BFF's 2

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I was a nervous wreck. Jacoby's phone call about Cedric being shot had me driving like a bat out of the devil's lonely hell. I swerved in and out of traffic, trying to get to the place I once called home. Tears streamed down my face. I could barely see the road through my blurred vision. My heart raced like I was on the verge of a heart attack, and so many thoughts swarmed in my head.

No matter what Cedric had done to destroy our marriage, I didn't want him to die. He had been the worst husband ever, but in no way did I want to be a widow. I still had much love for him. Someway or somehow, I thought we could piece our marriage back together. But after today, that would be difficult. If he survived his injuries, I didn't know how I would be able to forgive him for having a relationship with my best friend, Evelyn. How could I forgive the lies and betrayal of what they'd done? It wouldn't be easy, but for now, I had to focus on Cedric.

When I spoke to Jacoby earlier, he said that someone called 911 and the police and ambulance were on their way. I couldn't stop thinking about who could've wanted to kill Cedric. Why would they want him dead? I had my issues with him, no doubt, but I'd never thought about killing him. I should have, though, especially after the way he treated me; kicking me out of the house, removing money from my bank account, and fucking my friend—that was a sure way to get me stirred up.

I couldn't say that I was totally surprised by Evelyn's announcement today, but I couldn't get that smirk she'd had on her face, while making her confession, off my mind. We were at Trina's apartment, and Evelyn claimed to have something on her mind that she needed to say.

I was so out of it because of an earlier conversation I'd had with Cedric. He admitted to not loving me anymore, and for the first time, I was convinced that he wanted our marriage to end. The affairs hadn't convinced me, but hearing him say he'd fallen out of love did. While in a daze, listening to my so
-
called BFF, I bit my nails and stared straight ahead. I mumbled a bunch of hateful words underneath my breath then spoke clearly so that Trina and Evelyn could hear me.

I could sense Evelyn's fakeness. She swallowed hard and sat with teary eyes. After blinking to wash away her tears, she scooted to the edge of the couch. “I'll answer your question, but for the record, you have never seen my nasty panties in Cedric's car. Those panties must have belonged to someone else. As I said before, I do owe you an apology
—
not for fucking your husband, but for allowing him to fuck me and use me to hurt you. For that, I am deeply sorry. I truly hope that you will one day forgive me for interfering in your marriage when I shouldn't have.”

After Jacoby's call, I left in a hurry. I was on my way to see what was up. My car was moving at high speeds, but I needed to call Jacoby, again, to see what was going on. Unfortunately, he didn't answer. I called back several times, but got no response. I was only fifteen minutes away from Cedric's place, but I needed to know his condition. I needed to know if Jacoby was okay. Maybe he had done something to Cedric. They didn't get along that well, and these last few months had been hell for all of us. I hoped that he hadn't done anything this horrific, and the thought of it made my stomach turn. I was in deep thought, until I heard loud sirens. When I looked on the other side of the highway, a speeding ambulance had zoomed through traffic. That wasn't good. Was Cedric's dead body in there? Were the paramedics working hard to keep him alive? More tears fell, and I prayed all the way to my destination.

Upon arrival, I could see several police cars and plenty of my neighbors standing outside being nosy. Yellow crime scene tape squared the well-kept property and no one was allowed to cross the line. The front door was wide open. And when I looked around for Jacoby, he was nowhere in sight. I jerked the car in park and rushed to the first officer I saw. My legs wobbled and my heart raced faster, as I pulled on the officer's arm to get his attention.

“Where is my husband . . . my son? Please tell me what happened.”

The officer could see how unstable I was. He pulled me closer to the house, as my neighbor, Betty, shouted to ask if I was okay.

“I hope so, and let us know how Cedric is. Meanwhile, please get Rich out of this. He didn't do anything but try to help, but the police keep questioning him.”

I frowned because I was clueless to what she was talking about. That was until I looked into the back of a police car and saw her husband, Rich, sitting on the back seat while talking to an officer who sat in the front. Jacoby was inside of another car, and in another car was a white woman with dingy, blond hair. Her head hung low, and I couldn't see her face.

The officer held my arm and shook it. “Do you need an ambulance?” he said.

I shook my head, trying to come out of the daze I was in. “No, no, I don't. I need to find out what has happened to my husband, and why is my son in the back of the police car? I need to go see him.”

I turned to walk away, but the officer grabbed my arm. “Come inside for a few minutes. If you're Mrs. Thompson, I need to speak to you.”

“But I . . . I need to go see about my son. Why is he in the police car?”

“He's just speaking to one of the officers about what he saw. He'll be fine.”

I moved my head from side to side and snatched away from the officer. I wasn't sure why he was trying to keep me away from Jacoby, and with him being seventeen the police had no right to question him without my consent. I stormed away from the aggressive officer who followed after me.

