COMPLICATED

by Chenell Parker

  “I would have killed both of their asses and pleaded insane,” Rylee said making her friend laugh at the serious look on her face.

  “You’re crazy enough to do some shit like that too. But seriously Rylee, you know that you can stay here as long as you like. I hate living in this big ass house by myself. That’s why I’m happy that Zyrian moved in with me.”

  “Where is he anyway?” Rylee asked referring to Zyrian.

  “He’s probably out with Renata somewhere,” Zyra replied.

  Rylee didn’t know why, but she felt a little jealously trying to creep in when Zyra mentioned her brother being with another woman. She hadn’t seen too much of Zyrian lately, but she knew that would all change soon. Even though she promised Mekhi that she was going to her grandmother’s, Zyra’s house was the first place that she went to. She didn’t give a damn about how he felt. He didn’t have any say in what she did anymore.

  “Listen, I need to tell you something, and I hope that you’re not mad at me once I tell you,” Zyra announced.

  Rylee noted the nervous look on Zyra’s face. She wasn’t sure if she was ready for whatever she had to say, but curiosity got the best of her.

  “I’m listening,” Rylee answered.

  “You remember when Jeremy and I stayed the night at the hotel week before last?” Zyra asked.

  “Yeah,” Rylee replied while urging her to continue talking.

  “Well, right before we left I saw Mekhi coming out of one of the rooms. I didn’t say anything to him, but I waited to see if somebody else would come out after him.”

  “And?” Rylee asked as she held her breath preparing for the answer.

  “It was Brandy,” Zyra confessed. “The day that I called your job asking you to meet me for drinks is when I planned to tell you about it. But when you told me that you could possibly be pregnant I couldn’t do it. I’m sorry for keeping it from you, but I was torn.”

  She expected Rylee to yell or even cry, but she just sat there stone-faced as if she was traumatized.

  “Did you hear me, Rylee?” Zyra said trying to break her friend from the shock that she seemed to be in.

  “Yeah, I heard you,” Rylee murmured. “I’m not mad at you Zyra. I’m not even surprised about Brandy. She made it clear from day one that nobody’s man was off limits. I guess that warning was meant for me too. She and I were never friends, so that made Mekhi fair game to her.”

  Rylee knew for a fact that the picture in Mekhi’s phone wasn’t Brandy. The women in the picture had a caramel complexion while Brandy was the color of dark milk chocolate.

  “Well, I’m done with her. China and I had it out too because she was taking Brandy’s side. I’m sure she knew what was going on, and she’s just as foul. Cousin or not, she can get the business too.”

  “It’s all good. I’m hurting now, but I won’t be hurt forever. I just feel like a damn fool for letting this go over my head for God knows how long.”

  “You are not a fool, and I wish you would stop saying that. It’s life, and it happens all the time. You’re not the first woman that this has happened to and you damn sure won’t be the last. Just know that I’m here for you no matter what you decide to do. Even if you want to go back.”

  “There is no going back Zyra. I want a divorce, and that’s all there is to it,” Rylee swore.

  “You’re just mad right now because it’s still fresh. You’ll feel better in a few days.”

  “Correction, I’m not mad, I’m enraged. And I won’t feel better until I no longer have his last name. I grew up in a two-parent home just like you did, so I know how a man is supposed to treat a woman. I watched my father treat my mother like a queen up until she took her last breath. I refuse to settle for anything less than that.”

  “I agree, but I don’t want you to give up on love. Don’t let what Mekhi did make you bitter,” Zyra warned.

  “It won’t make me bitter. If anything, it’ll make me better. And I’m not giving up on love. I’m just giving up on loving my husband. He doesn’t deserve it.”

  “The true words of a bad bitch,” Zyra said making Rylee laugh.

  ***

  Zyrian rolled inside around two in the morning. He got excited when he pulled up and saw Rylee’s car in the driveway. He walked through the front door and stopped in his tracks when he saw all of the bags in the living room. He took the stairs two at a time until he got to Zyra’s room. When he saw that she wasn’t in there, he walked down the hall, following the laughter that was coming from another room. He opened the door and smiled at Rylee and Zyra, who were sprawled out across the bed eating from a huge bucket of chocolate ice cream. Rylee’s red, swollen eyes were the first thing that he noticed upon entering the room.

