere and watch your hands." Danny warned, pointing his finger at Shai.

Shai eyes widened then he started laughing. "Yo, Adams, fuck you for real. Like I'm not even fucking kidding around anymore cause y'all starting to piss me. You doing the same shit I told you about again, protecting this nigga like he innocent. Fuck out my face!" He ended it there with Adams since Maxwell came to assist.

Having the chance, Shai stormed out the locker room into the gym. There were still people in the stands and lingering around. His heart beat twice as fast, his eyes scanning the gym to find Shamar. He didn't have to do much searching because he heard his voice. Shai's head snapped in his direction and he seen Shamar and Logan talking. He was past the talking stage and was on-go. Rightfully so. He hurried in the direction of the two, the conversation ending once Shamar seen Shai approaching.

"Don't touch me." Shamar frighteningly told him.

He repositioned himself behind Logan and used it him as a shield. That didn't stop Shai as he thought it would. Shai swung around Logan and punched Shamar in the face. The hit was powerful and made him fall back on the bleachers. The loud bang made everyone in the gym look over and reactions were quick with people coming to intervene. That meant nothing to Shai. Even with Shamar stuck in the bleachers scrunched up, Shai went on and threw several punches at him. He hit his sides, his ribs, his guts, and his face once Shamar moved his hands to his body.

Each hit connecting and hurting harder than the last. Shai heard the whimpers and cries from Shamar for him to stop. The people around who were trying to separate the two of them and telling him to stop as well. Shai refused. He already seen the blood that Shamar was producing and getting worse after each hit. There was no way he was stopping when he was right there. Close to the finish line of external glory where Shamar was no longer around to bother him.

And just as he got ready to cross the finish line, he was snatched away harshly and thrown to the floor. He seen a huge crowd had surround them. More Hampton police storming inside to gain control of the situation. Staff and everyone else trying to see if Shamar was alright. His face bloody and his breathing had slowed. Shai wasn't concerned with all of that. He stood up with quickness and tried to go for Shamar again. He was stopped by two men who guarded him football players protecting their quarterback.

"Bro, move." Shai told them.

He tried pushing them away but they barely moved an inch. They continued blocking him like their lives depended on it. That only annoyed him more as he despised when people tried to save the aggressor. He also seen his opportunity to finish what he started being ripped from him. Shamar was receiving assistance off the bleachers and behind held up as several people followed behind him. Shai refused for him to leave out. Once he s adamant on harming someone, that's all his mind will be on until it gets done.

"Bro, move." Shai calmly told the men again. They ignored him and stayed put. They were only making it worse as Shai blood began to boil. All of the anger that was rising would essentially be put on them if they didn't let him go.

He tried walking around them and they both blocked his way. Holding their hands out to keep him away and calming him down. He wasn't focused on them as his attention stayed on Shamar. He was stumbling even with people helping him walk. He was still in the gym and that's all Shai was concerned about. He pushed the men away from him and ran straight to the bleachers. He hoped on them and ran to the other end faster than he has ever done before. There was a large group standing by the door, some people trying to get in to see and others trying to leave.

Having the perfect view, Shai scanned the group for Shamar. Once he had his eyes locked on him, he jumped off the bleachers onto the court floor ready to go again. He was stopped even before he could an inch by the university officer. He held him back while his peers got the crowd to disperse. No more recording or watching in amazement for everyone. Luckily, Shai wasn't doing this for the attention from his classmates or out of enjoyment for fighting. He didn't have the energy of time to explain that either.

"Everyone out now!" An officer shouted. It distracted the officer that was holding Shai which made him think he was clear.

Shai smacked the officers hands that was on his torso and attempted to bypass him. He thought he was quick but the officer was quicker. The man grabbed his shirt from behind and pulled him back. Shai pushed away the officer hands as another failed attempt to move around him came and went. He did it once more and the officer wrapped his arms around him, carrying him away.

"Yo, come on! Let me get this nigga!" Shai yelled, smacking his hands together in irritation. The officer rested him on the floor and Shai made an effort to do a fast break believing the officer would loosen his grip. He didn't and even tightened his arms around Shai.

"Let me fucking go!" He cursed loudly, squirming to get out. The officer held him tight and refused to let him go. Shai fought and cursed. His anger reaching a point where he was getting emotional. He was throwing a fit and it only got worse the longer the officer held him with refusal of letting him go

"Let me go!" Shai shrieked with a noticeable voice crack. At any moment he would break down with all this built up anger. Everyone would interpret it differently than what it really is. More importantly, he refused to be looked at as weak for crying. He held it together and thankfully he had a savior.

"Matt, let him go." Gabe's voice was strong, deep, and demanding. It was also the only one that the officer would listen to. Shai was let go and it took all of him to not swing on the officer. But Gabe quickly went into protective mode and moved Shai back until they reached the bleachers.

"Sit down." Gabe demanded.

"I'm not-"

"Sit down!" Gabe raised his voice.

Shai may have sat but he couldn't stop his fidgeting. His leg shaking and his thumbs tapping together. His mind was still on catching Shamar and that thought wasn't leaving. He refused for this to be prolonged to the next day or next month. When he said he was going to end it now then he was going to do exactly that. Gabe noticed his leg stopped shaking and knew what was to come. Shai shot up and Gabe forced him to sit down.

"Cut it out." He told him. His hand on his shoulder to keep him seated.

"Gabe, let me up man. Like seriously let me up." Shai said, going for it and Gabe forcing him down.

"I said to cut it out, Shai. There's a lot going on and you need to calm down."

"Fuck, calming down!" Shai couldn't help but shout at him. "That nigga literally started all this shit because his bitch ass feelings are hurt. Im going to fucking kill him and I mean that shit."

