ADDICTED TO HIM

by Linette King

  Tamia: I’m fine. How are you Sir?

  I started prepping the meat for my meatloaf. The kitchen is my safe haven. It’s the only place I am 100% comfortable.

  Rashard: I’m good Miss Lady. Wyd? Want some company?

  Tamia: I’m cooking dinner. What kind of phone do you have?

  Rashard: IPhone

  Tamia: I’m going to turn my location on so you can find me.

  Rashard: iight

  I forgot to turn my music on while I cook and sanitize the house. As soon as I pressed play, 7/11 by Beyoncé started playing. I absolutely love this song! It makes me so happy and energetic but I have no idea why because she isn’t really saying much. So, I decide to make everything really simple. Meatloaf, mashed potatoes and gravy, and sweet peas. After the meatloaf was finished, I started 7/11 over so I could clean the kitchen. I walked around cleaning up and dancing until there was a knock on my door.

  I walked towards the door peeking through the peephole but whoever it was, was standing off to the side. “Who is it?” I yelled.

  “Rashard.” I heard him respond to me. I opened the door, stepping to the side so he could enter. He walked in looking around and nodding his head.

  “Shall I give you a tour?” I asked and watched as he nodded his head.

  I walked him through our two-bedroom apartment without opening Armani’s room door, since her room is never company ready. “Y’all keep it nice and clean in here,” he said to me. I so badly wanted to correct him but I decided against it.

  “I’m about to fix me a plate, would you like something to eat?” I asked standing to my feet. He nodded his head without asking me what I cooked. I sure as hell hope he isn’t allergic to anything. We ate in the living room while watching Revenge on Netflix until we both fell asleep.

  Armani

  So, I’m sitting here nervously looking back and forth between Dave and Vincent. I stood up quickly clearing my throat while trying to think of what to say. I was stuck on stupid. Literally! I continued to glance back and forth hoping somebody would say something but they continued to stare each other down.

  “Vincent. How have you been? When did you get back in town?” I asked Vincent trying to break the ice.

  “This morning. I was coming to surprise you after I left here so imagine my surprise,” he said, never breaking his stare down with Dave. It’s like they were having a who’s the man contest and whoever looked away first wasn’t one. I could only shake my head because I didn’t know what else to say. Honestly, I didn’t want to be involved with Vincent anymore, but I didn’t know how to tell him.

  Vincent is a very crazy and dangerous man with a quick temper. I’ve seen him kill niggas for less and I think he has invested some type of feelings in me. His crazy ass has told me on more than one occasion that he doesn’t want me dealing with anyone else. I always agree because the nigga got good dick! Hell, I’ll say anything you want me to say when you fucking me right.

  “Who is this?” Dave asked like his ass ain’t married.

  “Vincent. His name is Vincent. Vincent, this is Dave,” I said introducing them. These niggas didn’t even acknowledge anything I said because they were still staring each other down. I’m like come on now, I have shit to do today! We were supposed to eat breakfast so he could take me back home.

  “Let’s go,” Vincent said holding his hand out to me. I looked at him but he was still staring at Dave. I then looked at his hand like he has the plague. These niggas need to learn that I don’t belong to no fucking body. I can date and fuck whoever I want because I’m single! I don’t love these niggas; I fuck these niggas and spend their money. All of my situationships are simple to me. I give you pussy and time, and they pay my half on everything and keep my bank account looking good.

  “Naw, Vincent. I’m about to eat my breakfast and go home. I’ll hit you up later,” I said feeling myself. Never in the twenty-three years that I’ve been on this planet have I had men fighting over me. They really don’t even know me, so I guess they are fighting over this good pussy. I know Vincent is crazy but I’m here with Dave and he’s not going to let anything happen to me.

  “Let's go. Now!” he said through clenched teeth. I almost stood up but the glare Dave gave me planted my ass right back in my seat. I swear I don’t know how the fuck I keep attracting these crazy ass men!

  “She’s about to have breakfast. After that, I’m taking her home. She will call you later,” Dave said to Vincent. Dave made a grave mistake. I understand he’s a man and Vincent is disrespecting him in a major way, but you have to know how to read people. First of all, Vincent ain’t the type of dude you check while he’s mad. Second of all, if you gone check a man like Vincent while he’s mad, then you need to stand up because he will hit you.

  “The only reason I’m not going to shoot you right here is because we’re in a public place, and I don’t have enough bullets to lay everybody in here down. So, let this be your warning boy, don’t speak unless spoken to,” Vincent said to Dave.

  “Man, check this-,” Dave started but was cut off by a fist to his jaw. I hopped out of my chair and stepped away from the fight. These niggas were tearing this damn restaurant up, throwing each other into tables and some more shit. I was pissed beyond measurement.

  I walked around the fight heading towards the door. I quickly flagged down a cab, so I could go home. It was fairly easy because the cab was parked idly, waiting on a cab fare. The cabbie was driving extremely slow and I was getting text message after text message! I didn’t read any of them because I knew Vincent was cursing my ass out. I needed to get to my house, get some clothes, and go stay at a hotel a few days, so he could cool off without knowing where I was. I knew he would be mad and probably jump on Tamia’s ass but hell, she ain’t ever lost a fight before, so I’m almost sure she could hold her own.

