by Twyla T
I couldn’t move because Derrick’s dead weight was still on top of me. I heard a guy’s voice and I assumed he was talking on the phone. “We got a situation that needs to be handled ASAP. Right by the spot. It’s a code ten. Bet,” the guy said while giving instructions. The next thing I knew, Derrick’s body was being pushed off of mine and I saw the familiar face of one of the guys from the neighborhood. Keith was his name.
He scooped me up and took me to the hospital. On the way there, he told me to give the story about what happened, but instructed me to say I did not know who the guys were. He stayed by my side through it all. I had to have several surgeries to try to get my face back to normal after being beaten so badly. My self-esteem dropped to the floor. I quit the cheer squad and became inseparable from Keith. He had saved my life and that’s why I vowed to put up with his shit, no matter what.
The wedding started about an hour late because Phebe wouldn’t come out. After much prompting from her best friend, she finally put on a fake smile and gave in. When she walked out and made her way down the aisle, she could tell by the look on Keith’s face that he was only marrying her because he felt like it was the right thing to do; not because he was so in love and couldn’t live without her. I can’t let that bitch win, is what I kept telling myself to continue down the aisle. Phebe almost lost it when she saw make-up on Keith’s neck because she knew that he trying to hide passion marks. When the preacher asked the question if anyone was there who objected to the marriage, Phebe almost had a heart attack when the door opened. It was her cousins little girl, but she just knew it was Cameron. Phebe was ready to kick her ass, but she only halfway relaxed once that was over because she knew deep down she was making a mistake. She put on the best front as she possibly could. But when the preacher told Keith that he may now kiss his bride, she almost lost it again because of the images she had in her mind. She didn’t even kiss him back. The only thing she could think about were the photos she saw of Keith eating a woman out. You couldn’t see the woman’s face, but it didn’t take a rocket scientist to know that it was Cameron and she was behind this. The satisfied look on Keith’s face from the different pictures didn’t go unnoticed by Phebe either. There was even a note and one part of it said: Just know that when you kiss him after you say I do, you’ll be tasting my pussy that he loves so much because he ate it, licked it, and sucked it all night long. Phebe wanted to punch Keith in the face. I knew this bitch was gonna do something. I just knew it, Phebe kept saying to herself. She couldn’t wait to get Keith alone. She was ready to let him have it, but she had to hold it together for the time being. The only reason she went through with the wedding was to keep Cameron from winning. This shit is far from over, Phebe promised Cameron in her head.
Keith had no idea what was wrong with Phebe, but he knew this marriage was not going to start out on the right foot when he saw the fake smile on her face. He had a feeling that it had something to do with Cameron, but he wasn’t going to admit to anything. He thought that Phebe was going to leave him standing at the altar since the wedding started a whole hour late. And if she did, he couldn’t blame her at all. He silently wished she would have, but that didn’t dismiss the fact that Cameron was still married, so he would still be losing. He wondered if someone had told her that he left the bachelor party last night. Keith knew Phebe didn’t deserve this half-ass commitment he was giving her, but he was trying his best to do better. He just couldn’t resist Cameron. He didn’t even want her to leave him last night or this morning. He had received solid information on Phebe cheating, but he couldn’t even trip because he wasn’t being one hundred percent his self. When he kissed Phebe and she didn’t kiss him back; that confirmed that she was pissed the fuck off. Damn this shit is crazy. Why can’t life be simple, he said to himself.
Phebe let her guard down a little at the reception. Her friends pulled her to the side after the wedding and whatever they told her lightened her mood. Keith could still tell that she was pissed off at him, and she had every right to be, so he didn’t trip. Like most receptions, it turned into a party and everyone enjoyed themselves. The open bar was an added bonus for people to drink and act a fool. Phebe had another trick up her sleeve, but she was planning to take her time to carefully execute it.
