“At least I don’t have a black eye this time,” she said sounding stupid.
“What happened to set him off this time?” I asked.
“He’s pissed because I told him that I’m going to whip Brooklyn’s ass the next time I see her. He’s been spending nights at that bitch’s house like he doesn’t have a woman at home,” she replied angrily.
“I don’t know why you keep putting up with this shit. He’s beating on you behind the next bitch. You need to whip both of their asses.”
“I’m not like you Nadia. I don’t have any other friends or family to run to. Kevin is all I have. You’re the only female friend I’ve ever had,” she cried.
“I can’t believe he’s messing with Brooklyn. All these years they claimed to be just friends.”
“It seems like it means more to him than it does to her. I’ve been checking his phone for weeks, and she barely calls him. Sometimes she doesn’t even text his stupid ass back. If I didn’t think he would kill me or throw me out on the streets, I would have been sliced Brooklyn’s ass up. He loves her, and even I can see that,” Shannon admitted. “He’s the only thing that’s saving her though.”
“That’s messed up. He doesn’t even try to hide it,” I replied.
“I don’t want you to fool yourself into thinking that Kyle is any better. He’s even worse than Kevin is. The only difference is you’re not here every day to see it.”
“Don’t get it twisted. I don’t have a problem walking away.”
“If that’s the case then why are you still with him? He does the same thing to you that Kevin does to me. He cheats and hits on you too. You have other options, but I don’t. If my mama was still alive, I wouldn’t even be here.
That was the million dollar question. Besides the sex, Kyle wasn’t good for much more. He gave me money, but that was only because I was taking all of the risks to get it. Shannon and I risked our freedom, but he and his brother reaped the benefits. Then to know that he was messing with Tiffany was another low blow. He could have had any other bitch in the world, but he chose her. I was getting sick and tired of men taking my kindness for weakness. I have a good heart, but I always managed to give it to the wrong men. I really thought that Dominic was different, but I was dead wrong. He’s a typical man just like all the others. Honestly, I was sick of being in Louisiana altogether. My mother and two little brothers had moved to Virginia two years ago, and she was begging me to move there with her. Most of our family lived there, and that’s where she was born and raised. At first, I was against it, but now it sounded like a damn good idea.
KENNEDI
Two weeks is all I have left before Dominic, and I walk down the aisle. I’m excited beyond words. If everything goes according to the plan, my day is going to be perfect. The black and champagne colors that I chose are beautiful and give off an elegant appearance. My bridesmaids’ dresses are beautiful, and so are the men’s tuxedos. I don’t have any friends, so Tiffany, my cousin Shelly, and Dominic’s sister Nyla are my only bridesmaids. Dominic chose Scott, his little brother Ivan, and David, of course, to be his groomsmen. Our mothers are wearing beautifully designed champagne colored dresses with black accessories. I didn’t know until a few days ago that Dominic even had DJ a tux made to match his. I was pissed when I found out, but I had to play it off. I had Dominic’s tux designed and tailored specifically for him. I didn’t want him to be dressed like the other men in the wedding party. He’s the groom, so he’s supposed to stand out. I would have been alright if DJ matched the groomsmen, but not the groom. Then he wanted him to walk down the aisle with his parents. I had everything planned out, but Dominic was changing things up to include his son in everything. He even had his son’s name included on our programs. He’s walking now, but there really wasn’t much that he could do. I wasn’t having a bridal shower because there really was nobody for me to invite. Bryce wasn’t coming to the wedding, but he and David are throwing Dominic a bachelor party the night before the ceremony. Since our wedding party is so small, my mother decided against having a rehearsal dinner and we would just practice a few days before. Aside from all of that, today was DJ’s first birthday party. He turned a year old yesterday. I really didn’t want to come, but that wouldn’t have been a good look seeing as how Dominic and I would