  “What’s wrong with my wifey? Who do I need to fuck up for messing with you?” Zyrian asked as he took the spoon from Rylee’s hand and ate the ice cream that she’d just scooped out of the bucket.

  “Mekhi Jameson is his name, and I have the address if you need it,” Rylee joked.

  “Nah, but seriously, what happened?” Zyrian inquired.

  “Where do I start? Well first off, my husband is a man whore who played me to the left for God’s knows how long. I have no house because I refuse to go back to the one that I shared with him. I have cramps that won’t go away and instead of sharing my ice cream with one person, I now have two extra mouths to feed. Plus, I’m about to be divorced on top of all of that. So, that just about sums up my life. Hopefully, I didn’t leave anything out,” Rylee sighed.

  “Damn, tell me how you really feel,” Zyrian laughed.

  “Stop saying that you don’t have a house. You can stay here as long as you want to. It’s not like we don’t have the room,” Zyra responded.

  “I know, I’m just trying to laugh to keep from crying again,” Rylee chuckled.

  “You better not let me see you crying over that nigga. He ain’t even worth your tears. I know that’s your husband and all, but fuck him!” Zyrian snapped.

  “You always know just what to say to make me feel better,” Rylee said sarcastically.

  “I’m serious though Rylee. You got too much going for yourself to let any man bring you down. His loss is the next man’s gain,” Zyrian said hoping that she caught the hidden message behind his words.

  Zyrian was happy as hell that Mekhi finally did something to mess up. He knew that he was wrong for feeling that way, but he couldn’t help it. Of course, Rylee wouldn’t be ready to start up something else so soon, but he had nothing but time on his hands. She was worth waiting for, and he would do it patiently. Playing the friend role was good for now, but in due time, it would develop into something more. He was about to show Mekhi and everybody else how a queen was supposed to be treated. Rylee smiled and thanked him before he got up to leave. His words made her feel better, but she didn’t know for how long. For years, Mekhi was all that she knew. She knew that she would get over him eventually, but it wasn’t going to be easy.

  Chapter 16

  Two whole weeks had passed since Rylee left home and Mekhi was losing it. He’d been calling her phone non-stop until she eventually blocked him from calling altogether. She swore to him that they would discuss everything at a later date, but that turned out to be a lie. She also promised that she wouldn’t go stay with Zyra, but that’s exactly where she went. Mekhi now knew that she basically told him whatever he wanted to hear in order to get away from him with no problems. The thought of his wife actually leaving him for good was making him crazy. And the thought of her being under the same roof as Zyrian was enough to make him want to commit a crime. Then, as if things weren’t already bad enough, Zyra opened her big ass mouth and told Rylee about him and Brandy. Rylee wouldn’t tell him how she found out, but she didn’t have to. He knew without a doubt that Zyra was the guilty one.

  “Man you need to chill out with all that drinking. That’s all you’ve been doing lately,” Buck said as he and Mekhi sat at the bar at MJ’s.

  The
bar wasn’t opened just yet, and they were the only two in there for now. This was actually Mekhi’s first time going back since the night Rylee left. He’d been in a deep depression and wanted to be left alone. Frank and his other managers made sure everything ran smoothly because he wasn’t in the mood.

  “Bruh I’m stressed the fuck out,” Mekhi yelled. “Rylee is still on that bullshit talking about a divorce. I swear I see why ole boy did what he did to her sister. This shit is messing with me mentally.”

  “That’s fucked up Mekhi. You wrong for even saying some shit like that,” Buck said in disgust.

  “Man I love Rylee more than I love myself. You know I wouldn’t do nothing to hurt her.”

  “What do you think you were doing when you were cheating on her? That shit hurt her too. That girl is fucked up over this man. You probably lost a good woman all because of these bum bitches that you be messing with. And then you got hoes sending pictures to your phone knowing that your wife might see it,” Buck argued.

