Chapter 32
“So, when are you going to tell me about the mystery woman?”
Misha looked up from her book when Carmen made the comment. She still hadn't told her friends about her lifestyle change.
“There is no girl. I told you that.” Misha quickly took a sip of her drink. Things were becoming harder to hide. Patrick was coming to town as much as she was going to Atlanta. She hoped that she wasn't spotted out. Misha knew she was wrong, but she decided to hide it until she moved to Atlanta, where she was not known for being a lesbian.
“OK, so exactly what has you glowing and disappearing every weekend? Lena and I never see you anymore.”
“I know, girl. I miss y'all so much. But I'm trying to get things settled in Atlanta. I've been looking for apartment and learning about my new job.”
Carmen was not buying the excuse. “Yeah, OK, but I never saw a job give a girl a glow like that.” She looked at Misha and winked.
“Yeah, well, whatever. You need to be worrying about Lena and not about me. At least I'm leaving town. That girl is practically on house arrest.”
“Tell me about it. It seems Brandon thinks someone is going to try to mess with her or something. We had to take a car with a driver and a bodyguard the last time we went out.”
“I still think he's hiding something.” Misha thought back to the incident at the church.
“Yeah, me too, but I hope that she gets her ankle bracelet off soon.”
Carmen and Misha laughed.
“I guess y'all are talking about me.”
Carmen and Misha turned around to see Lena. They exchanged hugs.
“How on earth did you get away?” Carmen asked.
“I just left. I want to go get my hair done and get pampered without a damn bodyguard.”
“Well, the life of a celebrity wife,” Misha added.
Lena frowned. “Yeah, celebrity, my ass. I won't think of myself that way until I do a red carpet or two.”
They laughed.
“Well, I was just stopping by, I have to get to the beauty shop.”
All three stood up.
“Yeah, I need to go pack as well.”
They all went their separate ways.
Â
Â
Cooley stood in front of Misha's door. She wanted to knock, but something was stopping her. She turned around and headed down the hall.
A familiar voice called her name.
“What's going on, Dayza?” Cooley said, looking at the woman.
Dayza would always help Cooley out of binds when they were suitemates freshman year. As suitemates their rooms were conjoined by a bathroom. If Cooley had a girl over and another one showed up, Dayza would let the first girl leave undetected through her room.
“Nothing much. Just heading to my room. I haven't seen your ass around the dorm.”
“Oh, shit, girl, I moved off campus last summer with Dee. How you doing? Still curious?”
“Fuck you, bitch. Man, you need to come into my room. I gotta tell you something dealing with Dee.” Dayza never had the urge to be with a woman until she met Cooley. She used to hear the sounds the girls would make when sexing her. She could also tell how sprung the girls got over Cooley. It made her curious, but she'd never acted on it.
Â
Â
“What about Dee?” Cooley walked into the room and noticed pictures of a guy all over her room. “This must be ya man.”
“My fiancé, actually.” Dayza held her hand out and flashed a small ring.
Cooley hugged and congratulated her. “Girl, I've missed you. Especially being next to my room. The girls I've shared bathrooms with have been a mess since you, especially the one across from me now. You know her ass too.”
Cooley laughed. “Who?”
“Rhonda Marshall. Bitch is crazy as hell. Girl just be yelling for no reason. Don't no one be in the room with her. And she be playing the craziest music all loud and shit. She flipped out the other day. Kim went in and tried to see what was up. Girl was whacked.” Dayza shook her head.
“Are you for real?” Cooley looked at the bathroom door that linked the two rooms. “What happened when she flipped?”
“She ain't been back since. Kim was going to call security on her, so she ran out. Man, Dee better be glad she left that one alone. You should see her room. She is like some type psycho for real. Man, I tried to find you a while back after some real crazy shit.”
“What the hell happened?”
“Cooley, a few months back I came home and she was just crying hard in my bathroom, right. She was yelling, âDenise, Denise,' so I opened the door to see if she was OK. She was standing in the mirror crying a river. I glanced over at her room, and she had all these candles lit around a picture of Denise. When she realized I was there, she stormed into her room and slammed the door.”