be married two weeks from now. Dominic’s parents have a huge lot next door to their house, and that’s where the party is being held. The theme is superheroes and they went all out. I’ve never in my life seen a child’s party like the one he’s having. It was entirely too much for a one-year-old. I didn’t know how much Dominic spent, but it had to be a lot. I sat at a table under the tent in awe as I looked on at all of the festivities. They have a water slide and spacewalk as well as a craft table where a lady was doing face paintings. A photographer walked around taking pictures, and there was a superheroes photo backdrop set up in the corner. The cake table was to die for. They had a bunch of sweets and party favors surrounding the three tier cake and cupcakes. Then they had the superheroes rented characters there to entertain the many children that were in attendance. Dominic’s dad was on the grill while Brooklyn’s father boiled the seafood. Everyone had on a superheroes themed shirt or something that coincides with the party except for me. Dominic offered to get me something, but I refused. As usual, I was dressed to kill in a sleeveless Gucci bandage dress with the matching sandals. I was slightly overdressed for a child’s party, but I didn’t care. Nobody out here could touch me, including Brooklyn. She wore a fitted tank that matched the theme of the party with a pair of shorts that were entirely too short. That heifer has a bad ass shape, but she still didn’t intimidate me or so I tried to make myself believe. I noticed how Dominic kept checking her out, but I didn’t want to cause a scene in front of everyone. They were both running around playing with DJ like one big happy family. When they took pictures together, I was pissed. I knew that it was their son’s birthday party, but I felt completely disrespected. Dominic’s mother sat with me off and on throughout the party, and I appreciated her for making me feel welcomed. David was off with Brooklyn’s family having fun on the waterslide along with Nyla and Ivan. I didn’t plan on staying until the end since it was clearly evident that I was the outsider.
“You want something to eat Kennedi?” Dominic asked taking a seat next to me. He was holding his son who was soaking wet from being on the water slide. I was baby whenever we were at home, but I was Kennedi when were anywhere else. I was trying not to nag, but it was proving to be a hard task.
“I’m surprised you even remembered that I was here,” I snapped.
“You can miss me with your nasty ass attitude. It’s my son’s party, and I’m not even going there with you today,” he replied. “Now do you want something to eat or not?”
“No, I’m fine. I’m about to be going home anyway,” I answered.
“Alright cool, I’ll see you later,” he said as he stood up and walked away. I couldn’t believe how he dismissed me like that. Then to make matters worse he was standing by the cake table laughing and smiling with Brooklyn and her family. I grabbed my clutch and stood to my feet.
“Are you leaving Kennedi?” Mrs. Liz asked me. She was walking over to me just as I was preparing to go.
“Yeah, I have to meet with the wedding planner to discuss some last minute things,” I lied.
“It’s almost that time. I know you’re excited,” she said smiling.
“I can’t wait,” I smiled back even though I felt like crying. It dawned on me that no matter how I felt about it, Brooklyn would always be a part of our lives. Mrs. Liz walked me outside and hugged me right before I got in my car and pulled off. My phone rang as soon as I turned the corner. I was hoping that it was Dominic calling to apologize, but I had no such luck.
“What’s up Scott?” I said as I pushed the talk button on my steering wheel.
“Nothing much, I’m just calling to check on you. I know DJ’s party is today, and I wanted to make sure that you were alrig
ht,” he answered.
“Aww, you are so sweet. I just left from the party though. It’s not like I’ll be missed anyway since my man is smiling all up in his baby mama’s face,” I complained.
“I’m on my way to get me something to eat. You are more than welcomed to join me. It’s my treat, of course.”
“Just tell me where and I’m on my way,” I replied happily. At least somebody wanted to be bothered with me since Dominic didn’t. I was surprised that Scott wasn’t at the party, but I never asked him why. When he gave me the name of the restaurant, I made a detour and was on my way.
