A Fistful of Love: A Domestic Violence Anthology

by Thomas, Dominique

  “Was that necessary Deon and what did she mean by did I like my new place?”

  Deon finished his catfish and looked at Jess. She had sex hair, her skin was flushed, her neck was covered in hickies and she looked so damn sexy to him.

  “Baby I haven’t seen you in a very long time. I wanted to be able to give you your gifts but Willow’s big mouth ass fucked that up. This place is for us. I know you graduate in a year and by then you’ll have a house waiting on you. For now, we can crash here in our downtime. Do you like it?

  Jess looked around the spacious upscale apartment and smiled. Her parents made good money but the apartment was a new type of luxury. She nodded with a genuine smile on her face.

  “Yes, I love it!”

  Deon nodded happy with her reply and went to grab her other gifts. He came back into the dining-room and handed her the bags. Jess looked through them and spotted Louis Vuitton purses and designer clothes with even a new cellphone. She pulled out a simple Chanel watch that she loved. She put it on her wrist and walked over to Deon. She couldn’t believe that he had done all of that for her. She felt so special and lucky to have him.

  “Thank you baby all of this is so nice! I love it!” she said kissing him all over his face.

  “That’s not all, get that sexy ass up,” Deon said grinning hard.

  Deon and Jess put on their shoes with Danilo and Willow following after them upstairs to the roof. Jess’s heartbeat started to increase once she realized what was going on. Willow was still pissed at Deon but she was also happy for her girl. Jess was a good person and deserved all of the lavish gifts Deon was blessing her with.

  “Baby, I want you to see that giving me a chance was the best decision you ever made. Happy belated birthday baby,” Deon said walking up to a red Mercedes Benz C-Class.

  “Deon…” Jess said and put her hand over her mouth.

  Deon walked over to her and carried her to the car. He placed her in it and she started crying. She couldn’t believe that she had a car. The fact that it was a Mercedes just made it that much better. She would have been happy to have a Kia. Jess looked over at Deon as more tears slid down her face.

  “Thank you so much. I can’t believe you did this for me,” she said looking him in the eyes.

  Deon leaned over and kissed Jess on her lips.

  “Anything for you Jess. Remember I’ma always give you what you want and need. Now let me at least stick my face back in it before you have to leave,” he replied.

  Jess laughed and kissed him again. Jess walked into her home late into the night expecting a fight. What she found was her father sitting on her bed with a crestfallen look on his face. She instantly became worried.

  “Daddy what’s wrong?”

  Sampson looked at his daughter. Never mind the time of the night he was too sad to even punish her. He was more worried about what she would think of him once he told her what was going on.

  “Baby can I talk with you for a moment?” he asked.

  Jess nodded and stepped out of her shoes. She tried to run her fingers through her hair again as she walked over to her bed. She moved as far away from her father as she could because she worried that she might have smelled like Deon.

  “Is mom okay?”

  Sampson thought about Jackie and shook his head.

  “No, she isn’t.”

  Jess’s world seemed to stop. Her mother was a lot of things but she was still her mother.

  “Dad what’s wrong?”

  Sampson took a big deep breath and sighed.

  “Your mother and I are getting a divorce. I’m having a baby with another woman Jessenia. I cheated on your mother,” he replied.

  “What?”

  Tears clouded Jess’s vision. She shook her head and wiped her eyes. She looked at her father and frowned. He loved her mother; he loved her so why would he get another woman pregnant? Her mind couldn’t process what he was saying.

  “But you love mom?”

  “Yes I do! Of course I do,” Sampson said quickly.

  “Then why?”

  Sampson stared at his daughter not sure how to respond. He hadn’t been happy with Jackie for years now. He was lonely and his assistant was there for him. A friendship turned into love and although he told Jackie it wasn’t love it was. He no longer wanted his wife. His heart was with someone else.

  “You said that you would never hurt me,” Jess said unable to hold back tears.

