by Deja King
“It’s over between me and Tyler.” Saying those words out loud almost made Andre choke, but he had to remain composed for Chantal’s sake.
“Andre, what happened? Just yesterday you said you guys were getting married.” It disgusted Andre even more that Chantal was lying in the hospital for nothing. He and Tyler weren’t even going to walk down the aisle and that was the reason Chantal had slit her wrists in the first place. His anger brewed every time he thought about it.
“It’s not important. What is important is that you get better soon. I want you to come home with me. The nanny is going to bring Melanie here in a few days and I want you all to stay for a while.” Chantal’s eyes lit up with the idea of the three of them being under the same roof as a family.
“You mean that, Andre?” Chantal asked, almost afraid to build up any sort of hope.
“With all my heart. This incident has opened my eyes up to so much. You and Melanie are my family and I have to take care of both of you. Not only financially but emotionally, too. Unfortunately, it took a tragedy like this to make me realize that.”
“It’s okay. But baby if you give us another try, I promise I’ll be the woman that you want me to be.”
“Chantal, don’t think about that right now. Concentrate on coming home. I have some things I have to take care of but I’ll be back later. Get some rest.” Andre kissed Chantal on the forehead and decided his future was with her. Maybe he wasn’t in love with Chantal the way he was with Tyler but it didn’t matter. For the first time in his life he gave his heart and soul to a woman but she let him go. He knew Chantal would always choose him first. She was willing to end her life if he wasn’t with her. That was deep, maybe a little crazy, but deep all the same. After he pledged his love for Tyler and even asked her to be his wife she disposed of him like he was nothing. Not only was that bad for his ego, it was devastating for his heart. He had to accept there was no future for him and Tyler and he needed to let it go.
It took every ounce of strength Tyler had to pull it together and meet with William. She cried for over an hour when Andre left and then called Chrissie to pour her heart out to her. Tyler felt she had made the wrong decision by letting Andre go and hoped that she would get the encouragement she needed from her best friend to get him back. Unfortunately, Chrissie told her just the opposite, partially because she honestly believed that Andre was carrying way too much extra baggage, and also she was following T-Roc’s strict instructions.
Now Tyler had to deal with William. After pouring her heart out to Chrissie she called William to let him know that she followed through with his demands, but now that she was standing in front of him, it was much too soon for her to see his self-satisfied face.
“So you took care of it,” William stated, not even bothering to look up at Tyler when she entered his office.
“Didn’t we already discuss this?” Tyler said, taking a seat.
“Just refreshing my memory,” William said sarcastically.
“As a matter of fact I did and he didn’t take it very well, but then again neither did I.”
“You’ll be fine. I’ve already placed a call to T-Roc and he’ll be replacing Andre.”
“William, don’t you think you’re jumping the gun? Andre might just want to finish the movie. He has invested a lot of time in the role.”
“Oh, please, his ego won’t let him. He’s not professional enough to finish a job he was hired to do under these circumstances. Luckily, T-Roc is already here in LA. The script has been sent over and we will start shooting the new scenes first thing tomorrow morning. We will be working double-time to try to make our deadline. So I need you at your best.”
“That’s not a problem. I’ll be on set first thing tomorrow morning, but for the record I think you’re underestimating Andre. He takes the role in this movie very seriously. On that note, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Before Tyler reached the door, William looked up and bellowed, “Tyler dear, try not to sleep with T-Roc, too.”
“Don’t worry, been there done that,” she retorted before slamming the door. Tyler’s debate with William had the exact effect on her that she wanted to avoid. She drove straight to the liquor store and got two bottles of champagne. Even though she had an early call in the morning she needed something to numb the pain. Champagne always did the trick, at least temporarily. Tyler wanted to stop replaying the final conversation she’d had with Andre. It kept repeating over and over again and she thought at any minute her brain was going to detonate.
William felt pleased with himself. He was able to get rid of Andre once and for all. He knew that right now Tyler was feeling depressed but he had no misgivings about what transpired. In his mind there wasn’t any debate as to what had to be done. Andre had come this close to ruining everything William had planned for Tyler, but luckily he found out just in time. William still had no idea who sent him the letter with the room key attached, leading him to Andre and Tyler’s hideaway. One day William hoped to personally thank the informant for exposing the love tryst before it got out of hand, leaving him rendered powerless over Tyler.
That night Tyler fell asleep with Sade’s “No Ordinary Love” blaring from her speakers and an empty champagne bottle beside her bed. Although Tyler detested the idea of working with a slimeball like T-Roc, she was relieved that William was replacing Andre. To work with Andre day in and day out would be emotional torture, torture that her heart wouldn’t be able to take.
Chrissie was livid when she got word from William that he was bringing T-Roc onboard to replace Andre. It was all making sense to her and she felt like a complete idiot. She knew T-Roc was somewhere gloating right now, but not without Chrissie giving him a piece of her mind.
“So I hear you’re replacing Andre in the movie. You must be thrilled. I should’ve figured out that this was what your whole over-the-top plotting was about. You got the part now. You must laugh to yourself, saying, ‘I sure took that dizzy white girl for a ride.’ Well, I hope you’re satisfied with yourself, T-Roc,” Chrissie snarled, wanting to reach through the phone and rip his balls off.
