by A'zayler
“I don’t know about that, Fallon.”
“Rain, please.” She sounded desperate. “I’ll come right back to get them, I promise.”
“Okay… but you can’t bring them to the house. Love will go off. Just meet me at Alex’s apartment and I’ll take them from you there.”
Fallon sighed in relief. “Thank you so much, Rain. I promise I’ll come right back for them.”
“It’s fine.”
They hung up and Rain texted her Alex’s address as he stood staring at her with his hands on his hips. “Umm don’t you think you need to be telling me what you just set up?”
“We’re going to babysit your step kids until their auntie comes from the doctor.”
“My what?”
“Damien’s kids.”
“Oh no the hell we are not either.” Alex shook his head and started pushing the cart again. “I’m not keeping that boy’s damn kids. Where he at anyway? Why he can’t get his own damn kids?”
“She said he’s not answering the phone.” Rain leaned her head on his shoulder and looped her arm through his. “Come on, and stop being so mean.”
Alex rolled his eyes but agreed to go along with it. Instead of looking for his bedroom set they left Kmart and headed to his house. They were inside and turning the TV on when Rain’s phone rang again. It was Fallon letting her know that she was outside. Rain told Alex she was going to run downstairs and get the kids and that she would be right back.
The scorching hot sun blazed her skin as soon as she exited the door. The heat in the South played no games. She felt like she was about to break out into a sweat as she walked the short distance to the car. Fallon was out and grabbing a baby bag from the front seat of the car when she walked up to her.
“Here’s Damia’s bag. She just ate, so she should be fine. Little Damien will be fine as long as he’s with Jazz. Thank you so much again for this, Rain. I promise to come right back.”
Rain took the baby from Fallon’s arms. “It’s cool. They’ll be fine.”
Little Damien got out of the backseat and looked up at Rain. He gave her a fake smile while clutching his iPad in his hand. It had a red case around it with a little handle so that he could carry it easier. Damia squirmed around in Rain’s arms as she grabbed the bag from Fallon. She told her that she would be right back and got into her car.
Rain grabbed Little Damien’s hand in hers and they crossed the street. They went back inside Alex’s apartment and he released her hand. As soon as he saw Jazz he ran straight to him. They looked at each other and smiled before going straight for Little Damien’s iPad. Rain sat Damia’s bag near the door and kicked it closed with her foot.
She was still squirming and acting like she wanted to get away from Rain. “What’s wrong with you, little girl?”
Damia rubbed her eyes and looked up at Rain with wide glossy eyes.
“She probably don’t want your ass. Hand her here.” Alex grabbed the baby and held her close to his chest. “Come to your stepmama, baby.” He rocked her with a smile on his face while Rain laughed.
“You stupid.” They all sat down on the sofa as Alex rocked a very sleepy Damia back and forth in his arms.
She fell asleep shortly after and apparently had gotten attached to Alex in the process because every time he tried to lay her down she would wake up. After the third try, he decided to just hold her while she napped.
“You’re a natural. If you ever be with their daddy full time, you’ll be the perfect parent,” Rain whispered, careful not to let the boys hear her.
“Bitch, bye. That ain’t happening. I don’t do kids.” Alex’s nose was turned up as he reached for his phone. “Why the hell is Connie calling me? I texted her, that means text back, not call me.” He rolled his eyes and answered anyway. “What’s up, Connie?”
Rain played with the little ponytails on Damia’s head as she waited for Alex to finish his phone call. How could Iesha do something so dumb that would risk not being in her children’s lives every day? That was so stupid. Rain marveled at the beauty of the baby girl and shook her head. It was so sad.
How could something so beautiful come from two fools? One didn’t know if he wanted a man or a woman, and the other one needed to be committed to a damn psych ward.
“Looks like you’re on your own bitch. I’m about to meet Connie at Buffalo Wild Wings.”
“What? Why you leaving? You can’t do that later?”
“Nope, because I’m about to do it now.” Alex handed her Damia. “You the main one telling me I needed to tell her.”
“That was before I got stuck with all these kids.”
“You’ll be fine. Just lock my door if y’all leave before I get back.”
Rain sucked her teeth before telling him she would. When he closed the door, she scooted down on the sofa with Damia and relaxed while the boys played. That was definitely not what she’d signed up to do with her day, but it was what it was now.
Chapter 10: A Sick Reality
Buffalo Wild Wings was just as packed as it always was when they went. The building was packed with people of all races eating, drinking, and talking loud. Connie had told him that she would be in the back near the bar, so that’s where he went. After telling the hostess that his party was already there, he scooted through the other diners.
As always, there were a few people looking at him, which only irritated his soul to no end. He moved through the crowd until he got to the back. It was darker with a lot more TVs hanging around. The waitresses passed by him as he looked around the room for Connie. He had just turned around when he saw her in the back waving her hand in the air.
He held onto his purse and walked faster to her table and slid in the booth. Had he not already been sitting down, her appearance would have knocked him off of his feet. She was smiling, but she looked horrible. She wasn’t the cute little woman that he’d loved for many years. Her skin looked a lot darker, her eyes looked too big for her face, and she was a lot smaller.
