CheckMate 4: Winner Takes All

by Tiece

“Can you blame her?” Catherine asked. “All she knows is you. Brendon is so much like you. Your demeanors are the same, your smiles are the same, those witty personalities are the same,” she reminded him. “You’re just a darker skin tone and have a little more muscle. Oh and your eyes are tighter.” She grinned to lighten the conversation. “But, that’s really it. It’s no wonder that she’s attracted to him.”

  “But we aren’t the same. I’d never look at any of his girlfriends like that; especially a baby mama. Some things are off limits.” He angrily stated.

  “Some things are out of your control,” Catherine told him. “You’ve not given Brendon a reason to think that Candy was off limits. He is one man looking at another man messing up a good thing. He sees the good in Candy and he also recognizes her pain. Seems to be something that you’ve not thought about in a long time,” she said.

  Monty frowned. “Ma, I’m not saying that some of the things that you are saying aren’t right, but are you listening to yourself? Whose side are you on? You know this is wrong.”

  “It’s not about what’s wrong, son. If we were going by what was wrong we wouldn’t be having this conversation, because you’d be somewhere with Candy trying to make it right. You can’t expect a woman to sit around and not get involved with anyone else, cousin or not. I can’t sit here and say that I’m happy about it, because I’d love nothing more than for you to get yourself together and go get your woman. However, you’ve allowed another into your space simply by just not being there yourself. Unfortunately, that person happens to be your cousin.” Catherine straight out told him.

  Monty looked up at her. His small, slanted eyes seemed lost and hurt. Being in denial had run its course and the deep feelings of being hurt had started to set in.

  “Apparently, Bren and Candy have been spending a little time together and have gotten close. The way they initially met wasn’t what you’d think, because neither of them even knew anything about the other nor did they know that you existed in either of their lives until later.”

  “So, what you’re saying is that at first they just met and instantly liked each other?” He curiously asked.

  “Yeah, something like that,” she responded.

  “Then they should’ve stopped liking each other when they found out that I was in the picture.” He shot back.

  “Had you been showing signs that you were a part of the picture then maybe they would have.” Monty just looked at his mother with skepticism of what she was saying. He couldn’t believe it. “Don’t look at me like that. You have made your bed very hard and now you have to lie in it.”

  Monty regretfully shook his head. “How can I ever even look at them the same? I don’t even want to go around them right now and that’s kind of hard since Candy is my son’s mother. As long as Bren’s not coming here then we can stay clear of each other, but at some point, I’m gonna have to see Candy just because of our connection to MJ.” He said speaking of their baby boy.

  “And, at that point you need to sit down and talk to her.”

  “I don’t want to.” He said in a bothered tone.

  “Son, there were secrets held behind your back from the people that you loved, but at some point you have to learn to move past it or realize that you can’t change it. For the most part, you can’t put the blame on them without also being real about your actions and what caused it all. You’ll be okay. I know you’re confused and hurt right now, but you’ll be okay.” She patted him on the leg then stood up. “At some point you and Bren need to talk too. He is your cousin and even though you’re in your feelings, you know that he has nothing but love for you.” Monty’s sad eyes glanced her way, and then he dropped his head back down as she continued. “You also have a lot of love for him. The both of you are gonna have to find a way to get past this.” She then switched gears before leaving. “Wanna share with me what happened with MiKayla?”

  “Nah, I’m done with that.” He nonchalantly stated.

  “Okay, well I’ll leave you to your thoughts.” She said as she softly smiled at him to let him know that she was there if he needed her, and then she exited his bedroom.

  As Monty lay there in a somber daze, his phone buzzed indicating that he’d gotten another text message making him quickly think, I have nothing to say to you, MiKayla. No sooner than he could get that out, his phone buzzed again.

  “Damn!” he irritably stated then grabbed his phone. He opened it up and seeing the name, Baby Mama, on the unopened envelope caused his heart to ache. Never in a million years did he think that Candy would hurt him the way that she had. He disappointedly shook his head while opening up the envelope to read the message.

  I’m sorry about earlier and hope that you’re okay. Mona told me that she was the one that took you home. I just want us to sit down and talk about this. We can be adults about it. It doesn’t have to be this way. Call me when you’re ready to talk. Candy

  Reading her message didn’t really give him much closure nor did it make him any closer to what was really going on with her. Had she started falling for his cousin? Had time run out for him to get his act together? Was she finally over putting up with his shit? Those questions and more had him sick to his stomach. There was a time when a young woman named MiKayla had distracted him from his main priorities. However, things had quickly changed, and in his case, not for the better.

  Monty stared at his cell phone wanting so badly to call and talk to Candy. Knowing that there was another man in her life hurt him and if he could change things, he would. He dialed her number as he stared at it on the screen of his phone. It was taking everything in him to call, but so much was emotion was holding him back.