  “Can I get you to speed up? I’m kind of pressed for time,” I asked the cabbie. He completely ignored me. He didn’t even look through the rearview mirror at me. It was as if I hadn’t said a thing to him. “Sir?” I called out and waited. A few seconds passed and he still hadn’t said anything to me. His phone began to ring and I waited to see if he would answer and he did.

  “Hello… yes sir… right outside of Waffle House… alright, be there shortly,” he said hanging up.

  “Who was that?” I asked. “Were you talking about me? Where are you taking me?” I asked question after question. He still ignored me. “Fuck this shit! I’m getting out of here,” I said reaching for the door handle. It was then that I realized there weren’t any fucking door handles on the inside of the cab! “Fuck! What the fuck is going on?!” I screamed, pissed the fuck off. I knew Vincent was crazy but I didn’t know he was this damn crazy! I guess I’m never going to be able to get away from his ass, now that he’s kidnapping me. Wait, is it kidnapping when you’re an adult? I guess it will be more so abducting me.

  Vincent: Man where the fuck yo ass go?

  Armani: like you don’t already know!

  Vincent: where are you dummy?! I’m tryna protect you!

  That’s when I realized that he wasn’t talking to Vincent. Who in the hell was he talking to? “Who are you taking me to?” I asked him scared out of my mind. He still didn’t answer me. He just continued to drive.

  Armani: I flagged a cab down. Dis nigga crazy. No door handles so I can't get out. I heard him on the phone telling someone he’s bringing me

  Vincent: I told yo ass to come with me but you wanna sit there with that fuck boy!

  Armani: Vincent plz help me

  Vincent: it's too late

  My eyes began to water up once I read his last message. I read it over and over, hoping the words would change but they never did. I began wrecking my brain trying to figure out who would want to abduct me. I had no fucking enemies because I had no friends. I only had Tamia and she would never hurt me. It had to be one of my sponsor’s wives. Shit, if it is, I can beat her ass as soon as I can get out of this damn cab.
>
  Armani: Dave. I’ve been abducted call 911

  Dave: call Vincent bitch lose my number

  Dave: Ima go fuck yo roommate!

  I sat back stunned by his response to me needing his help. I told this man I’d been abducted and his ass told me he was going to fuck Tamia! What kind of shit is that? When I get out of this, Tamia is going to wish she was never fucking born.

  We road in the cab for hours before it started to slow down and pulled into the yard of a nice home. He parked his cab in the garage and I knew I only had one more chance to let someone know what has happened to me. I log on to Facebook and post a status:

  THIS IS NO JOKE! I’VE BEEN ABDUCTED SOMEONE CALL 911!!!

  I posted the status and made sure my location was on so someone could find me. I slid my phone under the seat and heard it chime. I grabbed it and someone commented on my status saying Girl you hell lol and I had 12 likes! I mean, how much clearer can I be that this not a fucking joke! My phone made another noise indicating the battery is about to die. Fuck my life.

  “You got her tied up?” I heard a man ask.

  “Naw boss. I couldn’t do all of that in public,” the cabbie replied.

  “I asked you to secure the bitch and get her here for $5,000 but you’ve only done half the job. I’m going into town, do the rest of your job and you know where to put her,” the first guy said.

  At this moment, I’m shitting bricks but I do know I have the advantage because I haven’t been tied up and the cabbie isn’t much bigger than me. I slid my phone under the seat after putting it on battery save mode. I become extremely quiet as I listen to what I assume is the first guy that was talking leaving in another car. I look back and I can see the shadow of the other guy pacing back and forth outside of the garage. Fuck, he’s nervous! I thought I could take him but a scared man is a dangerous man. I’ve never fucked with anyone that was scared of me. The reason is because someone that’s scared will fuck you up to keep you from fucking them up.

  I heard the garage door opening and I laid back closing my eyes. I was going to pretend to be asleep until he came to the door. I could hear him inside of the garage with me but he sounded like he was pacing again. I started hearing noises and it sounded like he was going through some of the guy’s things.

  “Alright. The dumb bitch went to sleep, so I don’t have to knock her ass out,” he said and I didn’t know if he had someone with him or if he was talking to himself. I had my body positioned leaning towards the middle so he would come around to grab my legs. “Let’s do this!” he said hyped, letting me know he was alone.

  The cabbie walked around to the side of the car and I waited a few seconds because I didn’t know how close he was. I slowly lifted one eyelid taking a peek at him and he was so busy staring at my body that he didn’t notice that I was looking dead at him. I waited for him to get closer to me before I closed my eyes back. As soon as I felt his hand touch my thigh, I started kicking him. He stumbled backwards into a wall of tools, knocking them off the shelves. Normally, I’d wait for a bitch to get up so we can fight straight up but this is a man and the odds are against me.