She was so small she was barely filling out the shirt that she was wearing. Alex looked her over with a frown in his forehead.
“Connie, what the hell?”
He couldn’t even pretend not to notice the change in her. That would have been impossible. He looked her over as she pushed her Chinese cut bangs out of her face. She smiled and her teeth looked like they were going to fall out of her head. They were still straight and white, they just looked much bigger right then.
“Don’t look at me like that.”
“Somebody needs to. What is wrong with you?” His heart was beating fast when he asked her that question because in the back of his mind he already knew.
“Nothing, Alex, I’m fine, baby.”
“No you’re not either. You look terrible. You’re not on drugs are you?”
Connie shook her head and looked away.
Alex began to feel bad about being so harsh, so he tried to fix his tone. He reached across the table and grabbed her hand, making her look back up at him. She smiled nervously and cleared her throat.
“You said you were in Albany?” Changing the subject was the best she could do, so Alex went along with it.
“Yeah. You remember my friend, Rain?”
Connie nodded.
“Well, her sister in law lived there. We went to help her pack her stuff. Her husband has been cheating on her amongst a bunch of other shit, and she finally got sense enough to leave.”
“Well that’s good for her.” Connie looked up at the waitress who had just walked to their table and shook her head no.
Alex, on the other hand, ordered him a basket of wings and some water. When she left, he looked back at Connie.
“Tell me what’s going on, Connie. We’re better than this, boo.” His tone was much softer this time.
Connie fidgeted around in her seat without looking at him. She pushed her bangs out of her face again, only for them to fall right back down. She repeated this motion again, but this time, Alex grabbed
her wrist.
“Leave them damn bangs alone. That hair is too short, bitch, it ain’t going nowhere.”
Connie laughed at him. She sat back in the booth and laughed so hard she had to hold her stomach. Alex snickered occasionally as he watched her. He was glad to have made her laugh because she almost looked like herself for a minute. However, his joy was short lived because somewhere along the way something went wrong and she began to cry.
Alex hopped up from his seat and sat on the side of her. He wrapped his arm around her and she leaned her head on his shoulder. She cried for a while with her hands covering her face. Alex rocked side to side, rubbing her shoulder as he glared at any and everybody who looked their way.
“Tell me what’s wrong, boo,”
“I’m dying, Alex, and I don’t want to.”
“It’s okay, my love. Everything will be okay, baby girl.” Alex’s suspicions were confirmed.
That bastard Drake was running around infecting any and everybody he could. Alex sighed and leaned his head on the top of Connie’s.
“How do you know you’re dying?”
“You mean aside from looking at myself in the mirror?” Connie sniffed and grabbed a napkin from the table and washed her face. “I went to the doctor. I had been feeling sick and light headed for a few days. I was passing out and shit and wanted to see what was wrong.” Connie sat up and pushed Alex’s shoulder. “Go head back to your side. I’m okay now.”
Alex got up and went back to the other side of the booth and waited for her to finish her story.
“They ran a series of tests trying to figure it out. Girl, when those people called me and told me that I tested positive for HIV, I almost died. I mean, I know I’ve been a little loose in my days, but I only slept with niggas that I trusted. I never thought this would have happened to me.”
“I don’t think no one ever does. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. Some days I’m fine with it, and then other days I can barely make myself swallow all of those damn pills they give me.”
“Do you know who you got it from?”
Connie shook her head no. “That’s like the worst part of it. I don’t know who in the hell could have given me this shit. I was a little wild during the time my mom passed away.”
Alex sat in the chair unsure of whether he should say anything. It’s not like it would help anything, or make it too much worse than it already was. The only thing it would do was give her a peace of mind. His thoughts ran rapidly through his head as he tried to figure out what he was going to do.
“I just feel so alone. I’ve stopped tattooing and everything because everyone is always looking at me crazy.”
“Connie, I know where you got it from.” Alex said in a rush, before he lost the nerve to tell her.
She looked up at him in shock, her eyes searching his for the truth. “What? How?”
Alex covered his eyes with his hand briefly before looking at her again. She was still waiting for an answer, so he went ahead and put her out of her misery.
“Okay, so you know I was in Albany with Rain’s sister in law. When we went to her house, I realized that’s the same house you had done your tattoo party at.” Alex looked at her to make sure she was following him. She had leaned across the table and was all ears. “You do remember when I opened the door and caught you fucking, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, that nigga has AIDS. He gave it to his wife and everything. That’s what pushed her to finally leave.”
“His wife?”
Alex nodded.
Connie looked confused as she sat back in her seat. Her eyebrows were frowned up as she looked around the restaurant.
“Since when has that nigga been married? I’ve been fucking with him for a while now. He told me he had a baby mama, but that was it. He never said anything about being married to the girl.”
“Well, he is. I’m sure he doesn’t tell anybody anything. Now I see why.” Alex got quiet as the waitress set his food down. Conversation resumed after she’d walked away.
“This is crazy.”