  Sampson tried to grab her hand and she pushed his away.

  “I’m not doing this to you. I’m divorcing your mother. I will always be there for you Jessenia.”

  “Are you moving out?”

  Sampson nodded with his words stuck in his throat.

  “Are you moving in with this woman that’s carrying your baby?”

  “Yes,” he was able to croak out.

  Jess nodded and looked away from her father, the one man that had always loved her and made her smile, the one man that had always had her back.

  “Then you are hurting me. Can you please leave?” she asked too hurt to look at him.

  Sampson stood up and looked at Jess. This was what he feared the most about leaving Jackie. He didn’t want to have to lose his wife and his daughter. His heart felt as if it was being ripped into two.

  “No matter what I go through with your mother, you will always be my daughter that I love with all of my heart,” he told her.

  Jess snorted unmoved by his words.

  “You say that now but still you’re leaving to go to your new family. Please leave,” she said again.

  Jess shook her head and her tears started to flow again. Sampson, unable to watch her fall apart because of his wrong doing left out of the room making sure to close the door behind him. Jess pulled out her cellphone and called Willow. When Willow didn’t answer, Jess called Deon and he picked up on the first ring.

  “You good ma?” he asked sounding a little tired.

  Jess wiped her face and cleared her throat.

  “Yeah…um…”

  “What’s wrong?” Deon asked sounding more alert.

  “My dad is moving out because he got someone else pregnant. My parents are getting a divorce,” she replied crying all over again.

  Deon sighed not really caring about the status of Jess’s parent’s relationship. However he didn’t like to hear Jess cry. That had him upset knowing that she was sad.

  “Look, couples get divorced all of the time Jess. I hate that your parents are doing that but maybe it’s for the best. Your pops will still be there for you and regardless if he does or if he doesn’t, I will. I will never leave you ma. You don’t need them because I got you, remember?” he asked.

  The sound of Deon’s deep voiced calmed Jess and his words were like a blanket. They made her feel warm and she did feel like she would be okay as long as she had him. She felt betrayed by her father and was very disappointed in him.

  “I know and I got you too Deon. I love you,” she said and smiled.

  Deon smiled.

  “Oh yeah? I think you might just love how I ate that pussy from the back,” he joked making Jess blush from embarrassment.

  “Deon,” she said quietly as if someone could hear their conversation.

  Deon chuckled.

  “I’m just playing ma but I gotta go. Look, I’ma always hold you down and I’ll never let you go so stop stressing. I love you too now get some rest and go soak my pussy, I know she throbbing right now from that beating I put on her,” he said before ending the call.

  Jess put her phone away and stared around her bedroom. It had been decorated the same since she was a child. Pale pink walls with posters of different R&B singers covering it in a collage type manner. She had a full sized canopy bed with white dressers and white carpet. Jess looked at a picture of her and her parents at Disney World a few years back and she felt this ache in her chest. She hugged herself as more silent tears fell down her face. Her father had done the ultimate no-no and she felt like the o
nly man she could depend on was Deon. He was literally her everything now.

  Chapter Six

  “Is Danilo fucking with any new bitches?” Willow asked.

  Jess looked at her friend and shook her head. It was two months into summer and Willow was officially locked up in a juvenile detention center but it looked like she would only do four out of the six months. Her mother and Danilo was working hard on getting her time cut down.

  “Well that’s good but he probably is. They don’t do shit around you anyway. How have you been? Jackie got you on punishment for anything?”

  “No um…she’s dealing with my father. He…left,” Jess replied.

  Willow quickly stopped smiling.

  “Damn, I’m sorry. Jackie is mean as hell but I know she loves your father. Where did he go?”

  Jess thought about her talk she had with her dad and it brought tears to her eyes.

  “He’s living in Canton with this white woman who is his assistant. They’re going to um…have a baby,” she replied.

