by Tysha Jordyn
Safely out of Robb’s earshot, Roxy glanced at her phone just in time to see Plan B’s incoming call.
“Babe, what’s taking so long?” Roxy whined.
“Nothing, I’m good. I’m leaving now. That fool still there?” Plan B questioned.
“What you think? I’m heading out now, though.”
“Good…cuz I’m hungry girl, hurry up,” Plan B teased.
“Shit, what you wanna eat? I’ll grab something on the way, babe,” Roxy answered as she gathered her purse and keys.
“You don’t even gotta do that, cuz hopefully you’re in the car sitting on what I want to eat,” Plan B flirted, smiling ear to ear.
“Well, in that case, lemme hurry up and get my ass ova to the spot, cuz I got some truffle butter for yo ass,” Roxy beamed.
“Damn girl, you so fuckin’ nasty. I love that shit!”
Wrapped up in her flirtatious chat with Plan B, Roxy didn’t hear Robb come downstairs. He stood a few inches short of the kitchen entry, close enough to eavesdrop but arriving a few seconds too late since Roxy was already ending her call.
Chapter Nineteen
Braelyn had been following Kai for about half an hour when Kai quickly switched lanes and took the exit for the off ramp toward the Shoreline suburb north of Seattle. Two cars behind, Braelyn quickly exited as well, not wanting to fall too far behind Kai. After a series of right turns, Kai approached a gated condominium community.
“Fuck,” Braelyn hissed as she banged the steering wheel, wondering how she’d get on the other side. Spying an open pedestrian entrance off to the left of the gate, she threw her car into reverse and parallel parked tight against the curb a few feet down the street.
Glad I wore my sneakers, she thought to herself. Braelyn made her way up the walkway and rounded the first building just in time to see Kai pull into a parking space. She hung back for a few seconds behind a set of bushes to make sure she wasn’t spotted.
Kai crossed the parking lot and headed toward the third building, and Braelyn jogged the next several feet of sidewalk, catching up to Kai right as she headed toward a door for a unit on the ground level of the building. She raised her car keys, fumbled for a second, and then stuck a key into the deadbolt lock.
The fuck? Whose shit does she have a key to? Braelyn silently asked herself as she looked on in total confusion.
Disengaging the knob lock, Kai stepped into the apartment and quickly shut the door behind her.
Braelyn froze for a moment, thinking her eyes were playing tricks on her. She started to knock on the door then thought better of it. The unit had a big window facing the parking lot, so she crept back out toward the lot and crossed the grass, stopping just short of the window. She tried to peek inside, but found that there were sheer window coverings obstructing her view.
“Shit,” she whispered. I didn’t come all this fuckin’ way not to see what the hell is going on, Braelyn reminded herself as she squinted and focused, trying to see through the window panels. As her filtered view came into focus, she couldn’t believe what she saw – Kai hugging and leaning down to kiss a girl wearing a crop top, skin tight jeggings, and a pair of red sequined pumps that looked familiar.
“Fuck this,” Braelyn snapped as she retreated from the grass and returned to the unit’s door. Debating whether she should knock or kick the door in, she went her gut and tried the knob. Finding it open, she burst through the door just as Kai and the girl were about to taste each other’s tonsils.
“The fuck is this! I can’t fuckin’ believe this shit! Roxy, you fuckin’ bitch!” Kai swung around just in time to dodge Braelyn’s blow.
“What the hell! How did you get in here?!” Kai yelled, shocked by Braelyn’s presence.
“The fuck you mean how I get in here! I can’t believe this shit! My fuckin’ best friend!”
“Bitch, please. Don’t even try to act like you care. Did you care when you started fuckin’ Sevaughn?” Roxy clapped back.
“Bitch!” Braelyn cut to Kai’s right side and lunged toward Roxy.
Having the advantage of good sneaker grip, Braelyn easily knocked Roxy off her feet, sending her flying into a chair. Braelyn scrambled over and climbed on top of her, raining blow after blow on Roxy’s face and chest. Roxy reached up, snatched a handful of Braelyn’s hair, wrapped it around her hand, and pulled as hard as she could. Braelyn’s body followed her hair as she lost her balance.
