Authors: Ebony Lowe
“Somebody please tell me what’s going on?” Auntie Lynn said once they finally moved into my house.
“Mama, it’s very clear what’s going on you just need to open your eyes ma” Melanie cried.
“How long has this been going on Kita?” Mama asked
“A while” Kita replied with no remorse
“You’ve been sleeping my daughter man, come on now. You my brother, that’s your niece, what is your problem man” I heard Daddy yell.
I broke away from J and ran to the bathroom to vomit. I was so disgusted by all of this. I could only imagine how Auntie Lynn and Melanie were feeling. Funny, I haven’t heard Auntie Lynn’s voice in a while, which means she is holding it all in, which means when she finally lets it out…she is going to explode. I ran the cold water in my sink so that I could splash my face thinking it would wake me up from this horrible dream. I heard J on the phone telling someone what was going on. From the sound of it, he was talking to Jacob. I turned off the water and reached for a towel, as I looked on the floor I realized sharing a bathroom with Kita was the worst ever. I picked up the trail of garbage she left on our bathroom floor.
I charged out of my room, bolted down the stairs, ignored J when he asked me what was wrong, and I ran straight to Kita.
“You are something else” I screamed. Everything inside me wanted to punch her in the face once again. I glanced out of the side of my eye and saw Mama and J ready to grab me. I could hear Jacob’s voice behind me telling Bradley to go into Marcus’s room and play. I heard Melanie taking heavy breaths. My dad was pacing back and forth. Auntie Lynn was just standing there in shock, not saying a word and he, the low down dirty dog was trying to talk to Melanie because he knew that she and my mom were the only ones that could ever get through to Auntie Lynn.
“You dirty bitch, you left the evidence in our bathroom and I know it’s yours because i
t damn sure ain't mines!” I screamed!
I took a step back and stood next to Melanie and watched my mama remove the tissue from the test. She took one good look at it and put her hand over her mouth and began to cry and at that point she almost fainted in Jeremiah’s arms. My dad rushed to her side. My face turned cold, I grabbed Melanie’s hand and squeezed it so tight, and then I let it go. I looked at her with so much anger in my eyes and I saw my best friend in tears. That was it! She has caused us all enough heartache and pain and it’s time for her to pay. I nodded at Melanie, and it was like she was reading my mind because we both charged at Kita at the same time. We hit her so hard that she fell backwards with the chair. Melanie and I kept hitting her in her face. This time, I promised myself I would not stop until I saw her blood on my hands. Jacob and Jeremiah tried their bests to restrain us, but every time they picked us up and tossed us away from Kita, we managed to get right back to her.
“ENOUGH!”
Auntie Lynn finally yelled. “That is enough, I have had it. Melanie, go get your brother and you and Jacob go on home.”
“But mama…” Melanie said.
“Don’t…just go…NOW!”
“Yes ma’am” Melanie said as Jacob grabbed her by the hand and led her to Marcus’s room.
“Deondre!” She said softly “You may get your things and get the hell outta my house.” She said finally breaking down in tears.
“Teri and Mark, I do apologize on my
ex-husband’s behalf. And I pray that this does not mess up our relationship in the near future”
“Of course not” Mama replied in tears.
“Ms. Kita, I pray that GOD have mercy on your soul and I pray that I can one day forgive you for helping to ruin my family” Auntie Lynn said as she began to walk out of our house.
As my parents, J, and I stood there staring at Kita on our floor, so many thoughts ran through my head. I thought about stomping her face in, spitting on her, choking her until there was not a breath left in her body. How could you do this to our family? Your own godfather, how could you. How could you have no remorse for anything that you have done? How could you?
“Little girl”, daddy said interrupting my thoughts, “You have disgraced this family. We taught you better than this. I can't even stand to look at you or hear your voice. I hope you have a way to support yourself and that bastard child of yours because you are no longer welcomed here. Get your things and get the hell out of my house!”
“Now wait a minute, everyone just calm down please” mama cried “Marcus she is still our daughter and you know she has nothing and nowhere to go, you can't just throw her out. Think about this! We're all upset and angry, let’s all get a night’s sleep and discuss this in the morning.”
“No!” I yelled. “Mama how can you stand here and take her side like that. She slept with your brother, your best friend and your saying that
it’s okay, just forgive her and let her stay here. Jeremiah take me to your house because as long as she is under this roof, I won't be!” I said as I grabbed Jeremiah’s hand and headed to the door.