  Willow shook her head as Jess began to cry. Her parents were still together so she had no clue how Jess felt. She still felt very bad for her.

  “Well how are you and Deon doing?” she asked trying to change the subject.

  “We’re good. My mom now spends all of her time in church. It’s like she doesn’t even know I’m at home. I came in the house at twelve o’clock one night and she didn’t say anything to me. Deon’s happy we can spend almost every day together but it feels weird. I don’t know as crazy as it seems, I miss her. It’s like once my dad moved out her spirit went with him.”

  Willow nodded and looked over her friend. She spotted diamond studs in her ears that had to cost a few thousand. She spotted Jess’s birthday watch along with a diamond tennis bracelet then there was Jess’s overall new look. Her hair was cut into a face framing bob and dyed jet black making her look older than what she was. Her skin seemed shinier like maybe she was getting facials on the regular and her braces was gone. Jess even had French manicured nails with acrylic. Willow smiled at how beautiful her friend was. She looked like a supermodel. Willow still felt the need to warn Jess about Deon. Deon flipping out on Sienna was something Willow would never forget plus Willow was still upset at the way he went off on her at the apartment.

  “Look, I really miss you boo. Like I’m so happy you have Deon and all but you gotta watch him.”

  Jess frowned while looking at Willow.

  “Watch him like what?”

  “Well his temper. He has been known to hit a bitch. I don’t think that he would hit you but I’m just saying don’t provoke him in any way. He is a grown ass man, nothing like the boys we see at school.”

  Jess nodded not sure what Willow was even saying and touched a piece of her shiny hair. She licked her lips and smiled at her friend.

  “I miss you too and Deon is good. We’re both good. We’re having sex daily and well, we love each other. Don’t worry about me because I will be fine,” she replied and Willow just smiled at her.

  Willow knew a lovesick girl when she saw one. She was doing time for her man so she was in no position to judge Jess.

  “I know you two are good but still just watch him. He might be a different man when he’s mad,” she warned her.

  Jess nodded not sure why Willow was even telling her that. Yeah Deon had a temper but plenty of people did. Jess didn’t think he would ever get mad enough to hit her.

  “I promise you we’re good,” she said with a smile and Willow dropped the subject.

  “Okay, well tell me how things been going,” Willow said while hoping Jess had at least heard some of her warning.

  ****

  “What I can’t seem to understand is why you never wanna be here.” You got this big ass house for me to live in by myself and I’m supposed to be happy? You so full of shit!” Torie ranted pacing back and forth in front of Deon inside of their basement.

  Deon continued to count out his money ignoring Torie. She was now two months pregnant and she felt like that gave her a pass to talk to Deon any kind of way. It didn’t.

  “Torie you better watch your fucking tone,” he warned her tossing all of his singles into a black duffle bag.

  Torie looked at Deon and shook her head. She knew he was cheating. Everybody in the hood new he had some new young girl he was seeing. Word was that he had even got her a red Mercedes and the news hit Torie like a brick. She loved Deon with all of her heart and couldn’t understand why he didn’t love her the same way. Torie was beautiful. She kept her body in excellent shape and did whatever Deon wanted her to do in the bedroom. She felt like that should have been enough to keep him home at night. No, he wanted some young ass girl that couldn’t even get into the casino. Just thinking about him with the young girl pissed Torie off. She flipped her red tinted hair over her shoulder and walked up on Deon. He looked up at her and smiled before continuing to count his money.

  “I swear I hate you Deon! You fucking some young bitch while I’m carrying your baby! How could you do me like this!” she yelled and smacked him upside his head.

  Deon let the fifty-dollar bill slowly drop from his hand. He looked up at Torie and before he could say anything she punched him in his eye. He shoved her back hard as hell and she fell into the couch. Torie jumped up ready to fight Deon but she really wasn’t. Deon had her in weight, height and strength. He towered over her dressed in his street gear and grabbed her by her neck. He started to squeeze it hard as he possibly could as he glared down at her.