Chapter 14
Cameron cried so much over the weekend that she made herself sick. Poor Malcolm was very comforting because he really thought that her sadness was brought on by memories of her brother, Fred. He took her to the emergency room on Sunday morning because she hadn’t drank or eaten anything since he had been home. He was glad that he forced her to go because she was severely dehydrated and needed fluids. She never answered when she was asked how long it had been since she had anything to eat or drink. Malcolm wouldn’t have wanted to hear the reply that was in her mind so she remained silent. They had stayed at the hospital for a little over three hours. When Cameron got back home she slept for the rest of the day.
About six o’clock that evening, Malcolm went and picked Kingston up from his in-laws’ house. Cameron briefly interacted with him, but went right back to sleep, leaving Malcolm to tend to him. She forced herself to get up and go to work on Monday because she knew if she would have stayed at home Malcolm was going to want some sex. He didn’t bother her the first two days because she was mourning, but his time was winding up at home and she knew what was on his mind. He only had two days left. She didn’t want to have sex with him at all because she wanted to remember Friday night and hold onto those memories without any interruptions for as long as she could. When Malcolm suggested that she call in when her alarm went off on her phone, she knew what time it was, so she forced herself to get up and get ready. Being at work actually helped her to feel a little bit better because she was able to stay busy and occupy her mind with thoughts other than the ones she had all weekend. Staying busy wasn’t a problem because she was playing catch up. She had left work from last week which was unlike her so she was determined to finish. Cameron picked up the phone to call Keith, but then thought about him being married and the few words that she said to him before she left the hotel room on Saturday morning. I’m going to try my hardest to let you make the best of your marriage. I know firsthand that keeping up with lies and trying to live two lives and balance two people is extremely hard work. I don’t want you to have to go through that. I know that you think I have been playing games, and love this drama, but you would have to be in my shoes to really understand. I don’t want that for you. I will always love you. No matter what. Then she gave him a kiss and left with the intent to never see him again. This is going to be hard as fuck, Cameron said to herself. Her phone beeped with a text message just as she was about to put it down.
Shay: Y’all wanna meet up for lunch today? I wanna go to the Veranda
Sonya: That’s fine with me. I love that place, it’s one of my favs
Toya: Cool with me
Cameron: Sure. They serve alcohol during work hours?
Toya: The question is can you drink alcohol during work hours? LOL
Shay: Awww are you OK Cam? The wedding was this past weekend wasn’t it?
Cameron: Yeah. I’ll see y’all later. What time?
Shay: Twelve o’clock is fine with me. What about y’all?
Sonya: That’s good
Cameron: Fine
Toya: That’s cool with me
Cameron finished up with about three fourths of the work before lunch, which was a true blessing. Her evening should be much smoother because she got all of the difficult tasks out the way first. Sonya left work about thirty minutes earlier than Cameron, rocking a teal and white Armani skirt suit because she had an appointment at the nail salon. She was a big tipper so females tended to get mad when she walked in and was catered to. Cameron left the office at about fifteen minutes to twelve and made her way to the Veranda. She arrived first so she requested a table for four. Toya made it next, dressed casual in a purple work tee shirt, khakis, and some purple and green KD’s
. “Hey Cam, how are you?” Toya asked. Cameron filled her in on the weekend and told her that Malcolm had been comforting her while she was crying over Keith, thinking that she was crying about her brother. Toya was speechless for a moment, but then spoke up. “Damn, I just can’t put shit past you, can I,” she said while laughing a little. Cameron then told her about going to the hospital. She left out the parts about spending the night with Keith Friday night and sending pictures to Phebe. “Well Cam, it’s probably about time that you try to let go of Keith and focus on crazy ass Malcolm or just be by yourself. I don’t see it really being over with you and Keith, but if it is, it’s probably for the best,” Toya said.
“If I could be by myself, I would be in heartbeat,” Cameron said.
“You gotta look at it from Keith’s point of view too. It’s not easy dating someone who’s married and that man has showed you more times than one that he really wanted you. Who would leave their fiancé in their own mama’s yard, and go home with their girlfriend, if they weren’t serious about you? He just married her because he knows that you are never going to leave Malcolm and he’s probably right,” Toya said.
