by Tiece
“Ma,” she called out as if Nina was across a field somewhere.
“Yes, Macy.” Nina answered, cutting her eyes at her.
“Marc keeps coming in my room bothering me,” she heatedly stated with her hand on her hip.
“Tell your brother to sit his ass down somewhere and stay the hell outta your room!” She yelled out, so Marc could hear her for himself.
Macy smiled and closed the patio door shut.
“See? These children aggravate the hell outta me. Marc is the oldest one, and act like the youngest sometimes, stirring the kids up. I can’t even sit on my porch and relax without every five minutes, somebody doing something that they ain’t got no damn business doing.”
Scarlett grinned a little.
“That shit ain’t funny,” Nina irritably stated while toking on another cigarette. “That’s why I smoke so damn much.”
Scarlett continued to grin. “You and those nieces and nephews of mine,” she commented.
“After I had Mya, I said I was done. I’d had my two girls and my two boys. That was it. I told the doctor to snatch them damn tubes out. I won’t be needn’ them no more.” She clowned, causing Scarlett to laugh out loud. “I’m for real.” She laughed and shook her head.
“Your ass is crazy,” Scarlett stated, but she needed that laugh. “I had a wet dream this morning,” she blurted out.
“Was it a good one?” Nina excitedly asked as she dumped the ashes from her cigarette.
“It seemed to be a good one at first, but then I immediately felt guilty once I woke up.”
“Le’me guess, Jay?” Nina commented.
“You know it. I don’t even know why I’m dreaming about him. We hadn’t had sex since him and Sheila started fucking around.”
“And you don’t need to either. Let High Yellow have his stank ass.”
“I am,” Scarlett assured her. “I’m over Jay.”
“Okaaaaaay,” Nina said not convinced that Scarlett didn’t have unresolved feelings for Jay. “So, are you ready to go to Tennessee tomorrow?” she asked.
“Girl, I can’t wait. I need this vacation. I wish you would go with us.”
Nina smacked her lips. “And be a third wheel? Hell naw! Ain’t nothing but white people up there at them cabins anyway. Shit, I’m looking for me a man. A brother with dark skin.”
“Hush girl.” Scarlett laughed. “It’s brothers up there, I’m sure.”
“You said Pigeon Forge cabins right?” Nina asked.
“Yeah,” Scarlett said, puzzled.
“Well, that ain’t what I seen on the website when I pulled it up.” She joked. “I didn’t see no black people. Y’all gonna be the only two there.”
Scarlett shook her head. “Stop lying.”
“Okay, I’m just messing with you.” she said with a smile. “The place looks gorgeous, and the cabins are definitely nice as hell, but I think you need this alone time with Luke. Maybe y’all can discuss some things and you can maybe let him in on some of your past.”
Scarlett looked over at her with a frown. “I don’t think so.”
“Stop being so stubborn and at least tell him that your mama isn’t dead,” Nina suggested.
“She’s dead to me.”
Nina disappointedly shook her head. “You know that ain’t right, Red. Gwen is a handful, but I believe that Luke would understand a lot more if he knew about her. It would give him insight as to why you made some of the decisions that you made back then.”
“Naaaaah,” Scarlett responded. “Some things, I’m taking to the grave.”
“But just think about it. If April tries to get Faye to pull a fast one on you, then that could always be your excuse; your back-up. I mean, once he meets Gwen, he’ll know that it couldn’t have been easy on you growing up with her crazy ass.”
“I just don’t even wanna mention Gwen to him. She has been, and still is, such a huge disappointment. I’d never want to tell him that she was alive, because then I’d have to explain that she’s a crack head, a whore, a sneaky bitch who hated her own daughter from the day I was born.” She glanced down at the wooden floor of the back porch sadly, and then sucked in the last bit of smoke from the cigarette.
“I’d have to tell him how Gwen was raped and always blamed me for it.” She shook her head, throwing the cigarette butt on the ground. “I’d rather deal with April and Faye personally than come clean about Gwen.”