  “Listen to me and listen good bitch. If you ever fucking hit me again your mother and bitch ass daddy will be burying your fucking ass. If it wasn’t for my baby I would be fucking you up right about now,” he said.

  Torie’s eyes watered and her throat burned. She nodded as best as she could for someone that was getting choked and Deon finally let her throat go. He popped her in the mouth as hard as he could three times instantly splitting her lip.

  “Take your ass upstairs and take a nap or something. You getting on my fucking nerves Torie. I don’t wanna come home to this shit. I done lost fucking count on some money, I need to be splitting with my fucking cousin because of your dumb ass. Now go!” he yelled and hit her in the back of the head.

  Torie moved faster than she ever had as she ran up the stairs crying hysterically. Deon walked back over to his table and looked at all of the money that had fallen on the floor. He could have choked Torie’s ass again as he picked the money up and started to recount it. He wasn’t in the mood for her shit. He regretted even coming home. He knew he should have gone with his first mind and went to his place with Jess. Now that her mother was getting divorced, Jess had been pretty much free to do what she wanted. Deon loved that she could be up under him twenty-four-seven. He pulled out his cell to call her. He liked to know where she was at every hour.

  “Hey baby,” Jess said answering the phone.

  A smile instantly spread across Deon’s face.

  “Hey ma, daddy miss you. I need some of that. Where you at?”

  “I’m just getting home. Is everything okay?”

  Deon watched Torie walk back down the steps with Danilo following after her. Just the sight of Torie pissed him off again.

  “Yeah, go to the spot I’ll be there in a few,” he replied and quickly ended the call.

  Torie eyed Deon suspiciously before going back up the steps. Danilo looked at the scattered money and up at Deon.

  “You and Torie in this bitch fighting and shit?” he asked chuckling.

  Deon grabbed the rest of the money with the help of Danilo.

  “Nigga if you only knew. I come home to her bitching every…fucking…day. Well not every day but when I come home she in this bitch going. I’m getting so tired of her ass. I hate I got her ass pregnant. It should be Jess living in this house.”

  Danilo listened to his cousin and helped him gather the money together. Danilo had seen Jess in the mall talking with some young ass high school
looking nigga yesterday. He pondered over if he should tell Deon but felt like now was a good time.

  “Speaking of Jess. I saw her with this high school nigga at the mall and shit. About the time I made it to her the nigga had left out of the mall. I asked her who it was and she said her classmate and shit. I believe her because Jess is a good girl but the way that nigga was looking at her ass was uncalled for. He gone be a problem nigga,” Danilo said looking his cousin in his eyes.

  Deon’s blood pressure began to rise again. The women in his life just wanted to fuck with him today. He couldn’t even think about his precious Jess with anyone else. Giving away his tight, wet pussy…no he just couldn’t without going crazy. Deon stood up and looked down at his cousin.

  “You should have told me that bullshit yesterday when you fucking seen me. Count this shit up and take your half. I got another bitch I need to go check, these hoes been acting up lately,” he said and walked away as Danilo laughed.

  Deon felt as if he was flying as he drove to him and Jess’s apartment. He parked next to her Mercedes and jumped out of his car. He took the elevator to the correct floor and stepped off. Deon’s jaw ticked as he walked to the apartment. He unlocked the door and was met with Jess rushing towards him. She hugged him tightly and he picked her up closing the door with his foot.

  “I missed you baby,” she sang sweetly in his ear.

  Deon ignored her comment and carried her into their bedroom. He sat her down onto the bed and looked around the room for her cellphone. He grabbed it off of the dresser and Jess looked at him.

  “Deon what are you doing?”

  Deon didn’t bother answering her as he looked through her text messages. He made it down to a Mauri and he started to see red.

  Mauri: I’m sorry to hear about your father. That’s fucked up ma. I miss you like crazy and shit.