by Dawn Jiles
“Baby, what’s wrong?” I asked nervously.
He didn’t respond right away. He just continued to stare at me with a look I had never seen before. “You want to leave me, don’t you?” he finally asked.
“What are you talking about, baby? I am here with you, so why would you ask me that? I don’t want to leave you,” I said as I began to caress his arms to make him feel comfortable.
“Don’t touch me! You want to be back with that nigga Kevin. You want to leave me and raise my baby with that nigga, don’t you?” he asked, getting in my face.
“Sweetie, please, calm down. I want to raise our child only with you. Where is this coming from?” I said to him.
“Don’t tell me to calm down. I seen how you kept staring at him at the party. You want him back. I know you do,” he said and slapped me in my face.
I sat there for a moment, in shock. This was the second time this man had put his hands on me, and there for damn sure was not about to be a third time. I jumped out of the bed and slapped his ass back.
“Don’t you ever put your fucking hands on me again! I am not that bitch that will just allow a man to whip my ass. You got the wrong one, nigga. You have to go!” I shouted, then headed straight for the front closet, where his luggage was. He was right on my heels, mumbling some shit under his breath. I didn’t care what his crazy ass was saying, but he was getting the hell out of my house today. I stormed back in the bedroom and began to pull his shit out of the drawers. “You have to get the hell out of my house right the hell now! I will not allow you to put your hands on me again!” I snapped.
He ran up behind me, then grabbed me by my hair and threw me on the bed. He immediately jumped on top of me so I could not move. He slapped me three more times on both sides of my face. I felt dizzy as ever at this point.
“I am not going anywhere, bitch. You got me fucked up! I love you, and until I get tired of being with you, your ass is mines,” he said, then threw me on the floor. I slid into the corner of the dresser and felt a sharp pain shoot from my back through my stomach. He ran over to me, then kicked me in my stomach twice. “You want me to leave so you could have that nigga in my shit, taking care of my baby, and fucking on my pussy. That shit is not going to happen. You belong to me,” he said, bending down to where I was.
By this time, I was crying hysterically because I was in so much pain.
“Shut the fuck up and get in the bed,” he said, pulling me up by my hair.
I limped over to my bed, but then something in me clicked. I refused to let this nigga beat my ass without my fighting back. I spun around, then began to rain punch after punch all over his body. He tried to gain control of me, but I was moving too quick for his ass. All of a sudden, he kicked me so hard in my stomach that I flew across the room and hit my head on the wall. The next thing I knew, everything went black.
When I woke up about an hour later, I was in so much pain and the bedroom was a mess, but I didn’t see Dontae anywhere in sight. I pulled the covers back, and that was when I noticed all the blood. I knew immediately something was wrong with my baby. I ran into the living room, and Dontae was sitting on the couch, and it looked like he had been crying. He looked up at me and was about to apologize until he saw all the blood on me. We both sprang into action, and we rushed to the hospital.
When I arrived at the hospital, they immediately admitted me, then checked my cervix and gave me an ultrasound. I had miscarried, and that became the worst day of my life. When the doctor told me the news, I turned my back to him and began to cry my eyes out.
“It is okay, baby. We can get pregnant again,” Dontae said.
I looked at Dontae like he was crazy as hell. I would never take his ass back.
“Go away! And don’t you ever bring your ass back around me. We are done! Do you hear me? Done!” I snapped at Dontae. The only reason he complied was that the doctor and a nurse were in the room.
The doctor gave me an X-ray because I kept complaining of pain in my ribs. It was later found that Dontae had cracked one. I couldn’t believe I had stooped so low. The doctor told me I would have to stay in the hospital for a while. That afternoon I was questioned by the police, because the doctor had told them he thought I was experiencing domestic violence. I denied the allegation. I thought Dontae should pay for what he did, but I didn’t want to see him in jail.
