Her So Called Husband

by Chenell Parker

  I had him thinking that I was with Jada most of the time, but I had been spending all of my free time with Tyree. He and I were getting closer and I was really starting to like him a lot. I know he was feeling me just as much since he was always on me about leaving Dre to be with him. I still loved Dre, but leaving him to be with Tyree was sounding like a damn good idea.

  “You’re not going anywhere. Your ass is lying. Always talking about you with Jada!” Dre yelled pulling me from my thoughts.

  “Just let me go. You wrong for doing this shit while your kids are here,” I yelled.

  Dre’s kids had been here for the past three days. I didn’t have a problem with that because they were good kids, but they were not my responsibility. I wasn’t staying inside all day playing mama to this nigga and his children. He was happy as long as I was in the house up under his ass all day.

  When I left this time, I was staying away for a few days. I needed some time away from all this madness. I had enough clothes at my sister’s house to last me for a while. I would buy whatever I didn’t have.

  My biggest problem was not having a car. Dre always said he was going to buy me one, but I knew that would never happen. He was content with being the one to drop me off and pick me up from my destination. That was only so he could keep tabs on me. I had enough money saved up to buy me a nice car and I wouldn’t have to pay a note on it. I never really spent the money that Dre gave me so that was something that I really needed to consider.

  “If you wanted to go shopping that’s all you had to say. I could’ve gone to the mall with you,” Dre said.

  “Why do I have to go everywhere with you?” I asked. “I like to spend time with my friends sometimes too. And you not my damn daddy so I don’t have to ask your permission to go nowhere.” I was getting pissed off with this back and forth with his ass.

  “Look, I know I’m not your daddy, but you gon’ respect me like I respect you. I don’t walk out that door without telling you where I’m going.”

  “I told you I’m going shopping with Jada. What else you need to know?” I asked.

  “Yeah, just like last time when that nigga Malik went with y’all,” Dre said sarcastically.

  “You play all kind of games with your lying ass.”

  “Nigga, you’re the liar. I’m not the one that’s married and cheating,” I yelled.

  “Yeah, cheating with your ass so you can miss me with that married shit,” he retorted.

  “Whatever Dre. Jada is already on her way and I’m not even dressed.” I couldn’t wait to get the hell out of there.

  “I don’t give a fuck! You better call her and tell her you not going,” he yelled.

  That wasn’t happening. I don’t care if I left with a black eye and a busted lip, I was leaving. I didn’t answer because I knew it would only make matters worse. I proceeded to put my clothes on as if I didn’t hear what he said.

  “Think I’m playing if you want to,” Dre said standing by the bedroom door.

  I still didn’t answer. I knew he was just looking for a reason to go off on me. If I had to fight my way out then so be it. He was so busy worrying about me; he didn’t know what the hell his kids were doing on the other side of the closed door.

  When I was done getting dressed, I sat at the foot of the bed, awaiting Jada’s call, while Dre was still holding down his spot by the door staring at me. My phone beeped telling me that I had a text message. It was Jada saying that she was on her way and would call when she was out front. Dre and I continued to have a stare down, both refusing to back off.

  “I can’t see you doing all of this just to go to the mall with Jada. It’s more to the story than that,” Dre said breaking the silence.

  “There’s nothing more to the story. You’re just too insecure. You are the biggest cheater I know, but you can’t take being cheated on,” I replied. I regretted making the statement as soon as it left my mouth, but it was too late to take it back. Dre rushed over to me with fire in his eyes.

  “So you’re admitting the shit! You got somebody else?” he yelled while pulling my hair.

  I was so tired of fighting, but I was nobody’s punching bag so I had to fight back. I put my designer fingernails to good use and clawed at his face and arms in an attempt to free my hair from his grip.

  When that didn’t work, I started swinging on him like my life depended on it. He was much taller and stronger than I was, but none of that mattered to me at the moment.

  I heard my phone ringing, but there was no way that I could’ve answered it. Dre and I were fighting like we were in a boxing ring and tearing the house apart in the process. I heard banging on the bedroom door before Dre’s oldest daughter ran into the room.

