Kayla's car was nowhere in sight and neither was Jacoby's. Cedric's BMW was parked in the driveway, and I was surprised to see a H
OUSE FOR
S
ALE
sign in the yard. I figured that after the divorce was finalized, neither Cedric or Kayla would want to live in that house, especially since Cedric had almost been murdered in it. Something about that seemed creepy.
I was kind of excited about seeing Cedric, so I reached for his gift on the back seat and strutted to the front door. I rang the doorbell, and a few minutes later, Cedric opened the door. He looked fabulous and very clean cut in his business attire. I could always smell the dollars blowing in the air. His face, though, was without a smile. He looked me up and down, and hadn't invited me in yet.
The gift was behind my back, so I brought it forth to give it to him.
“Hello, handsome,” I said. “I was at the mall today and I thought about you. I've been meaning to stop by and check on you, but time got away from me. Then I heard through the grapevine that you were putting your house up for sale. I'm very interested in purchasing it, but first, I kind of need for you to show me around. May I come in?”
Cedric stood for a moment, staring at me as if I had shit on my face. He then opened the door wider to let me inside. I tried to give him the gift again, but he wouldn't take it.
“Aww, Cedric, don't be so mean to me,” I teased. “At least look at it. We both have good taste and creative minds. I'm sure you'll like it.”
I forced the package his way again. This time, he snatched it from my hand and tore the shiny wrapping paper away from the box. When he opened it, inside was a protection kit that included Mace, a small pocket knife, and handcuffs.
I smiled at him and explained my nice gesture. “I thought those items may come in handy the next time any woman tries to come in your house and kill you. If you had those items in your possession, you could have sprayed that whore with Mace, stabbed her, and then handcuffed her until the police got here.”
Cedric wet his lips with his tongue. He narrowed his eyes to look at the items then nodded. The next thing I knew, he reached out for my hair and pulled it tight. He then used his foot to trip me. I hit the marble floor in the foyer so hard that my ass hurt.
“Damn!” I shouted. “What in the hell did I say that was so wrong?”
Cedric flipped me on my stomach and pressed his knee into my back, damn near cracking it. He pulled my arms behind me and locked the cuffs on my wrists. I struggled to stop him, but to no avail. The cuffs were locked so tight that it felt as if they were cutting my wrists. While I was face down, he pulled my hair back to lift my head. He put the knife close to my neck and spoke through gritted teeth.
“Thanks for the bullshit gift. I'm glad that I could put it to good use. Let this be a warning to you that I'm not some motherfucking toy you can play with. I'm a changed man, and I promise you that I am nothing like I was before. You don't want to fuck with me, and to be clear, I don't have time for bitches like you. You couldn't afford to live here, so take yo' ass back to that rattrap you live in. I never want to see your face again. Got it?”
Well damn. Since when did I manage to get on his bad side?
I didn't respond quick enough to his “got it” question, so he dropped the knife and slammed my head on the marble foyer, face first. I heard my teeth crack and my lip felt numb. I also tasted blood stirring in my mouth, and I could feel it dripping down my chin. This was a clear sign that his ass wasn't playing with me. I nodded to answer his question, but that wasn't good enough for him.
“Speak up, tramp! I can't hear you. You're not allowed to come here, call me, nothing . . . ever again! Do you understand?”
The loudness of his voice caused my ears to ring. I quickly answered before he slammed my face again.
“Yes,” I cried out with tears rolling down my face. “I do understand.”
“Good!”
Cedric lifted me off the floor and escorted me over to the front door. He opened it, and used the key to remove the cuffs. As I massaged my wrists, he shoved me outside. I fell on the porch, scraping my knees. While rubbing them, he threw the wrapping paper, box, and contents at me. I ducked to avoid the flying can of Mace. After that, he slammed the door and locked it.