“What y’all over here in deep conversation about?” Shay walked up and asked. She was dressed casual too. “This thing called life,” Toya said. Sonya walked in a couple of minutes after Shay made it. “Hola, ladies,” she spoke.
“So Cam, how did you survive this weekend?” Shay asked.
“I really don’t know if you call it surviving or not. But I’m here so I guess so,” Cameron said, talking in circles. “I’m just going to try to move forward from here,” she continued. “That sounds like a good idea,” Sonya told her.
“I was scared you was gonna go try to mess up the wedding. I’m glad you didn’t,” Shay said. Cameron changed the subject and asked them how they have been doing. She also asked if there were any events coming up because she was going to need to do some things to occupy her mind. “I don’t know of anything right off, but I’ll keep my eyes and ears opened,” Toya said.
Me either, but I’ll be on the lookout too. Travis getting on my got damn nerves so it’s time for another get away already,” Shay said. Sonya agreed that she didn’t know of anything right off, but would be checking. They all talked about things that have been going on at work, who posted what on Facebook, and a few current events for the rest of lunch until it was time to go. The time flew by.
Cameron was back at work and finished up with all of the cases that needed to be completed. She only had about thirty minutes left in the work day. She had picked up her phone a total of eight times that day to call Keith, but reality slapped her in the face right as she was about to hit the call button each time. One call might have gone through, but she wasn’t positive. She was dreading going home, but she knew she had to go and she also knew what she was going to have to do, so she was trying to process it now.
When she made it home, she noticed that Malcolm was cooking and had cleaned the house. She was pleasantly surprised because she normally had to clean up after him more than she did Kingston. She kicked her shoes off and plopped down on the couch and started rubbing her feet. The maroon Manolo Blahnik heels she wore that day with her maroon and whited dress she had picked up from Nodstrom’s were cute, but her feet were hurting because she walked quite a bit. Getting use to heels had been just like she thought; hard, but she had to admit it made her outfits pop. When she turned the channel to Oxygen, one of her favorite shows was on so she tuned in. Snapped really showed you exactly how to get away with murder and Cameron’s mind was always wandering. She could watch Snapped, Criminal Minds, and Law and Orde:r Special Victims Unit all day every day. “Why you always watching those kind of shows? You tryna kill me?” Malcolm asked when he walked into the living room.
“I just like them,” Cameron replied to him without looking up. She didn’t even notice the things he had in his hands. He had a dozen roses and a box filled with some of the things she liked. Her favorite chocolates, candies, a lingerie set, and one of her favorite fragrances; Coco Chanel. “What’s all this for?” She asked after she finally looked up when he tapped her on the shoulder. “I just wanted to do something special for you since you’ve been so down lately. I cooked steak, baked potatoes, made a salad, and picked up a bottle of that wine you’ve been drinking a lot too,” he told her. Cameron was speechless. She sat there thinking about everything that they had been through and how one minute Malcolm wanted to kill her, and the next, he was so loving and caring. Maybe it’s me. Maybe I’m the problem; she thought to herself, but quickly dismissed that thought. “Well this is a surprise. Thank you sweetie,” she said, attempting to be nice. Come on, let’s eat while the food is hot, Malcolm said while pulling her up. He yelled for Kingston, who was in his room playing, to come on. Malcolm told Cameron to sit down and relax while he fixed their plates. Cameron hesitantly complied. After a few moments passed, the atmosphere began to get pleasant. “This meat too rubbery,” Kingston said while trying to chew a piece of steak.
“Boy eat your food and stop playing,” Malcolm said.
“I can’t stop chewing on it, it won’t go down,” he replied to his daddy. Cameron laughed because she was thinking the same thing, but she didn’t want to hurt Malcolm’s feelings because he really put a lot of effort into everything. They managed to get through the meal, and when they finished, Cameron decided the least she could do was clean the kitchen and do the dishes. Malcolm told her that he had it covered, but she insisted.
