He Doesn't Deserve My Love

by Ashley Cruse

  I ran down the stairs. I entered the living room to witness Corey pinning his drunken little sister down on the floor. She was screaming for help, but I couldn’t move. Well, truthfully, I wasn’t going to help her. I secretly hoped Corey would knock some common sense into that girl. Right then, Brenda came out of her bedroom and ran past me. Instead of helping Corey, she slapped Naomi in her face. She was like a raging bull. Her target was her only daughter.

  “You are one sorry motherfucker! How fuckin’ evil are you, Naomi! And you’re drunk too? Ooh, fuckin’ stink! No way is Nestle walking out of this house with your ass. Fuck that. You’re leaving my granddaughter here!”

  “You ain’t leaving here with my niece,” Corey said, chiming in.

  Naomi stood up and tried so hard to stay in one place. It was quite an amusing sight to see. This pretty woman slurring every word, trash faced, and leaning from side to side, lookin’ like a fish that had just got caught on somebody’s line. Well, Corey’s line, anyway.

  “Fuck you. Fuck both of y’all. I’m still young. I can have fun,” Naomi said incoherently.

  Corey cocked his hand back and slapped the fire out of Naomi. He whacked her so hard, she fell backward on the floor and rolled over in perfect somersault. He reached in her pockets and took her car keys. She tried unsuccessfully to stop him. He looked at his mom.

  “She’s staying here. I dare her to take these keys from me. I’ll beat her ass first. She better get some act right, Mom. I’m back, and I’ll beat the brakes off her ass, for real.”

  “She can stay here, but she’s sleeping on the porch,” his mom said.

  She opened the front door and told Naomi to leave. Naomi stumbled toward her mom, as if she was fixing to hit her. That was enough to set Corey off again. He pushed her so hard out the front door that she landed right dead on her face on the front porch. My mouth dropped as I observed this scene before me. Corey walked back in the house, slammed the door behind him, and locked it.

  “Let her try to sneak off this property by driving one of these cars. I’ll beat the brakes off her ass too. Real talk,” he snarled.

  Chapter 13

  The next day went by smoothly. It was as if last night had never even happened. I had no idea what to think about how fast everybody had forgotten about the drunken mess. Naomi apologized to Corey and her mom that morning, the first chance she got. She even called Tiger at home and told him she was sorry. You could tell there had been a scuffle. Naomi had a nice bruise forming on her left cheek. Her forehead had a scrape on it from her landing on the front porch the way she had. I was positive she was going to try to get in her brother’s face. Corey was expecting it too, but she didn’t.

  Naomi had to run to her apartment to get ready for the big family gathering that was being held in Denton, so we agreed to bring Nestle with us. We all decided to ride together. We were going to take my ride, and Brenda was going to drive, since she knew exactly where in Denton we were headed and how to get there. Our first stop was the nursing home where Corey’s grandfather lived. We arrived there at the exact same time that Brenda’s two younger sisters pulled up in a van.

  Evangeline was the middle child. She wasn’t married but had a son who was going to school at Harvard. Naomi had described her to me as really snobby and selfish. She had red hair too. She was a little on the heavy side and reminded me of those stuck-up white ladies you would see on TV. The ones who carried their little dogs in a purse. She spoke properly, so you could tell she was well educated. She even did everything in a very proper manner.

  “Corey! How are you?” Evangeline walked up to him with her arms out. Corey hugged her and gave her a kiss. I watched as she made a big fuss over him. Any attention my man got, he always ate up. Especially if it was a female who was praising him for being so fine or expressing how proud she was to have him as family. At least this was a blood family. Not no “fake” homegirls trying to claim him as family, and he already fucked.

  The other sister was built more like Brenda. She wore her hair short and curly. She had on some sunshades and carried a purse you’d see in the dollar store. I was told this sister was the loaded one. She was a dentist, and her husband owned a franchise of Wendy’s restaurants around the Dallas area. They didn’t have any kids. Her name was Priscilla, and she seemed very nice and down to earth. Naomi had warned me she was bipolar and sometimes would forget to take her medicine. She also said that Priscilla had tried to kill herself several times, but when she stuck to her medicine, she was fine.