Shit was getting a little rough for me. My good day had turned bad. And when I got in the car to look at my mouth in the rearview mirror, it wasn't a pretty sight. My mouth was bloody and my front tooth dangled. It hurt, too, so instead of going back to the mall to shop, I made my way to the dentist and thought about ways to make Cedric pay for this. He was out of control. He didn't appear to be the man that he was before. Something about him was different. Maybe, just maybe, it was in my best interest to leave his ass alone. Or, at least, until he shook off some of that madness.
Chapter 15
Trina
Keith and I were back on track. Moving in with him was the best thing I could've done. Just yesterday, I cleared out my entire apartment and turned in my keys. I called Kayla to see if she would come help me, considering that she had lived with me for a while too. She said that she was busy. She'd been acting kind of funny lately. I asked if something was wrong, but she insisted that she didn't want to discuss it. Good, because like she had mentioned to me, I got tired of hearing about the negativity too. Maybe it was a good thing that she was keeping whatever it was that was bothering her to herself.
I came to the conclusion that the reason she didn't have time to help me with my apartment was because she was moving into hers. I hadn't seen it yet, but she told me how fabulous it was. I hoped to see it soon.
Keith had gone to the studio on Delmar to do some work. There were more supplies there to work with. We'd been spending so much time in this house, he needed to get out. I wasn't trying to keep him cooped up in here, but it was nice to wake up with a sexy, fine man lying next to me. Especially one who was great at lovemaking and who appreciated having sex quite often.
While he was gone, I started to clean up. The house had gotten kind of messy since I'd been here. I cleaned the bathrooms, washed the dishes, and did the laundry. As I sat in the living room folding clothes and watching TV, I looked through the huge picture window and saw Evelyn parking her car. I couldn't believe that she had the nerve to show her face over here again. I guess she thought Keith was here alone, but unfortunately for her, he wasn't.
Seething with anger, I stormed to the front door and swung it open before she even made it up the stairs.
“Really, Evelyn? You must be insane. Either that or I guess you don't believe I'm capable of stopping you with that gun that was introduced to you the last time you were here.”
Evelyn slowed her pace, and she didn't reply. She paced her way up to me with sadness written all over her face. Tears welled in her eyes. Almost immediately, I saw her bruised, puffy lips; and a deep cut was on her lip, too. She threw her arms around me and dropped her head on my shoulder. She started to cry and could barely catch her breath as she tried to speak.
“I'm so, so sorry about what I did to you. Pleeese forgive me, Trina. I need for you to forgive me because I don't have nobody in my corner.”
I pursed my lips, unable to sympathize with her. I didn't even bother to hug her back, but I intended to offer her some comforting words. I backed away from her tight embrace and looked at her disheveled appearance that I hadn't seen before. Her clothes were slouchy, bags were underneath her eyes, her hair was frizzy, and her skin appeared very pale. Not to mention, again, her swollen lips.
“Come into the living room and sit down. You always have someone in your corner. I don't have to remind you who He is.”
“God don't help people like me. I don't know what's gotten into me. Ever since I lost my friendship with you and Kayla, things in my life haven't been right. My life has been going downhill, and I don't know what to do to stop it from sliding.”
Evelyn fell back on the couch, tucking her leg underneath her. I reached for some tissue and gave it to her before taking a seat. She wiped her nose and dabbed her teary eyes. I wasn't going to respond to her comment about our friendship yet.
“What happened to your lip?” I asked. “Did you get into a fight with someone or did you and Kayla have another conversation?”
“No, I haven't seen her. Cedric did this to me. I stopped by his house the other day to give him a gift and to see how he was doing. He went crazy on me. Started punching me, and he knocked me on the floor. Took his fist and punched me in the face, and then he pounded my head on the floor. He knocked out my tooth, and I had to go to the dentist to get a tooth implant.”
Evelyn was known for exaggerating. She grinned to show me her new tooth. I saw that the inside of her mouth was swollen and bruised. I frowned from how nasty it looked. A huge part of me didn't believe her, though. For her to say that Cedric had done all of that to her was a bit much. A dog he was, but an abusive man he wasn't.
“I don't know if he did that to you or not, but why would you go over there? After all that has happened, why don't you leave Cedric alone and be done with it?”