  I run up on him kicking him in his stomach, trying hard as hell to break his ribs. He grabs one of my legs in mid kick pulling and spinning it, causing me to flip on my stomach. It happened so fast I didn’t have time to use my hands to stop the impact of the fall. My chin hit the concrete garage floor and started bleeding. It felt like I bit my fucking tongue in half but I could still feel it throbbing. I lost a tooth though and that pissed me off! I’m going to kill this cabbie and everybody involved with this abduction! Then, I’m going back to fuck Tamia up for fucking with Dave.

  “Look what you made me do, bitch!” the cabbie said getting up and breathing heavy. I had a mouth full of blood and spit at him. It hit his shoe, splattering on his pants leg. He reared back to kick me and I tried to stop his foot by catching it with my hands. The blow was so hard my hand went straight back causing me to yell out. There was no doubt in my mind that it was broken. He was relentless with his attack stomping me over and over.

  “That’s enough,” I heard someone say just before everything went dark.

  I woke up a few hours later with both hands tied together above my head. I looked up and noticed that my hand was still crooked. There was a rope tied to the rope that bind my hands together and it was tied to one of the bars on the headboard. My hand was broken and to keep from screaming out, I didn’t try to break free.

  I looked down the length of my naked bruised body and saw that my legs were tied to the bed posts at the foot of the bed. I started wondering what type of sick joke is this? Who does this to a person that has been through the amount of bullshit I’ve gone through in my life? I began to cry so hard that my body started rocking. My hand started hurting because I was moving it while I was crying. I looked down at my legs and I had bruises going all the way down my legs. It looked like someone took a hammer and hit me all over the front of my legs. It hurt to even move them as I cried. My head started hurting from all the crying I was doing. I was defeated, I hadn’t done anything memorable with my life.

  I began to think about my life to see what I will be remembered by. I came up blank. The only people that will remember are the wives of the men I’ve slept with. I’m sure they will be happy I’m gone, not knowing that just because it ain’t me doesn’t mean he’s going to be faithful. There are plenty of bitches like me, willing to fuck a nigga for money married or not. I started thinking about Tamia, wondering if she was fucking Dave right now. I can’t believe she would do this to me! We have been through everything together, so she shouldn’t do that to me. It’s out of her character. I closed my eyes lost in thought.

  “You missed me, baby girl?” I heard someone ask, causing me to look up.

  “Steve?” I said just before passing out again.

  Amere

  It’s been a few weeks since I’ve been able to have a conversation with Tamia and since seeing her, I’ve been missing her something terrible. All I’ve been thinking about is Tamia and the good times we had together. I miss having a chick that has something going for herself. She was always so positive. Every time I came home, there was a meal cooked and everything stayed cleaned. My only problem with her was that she put herself first, like it was only her. She never considered me in any decisions she made concerning her future. It was like she never saw a future with me to begin with.

  Lisa has been getting on my last damn nerves! She finally finished furnishing the crib how she wants to and the shit is plain ugly. The living room is brown and yellow, the bathroom is green, and Armani’s room is pink. I know it don’t sound that bad but you have to see it for yourself. Every time I leave the house, she thinks I’m going to Tamia. She has no idea that Tamia ain’t got her ass on me. Shit, I wish I was able to go to her whenever I wanted to. I’d always be over there kicking it with her. I wish like hell I could have been the man Tamia needed me to be when she gave me the chance. I fucked it up and now, I’m damn near stuck with this bitch that don’t even compare.

  I know where she lives and I found that out by accident. “Lisa, have you seen my wallet?” I yelled from our bedroom. I walked down the hall and she was sitting on the couch, and Amiria had toys all over the place. I just shook my head wondering if this how it would be if I had a baby with Tamia. “Did you hear me?” I asked her.

  “Naw, I haven’t seen your wallet,” she answered like I was getting on her nerves.

  “Fuck,” I said to myself.

  I started looking all over the place for it because not only was my driver’s license in it, but I had a very important number in it too. The other day I was in the projects they call Dead Man’s Zone and ran into this dude name Duce. Duce was an ole crazy looking ass nigga and his left eye twitched. Anyway, I asked him about getting on, explained my situation to him, and he gave me this dude name Rashard’s number. He kind of confused me because he said that Rashard is who I needed to talk to but he,
himself, as in Duce, run these particular projects. If Duce ran the projects, then why did I need to talk to Rashard? Well, my phone was dead, so I wrote it down and stuck it in my wallet.

  I’m going from room to room looking for my shit. I mean, I’m ransacking the place like the FEDs! “Maybe you left it at Tamia’s house,” Lisa said from the door. She was trying to be smart but I haven’t been nowhere with Tamia’s ass!

  “Lisa, I haven’t been with Tamia,” I stated calmly.

  “Well, who you been with?” she asked. I could tell she didn’t have any information because she was fishing. Now, tell me what nigga gone tell on himself? I’m like Katt Williams, don’t worry I’ll wait. We all stand by the code lie, lie, lie and when you get caught, lie some more.

  “Nobody Lisa, I been trying to find work,” I answer her, getting aggravated. Then I thought about what she said and hopped in my car. I knew where I left my shit!