“Imagine how I felt when we were there and I realized you had been fucking his ass. I was like, oh hell. Let me call her. Especially since I know all of the shit his wife has going on.”
“He had to remember you. He saw you that night we all were talking, remember? He didn’t say anything when he saw you?”
“He wasn’t there. It was just us.”
Connie drank some of her water as Alex stuffed a hot wing in his mouth. They sat in silence as they let what had been said marinate between the two of them.
“So you and Drake been messing around for a long time?”
Connie’s eyebrows scrunched up again. “Me and who?”
“Drake, bitch. You don’t know who you fucking?”
“I don’t fuck with nobody named Drake. I know one but we ain’t close like that. He’s just a friend of a friend.”
Now it was Alex’s turn to be confused. “Hold on. You just said you were fucking that nigga that night I walked in on y’all.”
Connie shook her head. “I didn’t fuck Drake that night.”
“Yes you did, bitch. I saw you in the people bed.”
Connie shook her head. “No, that wasn’t Drake. We were in his bed, but that wasn’t who I was fucking. I was with my homeboy, Damien.”
All the air in Alex’s lungs left in that moment. The chicken in his mouth felt like a glob of bread. The once savory flavored meat felt like it was about to make him choke. He grabbed the napkin from the table and spit all of the food into it before drinking some of his water.
“Damien? The one that be at your house all the time?”
Connie nodded. “Yeah. That was him. I was with that night, not Drake.”
Alex did his best to hide his disgust at the moment. “Oh damn, my mistake.” He tried to act as normal as he could so he didn’t give anything away.
Connie was his friend and all but he didn’t trust nobody with his business, except for Summer and Rain.
“Y’all still be messing around?”
“Sometimes. We used to fuck all the time before I found out. Hell, I had just fucked that nigga the week I found out.”
“Shit. You need to stop, Connie. You can’t be out here exposing people to this shit.”
She shrugged nonchalantly. “They didn’t care when they gave it to me, so why should I give a fuck?”
“That is not the way to be, Connie. That’s just low down.”
“Well, it is what it is. If I’m going to die, then so will they. Nobody thought about my life before giving me the shit, so fuck it.”
“I can’t believe you, Connie.” Alex grabbed his things and pulled a twenty dollar bill from his purse and threw it on the table. “Bye, bitch. I can’t sit here and listen to you right now.”
“Alex, don’t leave.”
“Bye, Connie. Call me when you get some sense.”
“Come on, Alex, don’t be mad.”
She said to Alex’s back as he left. He tried to control the shaking of his hands and legs, but it was a waste because they wouldn’t stop. His mind was going in a million different directions as he speed walked through the parking lot. The sick feeling in the pit of his stomach had him unable to move when he was finally in the front seat of his car.
He locked the door and laid his head back on the seat. This could not be happening. He’d always seen Connie all over Damien, but it wasn’t that serious to him. At any given moment she would be all over any nigga that was around her as long as he was black. Had he known, he would have spoken on that to Damien a long time ago.
When he couldn’t think of anything else, he pulled his phone out and called Damien. Of course he didn’t answer, but that wasn’t going to work today. Alex cranked his car up and prepared to look for him. He knew the only two places he could be was at home or at his little spot downtown that nobody knew about.
Alex wasn’t even supposed to know, but he had foll
owed Damien too many times before in the past. He’d known where he laid his head at for months now. Which was only for his benefit, because he never had any intentions of popping up at the home he shared with his baby mama. Now the loft he had downtown was a totally different story. He would pop up and act a damn fool, if need be.
Alex tried calling Damien’s phone again, but he still didn’t answer. He really didn’t want to go to his house, but he figured it may have been safe since his baby mama was gone to jail and the kids were with Rain. Normally he wouldn’t even think of doing anything like that because that would be crossing too many lines, but desperate times caused for desperate measures.
He drove with his nerves in a ball and slowed his truck when he neared the house that Damien lived in. He drove slowly past, but there were no cars in the yard and all of the lights were off. Alex sucked his teeth and kept driving. He thought about going on home and catching him later, but he changed his mind.
This was something that needed to be addressed. Alex drove and prayed as he maneuvered through traffic to get downtown. He pulled his truck into the parking garage and got out. Instead of waiting to take the elevator, Alex opted for the stairs. He didn’t have time to wait. He’d seen Damien’s car in the garage so he knew he was there. After the six flights of stairs he almost regretted not waiting for the elevator.
Alex walked to the apartment door and thanked God silently for the mouthy doorman who told him all about Damien and what apartment he stayed in for one hundred dollars one night after the club. That had been the first night Alex had ever followed Damien to his loft. After slipping the doorman a few lies and a few dollars, he told Alex everything he wanted to know.
Determined to get to the bottom of everything, Alex walked right up on the door and knocked. He knocked fast and hard until he heard movement on the other side of the door. There was no peephole, so he was happy when he heard the locks clicking. When Damien opened the door in nothing but his boxers and a confused expression, Alex pushed past him and walked in.
Damien tried his hardest to catch Alex’s arm, but he was moving too fast. “Alex, wait! What the fuck you doing here?”