“Fuck!” Kai screeched as she ran over and tried to break the two up.
Roxy had a firm grip on Braelyn’s hair, and no plans to let go. Braelyn flailed her legs, kicking both Roxy and Kai in their midsections. Roxy eased her grip on Braelyn’s hair, doubling over as she grabbed her stomach with her free hand. Braelyn took advantage of Roxy’s distraction and snatched her arm, flipping her onto the floor. Both heels now off, Roxy was more agile so she used her legs to push Braelyn from on top of her, then scampered away to get her bearings. Stunned for a few short seconds, Braelyn got to her feet and lunged in Roxy’s direction, but Kai blocked her path and snatched her up in a bear hug.
“Chill the fuck out, Brae!”
“Don’t tell me to fuckin’ chill! You sneakin’ around with this bitch!” Braelyn fumed, turning her attention to Roxy. “And when the fuck yo ass start fuckin’ bitches?!”
“Just like yo ass was sneakin’ around with ya fuckin’ dread head!” Roxy snatched up one of her heels and hurled it in Braelyn’s direction.
Still restraining Braelyn, Kai ducked to dodge the shoe. Braelyn’s mind whirred a million miles a minutes as she played a mental game of connect the dots, linking up several bits and pieces that hadn’t added up over the past few months. Never had Braelyn imagined Kai was capable of such a betrayal with someone so close to her.
“Let me go! Let me fuckin’ go! Get the fuck away from me!” Braelyn’s anger once again bubbled over and she wriggled wildly, attempting to escape Kai’s grip. Kai squeezed her even tighter. “Let me goooooooo!” Braelyn screamed at the top of her lungs.
“Calm the fuck down, stop fuckin’ screaming before someone calls the cops!” Kai shouted.
“I don’t give a fuck about no damn cops! Shit, call the fuckin’ cops!” Braelyn stomped on Kai’s foot, forcing Kai to relax her grip just enough for Braelyn to slip out. Braelyn resumed her lunge for Roxy and the two were once again embroiled in a flurry of punches, kicks, hair pulling, and biting.
“Fuck, y’all both need to chill, shit!” Kai’s frustration rose as she couldn’t keep the two apart. She managed to get a good grip on one of Braelyn’s legs and used all her force to drag her away from Roxy. Several tracks snatched from her scalp now strewn about the room, Roxy retreated to the kitchen, touching her lip to confirm the presence of the blood she tasted.
“Roxy, go in the room!” Kai ordered.
“Hell no, this bitch ain’t gon’ just run up on me and–”
“Go in the room, NOW!”
“This is bullshit! Fuck no!”
“Go in the room NOW before I start swinging on both of y’all!” Kai’s passivity had completely evaporated.
Roxy retreated to the back bedroom, leaving Kai and Braelyn in the living room. Once Roxy closed the door, Kai relaxed her grip.
“If I let you go, you better chill the fuck out. If you turn up again, Imma knock you on your ass,” Kai asserted. Although Kai had never hit her, Braelyn knew from the look in her eyes that she was dead serious.
“Kai, what the fuck though? My best friend?” Braelyn pleaded between gasps to catch her breath from her earlier scuffle. “Is this the real reason you’re never home? This is where you were when you were supposed to be on a work trip, huh? I can’t believe this!”
“Don’t even stand there and try to play the victim, Braelyn. I know for a fact that you’ve been seeing that chick for months now, and not once did you see a need to breathe a word to me, so why do you think you were entitled to know about this?” Kai motioned with her hand, pointing back and forth from hersel
f to Roxy’s holding tank.
“But my friend? Really? How could you?” Braelyn pleaded, a single tear escaping the pool that formed in her eyes.
“Shouldn’t matter who it was…did you consider my feelings the first time you laid down with this other girl? Like, did you at any point feel like maybe you should have just been real with me? Braelyn, I’ve always worked my ass off for you, and you showed your gratitude by stepping out…that’s messed up,” Kai’s cool demeanor was back intact.
“Kai, I told you, I never meant for it to happen…it just happened…but I’d NEVER step out with your friend, someone that I knew was like a sister to you!”
