This Could Be Us But You Playin' 2

by Cachet

  The robbers must have thought he was lying because while one kept his pistol aimed at Dwight, the other snatched his girlfriend out of the bed and started to rough her up. As she laid on the floor bleeding from the beating she received, one of the guys threatened to blow her head off if Dwight didn’t show him where he kept the dough. He pleaded with them to believe him, and even offered to drive them to the ATM to withdraw some money for them. That wasn’t good enough apparently, because moments later, the guy who was holding Dwight shot his girlfriend in the back of the head, before pumping four slugs into his chest. Dwight was able to tell the officers what happened until he went into cardiac arrest and died soon after. His girlfriend was laying in the hospital in critical condition. It wasn’t looking good for her, and they weren’t sure if she was going to make it.

  Seeing Deondre cry tugged at Shanice’s heart. Gone was the man who always acted like nothing ever bothered him. His hard exterior had transformed into something way more gentle. He looked so vulnerable and weak for the very first time since she’d known him. In the back of Shanice’s mind, she wondered where Dominique was. She was who Deondre ran to when things weren’t right, so why was he at her house? The answer to that question was one that she would never receive because while Shanice wanted to know, she didn’t dare ask. It was not the right time. Originally, Shanice sat in the chair, but got up and moved closer to where Deondre sat on the couch. Cautiously, she put her arms around his shoulders and tried her best to console him. Everything was cool for a few minutes, until Deondre turned around and kissed her.

  Shanice pulled away and immediately stood up. She walked across the room and just stood there staring at him. Deondre got up as well and walked over to her. When he reached out to touch her, Shanice smacked his hand away. She was angry and ready for him to get the hell out of her house. While she still felt for him after losing his uncle, she planned to do it from distance. Shanice refused to fall back into Deondre’s trap. She had a good guy in Marcus and wasn’t going to ruin that behind someone who only wanted her on the sidelines. Shanice turned and walked away from Deondre and headed toward the door. Once there, she opened it and stood back, giving him a look that let him know that she was ready for him to leave. At first, Deondre just stood there with a look of shock on his face. He couldn’t believe that Shanice was putting him out.

  “I’m sorry for your loss, but you need to leave.” Shanice stood back, her arms folded across her chest. “Now,” she told him when she noticed that he still wasn’t moving.

  “You want me to leave?” Deondre asked, as if he didn’t just hear her say just that.

  “Sure do.”

  “Why, because of that punk ass nigga you were talking to?” Shanice looked at him with wide eyes. She didn’t know what to do, so all she did was nod her head. “You know what?” he said, quickly walking over in her direction.

  Shanice prepared her body for the impact. She could tell by the way Deondre rushed over toward her that he wanted to do her bodily harm. For a moment, she wished that she had just told Marcus to come back. Better yet, she wished that she had never opened her door in the first place. Fear rocked her body as she watched Deondre lift his arm as if he was about to smack her. She immediately closed her eyes and threw her hands up in defense. When she heard Deondre laugh, Shanice opened her eyes and looked at him confused.

  “Dumb bitch!” He sneered. “I wouldn’t dare waste my freedom on a nothing ass hoe. I have better things to do with my time. Fuck you. I hope that nigga breaks your fucking heart. Don’t call me when he does, because I’m done with yo’ trifling ass!”

  “Don’t you fucking worry about what he’s going to do to me. You just worry about what you got going on!” She yelled. “Just get the hell out of my house!” Shanice yelled as she pointed toward the door.

  “I’m glad to leave.” He laughed again, before walking past her and out of the door.

  Shanice was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. She had never been so happy to see Deondre leave in her entire life. As soon as she closed and locked her door, Shanice called Marcus back and told him everything that had gone down while Deondre was at her house. To say he was pissed was an understatement. He already figured that Deondre was going to try to work his way back into Shanice’s life. What he didn’t appreciate was him putting fear into her heart and being disrespectful. Marcus offered to come over, but Shanice was so afraid that Deondre would come back, that she declined and they spent the rest of the night talking on the phone.

  “What you thinking about over there?” Marcus asked, snapped Shanice out of her thoughts.