Nina knew that Scarlett meant every word of that, so she didn’t press the issue any more.“Well we’re just gonna have to find a way to deal with Luke’s ex-girlfriend, Miss April and her lil best friend, Phaedra.” Nina stated.
Scarlett sighed. “Ain’t it something how Phaedra “AKA” Faye used to be our running partner, but has now become an enemy?”
“It’s kinda hard to believe, but that’s how fake bitches will do you. She even knows how to unravel you. She knows what to say and do to make you lose it and from the looks of things, it’s working. Look at you,” she said.
Scarlett thought about it for moment. It made sense what Nina was saying. The ladies had threatened her in hopes that she would lose a screw or two, and she was giving them exactly what they wanted.
“You know what Nina, you’re right.”
“Aren’t I always?” Nina sarcastically answered with a grin.
Scarlett smirked at her comment. “Anyways… I’m not gonna let that shit bother me no more. At least, not this weekend, while I’m with my man.”
“Good,” Nina said. “We’ll deal with them in due time.”
“You’re right.” Scarlett agreed.
They sat quietly for a moment, enjoying the morning breeze as the sun began to peek out from behind the gray clouds. Nina looked over at Scarlett as Sheila crossed her mind. “Soooo, how does High Yellow feel about you leaving for the weekend?”
Scarlett shook her head with a smile. “Well you know Sheila. She acts as if she’s happy for me, but I don’t believe it for one second.”
“You better not,” Nina reminded her. “She’s still a snake that has already bitten you more than once, don’t you forget that. I still say that she knew about you and Jay fucking around. She just pretended that she didn’t know. That’s why she all of a sudden wanted him so bad.”
Scarlett seemed confused. “You think so?”
“Of course I do. Even though they’ve been together just as long as you and Luke have, she still tries to drop salt on you any chance she gets, just to make sure that he stays away.”
“I don’t know about that, Nina. Sheila is devious in her own way, but I don’t think she ever knew about me and Jay. We were very tight lipped about that, especially him.”
“Okay… I’m tryna tell you. Just watch her ass, because she’s no good. Your mama even told you that. Not to mention if she ever finds out that you’re fucking her daddy, she’s going straight to her mama and you’ll be out of a job.”
Scarlett disappointedly shook her head. “You’re right, because no telling what kinda dirty shit she’d pull if she knew about that.”
“But if I was you, I wouldn’t give a damn about her ass. Don’t get me wrong, I understand why you must keep it a secret. It’s just funny how she’s did so much to try to keep you down.”
“But she can’t.” Scarlett chimed in. “And job or no job, I’m gonna keep fucking with Greg because he’s very good to me, and honestly, I like him a lot. It’s crazy, being that I love Luke. He’s like the boyfriend that I’ve always wanted, and Greg is like the mentor that I never had, if that makes sense.”
“Oh, it makes plenty sense.” Nina commented, thinking about Greg being the old school married man who knows what a woman needs without her having to ask. Luke, on the other hand, who’s a younger man, but knows how to treat his lady by wining and dining her to the fullest.
Scarlett looked down at her watch. “Well, I have to go, babez. I have packing to do, and I need to talk to Anton before I leave. He’s been acting a little off key lately. I need
to find out what’s going on with him.”
“It probably has something to do with him tryna be a lil player now,” Nina teased, making Scarlett laugh.
“I don’t know, girl, but you could be right. Lately, Samantha has been stopping by the house a little too often, unannounced.”
“Oh hell yeah,” Nina commented with a smirk. “She has that woman’s intuition that her man is giving out the goods.” They laughed.