Cooley looked at the bathroom door. “Get the fuck out of here. I knew that bitch was psycho.”
“Hell, yeah, I don't know what her deal is, but she is bugging.”
Cooley looked at the bathroom door again. “Can I use your bathroom for a second?”
Dayza nodded her head.
Cooley walked into the bathroom and closed the door.
Cooley looked at the door to Rhonda's room. She knew that she now had a chance to find out the deal with Rhonda. She put her ear to the door to see if she could hear anything. She turned the knob to see if it was unlocked. It wasn't. Cooley pulled out one of her credit cards in an attempt to pop the lock.
Dayza walked into the bathroom. “I knew what your ass was up to. Give me that shit.” Dayza took the credit card and popped the lock instantly.
“Damn, did you get in my room like that?” Cooley laughed.
“I didn't need to get in your room. I could hear everything.”
They opened the door and gasped.
“Shit. I gotta get my camera out the car.” Cooley ran out. She returned with her camera in hand.
“Look at what I found.” Dayza motioned.
Cooley looked in a drawer and saw a large pile of articles and pictures of Dee. “Look at these. It's like she was stalking her.” Cooley looked at the pictures of Denise leaving the gym and talking to Stephanie.
“Oh my God. Talk about fatal attraction,” Cooley said as she looked around the room. She noticed something over by her sink. Cooley felt rage coming over her as she picked up her favorite pair of Gucci shades. Cooley knew instantly who messed up her clothes. “Oh, this bitch is going down.”
“Look, Cooley, the bitch is a certified nutcase.” Dayza held up a bunch of prescription bottles. Dayza read one of the labels. “Lithium. She must be bi-polar. I don't know about the rest of these.”
“Look, I got all I need. Let's roll out.” Cooley placed her shades in her pocket. “Ms. Rhonda is going down.”
Chapter 33
Denise looked up at the hospital sign and took a deep breath. Her heart began to pound as she walked up the stairs. She had promised herself that she wasn't ever going back to that hospital. But now she had a good reason, Stephanie.
Denise got on the elevator. It was the same elevator she used all the time to come see Mema. She touched the seventh floor button and fought back the urge to cry. She quickly pushed the button for the ninth floor. She made it around to Stephanie's room. As soon as she opened the door she felt better.
“Hey, you,” Denise said as Stephanie smiled at her.
“Hey, superstar. You played your ass off, girl.” Stephanie smiled at her friend. They had been getting to know each other better. If Denise ever asked, she planned on saying yes.
“Yeah, it was OK. Would have been better with you out there.” Denise sat in the chair next to Stephanie's bed. “Stephanie, I don't know what to say.”
“There's nothing to say besides, a drunk driver ruined my chances of ever playing ball again.” A tear rolled down Stephanie's face. “I may not be able to walk right again.”
Denise's heart was breaking in front of her. She had always taken her skills for granted, never realizing they could be gone the next day.
Denise grabbed her hand. “I guess you're going to have to come home with me, so I can take care of you.” Denise smiled.
Stephanie turned red. “Last thing you need to do is worry about a handicapped chick.” Stephanie smiled back.
“Steph, you know it's not like that. I got your back always.”
“Well, you won't have to this go-around. Maybe it's just not in the cards for us, Dee. My mom is coming to get me tomorrow. She's taking me back to Texas, where she moved.”
Denise looked at Stephanie's face. She was getting butterflies. She hadn't felt them since she met Lena. “Stephanie, it scared the shit out of me when coach told me you were in the hospital.”
Stephanie's heart to began race. “It scared me waking up in the hospital,” Stephanie admitted. “Man, you just never know how things are going to change. It's like there are so many things I wish I would have done before this happened. Some people I wish I would have actually gotten to know. Man, when it happened I thought I was about to die 'cause the person just kept on hitting me over and over. The bad thing is that I thought to myself that if I was about to die I wish I would have apologized to some people, and spent more time with people.” Stephanie looked at Denise. “You never know what turns your life is going to take.”
Denise thought about what Stephanie was saying. “Steph, please don't lose touch with me.”
“Of course, not.”
Denise kissed Stephanie on her forehead. “See you around, Superstar.” Stephanie smiled as Denise walked out the room.