  “Nothing, just how it seems that you are too good to be true,” she responded, telling the partial truth.

  *****

  Shanice and Dominique had just finished eating and were heading to do a little shopping. They hadn’t really talked a lot since the last time they had met up for lunch, so they decided to spend the entire day together catching up. They parked Shanice’s car at her house and elected to drive in Dominique’s rental. A few days’ prior, her car had gotten hit in the parking lot of the grocery story while she was inside shopping. By the time she made it outside, the person was long gone, leaving nothing behind her vehicle; which had been smashed in on the back passenger side. Dominique was glad that she always opted in for uninsured motorist because if not, she would have had to pay for her repairs out of her own pocket. Once Shanice locked up her car, they both climbed into her rental and headed to the mall.

  As the two shopped, Shanice thought about just how easy it was to deal with her best friend, now that she was no longer involved with her fiancé. Instead of secretly hating Dominique, Shanice genuinely enjoyed herself. They laughed, joked, and talked about all kinds of things. It was kind of like old times, before hormones and boys entered their circle. While Shanice wouldn’t say out it out loud, she understood that the reasons she disliked Dominique so much before had nothing to do with Deondre. It was simply because she was jealous of her. Shanice realized that she wasn’t happy with herself, and when she saw that Dominique pretty much had it all, she envied her. Now that she was in a happy place with Marcus, everything seemed so clear. She just hoped that if everything came out that her best friend would understand that all of the things she had done had nothing to do with her.

  “What about this?” Dominique asked, holding up a shirt.

  “Ummm, it’s cute. I like it,” Shanice replied, going through the rack. “Help me see if they have a large.”

  They were in Macy’s in the women’s section looking for clothes for Shanice’s growing body. Now at six months, she had gained a few pounds. While she was still small, the clothes that she had were beginning to fit a little snugger than usual. Since being comfortable is vital when your pregnant, she decided to upgrade her wardrobe. Once they found her size and a few more outfits, they exited the department store. Dominique had a taste for something sweet, so they headed to Great American Cookies to grab some Snickerdoodles and a few brownies. Just as they exited the line, Shanice received a call from Marcus.

  “Hey, Mark,” she answered. When Dominique saw the bright smile on her best friend’s face, she felt happy for her. She didn’t know what had happened between her and Lamar, but whatever it was, she was glad that Shanice had moved on. It seemed like whomever Mark was made her happy and that was alright with Dominique. “Nothing, just at the mall with Nikki,” Shanice told him before glancing in Dominique’s direction. “Okay, I’ll call you later.”

  “Ooooh, who was that?”

  “This guy, Marcus, that I’ve been talking to for the last few weeks.”

  Dominique gave her a sly grin. “Is he cute?” she asked, hoping that Shanice would show her a picture. She was done with the secret baby daddies and wanted to know who her friend was dealing with.

  “Hell yeah!” Shanice yelled, laughing. “My baby is fine.” She started to tap on her phone. When she found what she was looking for, she turned to screen in best friend’s direction.


  “Girl, he is fine,” Dominique admitted. “Now, you know you gotta tell me more. I feel so out of the loop. How did y’all meet?” Dominique asked, leading Shanice over to a table in the food court. Together, they took a seat directly beside one another.

  “You ain’t gone believe me when I tell you.” Shanice giggled. “I hit him with my car.”

  Dominique’s eyes got as wide as saucers. “Shut the fuck up!” When she realized how loud she was, she leaned in and lowered her voice. “Stop playing.”

  “I swear.” Shanice put her hand up as if she swearing on a stack of bibles. “I was leaving the nail shop and wasn’t paying attention. When I felt something hit my bumper, I knew I was going to jail.”

  “I bet yo’ ass was shook.” Dominique laughed, still shocked that her friend had actually hit her new boo. “So, what happened next?”

  “We ended up talking a bit more, and then he asked for my number,” Shanice said, before she went on to tell the rest of the story.