* * *
When I woke up in the hospital the next day, I had a room full of flowers and balloons, all sent by Dontae’s sorry ass. Kevin and the crew walked in shortly after. I had spoken to Bria last night to let her know I had had a miscarriage, but I hadn’t told her how it happened. I was actually happy to see Kevin’s face. I had missed him like crazy. I chopped it up with everyone for a while before they left Kevin and me by ourselves.
“So you got pregnant by dude and you letting him beat your ass?” Kevin questioned me.
“Why would you say that? He doesn’t hit me,” I lied.
“Zoe, you have bruises on the side of your face, and I overheard the nurse talking about how you have a cracked rib. I know you, Zoe, and I know every inch of your face. Just because you are dark, you can barely see the bruises, but I noticed them,” he said, and I began to cry.
“I should have never left you, Kevin. I miss you so much,” I said truthfully.
“Honestly, Zoe, I miss you too. I don’t know if we could ever be together, but I am here for you,” he said, then kissed me on my forehead. “You need to get your shit together and leave dude’s ass alone,” he said.
“Trust me, I’m done with him. I just hope that one day you can find it in your heart to forgive me and take me back,” I told him.
I had decided to put myself out there because at this point I really didn’t want to be alone, and I really did miss Kevin. And I definitely hated seeing him with Sam. I loved Dontae—he was my first love—but I couldn’t see myself being with him, because he was abusive. I had never seen signs of him being this way before; I didn’t see them until we got back together.
“I forgive you, Zoe,” he said, then walked out of the room.
I fought back the tears that were threatening to slip from my eyes. Kevin didn’t want me anymore. The crew all came back to say their good-byes, then left the hospital. A few hours passed; then Dontae came to see me.
“Can we talk?” he asked.
I was hesitant at first, but I guessed I could hear him out.
Kevin
It had been about six months since everything went down with Zoe and her visit to the hospital, and since Sam’s mom had dropped that secret on everybody. That shit had been crazy as ever, because I would have never guessed that Mr. Peterson was Sam’s dad. Now that I saw Sam and Mr. Peterson together all the time, I could help but notice their very strong resemblance. Speaking of Sam, I had been spending a lot of time with her. It was nothing serious. We just fucked all the time, but that was all I wanted from her. She kept pressing the issue of us getting back together, but that shit would never happen. I just couldn’t trust her. Initially, I had thought I missed her. I had even entertained the thought of us being together, but when we started having sex again, I’d realized that was the only thing I missed about her.
Sam was still stuck on being on that high school shit, and we were all about to be twenty years old this year. I was on my grown man shit, and I needed a woman who was on the same thing. Plus, I had started to notice that something was not quite right with her. There had been more than one time that I had caught her having a serious argument with herself, and when I had asked her what was going on, she just brushed that shit off. I had stepped back some after that. And so had she, because she couldn’t have sex for long without being in a relationship.
Imani was different. She loved to have fun with no strings attached, and that was what I was looking for right now, because obviously, being a good, faithful nigga was not good for me. Imani had a lot going for her. For starters, she was in college and was studying nursing, and she was already a
medical assistant. She wanted to settle down eventually, but right now she wanted to have just a casual relationship, because she didn’t want anything to get in the way of her finishing school. Both of the women I chose had cheated on me, and that shit had me feeling some type of way.
I had been talking with and texting Zoe since the day I left the hospital. I was actually still in love with her and missed her ass like crazy. I mean, I had really thought that she was the one for me, and I actually still kind of did. I just thought she had made a mistake. I had thought about taking her back and trying to work things out with her, but right now my heart wouldn’t allow me to do that. She had taken that nigga back after a month of being away from him. She claimed it was because I didn’t want her and she didn’t want to be alone, but I didn’t know if I believed that bullshit. About a month ago I had finally moved into my own place. I still hadn’t told Sam where I was staying, and I didn’t plan to, either. I didn’t need her ass popping up and acting crazy and shit.