“Chrissie, being dick whipped is color blind. You being white has nothing to do with it. So, no, I’m not laughing behind your back. My plan was to thank you with a gift to reflect my gratitude. I was thinking maybe I would let you pick out a car of your choice. Top of the line, fully loaded, only the best. It’s the least I could do. Without your help none of this would’ve been possible.”
“Save your token of appreciation. There is nothing you can buy me to give me back my self-respect. But I will tell you this, you might have your dream role but you’ll never get Tyler back. I might have fallen for your calculated charms, but Tyler is immune to your bullshit. The closest you’ll get to a relationship is through the make-believe love affair between the characters Angel and Damian.” Chrissie slammed the phone down, reeling inside. She prayed she was right and that Tyler wouldn’t find comfort in the arms of T-Roc. Due to Tyler’s frail emotional state Chrissie knew it was possible but hoped she would lean on William instead.
At one point Chrissie had even fixed on telling Tyler the truth about everything, including the role she played in the fiasco. Then Chrissie reasoned that not only would Tyler hate her but she would lose her job and T-Roc would make it his mission to make sure she never worked on either coast again. She decided it was best to contain what she knew and just keep a close watch over any signs of a developing romantic relationship between the two.
The alarm clock woke Tyler up bright and early. One of the reasons she loved to get wasted off champagne was because she never came to with a hangover. She still decided to gulp down a Red Bull to give herself a boost of energy. Today she would be working with T-Roc and she wasn’t looking forward to that. T-Roc was the worst kind of manipulator that Tyler had ever met. She knew he would no doubt have a steadfast commitment toward his role but he would try to undermine Tyler and everyone else at every given opportunity. It was all part of his
divide-and-conquer routine. That was his way of keeping some sort of control. Tyler wasn’t mentally up to playing the games that T-Roc was sure to bring, but with Andre out she had no choice. For extra focus Tyler grabbed one more Red Bull before she hit the road.
When Tyler arrived, everyone was already on set. She zoomed in on T-Roc who was sitting in Andre’s chair as if he owned the place.
“Good morning, T-Roc.”
“Good morning to you, pretty girl. I must say I’m pleased to be working with you. I have no doubt we’ll make history together.”
T-Roc is still the same cocky, egotistical maniac he always was, Tyler thought to herself.
“I’m glad you’re both here. I want you guys to go over this scene together while the crew is setting some things up,” William said, pointing toward the highlighted part in the script.
“Is there a reason why someone is sitting in my chair?” Andre said as everyone turned and gaped at him with utter surprise.
“I was under the impression that you would no longer be playing the role of Damian,” William said, feeling flustered by Andre’s presence.
“What would give you that idea? We have a contract. Unless you’ve fired me and if so I would like to know why before I get my lawyer on the phone.”
“As a matter of fact you have been fired, so you can leave now,” T-Roc said boldly.
Andre ignored T-Roc’s outburst and peered at William pulling his card.
“T-Roc, I apologize, there must have been some misunderstanding. I was under the misguided impression that Andre had quit. I was wrong,” William said.
“Are you crazy? This is my role now. You called me and now you’re letting this nigga punk you out? Fuck that!”
Andre stepped forward with hate in his eyes. “I suggest you have a seat, my man, because you’re out of line.”
“Make me sit down, bitch,” T-Roc spit.
Right when Andre was about to lunge at T-Roc, the whole crew ran and stood between the two men, sensing an outright war was about to erupt.
“Everybody calm down. Let’s take a thirty-minute break. T-Roc come with me so we can clear some things up.” T-Roc followed William but not before sizing Andre up and mouthing, “This ain’t over.”
“Whenever you want it, son,” Andre warned. He sat down in his chair and idly flipped through the script.
“I didn’t think you were going to show up,” Tyler stated.
“Oh, you thought I was going to let your sugar daddy run me off the movie?”
“He isn’t my sugar daddy, and no, I didn’t think you were going to let William run you off the movie. I figured you wouldn’t want to work with me anymore.”
“This is business and I always finish the job I’m hired to do. You’re an excellent actress and we work well together. I’m not going to let our personal relationship interfere with that.” Tyler looked down and saw her hands shaking. She realized she was the one who couldn’t handle working with Andre.
“How’s Chantal?” Tyler asked, trying to divert him from how uncomfortable she was.
“She’s doing well. I’ll be bringing her home in a couple of days.”
“Home with you?”
“Yeah, do you have a problem with that?”
“So are you guys getting back together?”
“We’ve decided to give it another try. After the way everything went down, I came to the conclusion that Chantal and Melanie are my true family. I want to make things right for them.”
“And that requires the two of you getting back together. I guess you’ve picked up the pieces pretty quickly,” Tyler said, feinting for a drink.
“How’s everything going over here?” William asked, sneaking up on them.
“Can you excuse me for a minute?” Tyler darted off to her trailer before she broke down in front of the men.
“What did you do to her?” William demanded to know.