“Now you wait a minute young lady, you will not leave this house! We are a family!” Mama yelled to me
“A family? Really? Mama since when does a family do this to one another? Huh? Since when does a family talk to their parents the way you allow her to talk to you? Since when does a family get pregnant by her uncle and not feel bad about it? Mama you constantly let her get away with murder and I'm supposed to just sit back and not say anything. Not this time mama. I love you and daddy to death, but I will not sit back and watch OUR FAMILY go down like this.” I cried
“Look, I know what she did may seem unforgiveable right now, but she is still our flesh and blood!”
“Yea well, she sure as hell didn't think about that when she was making her baby with our godfather, so why should I?”
Looking into mama's eyes, I knew this was hurting her as much as it was hurting us, but her heart wouldn't allow her to turn her back on her child even though her child turned her back on us.
“I've said all I had to say” Daddy said “I won't repeat myself”
And that was that. Mama slept on the couch that night. Jeremiah slept in the bed with me. Who would have thought so much drama would put such a strain on our family. Only God knows what we will wake up to. I have no idea where Kita went, but I do know she left our house. I finally saw her crying, but I don't know if it was because she knew she was out of our family and on her own, or if she actually felt bad for what she did. Honestly, I didn't care.
“Baby can we please talk about this.”
Deondre pleaded “Please don't turn your back on me, I need you. I'm nothing without you”
“You didn't think about that when you were making a baby with our goddaughter, now did you.”
Auntie Lynn said.
“Baby please!”
“You can sleep in the guest room until you find your own place. I'll call the lawyer in the morning to draw up the divorce papers.”
“Divorce? No
Lynnette, I'm not signing any divorce papers.”
“
You’re not signing them? Well why not? It's very clear that you didn't give a damn about this marriage so why should I stay in it.”
“Mel, it was a mistake and I'm sorry. Tell me what to do to make this right.”
“Where you with her more than one time Deondre?”
He stood silent staring at her with tears in his eyes. He couldn't respond to the question she had asked because he knew it would hurt her more. Little did he know, he had just told her everything she needed to know without saying one word.
“One time is a mistake Dre! One time! You make that mistake and you never do it again. You learn from that mistake, you don't go back and continue to do it over and over again. This is our niece, our godchild. Did you not once stop and think about what this would do to our families? Did you even care? Which head did you think with? I cannot do this! I cannot stay in this marriage after infidelity, infidelity with one of our family
members. I cannot forgive you for this. You have cut me deep Dre! Do you not see that? Do you even care?”
“What, Mel of course I care! If I didn't do you think I would be pleading and begging you not to leave me? I can't live without you and I won't! I'm not letting you go. I will do whatever it takes to make this work. Whatever you want me to do baby, I will do it PLEASE! Just tell me what to do. Please we can fix this, we can make it work, I know we can!”
“No Dre, this is beyond unforgiveable. I can't even stand to look at you! You make me sick! I want you gone, I want you out! It's over! We are done!” She yelled as she slammed her bedroom door and ran down the stairs. Minutes later, she ran out of the house, got in her car, and drove off.
Deondre was left standing in the middle of their room with a sad face and fake tears. I guess reality finally set in about what he had done. I hope he didn't think that a bunch of sorries would make this right.
A couple days went by and there was still a lot of tension in the air. No one in my house spoke to each other. It wasn't for lack of trying. I guess we were all still angry and in shock. I hadn't spoken to Melanie since that night. I really had no idea as to what to say to her. I didn't know if she was angry at me or even wanted to be bothered. Jeremiah insisted I give her time to come around on her own. Couldn't help but to miss her and wonder if they were okay. Against Jeremiah’s judgment, Marcus and I decided to go across the street to visit and make sure everyone was okay.
“Mariyah, why are you so hardheaded?” Jeremiah asked as I put my shoes on.
“What do you mean hardheaded?” I asked with and irritated expression.
“I told you to wait til she come talk to you”
“And I told you that's my best friend and I haven't went longer than a few hours without talking to her. I need to make sure she is okay. Why can't you just respect that?”
“Because baby, what if she doesn't want to see you then what. Your left hurt, more hurt than you are, then I have to deal with you crying and stuff”
“Wait, so I'm a burden? Are you really saying that to me?”
“No, that is not what I'm saying and you know that. I just don't
want to see you hurt and crying all over again, because there is nothing that I can say or do to make you feel better.”
“Look, I will be ok b
ut not if I don't go talk to her. Just chill. I'll be back in a few and if I'm not call me and check on me. Aight?”
