I Choose You 3 : The Matrimony

by Diamond Johnson

  Lately, my girls have been calling me, but I haven’t been answering or returning none of their calls. I just needed my space. I felt like at the end of the day, nobody could empathize with what I was going through right now, and there was nothing anyone could do or say to make me feel a little better about the situation. I wasn’t even going to work because I was too hurt, and I didn’t want to be answering all the questions about why I didn’t get married, even though I knew Otis and I were probably the talk of Miami at the moment.

  I just felt like shit right now. I had just finished taking a shower, and I was wearing some black Victoria’s Secret PINK leggings with a purple-colored PINK sports bra. I had my hair on top of my head in a high bun. I was in the den area with my daughter watching her play with her toys when there was a knock on the door. I left Harmony right there on the floor to see who was at the door. I peeped through the peephole, and standing there were all three of my girls. Each had a gift of some sort in their hands.

  “I ought to kick your ass for not answering the damn phone, but I’ll let you pass,” smart-mouthed Lani said.

  I apologized to all the girls and let them inside. We went into the kitchen area to start drinking. The way I was feeling right now, I could use a cup or two.

  “So, when was the last time you talked to Otis?” Tamika asked as we made our way into the den.

  “Not since the day we were supposed to get married,” I said nonchalantly.

  “Bitch what? He didn’t even call to make sure y’all was still alive?” Lani asked me.

  “Nope, fuck him too. I can’t wait until he bring his ass home, I swear he gon’ feel me,” I said to them, and I meant every word. He was treating me like some sideline bitch, sending me to voicemail and ignoring my text messages. I understand me and him were going through our problems, but that don’t mean he could take the shit out on our daughter by not coming to see her. That’s not fair to her at all, and I was going to tell him that too.

  “Girl, yo ass not gon’ do shit because as soon as Otis get to yelling at you, you start with the water works,” Tamika said, describing me to a tee.

  “Not this time though,” I told them. I didn’t even know if I believed the shit my damn self.

  My girls stayed at the house with me until about 8 o’clock that night. I admit, I had fun and I did miss them so much. After making myself some dinner and feeding my baby, we were off to the bathroom so that we could take a bath together. While we were in there, I softly washed my baby’s hair with the Johnson & Johnson Baby Shampoo. I got out and wrapped my towel around me, and put Harmony on her little cute baby robe. I laid her on the bed and dried her off, lotioned her body with baby lotion, and put on her pajamas. Meanwhile, she was sleep the entire time.

  Once I changed into my pajamas, I got in my big California king-sized bed with my baby. Before I knew it, I was knocked out.

  Chapter 4: Otis

  It was two in the morning, and I was just leaving out of my club. It’d been a rough couple of weeks. Since the whole thing with Tisha calling off the wedding, I’d just been staying at the Four Seasons by myself. I can’t lie; I missed Tisha’s ass so much man, but damn, she really pissed me off by calling off the wedding like that. I admit, it’s kind of fucked up of me to not have called to see if her and my daughter were okay, which is why I was on my way over to the house now to make sure everything was okay; I was leaving after that. It’s not that I was being a bitch ass nigga by staying away; it’s just I didn’t know what I was capable of doing when I saw Tisha. Her ass knew how to hit that nerve, and I’d regret it for the rest of my life if I ever laid hands on her. To avoid that, I was choosing to stay away.

  I pulled up to the house and I noticed Tisha’s car outside. I jumped out of my car and headed up to the front door. When I made it inside, I shut off the alarm and headed upstairs towards my daughter’s room. Of course, she wasn’t in there. I crept down the hall and cracked open the door to Tisha’s and my bedroom. The sight before me was absolutely breathtaking. Harmony was stretched out on her stomach with her tiny arm resting on Tisha’s chest. They looked so peaceful, and I felt like a fuckin fool by staying away from them for the past two weeks. I pulled out my cell phone and took a picture of my two favorite girls in the world. Even though I was still mad at Tisha, I still loved her, with her funny acting ass. I walked over to the bed and went around to kiss Harmony on the check, which caused Tisha to stir in her sleep. Tisha wasn’t a heavy sleeper, so I knew that it was a possibility that she might make up. She looked at me and jumped, as if she’d seen a ghost.

