by Tiece
“Yeah, but everyone involved is fine, including your mom,” he assured her. “Look, I don’t want you to be mad. Just be thankful that she’s okay. I brought her home, so she could sleep it off and to let you know that I’ll pay for the car repairs.”
“You don’t have to do that. That’s why I have insurance, but thanks for considering.”
“Well, let me pay for your deductible. That’s the least I can do.”
Rayne glanced back over her shoulder at Charlotte as she nosily moved food around in the refrigerator, looking for something to eat.
“Okay,” she said. “Let me hold your phone.”
Yung Gunner smiled as he handed over his phone. Rayne punched her number in it and saved it. “Call me tomorrow afternoon. I’ll find out more details about my car,” she said with a soft smile, but just as she was handing over her phone, it rang. The caller I.D. showed a light skin, almost pale looking girl with long, pretty hair kissing him on the jaw. The caller ID read, My Shawty. Instantly, the smile disappeared as she stared at him.
“So, you have a shawty, huh?” she questioned with a blank face.
Yung Gunner reached for his phone. “Yeah, something like that,” he responded. “But, we’ll talk tomorrow when I call you. Have a good night, and don’t be too hard on your mom. I’d do anything in the world if I could be in the presence of mine just one more time,” he added with thoughts of his deceased mother lingering in his mind. And with that, he walked off. The last thing she heard him say was, “Wassup Bae; you good?”
Rayne stood there as she watched him walk away. She didn’t know what to think or to say. He’d certainly caught her off guard to a point that she didn’t realize she was standing there, nearly baring it all, until Charlotte reminded her.
“So, what would Chase think if he knew that your ass was hanging out while some guy is flirting with you?”
Rayne’s eyes rolled in the top of her head as she turned to face her mother. At that moment, frustration kicked in. She didn’t know who was going to get it the worst, Charlotte or Chase. But one of them had to go, if not both.
***
A couple of hours had gone by as Brooke paced the floor inside of her living room, while watching Chase sleep peacefully. She was distraught and somewhat losing it. She thought back at how she’d squirted a drop of the euphoric liquid in her wine. That was all she ever needed to take her to the world of I Don’t Give A Shit About Nothing. However, she’d squirted about five drops in Chase’s glass of wine and, instead of it making him horny with a Fuck The World attitude, it made him sleepy.
“I hope I didn’t give him too much,” she said, while feeling like she’d caused him harm because he was literally out like a light. She’d already placed her head on his chest more than a few times to make sure that he was still breathing. “Chase!” she called out, as she shook his face. There was no response as he laid there knocked out.
“Damn,” she said, while fidgeting her fingers. First thought was to call 911, but then she quickly thought that calling her sister was an even better idea. At least, it would keep her from making a rash decision that she may later regret, if nothing else.
****
The phone rang only once as Toya answered it. “Hey Sis, what you doing up so late?” she questioned.
Brooke slightly grinned in the phone while trying to gain her composure. “The question is what are you doing up so late?”
Toya glanced back over her shoulder at Jeremy as he headed inside of the bathroom naked. “Nothing much, just lying here watching TV,” she responded, but in actuality, she was watching something way more interesting than TV could ever be.
“I think I killed him,” Brooke blurted out.
Toya sat straight up in the bed. “Killed who?”
“Chase,” Brooke confessed.
Toya stood up as she glanced over at the bathroom door again. She could now hear the shower water running.
“What you mean, you think you’ve killed him?” she questioned, almost in a whispered tone.
“I don’t know,” Brooke said, as panic started to set in. “What if I killed him?” she cried. “I’ll never forgive myself.”
“Brooke, be quiet. Calm down. You haven’t killed anyone,” Toya said, as her sister sobbed on the phone. “Calm down, Brooke. Where is he?”
“He’s right here,” Brooke said through hysterical tears.
“Where is right here, your house?” Toya asked.
“Yes, my house. He’s lying on the sofa and he’s knocked out.”
“Is he breathing?” Toya questioned.
“I believe so,” Brooke said, causing Toya to slightly roll her eyes.