  “Daddy, stop!” she cried while tugging at his shirt. I felt so bad for her, but it was her punk ass daddy’s fault that all of this was happening.

  “Go back in the living room and close the door,” Dre yelled out of breath.

  “No Daddy. Stop fighting Alexus,” she continued to cry. I was still swinging, trying to free myself from the position he had me in on the bed.

  Just then, Jada burst through the door with the other kids right behind her.

  “What the hell are y’all doing? Dre get off of her!” Jada yelled.

  “Mind your fucking business, Jada,” he barked at my friend.

  “My friend is my business nigga. You doing too much in front of these kids,” Jada snapped. We looked up and saw his children crying. Dre got up off of me and went to comfort them. I used that as my opportunity to get the hell out of there. I got up and grabbed my phone and purse, preparing to leave with my friend. I know my hair was a mess, but I didn’t care. I just needed to get out of that house.

  “Alexus!” Dre yelled as Jada and I made a mad dash for the front door.

  I ignored him and kept going. Once we got in the car, I broke down crying, while begging Jada to pull off. Apparently, she was calling my phone, but I didn’t answer. When she knocked on the door, Dre’s kids let her in and she heard all of the commotion. It was a good thing she came when she did or we would have still been fighting.

  “You OK?” Jada asked me softly.

  “I’ll be alright,” I replied. I wasn’t so sure about that, but I didn’t want her to worry.

  “It’s gonna be hard for you to leave him and I hope you know that. His ass is obsessed,” Jada laughed.

  I know she was trying to lighten up the mood, but that only made me feel worse because it was true. Dre had never acted this way before. This was all new to me and I was scared.

  “We just need some time apart,” I replied lowly. I don’t know if I was trying to convince her or myself.

  “I just want you to be careful. Don’t underestimate him Lex,” Jada said with concern in her voice. I knew she was right, but I didn’t think Dre would ever hurt me. At least I hope not. One thing was for sure, something had to change and fast. I fixed my hair in the mirror as I reached for my ringing phone. A smile instantly appeared on my face when I saw who was calling.

  “Hey Boo,” I cooed into the phone feeling like a kid at Christmas. Jada and I looked at each other and exchanged smiles. My day was going from shit to sugar and I had Tyree Taylor to thank for that.

  Chapter 16: D’ANDRE

  I was stressed the fuck out. Alexus had been gone for three days now and I was losing it. I know I was wrong for always putting my hands on her, but for some reason, she always had a way of bringing out the beast in me. I hated showing my emotions, but I couldn’t hide it when it came to her.Eric always laughed at me, saying I was pussy whipped. I never denied it because I couldn’t. It was no secret that she had me wide open. Even though I did my thing with other broads from time to time, Alexus would always have my heart. It was killing me to be away from her this long.

  I called her phone every five minutes, but she sent all of my calls straight to voicemail. She was back in school so I tried driving around there to see if I saw her. I didn’t know where any of h
er classes were. I usually dropped her off up front and she would disappear into the building. The University was so big; she could have entered from anywhere. They had a million entrances and exits and I didn’t have a clue as to where I should start.

  She was never at Jada’s house because I went there damn near every hour just to see if she would show up.Eric went to her sister’s and her mama’s house to ask them if they saw her, but they both said no. They didn’t know that Eric was my bother and that was a good thing. Alexus’s entire family hated me so they would’ve been more than happy to hide her out. That was cool with me because I was with her and not her family.

  I didn’t know where her feminine ass brother lived so I couldn’t go to his crib. I was public enemy number one to him, but he wasn’t dumb enough to step to me. She was always with Jada so I didn’t know of any other friends that she could be staying with. My gut was telling me that another man was in the picture. I just refused to believe it.

  My mama and my grandmother kept telling me that she was going to be the one to break my heart, but I couldn’t accept that as my fate. I was always the one who always did the heartbreaking. I didn’t like the way I was feeling at all. My appetite was fucked up so I barely ate. If I slept, it was only for an hour or two, then I was back up stressing about my problems.