More tears fell from Evelyn's eyes. She wiped them then crumbled the tissue in her hand. I got up to get her some more tissue then sat back down to listen.
“Believe me, I tried to stay away from him, but I got lonely. There was a time when I could always reach out to you or Kayla, but you already know where we stand. With that in mind, I ran to Cedric for friendship and conversation. I thought we were still cool, and I don't understand what I did to make him hate me so much. Maybe the abortion upset him.”
I surely didn't want to hurt her feelings. “I doubt that, and please forgive me because I'm still having a hard time believing all of this. You are so good at fabricating stories and embellishing them, Evelyn. I don't know what to believe. I promise you, though, that I won't get caught up in your games again.”
Evelyn closed her eyes and moved her head from side to side. “I know I've been a terrible friend, and I've lied a lot in the past, too.” She opened her eyes and looked at me. “But I'm not lying about what Cedric did to me. I swear to you that I'm not lying.”
She pulled out her cell phone and dialed out. Afterward, she placed the phone between us and hit the speaker button. I heard a phone ringing. Seconds later Cedric answered. I guess knowing who the caller was, he tore into her right away.
“Didn't I tell you not to reach out to me again? I guess that ass kicking you got wasn't enough! Ifâ”
Evelyn hit the end button and looked at me with more sadness. “See? I told you he beat me.”
Damn. Why did I feel so bad for her? I tried my best not to let her know it. “He never should have put his hands on you. Maybe you need to press charges against him.”
“I'm afraid to. He threatened me and said that he'd tell the police that I came over there to kill him, especially since this incident took place at his house. Considering what had happened with Paula, he assured me that the police would believe him. I just don't want any more trouble.”
“Then stay away from there. If you needed companionship, friendship, or a conversation, why didn't you contact Bryson? Aren't you still kicking it with him? If not, what happened to y'all's relationship?”
Evelyn looked down and shook her head. She fumbled with the tissue then blew her nose again. This time, she stood and walked over to the picture window to look outside.
“I'll tell you what happened, but you have to promise me that you won't say anything to Keith. Is he here?”
“No, he's not. I can't promise you that I'll be keeping any secrets from him, though. We're striving to have a trustworthy and honest relationship.”
“I get that, but this is something that you can't tell him. If you do, it will hurt him, and it could hurt me too. It involves Bryson and it's really, really bad. As for the two of us, I am so over him. It pains me to be around him every day at work, and I'm thinking about quitting.”
Whatever it was sounded pretty darn juicy. I wasn't sure if I would tell Keith, especially if it was something that would hurt him. Regardless, I told Evelyn that I wouldn't say a word, just to get her to spill the beans.
“Promise me,” she said, walking away from the window. “You have to promise me that you won't say anything. If you do, Bryson may hurt me even worse than Cedric did.”
I was eager to hear what was up. “Okay, I promise. I won't say a word to Keith or anyone else.”
Evelyn sat back down and went into great details about what she discovered with Bryson. The whole time she spoke, my eyes were bugged and my mouth was stuck wide open. When Evelyn was done, I flat out told her that she was a damn liar. That was when she told me about the money and showed me the deposit into her bank account.
“He begged me not to say a word to anyone. I don't even know if I should have told you about this, but it gives you an idea about how fucked up my life has been. I fell for a nigga on the down low, Trina. If I shared with you all of the things that I allowed him to do to me, or all of the things that I'd done to him, you'd throw up.”
This was bad. Real bad. I couldn't believe that Bryson was on the DL. He had so many women in his circle, beautiful women, too. I'd seen him with chicks who looked as if they were Hollywood made. They loved Bryson's dirty underwear and would do anything to be with him. I was outdone by this news. I figured Keith didn't have a clue about his brother. He and Bryson were very close, but I was almost positive that something like this wouldn't sit right with Keith.
Evelyn interrupted my thoughts. “I don't need any more trouble, Trina, so again, keep this between us. I get that you've been mad at me and you may not care what Bryson will do to me, if this gets out. But, please, have some concern for my wellbeing.”