I decided to get up and grab some food for Imani and me. She was coming down for a few days to visit me, and I was happy because I needed to get my dick wet. I had been occupying my time with Corey and his dad. We were about to open up a shopping plaza, and Corey’s dad wanted Corey and me to run it, so we were constantly in business meetings. We were trying to get David to go into business with us, but he was talking about how he wanted to finish college first and play football. That nigga loved him some football. Corey’s dad had been teaching us how to successfully run a business without us having to be there all fucking day, every day.
I decided to go grab some Chinese food from this joint called William Ho’s. On my way out of the restaurant with my takeout, I spotted Zoe’s bitch-ass nigga Dontae walking out of the fitness center. My blood instantly began to boil, because his bitch ass was a woman beater. Even though Zoe continued to deny everything, I knew what I saw and she had multiple bruises on her face that day. And why else would she cry when I told her what I saw? I put my food in the car and then jogged over to him.
“So your weak ass like hitting women, huh?” I said as I walked up to him.
“Nigga, get out my fucking face with that bullshit. What goes on between me and my woman don’t concern you,” he said, trying to walk around me.
“Now, nigga, what you do to Zoe definitely concerns me, especially you putting your weak-ass hands on her,” I snapped.
“Nigga, you heard what the fuck I said, and I’m not going to repeat myself. Zoe is my bitch, not yours. Are you mad she chose me?” he said, laughing like some shit was funny. I wanted to beat his ass right then and there, but I held my composure.
“Yeah, whatever. You put your hands on her again, yo’ ass going to see me, no doubt,” I said, and I walked off.
I should beat that nigga’s ass right now, I thought. The only thing that saved that ass was the fact that she was still with the nigga, but I thought I would bring that shit to an end real soon. I missed her, and she truly had my heart.
Part 2
Chapter Twenty-one
Mo
I had not spoken to my father in almost nine months. Every time he came over, I ignored his ass completely. I had not talked to my mom for a while, either, but I had ended up forgiving her because it had not been her responsibility to tell us what was going on. It had been my dad’s place. My mom had told me everything that went down, but I still felt like my father was wrong. No matter how much he claimed he didn’t want to hurt me and Sam, he should have told us when we were children. I had always wanted a brother or a sister, and to know that I had had one all these years but hadn’t known it pissed me off. I could not understand for the life of me how they’d been able to hide a secret this big for so long.
Sam and I had gotten even closer since finding out we were sisters. She always talked about all the time she and our dad spent together. I was happy for her, because she was now getting to experience all the things I did when I was younger. When I was a child, and up until the day my father’s secret was exposed, I thought my dad was the best man in the world. Now I saw he was just like all these no-good niggas out here.
My mom and dad had been on bad terms for about three months. He hadn’t even stayed at the house, but they had eventually got their shit together, and now they were stronger than ever. Corey and I had been trying to figure out what type of wedding to have. At first, I had wanted this extravagant wedding, with my father walking me down the aisle. Now I just wanted to fly out to Vegas with my best friend and sister. Corey was not feeling that, because he wanted all our family and friends to be able to attend and see us get married, but right now, I was not feeling my father, so it was not looking too good for that scenario.
Somehow, Tremaine had got my number, and he had been blowing me up. The way he had acted before I stopped seeing him, I would have thought his ass would let go without a problem, but he had had me fooled. He kept asking me to meet with him so we could talk, so I decided to finally meet up with him and see what the hell he wanted. I pulled up in the parking area of McGovern Park and walked over to his brand-new Lexus. He got out of the car and then tried to hug me, but I stepped back. Corey was very possessive, and I didn’t need to give him a reason to act up.
“Why did you need to see me, Tremaine, and how did you even get my number?” I said with much irritation.
