by Lexi Reign
"Let him go. He'll be back" she said to me.
"Now, you, Jackie. I want to hate you so bad, but you are my sister and I could never hate you" my auntie said to her. My mama just stood there. She looked so weak.
"But ever since daddy touched you, you have been cold as ice," my auntie said which made me snap my neck towards my mama. Her mouth flew open and I saw nothing but shame and hurt in her face. Damn.
"You said you'd never say anything," my mama said to her.
"I'm sorry, Jackie. But this has been going on for too long. I've watched you for years hurt the people you loved because of this shame and pain you've been carrying. You have to let it go, NOW" my auntie yelled at my mama.
"WHAT," my pops asked.
"Shutup, Larenz," my moms said pushing him out of the way.
"Did that happen to you?" he asked her. Tears ran down her face.
"Yes," she said above a whisper. She met eyes with me and for once in my life, I saw emotions.
"We are family and we need this. Tell your husband how daddy touched you when you were 13 until you graduated" my auntie said as my mama broke down. She cried hysterically. I could feel nothing but pain in my heart. I turned away from my mama cause it hurt to see her like that.
"I'm sorry," my auntie said to her as she hugged her.
"No, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I caused all of this pain. I'm so sorry I slept with Turner. I'm so sorry I've lied to you all for all these years" my mama said.
I walked away from them and found Nia. She was in the living room with Lauryn. Lauryn stared at me sympathetically.
"Hey," I said to Lauryn.
"Hey," she said.
I stood there waiting for her to say something. She stood up and wrapped her arms around me.
"I'm so sorry. I love you" she whispered. I smiled and hugged her back.
"It's okay. I'm sorry, too" she said as she walked around me leaving me and Nia alone.
"I'm sorry, baby," I said to her.
"Lorenzo, don't talk to me. Your auntie was right. You cannot be with me and be friends with CJ. And no, I'm not asking you to choose between us. You need CJ more than you think. He isn't your enemy. He has your back and he loves you. So, I don't want to ruin that for you. You obviously take me for some type of joke. You basically said that our baby was his. We need a break. I need some time to figure me out. I've called an Uber and it's almost here" she said as my heart dropped.
"I don't want a break. I'm sorry, baby" I said to her as I grabbed her hand. She snatched it away.
"Lorenzo, sorry doesn't cut it. You brought me here with your family just so you can disrespect me and fuck another female. That is wrong and you lied about it continuously. I am pregnant for God's sake. But I'm done talking about this. I'm leaving" she said sternly as she stood up and drugged her suitcase towards the front door.
I looked into her eyes and saw nothing but pain. She had tears in her eyes.
"Baby, at least let me take you home. You are pregnant and don't need to be traveling alone. Anything can happen" I said.
"Whatever, Lorenzo. And I see I mean nothing to you. Today is Valentines and you haven't given me shit. I'm sure you don't even know what today is" she spat at me as my face softened. Damn, I forgot today was Valentine's Day. I really fucked up.
Everyone stared at us as she walked away from me.
"NIA" I yelled. She continued walking. She hugged my auntie, Lauryn, Olivia, Maurice, and my pops. My mama pulled her into a hug.
"I'm so sorry for all the trouble I've put you through. You are a good woman and as much as I hated to admit it, you make him better. But I understand you need time to yourself, take care of yourself and my grandbaby" my mama said to Nia. Nia wiped her eyes and hugged my mom again. Damn.
Nia looked at me and headed out the door. I followed quickly behind her.
"LORENZO, LET HER GO," my pops yelled. I looked at him crazily.
"What? How can you tell me that? I'm going with her" I said.
"Son, when a woman has made up her mind, ain't shit you can do about it. She's tired, son. Give her some time. You weren't thinking about her last night. You had a good woman and you fucked that up. You don't come across them too often" my pops said as I sighed. CJ pushed me towards the back porch.
"Man, get off of me," I said as I pushed the door open. I sat on the porch as Maurice followed us. Maurice shook his head at me.
"What," I asked.
"You just won't learn, will you? Now that girl has to travel and get on a plane by herself while she's pregnant with your child. But you too stupid to realize that" Maurice spat at me.
"Man, fuck you" I spat at him.
"No, fuck you. You always are not thinking shit through. You do whatever that makes Lorenzo happen at the moment. That woman loves you and you fucked it up. She's pregnant, Lorenzo. Do you not care that you're about to be a father in like what? 5 months? You can't keep disrespecting her" he said to me.
"Listen, I know what the fuck I did. I know it was fucked up, but I don't need you and everybody else blaming me for shit I already know" I spat at him. He threw his hands up and walked back into the house.
"What else do you have to say? Since I'm the bad guy" I asked CJ. He sighed.
"I love you, Lo, and I'm going to forever tell you right," he said.
"You are scared to fully commit to her," he said.
That is somewhat true. I have always thought the women in my life would get tired of me someday and not want to deal with me. All my life my moms have put me down. If she'll hurt me repetitively, what the fuck I expect from some female?
"What," I asked chuckling.
"Don't do that shit, Lo. You know what your problem is. I know you. In the back of your mind, you think she'll turn out to be how Jackie was. Every chance you get, you torment her by what she has done. You don't even see the burden you've been putting on her" he said. I sighed.
"CJ, I'm sorry, man," I said to him.
"I know you are, but I ain't the one that needs the apology. You can't help what's in you. You will never love her and your kid properly until you let go of that pain your moms caused" he said to me.
"Last night, I was in her room because she was about to use coke," he said.
"What," I asked. He nodded.
Where the hell does she even get it from? I thought we were past this addiction shit. Damn, man.
"She was calling you to help her," he said. I chuckled.
"She's always calling me and I never answer, but you seem to always be there," I said chuckling.
"Man, Lo" CJ started to say.
"Thank you," I said to him. He looked at me crazily.
"I don't want Nia. I can't help how much I care about her. I'm sorry I fucked you over. She's your girl and that makes her my family, though. I'll never cross that line again, but I'll always come to her rescue. It's just how it is" he added. I nodded.
"I know," I said to him as I stood up. I dapped him up and he pulled me into a hug. We squeezed each other tightly.
"I love you, man," I said to him. He chuckled.
"I know," he said chuckling.
"You want to smoke," he asked. I nodded.
"Let's take a ride," I added as we both walked around the house to the front. We hopped in my truck and sped off.
Chapter 36: Reconnections
Nia's POV
February 15th
9:45 am
I woke up to the sun shining brightly in my face. I rolled over and grabbed my phone. Once again, I have over 30 text messages from Lorenzo. I don't have the time for it. All he's going to do is lie anyways. I'm pissed at him for so many reasons. He was so caught up with fucking that bitch that he forgot yesterday was Valentine's Day. He didn't even get me anything nor tell me.
Last night, he and Vedo made it here. I thought they weren't coming back at least until this morning, but they left early. I'm sure Lorenzo just wanted to keep up with me. But last night, I slept alone. I put Lorenzo out of the room and he sleeps
in the guest room.
I haven't even been working lately because I'm pregnant, and all I have is my savings, so I didn't want to move out. I can't even stand on my feet for long without my body killing me and my ankles swelling.
BUZZZ BUZZZ
I looked down at my ringing phone to see my sister calling me. I hesitated to answer because she had all weekend at Vera's house to talk to me, and she barely said a word. Something may be wrong, though. I sighed and answered the phone.
"Hello," I asked into the phone. I heard silence, but then I started to hear a lot of shuffling.
"N-Nia, hey, it's me," she said softly into the phone.
"What's going on," I asked.
"I'm so sorry I've been mean to you and I'm sorry for what I said to you. But I need you and I want to reconnect with you. Can I please come over?" she asked as I heard her voice cracking.
"What's going on," I asked.
"I'll tell you later, please, can I come over?" she begged.
"Yeah, sure," I said to her.
"Okay, I'm on my way," she said as she hung up.
I wonder what in the hell is going on. I'm so tired of all this damn drama. I just want peace. My baby started to kick as I rubbed my stomach. It still feels so surreal knowing that I have a little person growing inside of me.
I walked into the bathroom and bathed. I scrubbed my body clean and hopped out of the shower.
I heard a knock on the door and I walked downstairs wrapped in my towel. The house was quiet, so I'm guessing Lorenzo and Vedo are out.
I peeped out the peephole and saw Naomi's hazel eyes staring back at me. I opened the door and she quickly came rushing in. She was shaking.
"What's going on," I asked.
"N-Nothing," she said as she paced back and forth.
"Naomi, I haven't talked to you in forever and the last time you were here, shit went left. So you can't be coming up in here like everything is fine" I said sternly to her as she sighed. We both sat on the couch.
"I'm so sorry I wasn't on you and Lorenzo's side. You two were good to me and I ruined it. I always ruin everything. I even ruined what Vedo and I had" she said as she dropped her head. She started to cry.
"I.. I just don't know what to do anymore. I'm so tired of fighting by myself" she cried out as I felt my heart drop. She looked as if she was really hurting. I sat next to her.
"You have to talk to me. I won't know what's wrong if you don't speak up. What are you fighting" I asked? She looked up at me and sighed.
"For years, mama has been in and out of this relationship with this guy named Robert. I didn't like him because he wasn't any good for her. He'd take all of her money and treat her like shit. He even treated me badly, but my mama always took up for him" she started to say. Isn't Robert the guy that she tried to frame Lorenzo for murdering?