"You're not killing anyone."

"But I am though, and I don't know why y'all think otherwise. Like I'm really going to murder him." Shai seriously said. Not a single smile or laugher came out of him. He no longer cared.

Gabe believed him entirely. He didn't want to say it though since he knew all Shai needed was approval and he was on-go. He was trying to diffuse the situation while also understanding about his feelings. As of right now, Gabe wasn't sure if he could get through to him.

"Shai-"

"I seriously don't wanna hear anything unless it's you telling me I can get him. Anything other than that is irrelevant to me." Shai interrupted.

His attention went towards the doors that began to clear from the crowd that was there. And where he seen Dess scanning the gym. He got himself together, wiping his face and taking deep breaths to rest his racing heart. They were having a good day before all of this so the last thing he wanted was her to sit and stress about what had happened.

"Shai." Gabe called his name to get his attention. Shai looked at him seeing Dess coming in the corner of his eye.

"What happened?" Gabe questioned. "And I want you to be civilized and leave the cursing somewhere else."

Shai sighed, wiping the sweat off his forehead. Dess was near them now and he decided to explain. "I was in the locker room after that stupid lost when that imbecile came in. He started talking about Allison and how she told him that she wants him dead. Shit that has nothing to deal with me, and yet he felt the need to target me. And I literally told Danny and everyone else that I did not want to fight and to get him away from me. But they all sat there until I got over him and was about to beat his face in."

"And how did it end up out here?" Gabe asked, waving his hand to reference the commotion.

"I came out here and started fucking him up on the bleachers. I told you I'm going to kill him and I mean that." Shai repeated.

Normally, he wouldn't speak such vile words in front of Dess but needed everyone to know that this wasn't over. It was only getting started. After saying it, he noticed Dess frowning at him. Those weren't words she wanted to hear at the moment. Anything related to death didn't sit right in her spirit, especially with what she had going on with her dad. She said nothing about it and did her best to keep her thoughts from becoming negative.

"You need to stop saying that. I understand your frustration but saying you're going to kill someone is unacceptable." Gabe expressed to him.

Shai pointed towards the locker, "Him hitting me is unacceptable, the fuck? I did nothing to his bitch ass. But since he's so upset at my mom's comment then imma make it a reality for him. It's simple to understand." He snapped.

"You're not killing him."

"I'm going to: if not right now then I'll pull up to his house and interrupt his parents sleep with new blood red wallpapers. I did nothing to him. I made a deal to keep cool and us not having any problems. He started me and I'm going to finish it. I don't give a fuck." Shai nonchalantly said with a shrug.

"Do you hear yourself? Like seriously, do you hear what you're saying? You're talking about killing someone and you know that's not who you are. I get that you're angry right now with what happened and that's understandable. But I'm not allowing you to throw your entirely life-"

"I'm not throwing-"

"Stop talking." Gabe held his hand and Shai chose to do as told. "I need you to listen to comprehend and not to respond. I've seen several young men your age who end up in prison because of murder. You want that? You want to throw your entire life away for a kid like Shamar who's searching for attention? You're smarter than that, Shai, and you know it. I refuse for you to go down and ruin your entire life. You just got married and you want to ruin that?"

Shai looked at Dess, the sorrowful look on her face made him feel bad. He couldn't stare for long and went back to looking at Gabe.

"Exactly. You need to get it together, Shai. You don't have to do it for me, but do it for yourself and Dess. Shamar is an asshole, everyone knows that. Shamar is a troublemaker, everyone knows that as well. Shamar is not a likable person and everyone knows that. I do not like him but I don't want you thinking I'm trying to protect him like everyone else. I'm protecting you and your future. You go to that boys house...you commit a crime...you get arrested, you might as well kiss your entire life goodbye. You don't want that and others around you don't want that. Get. It. Together." Gabe emphasized for him to get it through his head.

Shai kept his comment to himself but agreed with what he was saying. He cut his eye back at Dess seeing how standoffish she was currently. He reached for her hand and pulled her towards him. She went with ease and rested her arm on his shoulder, Shai wrapping his arm around her. Seeing the sight made Gabe's point more clear.

"That is not the life you want to fall into. Recently my job has been more than to assuring your mental health is properly taken care of. It's to also assure that you get to live out the rest of your days without the constant pain from trauma. I need you to let this go and let someone else handle it."

"I don't trust-"

"You can trust me." Gabe stopped his comment. He rested his hand on his chest and pat it. "I will handle it. But I'll only do it if you let it go and let me. Okay?"

Hesitation came from Shai. He figured Gabe would be helpful but he wanted to do things on his own. Shamar was his problem and if he wasn't the one to get him together, he knew Shamar would keep coming at him. He already had a plan. All he had to do was execute it. Yet at the same time, this was already becoming draining. His head had worsen, his knuckles were bleeding, and he had a feeling Shamar was already gone. There was only one other option.

Shai looked up at Dess then nodded. "Yeah, that's fine." He gave in and agreed, despite not wanting to. He had no other choice honestly due to circumstances.

"Thank you. Now, go home. Stay off campus tonight and tomorrow. I'll speak to your professors and explain. Are we good?" Gabe asked for confirmation.

"Yeah, I'm good." Shai forced himself to respond. His inner thoughts felt differently.

"Good. Go home. I'll talk to you tomorrow." Gabe said to Dess. He gave Shai one last concerning look before walking away.

Shai blew out an exhausted breath, his head titling to look at Dess. "I'm sorry." He felt the need to apologize for his actions. Dess did a tight lip smile while rubbing his cheek, saying nothing.

He knew deep down this wasn't over.

🏀

Thoughts?