  “So now you decided to bring your ass home?” she started with the bullshit as she sat up in the bed. I knew that shit was coming, but I figured since she was sleep that she would drop the conversation for another day.

  “Tisha chill, I just came over to make sure my daughter was good,” I told her.

  “What about me?” she rose, her voice a little louder.

  “Chill Tisha, before you wake her up!” I said, walking towards the door. Of course, she made it her business to follow behind me.

  Here we go with the bullshit! I thought to myself.

  “Otis, what about me? You didn’t come to check up on me?” she asked me, walking around and getting in my face.

  I ignored her ass all the way downstairs to the front door. I just wasn’t in the mood for that shit right now, and knowing Tisha, she wasn’t going to let the shit go no time soon.

  “Let me ask you something,” I said, completely ignoring the question that she just asked me. She looked at me with those beautiful hazel eyes, and I swear that she had to be the most beautiful woman on this Earth, but I couldn’t let that distract me from the matter at hand. I was still mad with her ass, and I wasn’t letting her get off that easy, no matter how fine she was.

  “You pregnant?” I asked her. I only asked because I could sense that shit. The mood swings, the constant crying, everything. I was supposed to ask her that when I went and picked her up from the police station, but her ass pissed me off so bad that I had completely forgot to ask. She looked at me crazy, sucked her teeth, and waved me off.

  “No, I’m not pregnant,” she said, rolling her eyes.

  “Let’s go find out,” I said, directing her towards the bathroom because I knew she kept those tests under the cabinet. Only reason why I wanted to confirm it is because I knew she had been drinking, because I saw the open bottle sitting on the counter when I walked past the kitchen. Even though we were beefing, I didn’t want her doing anything that could harm my child. We walked inside the bathroom, and she tried to close the door in my face.

  “Can I have some privacy?” she asked me, still trying to close the door like she didn’t want a nigga to see what she had or some shit.

  “Ain’t nothing on your body I haven’t seen already, so hurry up,” I ordered, kicking the door open with my foot.

  Deep down inside, I was praying Tisha was pregnant even though I already knew she was; I had a feeling that she knew she was pregnant as well. Let me find out she knew and she was in here drinking, I swear I was gon’ hurt her ass up in here. I watched her pee on the stick, then she sat it down and went over to the sink to wash her hands. We waited in the bathroom five minutes for the results. We saw one line come on the screen and a few seconds later, it was followed by another one.

  I slapped her on the ass real hard. “I already knew,” I said cockily.

  “Why the hell you made me take the test then?” she asked, brushing past me and walking out the door. With her back turned towards me, I grabbed her by the back of her arm, putting enough pressure on it to let her know that I wasn’t playing with her.

  “You knew you was pregnant?” I asked her. I waited for her reply and when I didn’t get one, I shook her to get her to answer me.

  “Answer the damn question, Tisha,” I said, not in the mood to play with her ass.

  “I didn’t know for sure, but I knew that it was a possibility that I could be,” she said, and
I released her arm and headed to the front door.

  “Where you going? What did I do?” she asked, following behind me.

  “You knew it was a possibility that you could be pregnant, yet you chose to still get your ass drunk. Fuck you was trying to do? Kill my baby because I wasn’t talking to your ass?” I barked, getting all in her face.

  “First of all Otis, I didn’t get drunk. I had one cup and like I said, I didn’t fuckin know that I was pregnant for sure,” she yelled back at my ass.

  “Yo, I’m out before I hurt your stupid ass in here,” I said, turning around.

  “Fuck you Otis! You act like a fuckin pussy, I swear!” she yelled, getting all in my face and pointing her finger in my chest.

  “I’m glad I didn’t marry your ass. Fuck you too!” I said, and the minute it left my mouth, I swear to God I regretted that shit. I watched as a lone tear dropped from Tisha’s eyes, and she quickly went to wipe it.