  Chapter 13

  Sitting in the passenger seat of Dominique’s rental, Shanice felt nauseous. They had just come from Enterprise, where they exchanged her first car with another one. For some reason, that first one she had wouldn’t pick up speed on the freeway, so the rep told her to bring it in. Since they didn’t want to inconvenience her any further than she already had been, they tossed her the keys to a black Dodge Charger and they went on about their way. The ladies were now headed to Dominique’s house. While at the mall, they had decided that they didn’t want their day to end. With London being with her mother and DJ with Franny, they planned to have a sleepover like they used to do before they had children. Shanice was excited up until she realized that Dominique wanted her to ride to her house with her to get some clothes. She gave her best friend every excuse in the world on why she couldn’t go, but since she wasn’t in her car, she didn’t have much choice.

  “Why you so quiet over there?” Dominique asked.

  “No reason. I just feel sick to my stomach all of a sudden,” Shanice responded, picking up her bottle of water and taking a sip. This wasn’t a lie because it was exactly how she felt. She really didn’t want to take the chance of running into Deondre. After their last encounter at her house, she wanted to keep her distance. Although she knew that he wouldn’t do anything around Dominique, just being in his presence creeped her out.

  “Do you need me to stop and get you something?”

  “No, I should be good.”

  “Cool. We’re almost there. I promise I’m going to run in, grab some clothes, and come right back out.”

  “Okay,” Shanice responded, hoping that things would go that smoothly.

  Fifteen minutes later, they turned on Dominique’s street. As they neared her house, Shanice saw a home at the end with the driveway blocked off. It looked like it was getting repaved. Since this was the first time she had been to Dominique’s new house, shew wasn’t sure if that one was it or not. When Dominique pulled directly across from it, Shanice got her answer.

  “Oh my God, girl, this is beautiful!” Shanice exclaimed looking out of the window.

  “Thank you.” Dominique smiled. Do you want to come in? I can give you a tour,”

  Shanice thought about it for a second. While she was dying to see what the inside looked like, she didn’t want to risk running into Deondre; even though she didn’t see his car parked out there. Putting on a front, Shanice instead pretended as if she didn’t feel well, promising to take a tour at a later date. Dominique felt bad for her friend, and before she climbed out of the car, she promised that she would be as quick as possible. As she watched her best friend jog up the walkway to her house, Shanice leaned over and turned the key in the ignition to cut the radio. As she sang along to the music, she was glad that Dominique didn’t push the issue about her going inside.

  “I’m glad his funky ass ain’t he—”

  Before Shanice was even able to finish her sentence, she noticed Deondre’s car as it slowly drove past her. Sitting up, Shanice attempted to see if it was just him inside, but the tint on the windows were too dark. Thank God he doesn’t know that Nikki exchanged cars. Instead of parking on the opposite side of the street, he pulled in front of the house almost on the grass. Ignorant bitch, she thought to herself. Shanice watched as the car sat there for a few moments before the passenger door opened. She was surprised to see that it was Deondre who stepped out. Well, who the hell is driving? No sooner than the thought left her mind, the driver side door popped open, and when Shanice saw who was behind the wheel, she turned up her face in confusion. Why does he have her driving his car? She watched as Deondre walked around his car to the driver’s side. What she saw next caused her mouth to drop open.

  Standing in front of the home that he shared with Dominique, Deondre locked lips with her younger sister, Tiffany, as if it was what he was supposed to do. Shanice watched them, stuck, as he wrapped his arms around Tiffany and gripped her ass. It was like she couldn’t move. Out of all the people, Shanice thought, his trifling ass had to go after her little sister. When Shanice really thought about it, it wasn’t that hard to believe. He had carried on an affair with her for years. They were even expecting their second child as a result. Finally, able to get over the shock, Shanice looked toward the front door to see if Dominique was on her way out. When she didn’t see her, she grabbed the handle and hopped out. Rushing over to the house, Shanice continued to look back and forth between the house, and the couple who were so caught up in kissing, they didn’t even notice her. She knew that she had to stop them before Dominique came back outside. Even though Shanice didn’t feel like the two deserved her help, her only focus was making sure that her best friend didn’t get hurt any further than she had been.

  “Dre!” she called out. When he didn’t hear her, she tried it again. “Dre!”