“Ma'am, I need to speak to you about your husband.”

That got my attention, so I swung around to address him. “My husband? Where is he? Would someone please tell me where he's at?” I pounded my leg and started to cry even more.

“He's on his way to the hospital. We don't know his condition yet, but he was pretty bad when he left here in the ambulance.”

I held my chest, squeezing it. That was when Jacoby got out of the police car and came up to me. He appeared frightened. The confusing look washed across his face upset me.

“Mama, this . . .” He paused to embrace me. And as my son who stood six two held me, he started to break down on me. “What has happened to our family?” he cried. “I thought you were the one who shot my dad, but I was wrong. I pray to God that he lives. God, please don't let him die. This is all my fault because I wished him dead, Mama. I prayed for his demise.”

I looked around at the officers who were tuned in to Jacoby's every word. I didn't want him to incriminate himself, so I told him to be quiet. I rubbed his back and did my best to comfort him, considering how messed up I was.

“This is not your fault. I had my issues with Cedric too, but neither of us wanted him dead. As for our family, we'll be fine. Trust me, we will be fine, so don't you worry, okay?”

Jacoby nodded and backed away from me. He smacked tears away from his face then wiped down it with his hand to clear it.

“Rich saw her do it,” he said. “He told me she did it, and I could've stopped her, Mama. I figured she would do something like this, especially after I talked to her that day.”

My mind was going a mile a minute, trying to figure out what Jacoby was saying. But I couldn't comprehend anything because the officer behind me kept taking notes, and grabbing at my arm, asking me to come into the house. More sirens kept blaring, as more cars showed up. My nosy neighbors looking on didn't help either, and why were everybody's dogs barking? Maybe it was a good thing for us to go into the house, after Jacoby cleared himself of any wrongdoing.

I turned to the officer. “Officer, I will answer any question that you want me to, after I'm done speaking to my son. You say my husband is at the hospital, so we need to get there soon. Please allow me to get out of here to go see about him.”

“Yes, we do need to get out of here,” Jacoby said. “I'll fill you in, in the car and tell about what happened. But for now, let's go to the hospital to see what's up with my dad.”

For whatever reason, the officer didn't want us to leave. “I'll arrive at the hospital in about thirty minutes,” he said. “Hopefully, we'll be able to talk in private then.”

“Sure,” was all I said then rushed to my car with Jacoby.

On our way to the car, I took another glance at the white woman sitting in the police car with her head hung low. This time, two officers stood outside of the car, talking. I could barely see her, but when she swooped her frizzy hair behind her ears, my eyes grew wide. My mouth dropped open, and then I squinted to be sure that the woman was Cedric's receptionist, Paula Daniels. As I started to move in her direction, Jacoby called out to me.

“Let's go, Mama. Cedric needs us. I will tell you all about her in a minute.”

I kept my eyes on her then slowly got into the car. As I drove off, she turned her head to look at me. Our eyes stayed connected, until she rolled hers and lowered her head again.

“Keep your eyes on the road, please,” Jacoby said. “We will discuss her, but before we do, I want to ask if you're okay. You seem a little off.”

“That's because I am. It's been a crazy day. The truth is, I don't know if I'm coming or going.”

“I understand exactly how you feel. But before we get to the hospital, I need to tell you that Paula was the one who attempted to kill Cedric. She's been seeing him for quite some time, and he pushed her to the edge. He kicked her out of the house he purchased for her, and he also made promises to her that he failed to keep. I saw them together, numerous times—more recently in a parking garage getting it on. After that, I reached out to her. She told me what Cedric had done to her, and she threatened to kill him. I didn't take her seriously, but I should have.

“When I got home today, all I saw was Cedric's bloody body on a gurney. I thought he was dead, and at first, I assumed you had killed him. Forgive me for thinking that, but I knew how upset you were with him too. The truth is, Rich witnessed Paula walking toward our house with a shotgun in her hand. He followed her and called the police. By then, it was too late. Cedric had already been shot.”

I was speechless. So much anger was inside of me. I couldn't believe that Cedric had been also having an affair with the receptionist, and then to buy her a house was crazy. I guess that explained why she always looked at me with envy in her eyes whenever I visited his office. It explained why she always had an attitude when I called to speak to him, and it explained why he always worked late hours. Then there were the Christmas parties, the company picnics, and the company milestones and celebration parties I attended with Cedric. I could always sense how fake Paula was. Deep inside, I always felt as if she was watching me, and for some reason, she seemed to hate me. I questioned Cedric about her attitude toward me, but he claimed that she treated everyone that way. He made it seem as if Paula had been dating one of his partners, not him. I believed him because she didn't seem like his type. But then again, what was Cedric's type? I really didn't know because me, Paula, and Evelyn were like night and day.