“Well, how’d you kill him if he’s still breathing, Sis?”
“I don’t knooooow,” Brooke cried.
“You need to calm down and tell me what you did to him. Breathe damnit!”
“I gave him some liquid Molly. I think I may have given him too much.”
Toya shook her head. “You did what, Brooke? How could you do that?”
“I was desperate,” she honestly confessed.
“I don’t even wanna know,” Toya said. “Go check his pulse,” she instructed. “Just make sure that he’s okay.”
A few seconds later, Brooke responded, “Thank God he’s not dead.”
“You’re right,” Toya said with a sigh of relief. “You may need to try to wake him up. Splash some cold water in his face or something.”
“I’m scared to wake him up though.”
“Why?” Toya questioned with a concerned frown.
“Because then he’s going to kill me, since he ain’t dead.”
“Brooke, get off of my phone. Clean up your mess and handle your business. Call me back if you need me.”
“Okay,” Brooke responded, and then she hung up.
***
Brooke stood over Chase with clueless eyes as goosebumps began taking over her body. The central air seemed to have sent cold chills down her spine. She placed her hand on her hips while wishing Chase would wake up already. If she had been aware of the affect that the molly had given him, she would’ve never given so much of it.
Before he’d gone into his deep sleep, she’d mentioned the video again. Only telling him what she’d said previously, that she was young and dumb. That’s all she wanted him to remember and take with him, if nothing else. However, she’d taken things a little further, just to save her own ass and his, for that matter.
If Chase finds out what I did to him, he will never speak to me again. Brooke thought about the unforgivable thing she had done. Once again, she managed to pull another stunt that she was starting to regret. She tried to think of something believable to tell Chase, in an attempt to explain the reason he’d fallen asleep.
Out of nowhere, Chase began to stir in his sleep, as if he could feel the eyes of someone on him.
“Chase!” Brooke called out as she shook him. She wanted it to seem like she’d been trying to wake him up for the entirety of his peaceful sleep. “Wake up,” she said, still shaking him. It took a few seconds for Chase to open his eyes. He blinked repeatedly in an effort to clear his unusually blurry vision. His body felt relaxed, but his thoughts instantly took him to the last thing he remembered… being at Brooke’s house talking to her.
“You okay?” Brooke questioned out of concern.
“What happened?” he sluggishly asked, still barely able to keep his eyes open.
“I think you drank too much wine.”
“I’ve never drank too much wine,” he got out. Chase’s eyes landed on Brooke, giving off bad vibes as he stared her down. He glanced over at the clock on the wall, displaying the time of five o’clock in the morning.
“What the fuck did you do to me, Brooke?” Chase lowered his eyes and shook his head. He had no idea how he was going to explain this to Rayne. He’d been out all night and there was no way that she would be trying to hear that he’d fallen asleep at Brooke’s house.
“I-I
didn’t do anything. You fell asleep here,” Brooke claimed. She had mastered the art of fooling those closest to her and Chase was one of those people.
Chase released a breath and decided it was best to not say anything else to Brooke. His eyes wandered around the living room. He sat up straight as he placed his feet on the floor. The guilty look on Brooke’s face told him it was more to the story.
“Chase, I promise, I didn’t do anything. The two of us were talking and you became sleepy all of a sudden. I’d been trying to wake you up. I just figured that you worked yourself so hard that once your body felt settled, the sleep just took over. Remember when you’d do that sometimes?” Brooke questioned.
Chase didn’t even respond. The silent treatment wasn’t something that Brooke had ever been fond of. It irritated her to no end to speak to him and get no response. He purposely looked elsewhere, as she searched his face for any sign that he cared about what she was saying. As he stood up, he lost his balance, still feeling sluggish.
“You did something to me, Brooke.”
“I didn’t, Chase.”
“Where’s my phone?” he questioned, as he felt around for it. Once in his hand, he called Jeremy. It was way past time for him to get the hell away from his deceitful baby mama.
Chapter Eight
Across town, Rayne was getting her morning started with a cup of coffee. She was sitting in the living room with thoughts of what had happened through the night. Jeremy had called to tell her that he’d picked up Chase. Apparently, Brooke had done something foul to him and he’d taken him to the hospital. It was no need for her to go there; he assured her that he had everything under control.
As Rayne sat there, her cellphone went off, indicating that she’d gotten a text message. She picked up her phone to read the message.
I’m on my way home, Babe. I’m so sorry to worry you last night. I am okay & we’ll talk when I get there. Chase
Instantly, she responded back.
Okay, Babe. I’m glad to hear that you’re okay. See you when you get here. Rayne
Rayne exhaled as she sipped from her mug. Her legs were crossed and shaking, as if she was anxious. She had been in the same position for the past two hours, and she only got up in order to refill her mug. She was indeed waiting for Chase to walk through the front door, so she could hug him for even doubting that he’d do her wrong.
She pressed her lips together and continued to sip on her fifth cup of coffee. She uncrossed her legs as a slight throbbing pain in her bladder alerted her that she had been sipping too much coffee, just as Charlotte appeared in the doorway of the guest bedroom. She looked a mess. Rayne just looked at her and shook her head.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Charlotte said, while in her feelings. Even though it was early as hell in the morning, she still needed her beer for breakfast.
The mother and daughter duo began having a staring contest. Neither one of the ladies broke the intense stare down that they were having, as Rayne crossed her arms.
“I think it’s past time for you to sober up,” Rayne finally said.
Charlotte stood as still as a statue while replaying her daughter’s words in her head repeatedly.
Rehab is for addicts and I’m no such thing. She thought it was cruel of Rayne to say something so disrespectful to her, especially with the tumultuous night and morning that she’d had. Without saying a word, she headed towards the kitchen. The minute her eyes came in contact with the bottle of liquor sitting on the countertop, she smiled.
“And don’t touch that liquor in there!” Rayne called out.
“You don’t tell me what to do! If you felt like I was such an alcoholic, then why would you tempt me with a bottle of Cîroc sitting here? A big bottle at that.”
“Just to test you.” Rayne shot her way as she got up and walked into the kitchen. “If you’re not an alcoholic, you wouldn’t worry about having a drink this morning.”
“Oh, I see what you’re doing here. You’re playing mind games with me. Well, you have the wrong person because I can still drink this liquor, right here, right now, and still not be an alcoholic.” She grabbed the liquor bottle to pour herself a drink.
Rayne snatched the bottle out of her hand. “Oh, no the hell you won’t. Not this morning and not in front of me.”
Charlotte smacked her lips. The chances of her making it over to Luther’s were slim to none. Plus, she’d showed her ass on him so bad that she probably was banned from his spot. She attempted to snatch the bottle out of Rayne’s hand. “I’ll go to rehab tomorrow, under one condition.”
Rayne pursed her lips as she waited for Charlotte to finish speaking. It was Charlotte who got into a car accident, but she was acting as if she had done nothing wrong. There wasn’t a glimmer of regret or remorse in Charlotte’s tired eyes.
Charlotte cleared her throat upon seeing she may get Rayne to comply with her. “I need one more night of fun. If you allow me to enjoy myself for the last time, I’ll go to whatever stupid rehab facility you want me to.”
Rayne sucked her teeth as she straightened her stance. “You’re drunk already! I’m not condoning your toxic behavior and impulsive actions. I suggest you enjoy this Cîroc,” she said, turning the bottle loose. “You better make it last! If you want to be in my life, you will get your shit together and go to rehab in the morning. The choice is yours because I’m not begging you to. It’s time for you to make some much needed changes and reclaim your life, Charlotte. I don’t want you to do it for me or Winter. You have to get sober for yourself.”
Charlotte was slightly moved by Rayne’s words, although she didn’t show it. Her mind wasn’t made up yet and she wouldn’t know her decision until tomorrow morning. For now, all Charlotte wanted to do was have a few drinks and get her head back right. If she was lucky, Rayne would go make a song or something. A little peace and quiet would have been lovely.