Denise headed out of the hospital, but heard someone calling her name. She turned around to see Nurse Paulette, the nurse who had taken care of her grandmother while she was in the hospital.
“Yeah, Ms. Paulette, how are you doing?” Denise said as she hugged the small, older woman.
“I am doing just fine. I see you are doing well too. Caught a piece of that basketball game the other day. Are you going pro?”
“Well, hopefully. There are going to be a few people looking at me during the tournament.”
“I am so proud of you. You are such a strong girl. I don't know how I would be able to go to school, play sports, and deal with my mother in the state your mother is in. I just came to tell you that they moved her to the twelfth floor, you know, since she has gotten to the point that she is.”
Denise didn't know what to say. She didn't want Paulette to know that she didn't even know her mother was in the hospital. “Oh, thank you. Do you know the room number?”
“1218.” Paulette put her arm on Denise. “Now, I want to warn you that she has gotten pretty bad this week. I know that you probably don't want to hear this, but you need to start getting preparations ready. There is no way to come back now.”
Denise nodded. She felt a twinge in her stomach realizing that Paulette just told her that her mother was about to die. Denise hugged Paulette again and headed to the twelfth floor.
As she made it off the elevator her hurt and anger started to set in. She passed by many rooms, all quarantined. Denise looked at the door, knowing Tammy was on the other side. She went to turn the handle, but stopped. She turned around and walked away.
Chapter 34
“Well, I guess you're doing a good job here,” Denise said approvingly as she looked around Mema's house. Shemeka had transformed it since the last time she was there. It looked like a home again instead of a crack house.
“Yeah, well, I did the best I could do. I had to keep the kids out for a while to clean, but it's home for us now.” Shemeka was gleaming with pride. She was happy with herself.
Denise sat down on the sofa. There was no more plastic on it. She laughed to herself thinking of how Mema kept plastic on all the furniture. She sighed, thinking of how much she truly missed her grandmother. “It feels like I can feel her in here.”
“Yeah, I know. I felt so funny sleeping in here the first few nights.” Shemeka laughed.
“It was like she was watching me, wondering why I was in her bed.”
“Shemeka, I must say that I am proud of you. You are really getting yourself together,” Denise replied. She was glad that she and Shemeka were not fighting all the time.
“Yeah, it took a little while, but I'm all good now. My daddy wanted to move in, you know. I told him no. He wasn't too happy about that.” Shemeka looked at Denise. She had her head down in deep thought. “You know, Denise, we can't really choose who our parents are. I love my daddy, but I know he is good for nothing. But if something was wrong with him, I would be there for him.”
Denise sighed. She knew what Shemeka was getting to. “I know what you are getting atâ”
“Do you?” Shemeka cut Denise off. “Do you know that your mother is going to die any day now? I saw her the other day and she looks terrible. I think she is trying to hold on until you come.”
“I can't do it, Meka. Just yesterday I was standing at the hospital door. Man, I tried to go in, but I couldn't. She did that to herself.” Denise tried to hold back her tears. “I can't forgive her. She did too much.”
Shemeka sat down next to Denise. She put her arm around her. “Denise, you have a lot to look forward to in your life. You are going to go pro and do big things, but you will never truly be happy until you let go of all the bullshit. Hold on.” Shemeka got up and headed to the back room.
Denise stood up and walked over to the mantel with all of the family pictures on it. She noticed a picture of her mother when she was younger. She was very beautiful before she got into drugs.
“Here it is.” Shemeka handed Denise a book.
“This book is what got me to this point. I was at the library with the kids and a woman handed me this book. She said it changed her life, so I read it. This book helped me get over all the pain that I was holding in. I was finally able to get over all the hurt from my mother and my father and all those trifling men who left me with these kids.
“Your mother had the good sense to leave you with Mema. My mother had me in crack houses with her. I never told anyone, but she pimped me out for drugs one time when I was fifteen. She let her ex, Dante, rape me. Then I ended up getting pregnant by the monster. That's why I just took over my own life when I had my baby. You know who saved me from my mom?”
“Mema?”