****
Two weeks later, Dominic and I stood before God and all of our family and friends and recited our wedding vows. I was finally Mrs. Dominic Omari Roberts, and I couldn’t be happier. Our wedding day turned out to be beautiful, and I couldn’t have asked for anything more. Thanks to Dominic, my father came to the wedding, but my uncle Thomas still walked me down the aisle. Dominic had been talking to him in the weeks leading up to our wedding, and he felt sorry for him. I almost felt sorry for him too until he did the unthinkable. He told Dominic about why I was unable to successfully hold a baby. I was crushed when Dominic asked me about it after one of our wedding rehearsals. I spent the eve of my wedding day telling my husband how my mother forced me to get three abortions before I was even old enough to drive. If he didn’t hate my mother before, he damn sure hated her now.
Then my dad had the audacity to bring his wife and his other kids to my wedding. I was heated when Dominic called him over to take pictures with us at the reception. To save face, I smiled and pretended like everything was all good. I’m sure people were wondering why he didn’t walk me down the aisle or have on the same colors as my wedding party. He was now sitting at the table eating and drinking like he was the father of the year. Even though he paid for most of the wedding, I could have done without seeing him here. My mother was being her usual self and showing off for all of the guests. After we took pictures and had our first dance as husband and wife, I changed my dress and sat down at the table that was reserved for us. Dominic grabbed DJ and started mingling with the crowd. He wanted me to walk around with him, but I wasn’t in the mood. He was more of a people person than I was, so that was more of his thing. His entire family was there, and he seemed to be enjoying himself without me anyway. He was currently knocking back shots with his cousins and David. It was my wedding day, but his son was the center of his universe just like always. Everybody was so busy admiring how cute he looked dressed like his daddy in his little tux that I ended up fading into the background. I couldn’t wait until we left to go to Hawaii in the morning. At least we would be by ourselves for an entire week.
“This is your wedding day. You should be turning up,” Tiffany said as she took a seat next to me. “I’ve been posting pictures on Facebook and Instagram all day.”
“Girl please, thanks to that ugly ass lil boy of his, I don’t even feel like the bride,” I complained.
“You are wrong for calling that baby ugly,” Tiffany laughed. “If he’s ugly then so is your husband. They look just alike.”
“I can’t wait to have my own damn baby. I guarantee he’s going to forget all about him,” I swore.
“Well, you better make it happen. You have a whole week in Hawaii to get knocked up. Have you been taking the fertility drugs?” She asked.
“Nope, Dominic didn’t want me to start seeing the doctor until after the wedding. He said it was too expensive at the time,” I admitted. “With all of the money that he spent on DJ’s party, he wants to complain about me seeing a fertility doctor for us to have a baby.”
“Don’t try to compete with that man’s son Kennedi. I promise you’ll lose every time if you do,” Tiffany warned me.
“That’s just it Tiffany I shouldn’t have to compete with a one-year old for my husband’s attention. I should know that I come first at all times.”
“Kennedi, you will never come before his child. It’s not that he doesn’t love you. It’s just different when it comes to a parent and their children. I went through the exact same thing when I was with Bryce. He made sure I knew that his daughters came first. Hell, even their mama came first with him. That’s why he went back to that bitch,” Tiffany acknowledged. “I’m glad my new boo is child-free.”
Without even knowing it, my cousin had just given me a lot to think about. Dominic never verbally expressed it, but his actions showed me that his son came first. That also made me wonder how he felt about Brooklyn. She was the mother of his first and only child so there has to be some kind of feelings involved.
“What’s wrong baby?” Dominic asked as he sat down next to me. He ignored Tiffany just like he always does. He couldn’t stand my cousin for a number of reasons.
“Nothing is wrong I’m just tired. What’s wrong with him?” I asked referring to his son who was whining.
“He’s tripping and don’t want anybody to hold him. He wants to walk around on his own,” he replied.
“How is he getting home?” I asked. We were staying at a hotel, and there was no way in hell I was spending my wedding night with his son.
“He’s spending the night with my mama and daddy,” he answered. That figures since Brooklyn never had her own child.
“I can’t wait to go to Hawaii,” I said smiling at my husband.
“I know me too. This is the first time that I’ll be away from my baby,” he said while looking down at DJ. He couldn’t even have a tender moment with me without making it about his son.