“Fine”
I could tell he wasn't happy with my decision but he had no choice but to respect it because I was going whether he liked it or not. I knew deep down she needed me, and I needed her to.
When I made it to their house, I noticed
Auntie Lynn's car wasn't there. Come to think of it, I haven't seen her car since that night. Not sure if they were even there, I rang the doorbell, knees shaking because I didn't know what to expect. Finally the door opened and I was not happy with what I saw. My best friend looked a mess. Her hair was all over her head, and her face was puffy and red. She had on a long sleeved shirt with baggy jogging pants, which would have been ok if it wasn't summer time. She looked weak, like she hadn't slept in days. I didn't know what to say to her, so I did the best next thing. I reached for her and hugged her tight and felt her breakdown in my arms.
“She's gone!” she cried
“Who?” I asked as I wiped her face with my sleeve.
“My mama!”
“What do you mean gone? Where she go?”
“She left that night, and I haven't seen or talked her since then.”
“Well did you call her phone?”
“Yea,
it’s here! She left everything here!”
“Wait
it’s been how long since she been gone? Where yo dad at? Ya"ll need to call the police and file a missing persons report!” I exclaimed.
“I told him that but he said because of the situation, they gone probably say she just took some time to clear her head.” Melanie answered.
“No, no that’s not right! Even if they do say that, they still have to file a report!” I said. “Okay so what else is it that you’re not telling me?”
She knew that I knew there was something else. She leaned over and whispered something in my ear and tears began to fall from my eyes. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I looked at Melanie, who had stood up and began to pace back and forth in tears.
“Is this for real?” I asked her completely stunned.
“No, I refuse to believe it is.” She answered. “Mel we got to tell them”
“No, no...
They are going to find her and bring her home to me. She wouldn't just leave like that”
“I know Mel, but we need to tell them so they can bring her back home”
“NO! I said no...She’s coming back. I know she is. Don't you say one word of this to nobody, you promise me. Not even to Jeremiah!”
“Okay, okay! I promise.”
Just then, my parents and Jeremiah came running inside. I could see the heartbreak on my mom's face, as she reached for Melanie.
“The police are on the way” my dad said as he came and stood by me.
It took everything in me to not tell them what Melanie had told me. I was so confused and didn't know what to do or who to talk to. I made a promise to my friend and I couldn't break it but this time I felt I should.
“Where's
Deondre?” My dad asked.
“I don’t know, I guess he
is at work. We haven’t really talked.” Melanie replied
“Where's Brad?” My mom asked looking around.
“With him.”
It hurt me to see my best friend in so much pain. There was nothing that I could do or say to make her feel better. I felt so helpless. She was here in this house by herself. Everyone had left her. Auntie Lynn disappeared. But the way I felt, was nothing compared to what Melanie felt. The doorbell interrupted my thoughts. My dad let the police in and led them to the dining room table. Him and my mom sat down and told them everything that had happened. My eyes went from them to Melanie and back to them. I saw her about to breakdown soon. She looked like she was ready to explode. As the police took down all of the information, they left, but not before informing us that they would begin a search and file the missing person's report. One of the detectives that showed up a few minutes after the police did said that he would be interviewing Deondre and asking him why he wasn't the one to call the police. He also asked for Kita's information, which no one had. So I thought.
“She's staying at the Holiday Inn on Sheridan” Mama told the detective.
Of course Daddy didn't know anything about that. He stared at mama with an angry stare.
“Don't question
me; don't say a thing to me!” Mama said to Daddy “She is still my child, and I won't have her out on the street”
Daddy was so mad he got up and went home. The detective left with all of the information he had gathered. He told one of the police officers to stay here until he returned. Mama stood up, grabbed Melanie, and took her into the kitchen. Jeremiah and I followed. I refused to let Melanie out of my sight! It was hurting me to see my friend in so much pain. I couldn't help but wonder would she ever be the same after all of this.
“Oh my GOD” Melanie exclaimed “I need to call DJ. He's going to be so mad. He doesn't know about anything.”
DJ moved out as soon as he graduated from high school. He rarely comes around because he is so busy with school, work, and basketball. Even though he lived only ten minutes away, it seemed like he lived in another state. Melanie and DJ are extremely close, and they talk almost every night on the phone and Skype. As I watched her cry on the phone to him telling him everything that had happen from start to finish, I knew there was going to be more drama as soon as he got here. I wasn't sure if I wanted to be here when he got here.