“Whatever issue you have with Roxy is between you and her. The issue that you and I seem to have is that you’re getting a dose of your own karma. Doesn’t taste too pleasant, does it?”
“Really? This is karma?! I can’t believe you, Kai! I’ve been begging you to talk to me all week, so why didn’t YOU use one of those times to come clean to ME about fucking my friend! And how do you go and pick someone who’s straight! I can’t believe this shit!”
“Who I picked and why I picked her is my business. And I think you need to leave now. You’ve turned up enough,” Kai responded, ice cold.
“Kai, I can’t just walk out like none of this shit happened! You’re fucking my best friend! How the fuck am I supposed to process that shit?!”
“The same way I processed that my fiancé—the woman I pledged my love to and planned to spend the rest of my life with—betrayed me. Look, you get what you give, and I’m sorry you found out like this, but it is what it is. So you can leave now,” Kai said as she grabbed Braelyn’s right arm, leading her to the front door.
“I’m not leaving, Kai!”
“You can leave by choice or force, Braelyn, but you will leave. Take your pick.”
“Kai! How can you do this! How can you just dismiss me like this?”
“Braelyn, I won’t say it again. You need to leave,” Kai asserted as she opened the front door and nudged Braelyn on the other side of the threshold.
“Kai, what am I supposed to do? I didn’t mean for any of it to happen, I didn’t mean to push you away, please, let’s talk about this!”
“You never mean for anything to happen, Braelyn, but this is one time you can’t whine your way out of your mistake. You should be happy with your side piece, though. She got you, right?”
With that, Kai closed and locked the door, leaving Braelyn standing on the outside, her tearstained face instantly cooled by the wind dancing through the breezeway. Walking in an almost zombie-like trance, Braelyn retreated from the complex, cleared the gate, and headed back to her car. Safely inside, she whipped out her phone and dialed Sevaughn twice, getting the voicemail each time. She called a third time, and Sevaughn answered on the second ring.
“Hey, Brae, let me call you back in like five minutes.”
“Sevaughn, I really need to talk, how soon can–”
“Five minutes, promise. I’ll call you back.” Sevaughn abruptly ended the call.
Head still spinning, Braelyn turned the engine over, headed back toward the highway, and took the on ramp to head east. Thoughts swam through her head so quickly that she fought nausea as she drove aimlessly, unsure of her destination. Forty-five minutes later, she found herself pulling into the underground garage of Sevaughn’s loft. She parked at the end of the row, armed her alarm, and made her way to the elevator.
“Shit, my phone,” she mumbled to herself as she turned to head back to her car. She took three steps and was suddenly met with a solid blow to the back of her head. Falling to her knees, she felt another blow right before she fell face-first onto the concrete floor of the garage.
Braelyn’s assailant pocketed the keys that flew from Braelyn’s hand, snatched her body up, and headed to the elevator before anyone else entered the garage. Code entered, the elevator whizzed to the top floor and the doors parted, delivering the assailant and an unconscious Braelyn to the loft. The assailant entered, passing the large mirror on the adjacent wall, and smiled at the flawless apparition. Braelyn’s body was laid across the couch, her wrists and ankles restrained as her assailant stuffed a gag into her mouth.
The mystery guest took a step back, gave Braelyn a once-over glance, and discarded a pair of gloves and a hat on the sofa table. Now seated on the adjacent loveseat, the assailant sat patiently waiting, intent on being the first thing Braelyn saw when she came to.
******** TO BE CONTINUED ********
SNEAK PEEK: I Should’ve Cheated Too
“Yeah Jen, send her right in,” Kai advised her assistant through the intercom. A brief moment later, her newest amusement walked through the door.
“Well good morning, Ms. Paloma,” Kai greeted, intensely eyeing her prey.
“Kai girl, you so crazy, why you bein’ all formal? And what’s so important? It’s too damn early,” Roxy playfully complained.
“Aww, I just wanted to catch ya before you got all wrapped up in your day, you know, just checkin’ in to see how you’re doing,” Kai began. She had a very specific reason for requesting Roxy’s presence; she needed answers.
“Uhh, you do know coulda called for that, right?” Roxy puzzled.