  My kids had been calling me like crazy about taking them to the skating rink, but I wasn’t in the mood to do much of anything lately. I felt bad because I hadn’t seen them since all of this happened and I promised them that we could go somewhere. I didn’t want them to suffer because of what I was going through.

  I looked down at my ringing phone and frowned when I saw that it was Cherika calling. That bitch been blowing up my phone ever since she found out Alexus left. I knew my kids would tell her what happened, but I didn’t give a damn. I still didn’t want her trifling ass any more.

  “Yeah,” I answered sounding annoyed.

  “What’s wrong with you sounding all depressed?” She was enjoying this shit a little too much for me.

  “What you want, Cherika?” I snapped.

  “Your kids keep asking me if you’re coming to get them today. I thought y’all were going to the skating rink,” she replied.

  “I don’t know yet,” I sighed. “Tell them we might go tomorrow.”

  “You have been saying that for the past three days Dre. It’s not fair that they have to suffer because you and her having problems!” Cherika yelled.

  “First of all, you better watch who the fuck you hollering at! I got a lot of shit to do today so I don’t know if I’ll be able to go. Tell them we’ll go tomorrow and they can spend the night with me,” I said, trying to shut her up. Besides, I needed a distraction to keep my mind off of my troubles.

  “Ok. I’ll let them know so they can stop bothering me about it.”

  Knowing Cherika, she was probably the only one worried about it. She would use my kids as an excuse to get me over there. I noticed she would always have on some boy shorts or a little ass dress whenever I went to pick up my kids. She even offered to give me head on a few occasions. I was always tempted, but I never took the bait.

  “Alright Cherika, tell them I’ll be there sometime tomorrow. I’ll holler later,” I said as I hung up the phone and continued watching TV.

  Four days later and it had officially been a week since Alexus left. I was done playing these childish ass games. My mission was to find her so we could at least talk. It shouldn’t have been this damn hard to do. I dropped my children off at home and was now sitting outside of Alexus’s school once again. I wanted to see if I could ask some of the other students if they knew her. It was kind of empty in front of the school so I assumed everyone was in class. I spotted a tall chick with a backpack on coming my way so I knew she was a student.

  “Excuse me,” I said as I approached her.

  “Yes,” she said with a slight attitude. Her hands were on her hips and I knew right from the start that she was a bitch.

  “You know a girl named Alexus Bailey that goes to this school?” I asked her.

  “No, and I if I did I wouldn’t tell you nothing. I don’t even know you,” she snapped. I was just about to go off on her ugly ass when another chick stepped up and started talking.

  “You’re talking about Alexus with the long hair and the blonde highlights?” she asked. The other bitch walked off and it was a good thing that she did.

  “Yeah, you know her?” I asked.

  “If we talking about the same girl, we have a class together,” she replied.

  “Let me show you her picture,” I said as I pulled out my phone. I scrolled through some of my pictures until I found one of Alexus.

  “Yeah, that’s her. We have our lab lecture at the same time, but we don’t go back until Monday,” she said. I was a little upset being that today was only Thursday, but at least I was making progress.

  “If I give you my number, can you call me when you see her?” I was desperate at this point. She looked like she was hesitant until I pulled a knot of money from my front pocket.

  “I got you so don’t worry about that,” I told her.

  “Yeah, I can do that for you,” she replied as she eyed my stash. I peeled off three hundred dollar bills and handed them over to her. I wrote my number on the notebook that she handed me.

  “Where is the class?”I asked her. The school was big as hell so I didn’t know where nothing was located.

  “It’s in room 107 in building fourteen,” she replied.

  “Alright, but what’s your name?” I asked. I gave this heifer my money and didn’t know a damn thing about her.

  “My name is Nicole,” she replied.

  “Alright Nicole; you got my money so make sure you use my number. Don’t play any games,” I warned her.

  “I’m not into playing games. As soon as I see her, I’m going to call you. Is that your girlfriend or something?” she asked me.