This time, I stood and paced the floor. Evelyn had put me on the spot. Maybe I needed to speak to Bryson first, before I decided what to do with this information. There was still a chance that Evelyn was being untruthful.
“Girl, if you're lying about this, shame on you. You need to seek help andâ”
Evelyn pounded her leg with her fist. “I'm not lying! The truth is, I do believe that I need to talk to a professional who may be able to help me deal with all of this pain. I've been dealing with it for a long time, and I've never sought help from when I experienced my father beating me and my mother, him making us homeless or for having sex with me. I should have gotten help years ago, but I never did. Maybe all of this craziness wouldn't be happening, and maybe I could've figured out how to be a better friend.”
Evelyn's words made me reflect to when she used to come to school with black eyes and with bruises on her arms and legs, compliments of her father. Kayla and I felt so bad for her. My mother even pitched in to help when Evelyn's father threw her and her mother out of the house. They stayed with us for a few months then went to live in a shelter. The people at the shelter found them a place to live, but it wasn't long before her mother let her dad back in. The abuse continued and the rest was history. I guess that a part of me couldn't blame Evelyn for being so screwed up. She wasn't lying when she said she needed some help.
“I applaud you for wanting to get some counseling, and it's not exactly a bad thing. I've had my issues too, and I just realized what was holding me back when it came to Keith. I talked to him about it, and I feel much better.”
“That's the thing. You have somebody to talk to. I don't. I keep all of this stuff bottled up inside of me, and I haven't said much to you or Kayla about my issues because I don't want to be judged. Just know that I'm sorry for everything. No matter if you decide to forgive me or not, I'm sorry and please tell Keith I'm sorry too.”
Right at that moment, the front door opened. Keith walked in with a smile, but it vanished when he saw Evelyn sitting on the couch.
“What is she doing here?” he asked with a frown on his face.
I didn't like his tone, but I understood where it was coming from. “She came over to apologize to us about what happened.”
“Apologize? I don't need an apology and neither do you. What I need is for Evelyn to get off my couch and leave. Right now.”
Evelyn blinked tears from her eyes and stood up. No words could express how bad I felt. She was so unstable. I didn't want her to leave here, feeling as if everyone was against her. I tried to settle this with Keith, but he wasn't trying to hear it.
“Keith, calm down. Let me finish talking to her, and then we'llâ”
“I am calm, and I will remain calm, as long as she exits.” He walked to the door and opened it. “Peace.”
Evelyn blinked away her tears and her breath staggered. She was fighting back all that was inside of her. I wanted to tell her not to leave, but I didn't want to argue with Keith. Instead, I walked behind her and tapped her shoulder. She turned around.
“Give me a hug before you go. Stay strong and we'll talk soon enough.”
She threw her arms around me and held me tight. So tight, as if she didn't want to let go. When she did, she barely looked at Keith who stood at the door with a mean mug. After giving him one last look, she left. I slowly closed the door and turned to him.
“I know what you're going to say, but she's going through a lot right now. I tried not to sympathize with her, but you know how I am.”
Keith gave me a dirty look then walked away. He went into the kitchen and I followed. He opened the fridge, pulled out a beer, and popped the cap. The strange gaze in his eyes was still there.
“What is it?” I said. “Why do you keep looking at me like that?”
Keith guzzled down the beer and then wiped across his mouth. “I almost hate to ask you this, but something here ain't right. Were you and Evelyn ever lovers, or should I say, are the two of you still lovers?”
If there ever was a time when I wanted to smack the shit out of Keith, this was it. How dare he ask me such a question? What a gotdamn insult.
“You can't be serious,” I snapped.
“I'm very serious. Because I don't understand how you could've let her back into this house. After all that she's done, her lies and games, you felt a need to open the door and let her in here? I don't give a rat's ass what she's been through. Hell, we all go through things, but we don't go around manipulating people, trying to screw people's significant others and telling lies about them, do we?”