  “Man, what the fuck you doing here?” he asked never, removing his hands from gripping Tiffany’s ass.

  “I’m here with N—”

  “Yeah, what the fuck are you doing here?!” Tiffany shouted, cutting her off. She turned around and faced Shanice. “Bitch, I asked you a question.”

  “Listen, you guys need to—” Shanice started, but she was interrupted yet again.

  Tiffany took a few steps in her direction. “We don’t need to do shit.” She pointed her finger towards the middle of Deondre’s legs. “This dick that you’ve been sucking now belongs to me. Dre will no longer be fucking with you, so go head on somewhere before I beat yo’ ass. I don’t give a fuck if you are pregnant, hoe. I am too, so it’s an even fight. You can still get it,” she threatened.

  Shanice cocked her head to the side and looked at Tiffany closer. I know this little bitch ain’t trying to say that she’s pregnant. Her mind was scrambled and she didn’t know what the hell she had walked into. A part of her was hurt to see Deondre standing there with the smirk on his face. It had only been a few months since they stopped dealing, and he had already moved on, and the person he moved on with was like family to her. Shanice was glad that she ended things with him, because he was truly a piece of shit, and she could finally see that now. She realized that she wasn’t special at all. Seeing Tiffany standing there ready to fight her over her sister’s man, only let Shanice know that Deondre would fuck anything that let him. He was dog, who didn’t give two shits who he humped.

  It had only been a few minutes, and Shanice was already tired of trying to warn their dumb asses. If they ended up caught, then so be it. She didn’t even care anymore. Maybe it’s time that Dominique see’s just how much of a fucked up individual he is, Shanice reasoned. She was just about to say something in response to Tiffany’s smart-ass mouth, when she saw the look on Deondre’s face. Gone was the cocky smirk. It was replaced with a dumb ass expression. Shanice immediately followed his line of vision. Dominique stood on the porch with her mouth gaped open. There was a mixture of hurt, embarrassment, and anger written all over her face. The scene was so sad that Shan
ice could not do anything but look away. She wasn’t sure just how much she’d heard, but she scolded herself because if she had just stayed her ass in the car, she would have not been a part of the mess that was about to happen. Shanice silently prayed like hell that Dominique only caught the fact that Tiffany was pregnant, and not the part of them each fucking her fiancé. This was not the way that she wanted her to find out about her and Deondre. She didn’t know when, but she planned to tell her about it on her own terms, when she was ready, but apparently she didn’t have that choice anymore.

  “Did you just say what the fuck I think you just said?” Dominique asked, giving her sister the death stare. Shanice swallowed the lump in her throat because she knew without a doubt, shit was definitely about to get real!

  Chapter 14

  “Bitch, I asked you a question.” Dominique heard as she made her way down the stairs. Who the hell is Tiffany arguing with? she asked herself, moving a little quicker. While she wasn’t sure what was going on, Dominique planned to put a stop to it.

  “Listen, you guys need to—”

  “We don’t need to do shit.” She caught, just as she made it to the bottom. Rushing over to the door, she flung it open just in time to hear, “This dick that you’ve been sucking now belongs to me. Dre will no longer be fucking with you, so go head on somewhere before I beat yo’ ass. I don’t give a fuck if you are pregnant, hoe. I am too, so it’s an even fight. You can still get it.” When Dominique heard that part she froze in her tracks. She knew there was no way in hell that she had just heard what she thoughts she heard her sister say.

  This has to be some sort of joke.

  When she and Deondre locked eyes, there was no doubt in her mind. The stupid look he wore on his face let her know that he had been caught. How could you? Dominique questioned with her eyes, as if he could actually hear her thoughts and give her an answer. Tiffany was too busy staring Shanice down to notice that she had come outside, and it didn’t take Shanice long to see what had Deondre so shock. His dark skin had lost all color as he leaned on the door of his car. Shanice turned around and when she saw Dominique standing there, she dropped her head. Dominique looked her way as tears rapidly filled her lids and poured from her eyes. Both her sister and her best friend had betrayed her in the worse way.