  “My name is Dre. I’ll be waiting to hear from you,” I replied, ignoring her question.

  “I hope you’re not trying to kill her or anything,” she yelled as I got in my truck. She was a dumb bitch. Like I would give her my name and number if I was trying to kill somebody. I ignored her once again as I pulled out of the parking lot. As soon as I pulled off, my phone started ringing, displaying Cherika’s number. I didn’t know what she could have wanted since I just left her house an hour ago.

  “What Cherika?” I said into my truck’s speakerphone.

  “Was Lil Dre feeling bad when he was with you?” she asked.

  “No. He didn’t say he was feeling bad. Why?”

  “He has a fever and he said his stomach hurts,” she replied.

  “Well give him some Tylenol or something,” I said.

  “I don’t have any in here. Can you pick some up for me?” she asked.

  This was the shit I was talking about. With four kids in the house, she should have had any and everything they needed. Alexus even had medicine for them at our house and that wasn’t even her kids.

  “Yeah, alright, Cherika. I’ll be there in a minute,” I said, disconnecting the call. I made a U-turn in the middle of the street and headed back in the direction of the drug store.

  I used my key to enter Cherika’s house and found her and Lil Dre lying on the sofa. When my son saw me, he reached for me to pick him up. He put his head on my shoulder and I felt the warmth coming from his entire body. I sat him down at a bar stool in the kitchen and started opening up the medicine that I just purchased for him.

  “I got you some soup and crackers lil man. You have to eat something before you take this medicine,” I told my son. I warmed his food and watched him eat as much as he could. When he was done, I gave his some Tylenol and carried him upstairs to his room. I wiped him down with a cold towel and put his pajamas on him. I had been in his room tending to him for over an hour, when Cherika decided to come upstairs.

  “How is he feeling?” she asked. I ignored her and continu
ed watching TV. My son was falling asleep and I didn’t want to leave until he did.

  “Is he feeling any better?” Cherika asked again.

  “Look, I been up here with him for almost two hours and you didn’t think to come check on him then, so don’t come asking me no questions now. He’s straight!” I yelled.

  “Damn, I was just asking,” she said.

  “I knew you had him, that’s why I didn’t come up here,” she said as she left out of the room. She was sad. I bet if I was sick, she would have waited on me hand and foot, but she couldn’t do the same with her own child.

  Once I made sure Lil Dre was asleep, I went to check on my other kids. They were sleeping as well. I walked down the hall in search of Cherika to make sure she gave my son some more medicine in a few hours. I found her in her room wearing nothing but a t-shirt and underwear. I can’t lie, she was still fine as hell with her flawless chocolate skin and round ass, but she just wasn’t Alexus. I was in love with another woman and my marriage was over because of that fact.

  “I’m leaving. Make sure you give him some more medicine before you go to bed. He’s sleep so you might have to wake him up,” I said from the doorway of her bedroom.

  She got up from the bed, sauntered over to me, and pulled me into the room by my arm. Before I could protest, she dropped to her knees and started unbuckling my pants. Any other time I would have slapped the shit out her for pulling a stunt like this, but today was her lucky day. Alexus had been MIA for a week. Me and my man down there were in need of some attention. I closed and locked the door just in case one my kids decided to barge in.

  “Damn,” was all I could utter as Cherika took me into her mouth and started sucking the life out of me.

  After a few minutes, I grabbed the back of her head and pumped faster and harder in her mouth. I heard her gagging as I touched the back of her throat, but I was in a zone and I couldn’t stop. I felt my release building up and I was trying to reach the finish line. All of a sudden, Cherika pulled back and stood to her feet. She turned around and bent down, grabbing her ankles. I was too weak to stop her as she guided my hardness into her opening. She wasn’t as tight as Alexus, but after having four kids, that was no surprise. We hadn’t had sex in a while and I hadn’t realized how much I missed it until now. Cherika was a freak in every sense of the word. Nothing was off limits to her in the bedroom. I grabbed her hips and went to work as she tried to keep her balance so she wouldn’t fall.