  “I’m sorry Tisha, I didn’t mean that shit!” I said, walking towards her and trying to touch her, but she quickly backed away.

  “I appreciate your honesty. Too bad I’m not glad I didn’t marry you. I been kicking my ass about that shit since it happened. Goodnight Otis,” Tisha said, and I could tell that she was trying so hard not to cry.

  I didn’t even have the courage to chase after her after that foul shit came out of my mouth. God knows I didn’t mean that shit, but she fuckin pissed me off, so I wanted to say something that would hurt her. I really did think that this was the end for me and Tisha’s relationship. I honestly couldn’t see her taking me back after what I had just said. Shit!

  Kyla

  It was a Saturday morning, and Cevon and I were doing a little shopping. We had just came back from having a nice breakfast at IHOP not too long ago. So far, things between Cevon and I had been pretty good for the most part. My only complaint was that I felt as if he was spending way too much time at the studio. Since being together, I decided to move in with him in his five-bedroom, three-bathroom home out in Sunny Aisles, Florida. A bitch wasn’t dumb, though–I still kept my old apartment just in case things didn’t work out between us; then a bitch wouldn’t be stranded with nowhere to go. That’s where these females mess up at! They be so quick to move in with a nigga and put give own place up. Not me though; I needed a backup plan. I didn’t want to risk getting into it with Cevon, just to have him tell me to get out and be left with nowhere to go. Until I felt like I could truly trust him, I was going to hold on to my apartment just a little while longer.

  Lately, Cevon had been coming in the house around 3 or 4 in the morning. I just felt that there couldn’t be nothing that damn important at work that would keep him out all night. I swear to God that if I found out this nigga was cheating on me, I was leaving his ass with no hesitation. It’s not like this nigga didn’t have a past when it came to cheating on me. I done been through so much shit with this nigga that you would think that I would have been left his ass already. I remembered the first day that I met his ass.

  It was at Norland High School and Tisha, Ka’lani, Tamika, and I were sitting outside on the patio and eating lunch. I didn’t know Cevon at the time, but I did know of him and I knew that he sold drugs, because that was the talk around school. What high school freshman did you know that drove a Camaro and that had a different pair of shoes for every day of the week? Not to mention his swag was through the roof. Back then, Cevon was still rocking his dreads, but they weren’t as long as they are now. So anyways, as my girls and I were sitting outside eating lunch, Cevon and his crew walked out, heading for one of the tables. They would always come outside with a loud ass radio, and all the girls would be all over him and his crew.

  On that particular day, the girls and I were in our cheerleading uniforms because we had a game that night, so we had to wear our uniforms to school.

  “Y’all, he is so fuckin fine,” I said to my girls, damn near drooling over Cevon’s fine ass.

  “Who?” they all asked in unison.

  “Cevon,” I said, smiling.

  “Girl, your ass is in love with that nigga! Why you don’t go over there and say something to him?” Tisha asked me.

  It wasn’t that I felt like I couldn’t have him; I was just scared that he would try and downplay me. I was used to all the boys at the school trying to get at us, but it was like Cevon didn’t like me or some shit. Either that or the nigga was blind.

  “Hell no, I’m not about to go over there and have him embarrass me,” I said, looking at Tisha like she was crazy.

  “You scary as fuck, girl. I would have been went over there,” Tamika said, and I knew it was true because her ass didn’t give a fuck about shit.

  “I’m not scary!” I said, getting offended.

  “Okay, then go over there and talk to him,” Ka’lani said, nudging me with her elbow.

  I took a deep breath and prayed to God that I didn’t embarrass myself walking over there. I stood up from the bench, fixed my uniform, and headed over in Cevon and his crew’s direction. As soon as I got over there, I wanted to turn my ass around, but it was already too late. Cevon was sitting on top of the table wearing a tan Sean John sweat suit that went perfect with his beautiful honey skin. On his feet were a pair of crisp, white, low-top Air Force Ones. His gold sunglasses sparkled along with the diamond that he had in his left ear.