  “Rylee never touched my work phone before. The only reason she touched it that time was because I wasn’t there to get it myself.”

  “But that’s still not an excuse,” Buck said continually arguing his point.

  “I know it’s not an excuse. I’m done bruh, on God I’m done with all of that other shit. I just need to get back right with my wife.”

  “You better hope it’s not too late,” Buck warned.

  “Whose side are you on? You talking like you don’t want me to get back right with her. What, you trying to make sure she’s available for your cousin?” Mekhi accused giving him the side eye.

  “Nigga don’t try to come at me sideways on no stupid shit like that. Zyrian got a girl, so he ain’t checking for Rylee and nobody else right now. You fucked up, and now you’re mad because you got caught. You knew that hoe was off limits, but you just had to go there. You need to be happy that Rylee don’t know who it is. And your ass better be lucky that she didn’t find out about that lil girl that you’ve been hiding.”

  “I know I messed up, but I’m trying to fix it if she lets me.”

  “A broken promise is one of the hardest things to fix. You need to think on that. I’m out,” Buck said as he got up and walked out of the front door.

  Mekhi had a lot on his mind already, and Buck just gave him, even more, to think about. He was right; he did break his promises to his wife. The only thing he had to do was be faithful, and he couldn’t even do that. He just needed another chance to get it right. Rylee wasn’t even taking his calls, so he couldn’t even plead his case. He didn’t want to show up at Zyra’s house or her job, but she wasn’t giving him any other choice. He decided to give her a few more days and then he was going to get his wife back.

  ***

  “You know you don’t have to babysit me every weekend Zyrian. I’ll be fine,” Rylee said.

  “What would you look like going to the movies all by yourself? I don’t mind hanging with you while your best friend is being a hoe,” Zyrian laughed

  “Don’t call my friend a hoe. She’s just doing her. Maybe I should have been more like her, and I wouldn’t have gotten messed over.”

  “Nah, that’s not your style. You’re a good girl, so being a hoe wouldn’t have worked for you.”

  “Yeah, but look at what being a good girl got me,” Rylee challenged.

  “Why do you keep blaming yourself for Mekhi cheating on you? That nigga was foul, but that ain’t have nothing to do with you,” Zyrian assured her.

  “I know, but I just can’t help but think that it was something that I wasn’t doing to make him look elsewhere. I know it sounds cliché, but that’s how I feel,” Rylee said as she drove to their destination.

  When they pulled up to the movie theater, Rylee got out, walked up to the automated ticket machine and got two tickets for her and Zyrian to see Creed. After getting them some snacks, Rylee and Zyrian found some decent seats and enjoyed the movie. Once they were done, they drove around talking about nothing in particular. Zyrian showed her the house that he’d just sold and took her to the area that he wanted to get another house in.

  “You wanna go grab something to eat before we go in?” Rylee asked.

  “That’s cool,” Zyrian replied.

  He and Rylee ended up at New Orleans Food and Spirits enjoying a huge grilled shrimp salad. Their conversation flowed effortlessly, and Zyrian loved that about Rylee. She could talk about anything from sports to politics and keep the conversation entertaining.

  “Hey Rylee,” A slightly familiar voice greeted.

  Rylee smiled when she looked up and saw Angel standing at their table. She wasn’t the waitress who took their order, so Rylee figured that she was probably just now coming to work. Despite the minor attitude that Angel seemed to have occasionally, she and Rylee were cool. Rylee knew that she was no longer working at MJ’s, but Mekhi never told her why.

  “Hey Angel, I didn’t know that you worked here now,” Rylee spoke back just as she sat their bill on the table.

  “I got it. You already paid for everything at the movies,” Zyrian offered when he saw Rylee reaching for it.

  Angel looked back and forth between the two of them trying to figure out what was going on. Although Mekhi did his thing regularly, Angel never took Rylee for the cheating type. She couldn’t figure out where she knew the man from, but she could definitely see why he had Rylee’s attention. He was very attractive to say the least.