  “Hey, handsome,” she cooed at Corey after he let go of Evangeline.

  “What’s up, Aunt Prissy!”

  He hugged and kissed her too. Then he introduced my son and me to his aunts. We stood outside in the parking lot of the nursing home and chatted for a while. His two aunts asked me question after question. Nothing embarrassing, just a genuine interrogation. It was obvious to me that they were mostly wondering how tight my head was on my shoulders.

  Brenda and Evangeline eventually headed inside to check on their dad. When they brought him outside, Corey raced over and hugged him and spoke with him for a while. It was cute watching him and his grandpa tease each other and cackle. Then Corey helped his two aunts load his grandpa into Evangeline’s van. His two aunts then climbed in.

  Everyone riding in my truck hopped back in, and we followed Evangeline’s van to the hotel where they had reserved a banquet room. That was where they were having the party. When we got there, Corey helped his aunt Evangeline get his grandpa out of the van. I helped Priscilla bring in the food and arrange it nicely on the table in the banquet room. Then we organized the chairs. Brenda watched over the kids while we set up.

  Naomi arrived soon after Corey wheeled his granddad into the banquet room. More of the family members began to show up in rapid succession after that. Corey was making it a point to introduce his girlfriend who worked at the lawyer’s office. Tiger arrived an hour later with his family. They were the last ones everybody was waiting for. The party began.

  The rest of the afternoon was quite fun. Corey’s mom and his aunts had put together quite an action-packed day. We all played the games that his grandpa loved. Then everybody shared inspirational stories about his grandpa and his grandpa’s late wife. Corey’s grandfather even told some stories. The cake they had selected for his party was rather beautiful. It was a five-layer chocolate cake with red roses going all the way around it.

  The party lasted until six thirty. When it was over, we all said our good-byes, and then Tiger and Corey helped load their granddad into Evangeline’s van. Tiger and his family then followed the van back to the nursing home. Naomi took the very sleepy children back to her mom’s house in Bedford. Brenda and I straightened up the banquet room, and then Brenda drove Corey and me back to Bedford.

  Once we were inside the house, I left Brenda, Corey, and Naomi alone so I could check on my son. I took a hot shower before I went back to the living room. When I walked in, I immediately sensed something was wrong. Corey was outside, talking to Naomi in her car. Brenda was sitting on the couch, looking disgusted.

  “What’s up?” I asked her.

  “You tell me,” she said.

  A wave of confusion spread through me. Feeling myself getting defensive, I folded my arms across my chest and sized up Corey’s mom. I didn’t know what to say at first, so I chose my words carefully before I spoke.

  “No, you tell me what’s going on. I’m not a mind reader.”

  Corey’s grandma had warned me about Ms. Brenda before. She had told me that his mom’s side kept a lot of shit up. I really was starting to see that now, especially after the bullshit that had happened last night. These white people over here were all the way about bullshit.

  She puffed on her cigarette before she placed it in the ashtray. She looked up at me. I could tell she was pissed. “According to my daughter, you’ve been cheating on my son.”

  I burst out laughing. Who the fuck was Naomi? She didn’t even fuck with
nobody in Abilene, so for her to fix her mouth and say some bullshit like that was messy as hell.

  “She claims to have proof.”

  I shook my head. “Well, where is this proof? If anything, you two should recognize that I was there for Corey the entire time. I need to see this proof.”

  Chapter 14

  Tenosha

  The conversation I had with Corey had never once left my mind. It had been a few days since I’d seen him, but I was determined to get Bobbie out of here. I had decided to just do me. Bobbie and I weren’t in love with each other anymore. We just stayed together for the kids. The real question was, how the hell was I going to pull this off? No way I was about to leave. I was the one who had the kids, so it was only right that I keep the house. He could go move back in with his parents.

  That day, Bobbie let me keep the car so I could run errands. I decided to go on ahead and file so that his ass had to pay child support. I didn’t want to work and wasn’t really looking forward to seeking work. But, shit, if I had to clock in at somebody’s business to make ends meet on my own, then so be it. Bobbie had to go. His time was up.