  “Fuck it.” Monty thought while gently throwing his phone over on the bed beside him. He took in an emotionally painful deep breath then let it out. He was distressed and just wanted to lay there and wallow in his misery. “Fuck it,” he said again, and then buried his head in the pillow feeling defeated.

  ***

  Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Mona stared at Candy who was clearly in a daze. “Hey,” Mona called out while snapping her fingers. “Yoo-hoo, back to earth, Candy gurl.”

  Candy’s bright eyes widened as she snapped out of her clearly disturbed thoughts. She looked over at her best friend with a concerned look on her face. “Yes gurl,” she said feeling out of it after all that had gone down. “I’m sorry. What were you saying?”

  “Well, I was asking what had happened. I took Monty home and dropped him off. He didn’t have shit to say about nothing. I’d never heard him so quiet in my life.” She explained. “All I know is that mama said that he and Brendon had gotten in a fight.” She then frowned as she stared into Candy’s eyes and said, “Apparently over you.”

  Candy shook her head. It was already beginning to be too much.

  “So, what happened?” Mona asked.

  “Nothing happened,” Candy finally said. “I was there visiting Brendon when Monty showed up. I stepped out of the bathroom and there was Monty. One thing led to another and they started fighting, because your brother was upset and couldn’t handle seeing me there with his cousin.”

  “Wow, can you blame him?” Mona questioned. “Did you and Bren-

  “Nooooo,” Candy quickly said. “No, we didn’t have sex.”

  “Thank God,” Mona chimed in.

  Candy slightly turned the corner of her lip up, and then added, “But, we almost did.”

  Mona took in a deep breath as she sat there almost in disbelief. She’d been so caught up in her own world of issues that she didn’t even realize what had been going on with her best friend.

  “I like him,” Candy also admitted.

  “Woooow,” Mona softly dragged. “I knew that y’all were cool, but not this cool. When did this happen?” She curiously pondered.

  “Weeeeell,” Candy dragged as she took in a deep breath then let it out. “I first met him the night of you and Caylin’s homecoming party. It was outside at y’all’s cr
ib as I was going to my car. He didn’t say how he knew anybody, but he mentioned Rico. He said that it was his Homey’s house or something like that. So, I didn’t think much of it. Then, later that night we met up again. It wasn’t intentional though. We had small talk, nothing major, and then I left.”

  “What a strange and crazy coincidence,” Mona said.

  “It was and honestly, he looked so familiar, but in a different light. Like when I look at Monty now, all I see is the devil. However, looking at Brendon was the total opposite. Yeah, now he looks just like Monty in a lot of ways, but just from us meeting the way we did, he didn’t. If that makes sense,” she said with an uneasy shake of the head. “He could’ve easily passed for some of Rico’s kin or a homeboy whom I hadn’t met. I’m sure that he has other friends besides your brother. Am I making sense here?” She asked since Mona was still just looking with a blank expression on her face of trying to catch up.

  “Weeeeell, it’s making better sense to me,” Mona finally said.

  “Honestly, we didn’t talk much after that initial meeting, but later, I go to your mom’s house to pick up MJ and your cousin answers the door. Shock immediately set in and the resemblance then hit me like a bolt of lightening as we stood there face to face. I felt like a fool and so did he. I mean, I’d finally started thinking of someone else and had positive thoughts that maybe I would someday find love, to only find out that the guy I’m daydreaming about is your cousin. What an awkward situation.” She said shaking her head like it truly was unbelievable. “We just did a little harmless flirting.”

  “Damn, that is shit is crazy.” Mona said still not able to fully grasp what was being said.

  “It is crazy.” Candy agreed. “. I mean, can you believe that we never exchanged names upon meeting. That would’ve saved us both, but all we wanted to do was some minor flirting and that was it.”

  “Can’t say it was nothing wrong with that,” Mona said.

  “Well, that was short lived because after finding out Monty’s connection to both of us, we attempted to back off. Mo, you know I wouldn’t lie to you. But, I started to miss Brendon without Monty being around. He got the most genuine smile and we have some really open conversations. I mean, we just get along. I can’t help that these are the things that makes me attracted to him. Plus, your brother has seemed to move on. What am I supposed to do? You can’t expect me to just sit here and not enjoy my life too.”

  “Noooo, you’re right.” Mona sincerely said. She was definitely feeling where her best friend was coming from. “Don’t beat yourself up for living your life. Had Monty paid attention to what was going on around him, he would’ve been trying to save y’all’s relationship. I guess you can’t help who you’re attracted to.” Mona stood up; it was time for her to go. She’d left Rico home with the babies to bail Monty out of jail, but she had some unfinished business to tend to herself.

  “Are you leaving me now?” Candy asked with a playful pout.

  Mona softly chuckled at the pitiful look on her face. “Dee will be up soon. With all this crazy madness going on between her and Maurice, I know she can’t be sleeping too well.”

  “Well, I’m glad that she is finally resting. She was about to drive me crazy trying to watch her ass. I was hoping that she didn’t leave here and go kill Maurice.”