“That’s the same thing I’ve tried to warn him about. But you know Ant, the grown, soon to be nineteen-year-old, thinks he has this all under control. I know one thing, he better, because Samantha definitely hasn’t been herself lately. It’s like she has started to let herself go or something. You should see her. She comes to the house now with jogging pants and sneakers on, with her hair pulled up in one of those I don’t give a shit looking ponytails. She doesn’t even talk much now. It’s like she’s changed over night or something.”
Nina laughed. It was strange for Samantha to look like that, since she was always on point. “Did you ask him what was up with her?”
“Yeah, but he’s acting clueless.”
“Or more like secretive,” Nina cut in.
Scarlett shook her head. “Sheila even made a comment about her one day at work. Not that it’s unusual for her to bad mouth her lil sister, but this time she sounded concerned about her.”
“Hmm, something must be wrong with her if Sheila seems worried. Hell, I didn’t know that bitch had a heart.”
“Hush girl.” Scarlett said and laughed.
Nina cut her eyes at Scarlett. “Just keep your brother warned, because we wouldn’t want Samantha to turn out to be like her devilish ass sister.” She paused for a moment. “Talk about sleeping with the enemy.”
Scarlett nodded her head in agreement. “Trust me, I will. I’m going to holla at him as soon as I get home. Plus, I need to make sure he knows that Gwen is not to be in my house while I’m gone.”
Nina grinned. “I feel you,” she said. “But we’re still on for drinks tonight, right?”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I’ll call you later with a definite time.”
“Okay,” Nina responded, watching Scarlett walk the back path back down to her house.
Chapter 3
Anton and Breanne chatted as they finished eating their breakfast that he’d gone out to pick them up from the Waffle House. He genuinely liked Breanne, and had been seeing her strongly for the past month. She had a lively personality that he adored, not to mention a beautiful smile that brightened most of his days.
He bit his bacon and looked over at her with a smile as she drank her orange juice. He hated the fact that he was physically there in the flesh, but his thoughts were on Samantha, and how their relationship had suffered after she’d decided to have an abortion a couple weeks prior. Even though they were still together, they weren’t as close as they had been in the past. He felt bad for her, because he knew how bad she wanted to have their baby, but she didn’t want to disappoint her mom and dad. They’d worked hard for her to have a bright future, and that didn’t include having a baby at the age of seventeen. He wanted nothing but for them to be like they were in the beginning, but he could tell that losing the baby took a toll on her, and he could sense that her feelings for him weren’t the same.
“Hey you,” Breanne called out, distracting him from his thoughts. “Where’d you go?” she asked.
He cleared his throat. “Huh?” he asked, hoping to buy more time so he could get it together.
“You were off in lala land for a minute.” she said, already figuring where his mind had gone and why.
“My bad. I’ve just been having a lot on my mind.”
“Need I ask about what?” She said with a smug grin.
“Come on now,” he said, trying to diffuse the situation before it started. “We had a good night and a great morning.” He reminded her of the love they’d made all night long and into the early morning hours. “I don’t want to talk about her.”
Breanne stood up and walked over to the dresser with her arms folded. “Why not, Anton? She is the reason why you can’t fully commit to me, even though she treats you like shit.”
“We ain’t gonna start this today, babe. You already know what the deal is with her.”
“But that doesn’t give her the right to treat you like she does.” Anton shook his head. Sometimes he hated telling her too much of his business concerning Samantha. “Hell, I understand that I’m the side chick. I don’t try to step on her toes. If you want the truth, I liked you better when she was ridin’ your dick. At least you were happier, and because of that, you gave me better company.” She scolded him.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” he irritably asked. She may have never stepped on Samantha’s toes, but she surely was stepping on his, talking reckless like that.
“You know what I’m talking about. For the last couple of weeks, your mind has been all over the place. I understand that you lost a baby too when Samantha had that abortion, but damn, that shit is coming between us.”
“Ain’t nothing coming between us,” he tried to reassure her.
“Yes the hell it is. It’s like you’re with me one minute, and then the next, you’re not.” She explained.