Rayne started to leave the kitchen when one last thing came to her mind. She glanced at Charlotte while narrowing her eyes. “I hope you thanked Yung Gunner for offering to pay for my car. We both know he wasn’t the one responsible for the accident.”
Charlotte snorted, “Get gone girl. I done already told you what happened. It ain’t my fault you’re hard of hearing.”
Rayne kept her mouth shut and left Charlotte alone in the kitchen. She headed to her room to retrieve her laptop and wait for Chase to return.
*****
“That bitch actually drugged me!” the tone of Chase’s voice was one that belonged to a noticeably irate man. His nose was flaring, his eyes were twitching, and he didn’t look like himself as he belittled Brooke, as if his mom hadn’t raised him better. At this exact moment, Chase didn’t see Brooke as the mother of his son and unborn child. Brooke was starting to appear as a stranger in his eyes. The video of her partaking in a sexual rendezvous with a man and woman had been enough for him to see that the woman he shared a child with held a closet full of skeletons that he had no way of getting to. Brooke had crossed the line this time.
“I told you to leave Brooke. She’s crazy for you, Cuz, and not in a good way.”
Jeremy laughed while thinking about how true his statement was. He often forgot that Toya and Brooke were related because the two of them were polar opposites. Jeremy had gotten lucky with Toya because she was everything Brooke wasn’t. Toya was goofy, caring, and outgoing. Brooke, on the other hand, was conceited, sneaky, and a bonafide liar.
Chase looked at Jeremy with contempt. “She’s Mason’s mother, Jeremy. I can talk foul about her, you can’t,” he said, but never mentioned the unborn child that Brooke was carrying. For a second, he wanted to forget that he now had another child to worry about raising, while dealing with the erratic behavior of Brooke. He was tired of her impulsive actions and the lack of respect she had for him.
“Any woman that’ll drug you ain’t shit and you can quote me on that. If I was you, I’d go get Mason and keep him for a while. I bet that’ll knock some sense in
to her ass,” Jeremy insisted.
Chase pondered for a second. He knew he would be risking Brooke showing out, but it was something he could handle. If Brooke decided to show her ass, he might decide to make good on his threat and file for custody of Mason. He wasn’t looking forward to the long, drawn out courtroom battle that would ensue between him and her, but Chase was willing to do what he needed to in order to keep his child safe and in good hands.
“I might just do that.” Chase slowly nodded his head. Then he thought about Rayne and how she would feel. “I need to talk to Rayne first. She’s probably planning Brooke’s funeral.”
Chase and Jeremy shared a laugh. Both men were trying to find a way to lighten up the uncanny situation. Chase had a considerably high amount of liquid molly in his system. It was the newest rave since ecstasy and the negative effects of the upper were astronomical. The doctor who treated Chase gave him a stack of papers detailing the origin of the homemade party drug. Chase would never snitch on Brooke, so the doctor and nurses alike labeled him as someone that partied a little too hard. Amazingly enough, Chase was awfully relaxed and composed. He was noticeably angry, but he wasn’t acting in the manner that someone would while rolling.
After chatting in the parking lot for a few more minutes, Jeremy proceeded to pull out of the parking lot. The ride to Rayne’s condo was quiet as both men were occupied with their own thoughts.
Toya was on Jeremy’s mind heavy and he couldn’t help but reflect back on the sensational private party they had last night. Toya was the only woman Jeremy had encountered with a sex drive that matched his and she satisfied him in a way that no woman ever had. Jeremy wasn’t sure what was to come out of their intimate relationship, but he was going to enjoy Toya’s presence and company for as long as he could.
Oddly enough, in the passenger seat of Jeremy’s ride, Chase was trying to figure out a way to get Brooke straightened out. Chase had never thought about implicating pain on his child’s mother so much before. He didn’t want to hurt her physically and he didn’t have the heart to do something so wrong. However, Chase was at his wits end and tired of playing games with a woman so callous and manipulative. He wasn’t even sure that she was capable of telling the truth, after she drugged him and lied about it with a straight face.