  He was a damn good father. Don’t get me wrong. And, really, the truth was, he didn’t deserve to be forced to pay child support, because he did do for the kids. I had to give that fool that much: he did right when it came to those kids. But as far as “us” went, it was over. We were done. So, he had to go, and the only way to keep money flowing in my house until I was able to get a job was to put them white folks in his life. At least that would take care of the bills.

  I had to pick up Majesta so she could help me with the kids while I was out. Ty and Karen could be a handful at times, but I wasn’t concerned. I knew those two acted right when Majesta was around. They loved her so much.

  “Hey, Majesta,” I greeted as I pulled up in front of her granny’s house.

  “Hey, lady,” she said, sliding into the passenger seat. “Love your hair. It’s sexy.”

  I smiled at Majesta. I had decided to straighten my hair that morning. I had pulled it all up into a very cute ponytail.

  Majesta glanced back and smiled at Tyrese and Karen in the backseat as I pulled away from the house. I headed out of the neighborhood and drove in the direction of the attorney general’s office, where I planned to file for child support. On the way I listened to T.I. over the car speakers. Majesta and the two little ones conversed with each other for a little bit. Then she turned her attention back to me.

  “So, guess what the word is,” she said eagerly to me.

  “Tell me.”

  “Corey’s hot girl cheated on him the entire time he was locked up. That bitch is so stupid.”

  “Bitch! How you know?”

  “Corey called me and told me what was going on. Some shit Naomi told him. And, of course, who you gonna believe? Your sister or that bitch?”

  “Your fucking sister!” I said.

  “Exactly.”

  I couldn’t believe my ears. I hadn’t seen this shit coming at all. I had thought I was going to have to put a little work into it. I knew Corey felt some type of way about that girl, but real shit, that was bananas. His perfect woman wasn’t so perfect, after all. She was just a trashy bitch with a good job and a fuckin’ truck. She didn’t even have her own house. Yeah, she was perfect, all right. The main thing was that this made Corey fair game, and, anyway, he was cheating on her with me. I was in the door and had him right where I wanted him.

  “She is stupid,” I said. “Now I don’t feel bad anymore for fuckin’ with him.”

  “Bitch, I knew it!” my best friend screamed.

  I told Majesta about my plan to put Bobbie out and, hopefully, to have Corey move in. That was one thing I could say. At least I had my own place. That dumb-ass bitch didn’t. That Goody Two-shoes still lived with somebody else, like a little kid, and she was way older than me too. Bitch, please.

  “How are you gonna kick Bobbie out? That would be fucked up, but Corey is fine as hell. You better get that nigga.”

  “Oh, I got him. I’m already claiming it too, girl. Checkmate!” I stated assertively.

  Majesta changed the CD from T.I. to E.S.G. as we chatted away about some other gossip that was going on in the neighborhood. After I pulled up to the building where the child support office was located, Majesta stayed in the car with the kids and I ran inside. I was gone for only thirty minutes. When I returned, Majesta and Tyrese, who was old enough, were eating sandwiches from Alley Cats, which was right down the street. I hopped in the car and took off back to the house. What was I going to do about Bobbie?

  “Majesta, what can I do to get rid of Bobbie?” I asked my best friend. She finished chewing on her sandwich and thought for a little bit.

  “You got to flip the script on him.”

  “But how?”

  “Don’t cook anymore. Don’t clean. Everything he expects you to do now, stop doing it. Or just be up front and tell him you don’t want him anymore. Fuck all that extra bullshit. Just tell him, ‘Look you got to go.’”

  She got me there. That seemed better than just playing games with him.

  “How fast you want him gone?” she queried.

  “By the weekend.” I took a deep breath.

  “Oh, you ain’t wasting no time,” she said.

  I shook my head no.

  We pulled into my driveway and got out of the car. Tyrese had made a mess with his sandwich, and I decided to leave it. I called my brother to see if he would pick up Bobbie for me, and he agreed. That right there was sure to piss Bobbie off. I also knew my family was going to be angry when they heard I had put him out. I didn’t care. I knew what I wanted. And I was going to get it too.