“True…” Kai replied, closing the space between the two; she now stood mere inches away from Roxy.
“Uhh, you okay?” Roxy asked, visibly anxious.
“You tell me…am I?” Kai eased closer, now so close that she could feel Roxy’s breath; Roxy took a few steps back until she met the wall. Nowhere else to go, she froze in place.
“Umm…Kai…I…I don’t…this just…” Roxy stammered, but Kai completely ignored her as she eased closer, now chest to chest with Roxy. The slight bounce of Roxy’s breasts betrayed her quickened respirations as her body reacted to having Kai so immersed in her personal space.
Kai brought her left hand up to rest on the wall over Roxy’s right shoulder, her body now leaning intently against Roxy’s. She leaned down a bit, bringing her lips to Roxy’s without initiating the kiss that Roxy was clearing anticipating. Kai lingered there for a moment, waiting to see how Roxy would react.
“Kai…this isn’t right…Braelyn…I can’t…” Roxy struggled.
“How long have you known about this dread head she’s been seeing?” Kai came out of left field; Roxy’s jaw dropped as she was stunned speechless.
“I mean, I’m assuming you knew since you’ve been lying to me for her…so tell me, how long?” Still, Roxy was silent; Kai sensed her nervous energy and smiled as she watched Roxy squirm under her piercing gaze.
“It’s okay, you don’t have to answer…I know this is an awkward…position…for you to be in…I mean…you’re her friend, right? You’re supposed to have her back, I get that…but still…” Kai pressed, still so close that she could almost taste the minty aroma stirring just behind Roxy’s pouty and luscious lips.
Roxy’s breath caught in her chest as the scent of Kai’s Tom Ford Plum Japonais teased her nostrils.
Wait…the fuck? Umm…wow…you’re straight Roxy…what are you thinking…you like men…so…why the fuck…are your panties…so…wet right now, Roxy silently grilled herself. She had and enjoyed countless threesomes, but never had she found herself aroused by a female as she did in that moment.
“Uhh Kai, I think–” but before she could finish, the warmth of Kai’s lips enveloped her own....
**********
“The fuck! The fuck did you just do!” Roxy cursed herself as she sped away from Kai’s office building.
Far from a stranger to betrayal, Roxy had fucked plenty of her friend’s boyfriends, and even a few of their husbands; but for some reason, her actions from minutes earlier had her feeling like the ultimate snake. Right on cue, Roxy’s phone jingled an incoming call through her car’s media console; Roxy glanced over to see Braelyn’s incoming call.
Fuck! She got radar or some shit?”
**********
2000, Philadel
phia, PA
Brooklyn sat on the floor of her room in a trance-like state, her gaze locked on nothing and everything at the same time. Spread out in front of her were the papers she’d swiped from her foster mother’s room during her most recent snooping session. Ms. Highsmith, or Donna to her loud ass cackling friends, always hinted Brooke was a throwaway child, and that her mother was probably happy she’d tossed her in the trash. Brooke refused to accept that, though. Mothers were supposed to love their children, right? She figured there was some kind of misunderstanding, and that maybe her mother was actually out there looking for her, but had been unable to find her since the Child and Youth Division bounced her around to a new foster home damn near every six months.
Brooke had gone digging into the drawer where she knew Ms. Highsmith kept important papers and bills. Unable to find anything useful, she turned her search to other areas she figured the woman would stash important papers. She couldn’t possibly search the home since she knew she only had about a half an hour before everyone else returned home, so she concentrated on the closet and underneath the bed. Pulling several Tupperware containers from under the bed, she finally stumbled upon a clear one with a red top, which caught her attention because her initials were written in black permanent marker–B.Y.U.
Removing the snap top lid, Brooke found a pile of papers, all bearing mention of her in some shape or form. She dug to the bottom and lifted the whole stack out, dropping a few pictures in the process. She recognized them as school pictures from previous years–all taken while she was living in different foster homes.
Legs tiring in her crouched position, Brooke tucked her legs underneath her bottom and sat back; she started sorting through the pile of papers when her eyes came to rest on a tattered piece of blue paper with a watermark; her birth certificate. She placed the rest of the pile to the side and focused her attention on the birth certificate: