Three Is A Crowd

by Chenell Parker

  He tried but he couldn’t let it go. Knowing that he loved Jersi with his whole heart and she didn’t feel the same way did something to him. He was happy with his family until Jersi came along and inserted herself into his marriage. Granted, he was just as guilty as she was but his feelings were genuine. Jersi played with his heart and that was unforgivable. He couldn’t eat and he barely got any sleep. He tried to bury himself in work but that didn’t do the trick anymore. Blake used to get mad when Mariah said that Jersi was the cause of all the problems in their marriage. After talking to Talena, he now agreed with her. He would never take his wife back but things probably wouldn’t have gotten so bad if it weren’t for Jersi.

  “What are you doing Blake?” Jersi asked as she threw her hands up in the air.

  “Put your keys in your purse and leave it in the car,” Blake instructed.

  “Blake, please don’t do this. I’m sorry about what happened between us but you don’t have to do this,” Jersi said as tears fell from her eyes.

  “I’m not in the mood to repeat myself Jersi,” Blake fumed.

  Jersi knew not to resist. She didn’t want to make things worse or anger him more than he already was. She dropped her keys in her purse and opened the car door slowly. She shoved her purse underneath the seat while discreetly putting her phone in her bra.

  “I did it, now what?” Jersi asked when she looked up at him.

  “Let’s go,” Blake said as he shoved her towards Mariah’s truck.

  Jersi’s heart was beating out of her chest. She didn’t know what to think but she tried to remain calm. Blake was weak as fuck but the gun that he was holding on her made him strong. He wasn’t a thug and his actions were surprising her. Jersi hadn’t heard from him in a minute so she was wondering why he was coming back around now.

  “Why are you doing this Blake? We went our separate ways a while ago. Why now?” Jersi asked as he drove. Just from the direction he was driving, she knew that he was taking her to his penthouse. She had never went back to retrieve whatever she left there and she didn’t feel the need to.

  “Why didn’t you just let me be Jersi? Why did you have to get me in my feelings again knowing that’s not what you really wanted?” Blake asked her as tears fell from his eyes.

  Jersi couldn’t believe that he was actually crying. He went from crying silent tears to actually sobbing like a baby. The shit was pathetic. A grown ass man crying over a failed relationship that should have never even happened. Truthfully, it wasn’t a relationship at all. Jersi took the blame for the part she played in everything but Blake wasn’t without fault. Mariah wasn’t so innocent as she tried to seem either.

  “You’re married Blake,” Jersi told him.

  “And you knew that shit when you agreed to be with me,” he snapped angrily as his gaze landed on the huge rock that was on her finger. “Take that shit off! You didn’t want to see mine and I don’t want to see yours.”

  “I’m sorry but things just didn’t work out between us,” Jersi said softly as she slipped off her wedding rings and put them in her pocket.

  “Yeah because you never really wanted them to. Now you’re happily married and I’m going through a bitter divorce. My life is fucked up because of you. My kids almost died and everything. I fucking loved you so much that I forget about everything and everybody else. I was a damn fool for thinking that you felt the same way. If Talena hadn’t told me the truth I would have still believed it,” Blake said making Jersi snap her head around in his direction.

  “Talena?” Jersi asked angrily.

  “Yep, she told me where you worked and everything. I’ve been following you for days. That’s a nice ass house that you live in too,” Blake noted.

  “Blake…” Jersi said before he cut her off and started talking again.

  “Imagine my surprise when I saw her in the mall and learned that you were married. You had this shit planned from the very beginning. Your intentions were to break up my marriage and you succeeded. Now, your husband is gonna feel the same pain that I feel,” Blake said as he pulled into the underground parking lot of his penthouse.

  Jersi’s anger went from one to one thousand when he said that. That bitch Talena was too quiet for a reason. She’d obviously filled Blake in on everything and she was pissed. Her own sister, although they weren’t very close, had done her dirty. Jersi was too mad to be rational. Blake had her fucked up if he thought she was going into his house to be raped or worse.

  “I’m not going in there. You can do whatever you have to do to me right now,” Jersi said defiantly.

  She wanted to grab her phone and call Memphis but she was too afraid. She was playing tough but she was scared out of her mind. When Blake reached over and slapped her across the face with the gun, Jersi screamed as blood poured from her lips.

  “The days of you calling the shots are over. For once, you’re going to do what the fuck I say do, when I say do it,” Blake snapped angrily.

  “I’m bleeding,” Jersi cried as her hand covered her bloody mouth.

  “You’ll live. As stupid as it may sound, I’m still as in love with you now as I was before. Dumb huh?” Blake asked as he laugh sarcastically. He went from one extreme to the next. He was just crying, now, he was laughing like a damn fool.

  “Blake, please,” Jersi begged.

  “I need your husband’s phone number too. When I make the video of us fucking, I need to know where to send it to,” Blake said as he pulled her across the seat and got out of the car. He had the nerve to grab some paper towels and wipe the blood from her mouth.

  “How long do you think you can keep me here Blake?” Jersi asked him.

  “For as long as I want to. I took some time off from work just to spend with you. I missed you Jersi. I miss the way you smell and the way you taste. I just miss everything about you,” Blake said as he pulled her close and sniffed her hair.

  “This is never going to work. I already told my husband that I was on my way home. He’s going to be looking for me,” Jersi noted.

  “Not after I send him a few pictures and videos. When he calls your phone, I’ll answer it the same way you answered mine. Once I tell him that you’re with me, he won’t even want your ass no more. We’ll both be divorced,” Blake laughed as Jersi’s heart dropped.

  He pulled Jersi towards the elevators and pressed the button to go up. She looked around nervously, praying that someone would walk up. Luck wasn’t on her side that day though. Blake pulled her onto the elevator and inserted the key for his penthouse inside. As the elevator went up, Jersi was thinking of ways to get out of the situation that she was in. She honestly didn’t think that Blake would kill her. Still, he had too much to lose to even be doing what he was doing now. The thought of having sex with him caused bile to rise up in her throat. She would die if Memphis ever had to see something like that. He probably wouldn’t even believe that she was being forced to do it against her will.

  When they got to the penthouse floor, Jersi was ready to start begging. Blake had the gun pointed at her side and he seemed ready to use it. As soon as the doors opened and they stepped inside, Jersi’s words got caught in her throat. Mariah was standing there with a gun aimed at them both. Jersi dropped down to the floor just in time before shots rang out. The gun that Blake was holding fell to the floor and she quickly snatched it up and ran.

  “I guess my timing was perfect,” Mariah said as he continued to fire her gun.

  Jersi ran into one of the hallway closets, gripping the gun in her hands. It felt like she was in a horror movie where the actors hid and waited for the killer to find them. She counted in her head, trying to get her nerves together. She was hoping that the time that she and Dray spent at the shooting range with their father paid off. Remembering what she’d been taught, Jersi removed the clip from the gun to see how many bullets were inside.

  “The fuck,” she whispered when she saw that the gun wasn’t even loaded.

  Jersi was pissed that Blake’s punk as
s had the nerve to kidnap her with an empty gun. Had she known that, she would have tried to box it out with his bitch ass in the grocery store parking lot. Now, she was stuck in the house with his crazy ass wife. She knew without a doubt that Mariah would blow her brains out and not think twice about it. Remembering that she had her phone, Jersi frantically sent Memphis a text. Calling the police was probably pointless because she couldn’t explain to them exactly where she was. They could have found the property with little effort but getting to the penthouse wasn’t as easy. She couldn’t run the risk of calling anyone and having Mariah follow the sound of her voice. Hopefully, Memphis would be able to make the call for her. He was always joking saying that he was going to track her phone. Now, Jersi was hoping and praying that he did.

  M emphis paced the floor as he called Jersi’s phone for the fifth time. Over an hour had passed and she still wasn’t home. He’d called Ariel and Dray and they both said the same thing. They talked to her earlier but she wasn’t answering for them either. Memphis felt like a sitting duck but he couldn’t just sit back and do nothing. He threw on some sweats, a tee and some shoes before walking out of his house. When his phone rang, he got excited thinking that it night be Jersi. When he saw that it was Dray instead, he was still happy, hoping that he’d heard something.

  “What’s good Dray?” Memphis answered as he got into his truck.

  “Something is wrong Memphis. I just got my friend to drive me to the Whole Foods where you said Jersi went,” Dray said making his heart drop.

  Damien had just showed up at Dray’s house when he told him what was going on and asked him to bring him to the store. Memphis was kicking himself for not thinking of that first. He wasn’t good at using his head when he was under pressure.

  “What happened?” Memphis asked his brother-in-law.

  “Jersi’s car is here but she’s not. We searched the store and she’s not in there either,” Dray noted. He was calm and that gave Memphis a little hope. He knew that Dray could be dramatic at times, especially when it came to Jersi. That gave him a little hope.

  “Where the hell could she be?” Memphis questioned.

  “I don’t know but I’m about to lose the little mind that I have left. Her car was unlocked and her grocery bags are inside. Her purse was under her seat and her keys were still inside. Lord, I’m about to start hyperventilating. Something happened to my sister,” Dray yelled.

  It was then that Memphis realized that he’d spoken too soon. Dray was having a full blow panic attack and he didn’t have time for that. He felt sick to his stomach and he didn’t know what to do. The thought of something happening to Jersi had him physically ill. He didn’t even want to entertain the idea of possibly losing another wife. Just the thought of it was too much to bear. Tears filled his eyes but he had to be strong. Finding his wife alive and well was his main concern. Nothing else mattered to him at the moment.

  “Calm down bruh. Look, drive her car to our house. I’m about to go ride around and try to find her,” Memphis said, not even knowing where to start.

  “Okay, okay,” Dray said nervously.

  He was going on and on about what could have possibly happened but he was following Memphis’ instructions. When a text came through on Memphis’ phone, he got excited seeing that it was from Jersi. His excitement didn’t last long when he read what the message said. It was short and to the point but something was definitely wrong. Jersi sent him an address and said to send help in all caps.

  “Fuck!” Memphis barked. The address that Jersi sent him was in the downtown area and it was always busy. He didn’t give a damn though. He would leave his truck in traffic and get to his wife on foot if he had to.

  “What’s wrong?” Dray asked him.

  “Jersi just sent me a text with an address asking for help. I’m on my way to her now,” Memphis replied.

  “Oh my God! Maybe we should call the police and let them handle it,” Dray panicked.

  “You can call the police if you want to. I’m not waiting on them to go see about my wife,” Memphis replied.

  “Send me the address. I’m gonna meet you there and I’ll send the police too,” Dray said before he hung up. He called Damien and told him to follow him as soon as Memphis sent over the address. He didn’t know what was up and they needed all the backup they could get.

  “Damn man,” Memphis raged as he pounded the steering wheel.

  He didn’t know what was going on and he hated walking into a situation blindly. To make sure that his wife was okay, he was willing to do anything. A thousand thoughts were running through his mind and he didn’t know what to think. He didn’t know of anyone who had a problem with Jersi. She hadn’t heard from her ex or his wife in a while and they were the only ones that she had problems with in the past. Memphis was breaking the speed limit trying to get to his destination. He felt like God was on his side because traffic was light. He almost got into two accidents because he disregarded all lights and stop signs. When he pulled up in front of the building, he got even more confused. It was some lavish apartments with penthouses up top. Still, Memphis didn’t have time to stall. He grabbed the gun from under his seat and ran towards the underground garage that was attached to the building.

  “I’m not even about to waste my time looking for your hoe ass. There’s only one way in and one way out of here. Your only way out is a body bag though,” Mariah said as she sniffed the coke that she’d just sprinkled on her hand.

  Jersi was still perched in her hiding place in the closet, scared to even breath. There was no need for her to wonder where Blake was because she was sure that he was dead. He hadn’t said a word since they stepped off the elevator and that was all the proof that she needed.

  “Crazy thing is, I wasn’t even coming here for you. I thought y’all had stopped fucking around. Imagine my surprise when your black ass stepped off the elevator with him. A two for one special,” Mariah said as she sniffed a little more before reloading the gun.

  Jersi didn’t cry. She was too numb to feel anything. She was baffled as to how a simple trip to the grocery store had turned into a kidnaping and murder. As much as she hated Blake, she didn’t want to see him dead. Fucked up maybe but killing him was extreme. Had she known that he was threatening her with an empty gun, she would have made a run for it when he first approached her.

  “You know, Blake was so in love with you that I started questioning myself. Bitches out here bleaching their skin and shit and I was thinking of ways to make mine darker. This muthafucker had me thinking that something was wrong with me. I don’t know what the fuck you did to his ass but I couldn’t compete,” Mariah said while pinching her nose.

  “Crazy bitch,” Jersi mumbled to herself.

  Mariah was cracking up and she didn’t know what was funny. She was saying all kinds of crazy shit that made no sense. Jersi knew that Blake was dead but she was even talking to him. It felt like she’d been stuck in that closet for hours but not much time has passed. She was thankful that her phone was on vibrate because she didn’t need it to ring. She wanted to run but Mariah was right. There was only one way in and one way out. Jersi didn’t even have the elevator key, so she was really stuck. She prayed that Memphis got her message and was sending her some help.

  “I don’t have no job, no man and no life, so I got time bitch. We can stay here as long as you want to. Just know that you ain’t leaving up out of here alive,” Mariah assured her.

  She got her father to bring her to the pawn shop to get some money for her jewelry. The first thing Mariah did was catch a cab to the place where Damien used to hang out at to get some coke. She knew that she was taking a chance on running into him by going in his old neighborhood but she didn’t care. Once she got back to Tabby’s house she laid around for a little while thinking about what her life had become. She got emotional and called Blake on some reminiscing type shit. He went off on her and had the nerve to get pissed because he forgot to have her cell phone disconnected. Mariah didn
’t think it was that serious but he showed her. When she tried to make a call a few minutes later, she learned that the phone had been turned off.

  Mariah was livid. She remembered the key and all the information that she’d retrieved from his phone and became curious. Marvin always kept his gun and ammunition in a shoe box at the top of his closet and Mariah wasted no time going to get it. She caught a cab to the address and figured that it had to be the hideaway that he had for Jersi. It took her a while to figure out that the key was for the elevator but she was pissed when she stepped into the house. That nigga was fucking Jersi in style. The penthouse looked like something straight out of a magazine. Jersi had clothes, shoes and whatever else she needed to be comfortable there. Mariah was hurt. It was as if she’d learned of Blake’s infidelity all over again. He was treating his side bitch like royalty and treated her like the help. She started to leave before he got home but she quickly changed her mind. She wanted his bitch ass to come home and face her like a man. He had a whole other place to live but he made sure that she was homeless. Mariah only intended to talk to him at first. When he showed up with Jersi on his arm, things got kind of ugly.