"He was an addict. All he did was shoot up heroin and drink. I knew she was tired of him, but she kept feeding me lies. But she doesn't have it in her to kill anyone. She has been telling me that Lorenzo knew him" she said.
"Knew him how," I asked.
"She would always say she saw them together and how Lorenzo was angry at Robert for not paying him his money," she said. I know for a fact Lorenzo didn't know him.
"Are you sure? He didn't know him at all" I said.
"See, you don't believe me. I just don't know who to believe. Mama is in denial and it's like she's not the same person anymore. I can't trust anyone and I'm alone" she added. She wiped her eyes as more tears fell.
"I never said I didn't believe you. It's just I barely have even gotten the chance to get to know Nelle. Since I've met y'all, I haven't spent a day with her. I've gotten to know you way more" I said to her. She looked at me with a weird look in her eyes which ran chills down through my body.
"I know. Well, maybe we could all go out together. I'm excited to meet my niece or nephew" she said, smirking as she touched my belly. I nodded.
"Me, too," I said, forcing a smile.
Honestly, once the vibe is gone between me and someone, the relationship will never be the same again. It's just people always tell you exactly how they feel when they're drunk or angry. Their true colors always come out. Things will never feel the same as they used to feel between Naomi and I. Nor will they feel the same between Lauryn and me.
"Enough about me, though. How long are you and Lorenzo going to be living like this" she asked. I sighed.
"I don't know. I'm just so tired of him and his shit. It's like a cycle. We fall in love, I start to trust him, and then he goes and betrays me. I'm just over it" I said to her.
I heard a knock on the door and I looked at Naomi. She shrugged. I stood and opened the door and Lorenzo smiled at me. He looked at me from my head to my toes. I gripped my towel tighter and he and Vedo rushed past me. I could beat that smile off of his damn face.
"Wassup, sis" Vedo said to me as he rushed to the staircase.
"Put some clothes on, man" Lorenzo spat at me.
"I will. I didn't think y'all were coming back anytime soon" I said as he realized Naomi was here.
"Wassup girl," Lorenzo said to Naomi. She smiled and waved.
"Vedo," she said. He ignored her and quickly went upstairs. She had a sad look on her face.
"Don't mind him. You know he's hurt" Lorenzo said to her as he sat on the couch by her. I stared at him in disbelief.
"Can you leave?" I asked him as I squeezed past him and the coffee table. He stood up and we were standing face to face. He looked down at me and licked his lips. He grabbed my towel. I swatted his hand away.
"Can you put some clothes on?" he asked again.
"If I stayed here alone, I wouldn't have to worry about that" I mumbled.
"Well, you don't. My homeboy is living with us so I don't give a damn about what you say" he said as I walked up the steps. I heard him right on my tail.
I walked into my bedroom and grabbed some sweat pants and a t-shirt.
"Lorenzo, get out so that I can get dressed," I said to him. He chuckled.
"You serious? Girl, I've seen every inch of you. I know you inside and out. You carrying my kid. Don't play with me" he said as he sat on the bed.
"You lost that privilege when you cheated on me" I spat at him as I walked into the bathroom. He followed me.
"Lorenzo, what do you want from me? Leave me alone, please. I'm so tired" I said to him. I can't even argue with him.
"I'm sorry, baby. I was dealing with a lot. I know it's nothing I can say to change how you feel about me, but I am really sorry" he said as I stared up at him. I did see guilt and remorse, but it's not enough. He doesn't respect me. I see the same look on him that Andre used to give me when he went out and did his own thing.
"Say something," he said. I laughed.
"You don't respect me nor do I think you truly love me. You love the idea of being with me. If you respected me and really wanted to have a future with me, you would've not done anything to jeopardize our relationship. Plus, I am pregnant with your child. What? You couldn't wait" I asked him. He shook his head.
"See, that's the thing. You haven't let me touch you in months. I get that you're pregnant, but come on now. I have needs, too. You could have still given me some" he said. My mouth flew open.
"So you are really trying to say it's my fault that you cheated," I asked.
"I didn't say that," he said.
"Well, that's what you're trying to say. Whatever, Lorenzo. I don't care anymore. Do you. You're single. You can go back to Georgia and be with that hoe for all I care. Fuck you and fuck her, too" I said as I shoved him out of the bathroom and locked the door.
I felt the tears in my eyes. I took my towel off and rubbed my belly. I stared in the mirror and looked at myself. I'm so tired of putting up with people and their shit. I really have to get on my shit, so that I can move out.
Lorenzo's POV
I really feel like shit for cheating on Nia. I wish I would've never gone into the store to meet Tasia at Unio
n Day. I can never win because I'm always fucking up. I sighed and walked downstairs. Naomi was on the couch with her head down.
"You good," I asked her. She jumped and wiped her eyes.
"Yeah" she mumbled as she looked up at me. She had a weird look in her eye. She looked wild as hell.