I regretted messing with Tremaine. For starters, we had not messed around that long, and yet he refused to let go; and on top of that, messing with him was totally out of character for me. I was not the type of woman who would sleep with somebody like that. I knew that my heart belonged to Corey, but I had just wanted to make him feel the hurt I had felt when I found out about him and Sam, so I had basically used Tremaine. I hadn’t known his sex was going to be that damn good—otherwise, it would have been a one-night thing—but at the time I could not get enough of him.
“Aw, baby girl, don’t be like that. I can’t get a hug?” he asked.
“Tremaine, get to the point, or I am leaving now,” I said, rolling my eyes at him.
“I want you back, Mo. How could you just drop me for a nigga that slept with your sister?”
When those words left his mouth, they hit me hard, because I knew something was up.
“First of all, Corey and I were not together when he and Sam did what they did, and for that reason, I chose to forgive him, not that it is any of your business, anyway. How did you know that the girl he slept with was my sister? I never told you that, because at the time I didn’t know she was my sister. So who you talking to that’s telling you all my fucking business?” I snapped.
“Fuck all that bullshit. That nigga don’t deserve you, point-blank, period,” he said as he walked up on me and tried to kiss me. He grabbed both of my arms and pinned me against the car. “It’s only a matter of time before I have you again. I know that little nigga don’t make your body feel like I make it feel,” he said as he rubbed his hard erection against my stomach. “You see what your sexy ass do to me?” He licked my ear, then trailed kisses down my neck. “I miss you, girl,” he said, staring down at me.
I pushed him away from me, and he had this shocked-ass look on his face.
“Look, you stay your ass away from me. I guess that ass whupping Corey gave you was not enough. And whoever the bitch is that is feeding you information, that’s who you should be with, because there is absolutely no hope for me and your ass. If you call me again, I will get a restraining order put on your ass for stalking. My father is a lawyer, and he would do whatever it takes to get rid of your ass,” I said, then stormed over to my car.
“Whatever. Your ass will be begging to come back to me,” he yelled after me.
I got in my car and immediately put his ass on the block list. One of these bitches in my circle was on some foul shit, and I bet I could just about guess who the hell it was. I knew for sure that Bria would never cross me like that, so that left only Sam and Zoe. When I found out who the hell it was, they would be cut o
ff, because I was tired of playing nice.
Sam
I had been spending a lot of time with my father since I had found out who he was, and I could not be happier. My mom had been doing her best to hook my dad. He had been spending a lot of nights with my mom, until he decided he wanted to go back to his wife. That shit wouldn’t last for long if I had my way. Mom and I were still working on a way to ruin their marriage, and a way to get rid of Monique for good. We had finally decided to just get rid of both of those bitches permanently.
I had been spending a lot of time with Kevin. We had had so much sex that I had lost count. I had completely gotten rid of Brian, because I wanted to show Kevin that I was able to be with one man. I really loved that man with everything in me, and if I had to change to get him, then so be it. I couldn’t believe how much his sex had changed. Kevin knew exactly how to please every inch of my body. If he had been doing that shit from the start, we probably would have never had any of the problems we had. I gave it to my man however he wanted it, wherever he wanted it, and whatever hole he wanted to stick it in. I didn’t want him to have to go anywhere else to get anything. I wanted to show him that I could be everything he wanted me to be.
I had finally gotten Kevin to take me somewhere other than my bed. We had decided to go to the Cheesecake Factory to get some dinner. I met him up there, and we walked in together. When we were walking to our seats, we walked past a table that had four dudes sitting at it. One of the dudes and Kevin exchanged head nods, and of course my nosy ass wanted to know who he was.
“Who was that?” I asked.
“That is the nigga Mo was messing with when she and Corey split up. His name is Tremaine,” he said.
That bitch could definitely pull her a sexy-ass man. I needed to speak with Tremaine to see where his head was, because I could definitely use him as a pawn to make Mo’s life a living hell. See, first I wanted her and her mother to suffer; then hopefully, both of those bitches would just kill themselves. I had to get Tremaine alone so that I could hook his ass. We ordered drinks and an appetizer, and then the waiter walked off.