  “No,” Rylee said snatching it from his hand. “You’re doing me a favor by keeping me company. It’s my treat.”

  Zyrian tried to hide his smile, but it was hard. Beautiful and selfless, Rylee was definitely a keeper. She handed Angel some cash and waited for her to return with her change. Zyrian’s phone rang and he excused himself from the table right as Angel was making her way back over to them.

  “This is my pops. I’ll meet you out front,” Zyrian said right before he walked outside with his phone up to his ear.

  “Here you go Rylee,” Angel said as she handed her the receipt and her change.

  “Thanks, Angel. So, how long have you been working here?” Rylee pried.

  “Not that long. It’s been a little over two weeks now,” she replied.

  “Well, it’s a good thing that you left MJ’s anyway. I’m not sure what’s going to happen with it once me and Mekhi get divorced.”

  “Divorced!” Angel yelled causing other people to look over at them.

  “Yeah, shocking right?” Rylee giggled.

  “Not really. He’s the reason why I left MJ’s in the first place,” Angel said making Rylee look at her sideways.

  “And why is that?” Rylee asked even though she kind of figured what the answer would be.

  “I’m so sorry Rylee. I never meant for things to turn out the way that they did. I met Mekhi before I even started working at the bar and before I even knew you. We messed around for a while, and it was all good until I ended up pregnant.”

  “Pregnant!” Rylee repeated as her heart plummeted in her chest. “You were pregnant by Mekhi?”

  “Yes, but he went crazy when he found out. He begged me to get an abortion and I did. I was in a bad place in my life at the time. I was about to be evicted from my apartment, and I threatened to tell you if Mekhi didn’t help me out financially. That’s how I ended up working at MJ’s. He refused to give me any money, but he told me that I could work for it. Needless to say, he meant that in more ways than one.”

  “So that’s what the attitudes were all about. You were fucking my husband, and you got mad at me for whatever reason,” Rylee said as more of a statement rather than a question.

  “I apologize Rylee. You were always nice to me, and I shouldn’t have come at you like I did. I was wrong, and I had no reason to be upset with you. I can’t even be mad with Mekhi. He told me what it was, but I chose to stay and put up with it. You came first, and I knew that from day one,” Angel admitted.

  She swore that she would ne
ver tell Rylee what went down between her and Mekhi, but she was happy that she did. A huge burden had been lifted from her shoulders, and she was happy to finally be coming clean. Mekhi had been getting away with his wrong doings for too long, and it was time that he was stopped. She wasn’t trying to downplay her role in the situation because she was as much to blame as he was.

  “Wow,” was all that Rylee managed to say once Angel finished talking.

  “Again Rylee, I apologize for the part that I played in everything,” Angel said sincerely.

  “Your apologies aren’t necessary or needed at this point. The damage is already done. I’m sure that if Mekhi was still dicking you down on the regular, you wouldn’t even be standing here pouring your heart out to me right now. He played you, and you feel stupid. That’s the only reason why you’re confessing. You’re salty, and it shows. But I thank you for the info. You just helped me to see that I’ve made the right decision. Here, you can keep the change. It looks like you can use it,” Rylee said as she tossed a few crumpled up bills on the table and walked out leaving Angel speechless.

  Rylee walked outside and found Zyrian leaning up against her car still talking on his phone. Once he saw Rylee walking over to him, he ended the call with his father and got into the car. Zyrian was secretly hoping that his sister wasn’t home because he wanted to spend some more time with Rylee. She didn’t know it, but he was studying everything about her. He paid attention to her likes, dislikes and everything in between. He noticed how simple things meant so much to her. Just spending time with her family made her smile and Zyrian liked that.

  “I guess Zyra is still out having fun,” Rylee said when they pulled up in the driveway.

  Zyrian was happy that his sister wasn’t home, and he hoped that she didn’t rush getting there.

  “Yep, it looks like it’s just me and you again,” he smiled.

  “Zyrian I appreciate you wanting to be here for me, but you need to get out of this house. I’ll be okay,” Rylee promised him.