“You mean what you did,” Andre said accusingly. “What type of man makes a woman choose between her career and love? Only someone that is extremely insecure.” Andre walked off and made his way to Tyler’s trailer.
“Andre, leave,” Tyler implored with tears streaming from her eyes. Andre became weak seeing his one true love in so much pain, but his anger held him together.
“You can’t have it both ways, Tyler. Yesterday you ended our relationship like I meant nothing to you, and today you turn around and get upset because I’m getting back with Chantal.”
“How can you just go from me to her? Why can’t you just take a break for a minute?”
“Take a break for what? So I can mope around feeling sick over you? I refuse to do that.” Tyler sniffled, trying to hold back her tears, but Andre was breaking her heart.
“I can’t listen to this. You’re killing me right now, Andre.”
“Well, blame yourself because I wanted to give you everything but you chose William and your career.” Andre tried to resist giving in to his heart but Tyler seemed so delicate, hovering in the corner. He relented and walked over and held her in a deep embrace and kissed the lips he missed so much. Tyler reciprocated the passion and they fell down on the couch giving in to their obsession. Right when Andre grabbed her buttocks and began removing her panties, Tyler jumped up.
“I can’t do this. I’ve made my decision. I have to stick to it.”
“You’re so fucking confused, but I’m done playing these games with you. I’ll see you on the set.” Andre stormed out, furious with the mixed messages Tyler was sending. As Andre was walking out, William walked in.
“Tyler, pull it together. Your boyfriend is showing that he has more substance than I gave him credit for, so you need to carry yourself with some professionalism before you are blamed for the collapse of this movie,” William threatened.
“‘Collapse’!” Tyler echoed out loud. “What are you talking about? This movie is coming together as planned.”
“For now, but if you have a nervous breakdown over some hip-hop hustler turned wannabe actor, this movie will be a complete bust.”
“I understand, William. I’m actually starting to understand a lot of things. Or maybe I’m finally accepting that when it comes to men and relationships, I’m a glutton for punishment. I’ve been through so much in the past but I continue to make the same stupid mistakes when it comes to love. First I fell for your pathetic married-man lines and now I’m in love with a man who has a crazy baby mama. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Maybe I’m in love with love or maybe I love the drama that comes with such dysfunctional relationships. Or maybe I just need to see a therapist. Whatever it is, I will hold my own and finish this movie,” Tyler stated, not appreciating the fact that William was implying that she was weak. She went over to the mirror, checked her reflection and exited the trailer, leaving William with a slight grin on his face. He knew exactly what to say to whip Tyler back into shape.
A few weeks had passed and Chantal had made a full recovery. Her wrists were still bandaged up, but that was a minor setback for the drama queen. She was enjoying the attention Andre was lavishing on her since he had brought her home from the hospital. She knew most of it came from the enormous guilt he harbored, but that didn’t matter to her; she was willing to get it any way she could. In Chantal’s mind she deserved every ounce of sympathy since her suicide attempt could’ve backfired. She thought about the night when Andre had given her the brutal news that he was marrying Tyler and her form of self-preservation had instantly kicked in.
After Andre had given her the brush-off and closed the door to the study, Chantal ventured off to the kitchen. She went through several utensils until coming upon the perfect knife. The fear of what she was about to do was making her stomach bubble but as she grasped tightly to the knife she honestly believed this extreme action was her only chance to save her now defunct relationship with Andre.
On her long walk upstairs to the bathroom, several times Chantal reconsidered the route she was about to take. Her biggest concern, be
sides accidentally cutting her wrists so deep that she might die from blood loss because Andre didn’t come to the rescue in time, was the fact she had no sort of pills to medicate herself. She would be of clear mind as the edge of the knife ripped through each layer of skin and the blood splattered. Chantal wouldn’t be able to find any comfort until her body lost enough blood to make her unconscious. When she had closed the bathroom door to begin her diabolical plan, Chantal felt it would all be worthwhile if Andre came back to her.
“Chantal, I was shook as shit when I heard about your suicide attempt,” Shari sputtered nervously. “I knew you were bugging out over Andre and Tyler but I had no idea it was killing you like that.”
“Neither did I until Andre told me he was going to marry that chick. Shari, my whole world crumbled instantly. I couldn’t believe this bitch just came along and snatched my man up just like that. It reminded me of high school when the new girl comes along and all the niggas are checking for her. You expect for her to get all the attention for a couple of weeks maybe even a month if she’s dope like that. But then you assume niggas will get tired of sweating her and she’ll be old news especially if she ain’t giving up the ass. That’s what I figured would happen with Andre. He would be infatuated with the glamorous starlet for a minute but then realize he would never have her because her loyalty was with her creator William Donovan.”
“Damn, so Andre and Tyler are getting married. How is she taking the fact that you’re staying in his crib?”
“Actually, the engagement has been called off,” Chantal said with a devilish grin.
“Excuse me?” Shari asked with eyes bugged out, feeling as if she missed a part to the story.
“I guess I did have the starlet figured correctly. I don’t know all the details, but just from eavesdropping and the little that Andre has unwittingly revealed to me, Tyler did pick her creator over him.”