  “Hell, can you blame her?” She asked thinking that it was one thing for a nigga to be having an affair with a woman but something totally foreign for him to be cheating with a man. “I just don’t see why he couldn’t just tell her that shit from the start. She ain’t hard up for no fucking man.” Mona said feeling pissed about the situation.

  “You ain’t neva lied.” Candy chimed in as she stood up to give Mona a, see you later, hug.

  “Well, just so you don’t hear it from anyone else, I’ll be moving my things out of Rico’s house tonight?”

  Candy’s neck jerked. “Whaaaaaat?!” she pondered.

  Mona shrugged her shoulders, and then said, “Long story, Candy gurl.” She had an unbothered smile on her face. “That’s just the way it is sometimes. We’ll talk about it later. Get your mind together. You’ve had a long evening yourself.”

  “Damn, you sure you don’t want to fill me in?” Candy worriedly questioned.

  “Trust me, we’ll talk about it.” Mona promised. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  “Okaaaay,” Candy said, and then she lightly kissed Mona on the cheek. “We’ll talk then.”

  Chapter 2

  Mona drove home with thoughts of what had transpired a couple of hours earlier with her and Rico. He’d honestly hurt her to the core, even though he acted like it was nothing. She was no fool and knew much better than what he gave her credit for.

  Going to rescue Monty out of jail definitely calmed her down a little, because had Catherine not called her back to back, Rico would’ve been calling 911 to get her off of him. As she drove towards Rico’s house to gather her things the moments that led up to her making this devastating decision replayed in her mind….

  ***

  A couple of hours earlier…

  Mona turned over on her back only to be awakened by Rico’s vibrating phone that he’d left behind. She sat up and looked over at it.

  What the hell, she thought. “Babe, your phone is going off.” She called out, but Rico didn’t answer. She didn’t want to holler to loud because the babies were asleep. She got up and peeked out of the window. Rico’s car was gone. Without hesitation she picked up his phone and read the message.

  I guess you don’t want no mo’ of this good pussy??? We miss you. Thick’ums

  Mona sat there in shock as the jittery shaking from her hand caused her to drop the phone back down on the bed. The thought of Rico fucking another woman hit her like a bolt of lightning. She stood there in disbelief while broken and speechless.

  Realizing that he’d left his cell phone, Rico quickly made a u-turn. He pulled into the driveway and got out of his car. He walked into the house as Mona was standing there with one hand on her hip and his cell phone in the other. The look on his face was stunned when she slapped the shit out of him. He quickly grabbed at her hands, but was caught with three more quick licks upside his head.

  “Damn, what’s wrong with you?” He questioned, trying to block her quick blows that stung like a bee.

  “Whose number is 0110?” She quickly asked.

  “What?” Rico was confused. Things were happening so fast it took him a second to register what she was asking.

  “Le’me break this down for you.” She slowly spoke as if he were not up to speed. “Whose muthafuckin’ number is 706.555.0110?” She slapped him again as hard as she could. It felt like she had dislocated her arm for a moment she hit him so hard.

  Rico had never seen that side of Mona. “Damn baby! Calm the fuck down!” He said overbearing her swings and stopping the licks she was giving him upside his head. Mona may have been a woman but her licks felt like that of a man.

  Mona cried feeling very betrayed. “This bitch got the nerve to text you asking you if you miss her pussy!”

  “What?” Rico was shocked thinking that Karen would know better than to text him saying shit like that.

  “How could you do me like this?” Rico felt bad as hell because he was seriously trying to prevent this. “Whose number is it or do I have to call and ask myself?” He knew the number was Karen’s but he couldn’t tell her that. She would kill him before the night was over.

  “Give me the phone.” He said looking directly into Mona’s teary eyes. “Hittin’ on me like I don’ did sum,” he murmured as if he was pissed about the whole encounter. “I don’t know that number.”

  “NO! Le’me dial it!” Mona demanded, because she was not about to give him that phone. She dialed the number quickly and put the phone on speaker.

  Damn, here she go with this speaker shit, he thought looking crazy and almost guilty as fuck. There would be no way that he could lie his way out of this one.

 
“Hey Boo,” the sexy voice answered. “When are you coming back over?” Rico stood with a blank expression on his face, because Mona was positioned to kick off in his ass if he was lying. This was do or die time and he knew that any moves made or thought out at this moment would determine his future. He loved his family beyond a doubt and hated knowing that he could lose it all over a chick that he’d just fucked but was done with her.

  He looked at his phone as Mona waved it in his face thinking that he’d better say something quickly or she would. He cleared his throat, taking in a deep breath. Even though his nerves were shot through the roof, he was a soldier and he definitely wasn’t going out without a fight.

  ***

  “Who is this?” Rico asked with a befuddled look on his face.

  “Huh?” the sweet voice responded.

  “WHO is this?” He firmly asked again as the wrinkles in his forehead indicated a guilty conscience along with the beads of sweat that had began to show.