“Look babe, I’m sorry. I know it’s not easy being with me, but I have so much going on with Samantha at times.”
“I bet,” Breanne stated. “She treats you just like you’re treating me, and you can’t handle it.” Anton looked dumbfounded because she was actually right. “So how the hell do you think I feel, knowing that I’m way more emotional than you are?”
He didn’t have a comeback so he sat quietly with his head dropped.
“I love you and I wanna be with you, Ant. You know I’ll play my part and wait for you, but you’re gonna blow it by letting this thing come between us.”
“Baby, I’m doing the best I can.” he said, knowing that he’d tried his best to spend an ample amount of time with both girls.
“Well, your best ain’t good enough right now.” she firmly stated.
Hearing her say that heated him a bit, causing him to stand to his feet. “What the fuck do you want from me?” He raised his voice as his phone rang. It was Samantha.
Breanne already knew who it was from the blank expression on his face. “Go ’head and answer it. She just wants you to think that she needs you, but then when you show up, she gets all distant and shit.”
“Hush, Bree,” he impatiently stated as the phone stopped ringing. “I don’t know if I can keep doing this with you,” he said, shaking his head. The situation between him and Samantha was already bad enough.
“So you’re trying to break up with me?” She asked with a frown on her face. Before he could answer her question, his phone started to ring again. It was Samantha.
“I didn’t say that,” he said, feeling very distracted with Samantha continuing to call. “I don’t know what I wanna do.”
“Well, what you should do is answer your phone and tell your girlfriend that y’all shouldn’t make decisions unless you can sleep with’m at night.” She stormed into the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind her. He headed for the bathroom, but then decided to just answer the phone.
“What’s up, Babe?”
“Hey baby,” Samantha spoke in a soft tone. “What are you doing?”
“Uh, just chilling at Tommy’s house,” he lied. “What are you doing?”
“I was trying to call you to see if you wanted to go the movies later.”
Anton was surprised. Samantha hadn’t wanted to go out since the abortion. “Uh, sure,” he responded.
Samantha cleared her throat. “You know I love you, right?”
“Yeah, I know,” he said, feeling bad that he’d been laid up in a hotel room all night with Breanne. He knew that she’d been hurting, and all he wanted to do was make it right, but making it right seemed to have all the wrong consequences.
�
�Alright, I’ll call you later.” She said, and ended their call.
Anton took in a deep breath then slowly released it. He stuck his phone back in his pocket, walked over to the bathroom, and pressed his hand up against the door. He wanted to knock, but he could hear Breanne crying. It had gotten bad, and he felt just as bad, but he didn’t know what to do about either situation. He wanted them both.
“Baby,” he called out. “It’s about time for us to check out. You ready?” he asked, hoping that she’d not be stubborn and respond.
Minutes later, as he stood there waiting, the door finally swung open and she walked out. Her puffy eyes were sad, but very cute on her, as he kissed her softly on the lips. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.
She didn’t say a word, but she loved him. What was understood didn’t need to be explained. She grabbed her purse and they headed out of the hotel room.
They made their way over to Tommy’s car and Anton opened the passenger door for her. Just as she got in the car and he closed the door, Samantha appeared out of nowhere and smacked him as hard as she could across his face.
“I knew your ass was lying to me!” She cried out then struck him with another lick across his face.
Anton tried to restrain her as best as he could while Breanne attempted to get out of the car.
“No, stay in the car!” He yelled at her and pushed the door back shut, still trying to stop Samantha’s licks. “Wait a minute, babe,” he tried calling out to Samantha.
“Wait my ass,” she yelled at him then abruptly walked off, feeling betrayed and hurt.
He started after her but then realized that it would be for no good, and would only piss Breanne off more. Anton turned around and headed back to the black 1996 Chevy Impala SS. He watched Samantha pull out of the hotel parking lot in Sheila’s car. He felt stupid that he’d gotten caught up like that. He should’ve been paying more attention to his surroundings.