By the time she finished with everything, Malcolm had already given Kingston a bath and put him in bed. When she was about to take a shower, she noticed that he had her bath water ran and the negligee he bought was sitting nearby. “You haven’t done this in years. What have you done? Just tell me now because I don’t like surprises,” Cameron said to him.
“I told you I just wanted to cheer you up since you’ve been feeling down, baby,” he told her. He would never tell her what he had really been doing because he decided it was time to stop the bullshit. There was a small piece of information that he wanted to share with her, but thought better of it and decided to wait until he left tomorrow. He still wanted some tonight and didn’t want to take any chances on putting her in a bad mood. The other things he had done, he would never mention because he was going to do better. That’s what he told himself. Cameron stepped into the tub and Malcolm lit the tea light candles. He thought about joining her, but told her that he was going to let her enjoy her hot bubble bath and he would be waiting for her. Cameron savored the moment and enjoyed herself thoroughly.
Malcolm was lying in bed when Cameron walked out of the bathroom. He had candles lit everywhere in the bedroom and Cameron was super shocked to see a porno playing on the TV. She had only done that kinda shit with Keith. Malcolm told her to come here. Damn, I should have popped a few Tylenol PM’s while I was in there, she thought to herself, but it was too late now. Cameron did a sexy stroll across the floor and made her way to him. “I wanna try something different tonight. Let’s do everything we see on the video,” Malcolm said.
“I’m sure some dick sucking is gonna go on. Are you gonna skip over that?” Cameron asked. “Nah, I’m starting to look at things a little differently now,” he said. He would never tell her that Callie had showed him what a real motherfucking blow job was supposed to feel like and she had just about made him forget about his horrible childhood experiences. Cameron started to ask why, but she decided to just let it go. Now she was thinking that she really didn’t want to suck his dick now that he was expecting it. Damn, I’m crazy, she thought to herself and let out a light chuckle.
Cameron was surprised by her satisfaction from both of the rounds she and Malcolm had. That was the first time they had EVER gone two rounds. It took all of these years for his bragging to pay off. He wasn’t Keith at all, but when she fantasized about him a little bit it helped her to stay in the mood. They laughed at each other while trying to get, and stay, in some of the position
s that they were trying from the video. Cameron couldn’t remember the last time she laughed with Malcolm so freely. She coached him on how to satisfy her while giving head and she was even able to have an orgasm with him. He finally relaxed and let her give him head too. She didn’t let him see all of her techniques because his mind would begin to wonder. I guess with a little more work I might be able to do this after all, she thought to herself while Malcolm was blowing out all of the candles.
Chapter 15
The work week went by pretty fast. Cameron was happy because it was already Friday and it seemed like just yesterday it was just Monday or Tuesday. She had a pretty pleasant week considering the circumstances; until Malcolm called her last night telling her that he found out Nikki’s baby wasn’t his. Cameron was actually moving forward with trying to do right, but him sneaking and getting a blood test only pissed her off all over again because he had lied from day one about even sleeping with the tramp. “Why the fuck would you need a blood test if you didn’t fuck the bitch? And evidently you fucked her raw!! You make me fucking sick. If you gonna cheat at least use some fucking protection,” she screamed to him. She forgot about the fact that she never used condoms with Keith and didn’t know who she was pregnant by a few months ago. Malcolm was still lying and saying that he didn’t sleep with Nikki, not realizing how he sounded by saying he had taken a blood test for a child and he claimed to have never had sex with the mother. Cameron thought about how she had sex two more times with Malcolm before he left on Wednesday, and got mad. That was the most they had ever had sex while he was at home. He was good to get some once on each trip, so four times was great for him. Now she was sitting there mad all over again about every single thing he had ever done. She was pissed at him for fucking Nikki, bringing the DNA truck on wheels to their front door, fucking around with the white bitch, trying to kill her ass, and who knows what else his black ass was doing. Those are just a few things. “I just can’t win for fucking losing,” she said to herself after she hung up on him.