  “Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?” I asked, walking up on him. I wasn’t that scared anymore, because nobody was paying us any attention. Everybody was just chilling, vibing to the music and doing their own thing.

  “Talk to me about what?” he asked and when he opened his mouth, I could see the two, gold fang pullouts that he had in his mouth. I swear, this nigga was even more fine up close and personal.

  “If you walk with me, you’ll find out!” I said to him, not fazed by his tough demeanor at all. He smirked and then told his boys that he would be back. After that, we turned around and headed towards the side of the building. Yes, I was nervous to be alone with this nigga, but I was the type of person to go after what I wanted, and that’s what I did.

  “So what’s up? What you wanna talk to me about?” Cevon asked me as soon as we were alone.

  “I want to get to know you. I would like for us to talk,” I told him.

  “What’s your name?” he asked, not even bothering to respond to what I just said. I swear, I felt so fuckin embarrassed.

  “Kyla,” I said, looking down at the ground.

  “Look Kyla, I ain’t the one for you. I ain’t no good. I’m telling you I would fuck around and fuck your whole life up,” he said, lifting my chin up and looking me dead in my eyes.

  “Well maybe you should let me be the judge of that,” I shot back, matching his glare.

  “I can see it now. Your lil ass gon’ give me a run for my damn money,” he said chuckling, and I smirked.

  That was the day that I should have turned my ass around and kept it moving. This nigga told me that he was going to fuck up my life, and he did exactly that. I swear to God as soon as we made our shit official, I was constantly fighting bitches over him, skipping school–hell, I even fucked around and got pregnant my senior year in high school, and he drove me to get an abortion that my mom or nobody else but Cevon and I knew about to this day. I swear, growing up, I thought that this nigga would be the death of me, and it’s crazy because no matter how many times he would fuck up, my dumb ass always came right back, and I think that’s the reason why he did that shit–because he knew that I was going to take him back.

  The last straw was when I came home one night early from work and caught his ass in bed with another woman. I swear, that day I found my intelligence and I got the fuck out of there. I completely cut him off after that. I changed my phone number and I moved back inside of my apartment. It’s one thing to do your dirt, but to bring a bitch to the house, in the bed that we share was totally disrespectful, and it wasn’t no coming back from that. It wasn’t until we reunited again at th
e club that night for Otis’s birthday that all those feelings came rushing right back. I even went home with that nigga that night. I was really on board with giving Cevon one final chance, but I swear if he fucked up just once, then this relationship was over. No more taking him back and giving him chance after chance. You fuck up, I’m leaving! It was that easy.

  We were leaving out of the Ferrari Clothing store in Aventura Mall when two females were walking in our direction. Just by the look on one of these girl’s face, I knew it was going to be a damn problem. This bitch was looking at me like I owed her ass some money or some shit. Funny, because I never seen the bitch a day of my life, but then again I done fought so many bitches over this nigga that I probably just don’t remember who she is.

  “Hey Cevon,” one of the females spoke when she was close enough to us.

  See, I wasn’t even going to say nothing. I was just going to stand there and watch and see how the shit played out. I promise, I was going to behave, but if one of these hoes get to talking crazy, I was tagging that ass.

  “What’s good Monica?” Cevon said, showing off his dimples. I swear I just wanted to slap the shit out of him right now for smiling all in this bitch face, like he didn’t see me standing here.

  “Aren’t you going to introduce us to your friend,” Monica said, and I felt like the bitch was trying to be funny. She knew damn well that I wasn’t just his damn friend.

  “Oh yeah, baby this is Monica and Monica, this is my lady Kyla,” he said, pulling me from behind him.

  Neither one of us spoke a word, but my facial expression spoke volumes. This bitch wouldn’t look better than me on my worst day. She was sporting an old ass Baby Phat outfit with some Nike Air Max’s on. I mean come on, it was 2014, who the fuck still wore Baby Phat? Here I was in my Robin jeans, a purple YSL shirt, and my all black Giuseppe Zanotti pumps. Her friend, I’m guessing, felt awkward in the situation, so she walked over to the food court.