  I went and picked up Hanson and Marie from school. When I came back, I let the three older kids run around the house while Majesta and I sat outside with Karen. I knew that when Drew pulled up with Bobbie, it was going to be some shit. For one, I hadn’t bothered cooking for his ass. Two, the house was a mess. And three, he’d be mad that I hadn’t picked him up and instead was just sitting outside while the kids were inside, actin’ a damn fool.

  Sure enough, my brother pulled up in the driveway before long. Majesta and I had moved the lawn chairs underneath the shade tree. I could hear the kids inside the house, being loud as hell, so I knew they were cutting up. Bobbie didn’t even acknowledge me when he got out of the car.

  “Is he mad?” Majesta whispered to me.

  I shrugged my shoulders. He was so hard to read these days. I hoped he was. I wanted any reason to start a fight, so the words could roll smoothly off my tongue. He needed to go.

  “You stay right here, because shit’s about to hit the fan,” I said and clutched Majesta’s hand.

  She nodded at me. “I ain’t missing this shit for the world, boo.”

  We chilled outside for another twenty minutes. When I realized Bobbie wasn’t going to come outside, I decided to go in. I wanted him to argue with me. Anything so I could have an excuse to kick him out. I walked inside with my homegirl right behind me. The kids were sitting at the kitchen table, drawing. Drew and Bobbie were sitting on the couch, playing a video game.

  “What the fuck?” Majesta said in my ear.

  I shrugged my shoulders and sat on the recliner with Karen. Maybe it was going to be a lot tougher than I had thought. I could cause a scene, but my babies would be fucked up about it. Plus, my brother was here, and the last thing I needed was to act like an ass in front of him.

  I got up and made the kids something to eat, and I purposely did not make enough for Bobbie to partake. After they were done, I left the mess on the table, and then I began to give the kids their baths. By that time, Majesta decided to go home. Drew had to go pick up his girl, and Bobbie was talking to somebody on his cell phone.

  After I was done bathing the kids, I put them to bed. I walked into the living room, where Bobbie was still talking on his phone. It was now or never. I grabbed his phone from him and hung it up. I tossed it on
his lap and pointed to the front door.

  “We ain’t working. You gotta go.”

  At first Bobbie looked at me. The puzzled expression on his face showed me he didn’t know what I was talking about. He stared at his phone and then looked at me before looking back at his phone. I clearly saw that he was more annoyed by the fact that I had just hung up his cell phone.

  “I don’t want you to stay here anymore,” I told him.

  Bobbie grabbed the remote control and tossed it from one hand to the other. He gazed up at me. I could tell he was contemplating what he would do next. That “next” part was what I was beginning to worry about. I didn’t know if he wanted to hit me or scream at me, or if he was really going to leave.

  “What the fuck is wrong with you? If I leave, what the hell are you going to do? How you gonna survive without me, you dumb bitch?” he shouted. I firmly stood my ground.

  “I want you to leave. It ain’t working.”

  “You keep fucking sayin’ that, but you ain’t makin’ any sense. That nigga got you gone right now.” He turned on the TV.

  Wait. What did he just say? Desperate to regain control of the conversation, I yanked the remote from his hand. I turned the TV off. I tossed the remote control behind me softly so it wouldn’t break. I needed that remote control. The kids had lost the other one. A replacement cost money. And that was money I was about to not have anymore.

  “Ten,” he said, a warning in his voice.

  “Call your mom and tell her to pick you up. I can survive by myself, but you have got to go.” I picked up the remote and held on tightly to it.

  “Bitch, my kids live here. How are they going to survive with you? is the real question.” He sneered at me.

  I had to admit that hearing him say shit like that kind of stung a little. But it was my mission to appear unbothered. I was getting a rise out of his ass, anyway. He looked like he was going to hit me. If he did, I had already prepared myself to beat his ass with the Glade air freshener can, which was within reach.

  Bobbie stood up and mocked me. “Bitch, I know you heard me. The fuck you think I was? A fool? Yeah, you were running around here, acting like a ho and trying to be all secretive, like I don’t know about you and Corey. That nigga ain’t shit. He got you gone over dick, right?” He folded his arms across his chest and waited for me to respond. A huge-ass smirk was pasted on his face. He was getting to me, and he could see it.