****
A few hours later, our guests were leaving, and we were wrapping things up. David and Scott loaded all of our gifts onto their father’s truck and took them to our house. Most of our gifts were cash and gift cards so there weren’t that many. Once Dominic said his goodbyes to his family and DJ, we headed to our hotel room. One of his cousins drove us there, and David was picking us up in the morning to take us to the airport. Dominic was drunk, so his cousin had to help me get him to the room. He was all over me as soon as the door closed.
“Wait a minute Dominic,” I yelled. He was so impatient that he was actually trying to rip my dress off. I pushed him off of me and proceeded to take my dress off slowly. By the time I was done, he was lying across the bed naked. I walked over, and he pulled me in right along with him.
It was our wedding night, so I didn’t complain when he positioned me on all fours and started pounding me from behind like a mad man. I could do without the hair pulling, but it wasn’t too bad. As usual, I held on tight while he did all the work. I was actually starting to enjoy it, but that was short lived.
“Damn Brook,” he breathed heavily into the back of my neck while he continued to thrust into me.
My entire body froze up when I heard him call me her name. I couldn’t believe that he was actually thinking about another bitch while he was having sex with me on our wedding day. He was so intoxicated that he just kept going without a care in the world. He never even noticed the change in my demeanor from his slip of the tongue.
Once he was done, he collapsed on the bed and was knocked out in a matter of minutes. I hurriedly jumped up from the bed and ran into the bathroom. I slid down to the floor and cried my heart out on what was supposed to be the happiest day of my life.
BROOKLYN
I’d been so depressed for the past few days that all I did was sit inside and cry. I didn’t make it any better by staring at Dominic’s wedding pictures all day. I knew that Tiffany was being messy when she posted them online, but it still hurt. We had some of the same friends on social media so she knew that I would see them. I wanted to die when I saw them on the pictures with my son like they were one big happy family. I don’t know why, but for some reason I didn’t think that Dominic was going to go through with getting married. I guess the joke was on me because he was now on his honeymoon in Hawaii. He’d been gone for four days and was due to come home in three more. I was so happy that DJ was staying with his gra
ndparents for a few days. I wasn’t in any condition to care for him right now. Besides going to school, I didn’t leave my house. David and my cousins tried to get me to go out with them a few times, but I always refused. I was stretched out on the sofa when somebody started ringing my doorbell. I was expecting my cousins, but I peeked through the peephole just to be sure.
“You need your ass whipped,” Co-Co fussed as soon as I opened the door for him and Candace.
“Please don’t start, I’m not in the mood for a lecture,” I begged.
“I don’t give a damn what you’re in the mood for. You want to be so grown, but you keep making these childish decisions,” he yelled.
“Here,” Candace said handing me the Walgreens bag that contained the pregnancy test that I asked them to bring me. Although I knew my cycle was irregular, I’d been feeling nauseous for the past few days. If this test came back positive, I was going to die a slow death. Kevin and I had only had sex twice, but my stupid ass didn’t use protection once. If I was pregnant, I was going straight to the abortion clinic, no questions asked. There was no way I was having a baby by him. I was already having regrets about sleeping with him in the first place. I’ve been trying to break away from him, but he wasn’t taking no for an answer. After months of him just giving me oral sex, I needed something more. I hadn’t been with Dominic in a while so he was the next best thing. I guess it meant more to him than it did to me because he was straight up stalking me. It’s been a few months since we last had sex and I swore that I would never go there again. He called or texted me all day, several times a day. He was so jealous of Dominic that it was ridiculous. Every time he couldn’t get in touch with me he thought that was who I was with. I kept telling him that I didn’t want us to be anything more than friends, but I crossed that line when I had sex with him. Then to make matters worse, Bryce told me about some of the things that Kevin and Kyle were supposed to be involved in. I wish he would have said something sooner, but the damage was already done by then. I felt like I didn’t even know him anymore. He’d even stopped coming to school, but that never kept him from coming on campus to look for me. I started taking an entirely different route to get to my classes because of him. I even had Bryce picking me up from a different spot.
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