“No, your mom. She saw me in the crack house once and went off. She got into a fight with my mother and everything. She got me out of there and took me to my father's house. It wasn't much better, but he didn't keep me around the shit, like my mother.”
“Shemeka, I didn't know.” Denise hugged her crying cousin.
“Well, now you do. My father only came around when it was convenient for him, and my mother didn't care about anything but drugs. Your mother cared enough to leave you in a positive environment, and to stay away so you could grow up differently. You gotta let that pain go.”
Denise felt the tears start to flow from her eyes. She knew Shemeka was right. She took the book from Shemeka and headed out the house. She had some unfinished business to take care of.
When she got in the car she looked at the book. Shemeka had given her
In the Meantime
by Iyanla Vanz-ant.
Â
Â
Cooley was ecstatic when she left the school pharmacy. She had to flirt to get the information she needed, but she was successful in the end. She held the papers close to her body.
Cooley noticed a group of girls walk into the University Center. She glanced over at the women, obviously new sorority girls. They all were so happy to have on their sorority letters.
She smiled when she saw one girl in particular leave the group and walk over to her. “I thought you wanted to be a Chi Theta,” Cooley said to the girl.
“Yeah, well, I changed my mind. AKA was the best choice for me, considering my mother is an AKA,” Tara said as she popped the collar on her sorority shirt.
“Well, congrats. Y'all must be coming out.”
“Yeah, in front of the university apartments. Are you going to come?”
“Maybe. I'll try to get out there.”
Tara smiled. “I've been missing you, Cooley. I didn't think you were serious about never seeing me again.”
Cooley laughed. “I told you I was. How's your man?”
“He's fine. He can't do me like you do.”
“Of course, not.” Cooley smirked. “It was good seeing you, shorty.”
Tara put her hand on Cooley's. “Cool, how about one more time before the school year is out? After that I will never bother you again.”
Cooley looked at Tara's frame. Even in jeans and a T-shirt she could see her unbelievable figure. “I'll think about it. How about that?”
Tara smiled. “I'll take that. Just don't think too long.” She ran off when she heard her sorority sisters calling her name.
Cooley laughed to herself. It even boggled her mind why girls fell for her as hard as they did. She thought about the one girl she wanted to be with, Misha. If only she could get her back.
Cooley's eyes widened when she noticed Lynn walking in to the U.C. with another stud. She felt a little twinge of jealousy when she saw the girl put her arm around Lynn.
Lynn's whole body froze when she saw Cooley sitting at the table. She excused herself from her date and walked over to Cooley. “I didn't know you were going to be in here. I would have nevâ”
“You don't have to explain to me. You don't answer to me.”
Lynn's faced dropped. “I know butâ”
“No buts. So you did have a chick on the back burner, huh?” Cooley said, trying to stay calm.
“No, Cool, it's not like that. I just met her a few days ago. She asked me to come to the student movie with her tonight.”
Cooley shrugged her shoulders. “I guess so. Go be with your li'l lame-ass date. When you're finished you know where to find me. I'm heading home.” Cooley packed up her books and headed to the door.
As soon as she made it home there was a knock on the door. Lynn had stood her date up and headed to Cooley's house.
“What you doin' here?”
Lynn looked up at Cooley. “I don't want to be with her or anyone but you. I can't give you up that easy.”
Cooley opened the door all the way and let Lynn in.
Lynn threw her arms around Cooley. “Please, Cooley, I just want you to know how much I care about you. I know you don't want a girlfriend, but don't you realize that I love you?”
Cooley didn't know what to say. She knew she cared about Lynn, but it wasn't the same way she felt about Misha. “Lynn, I love you too, but I'm not ready to commit to anyone. I can't make that commitment with you.”
Lynn stopped listening after she heard Cooley say she loved her. She never expected to hear her say those words. “Well, I'm not going anywhere. Now, can you make love to me, please?” Lynn seductively walked back to Cooley's room. She decided that night she was going to let Cooley do whatever she wanted to her. After all they were in love.
Cooley was shocked by Lynn's openness.
They finally had sex for hours. Lynn let Cooley have complete control over her body. Cooley finally was satisfied after the sex with her.
They fell asleep in each other's arms.