5 #2
Their mother was devastated. She, just like Trudy, didn’t think that anything was wrong with her son, even though she’d seen what happened to her husband.
Things got even worse because his brother’s life insurance didn’t pay out for suicide, forcing his wife and kids into poverty.
Trudy vowed to keep her kids away from his side of the family and she kept her word.
As a result, Melvin stayed away too. Besides his mother, he rarely spoke to or saw anyone else.
If he did, it was only on the rare occasions that he visited his mother.
Trudy hated that she didn’t have any family in New Orleans but she wasn’t from there.
Her parents, two sisters and other relatives lived hundreds of miles away.
She was born and raised in Virgina and Richmond was home until she got accepted into Loyola University.
She met Melvin during her second year of college and never left.
She raised her children there and that was the only home they knew.
She sometimes wished that she had moved Melvin to her hometown instead.
Sadly, Trenton sometimes displayed the same symptoms as his uncle and grandfather.
It got so bad that their daughters refused to even visit anymore.
If they wanted to spend time with their grandkids, they had to go to their houses to do so.
Trent swore that his nieces and nephews were recording him with their iPad every time they came over.
Things really went left when he took their tablets one day and smashed them to pieces with a hammer.
Their daughters refused to step foot in their home after that and he didn’t blame them.
“My father was in a horrible state run facility. My mother wasn’t as financially stable as we are and she couldn’t afford anything better. We have the means to get him the best help that money can buy.”
“Maybe so but I still don’t think that’s what he needs.”
“What is it gonna take this time, Trudy? We both almost lost our businesses because of Trenton. Hell, we almost lost our marriage too. Our grandkids can’t even come to visit because they’re scared to death of their uncle. And let’s be honest here, you’re afraid of him too.”
Their marriage was also strained by her infidelity, but that all started over their son as well.
Trent went to jail for violating a protective order, and Trudy lowered her standards and started having an affair with an inmate that she met when she went to visit him one time.
They hadn’t had sex in over a year around that time and she claimed that was the reason why she cheated.
She acted like she was his lawyer but she fucked him in the consultation area instead of counsel him.
When the other man got released to the halfway house, Trudy lowered her standards once again by getting a community partnership with the facility.
She claimed that it was to help them with legal resources, free clinics and other services that they needed to reenter society.
He believed her until she got fired from sleeping with the same inmate.
She almost lost her license to practice law, but they had mercy on her.
She started her own practice after that and focused more on family law than criminal.
That was bad enough but things got even worse when he stumbled upon some bank statements from her savings account.
His wife had spent thousands of dollars supporting another man.
He gave her an ultimatum, but that did little to help.
She seemed to be choosing her younger lover over him, and Melvin was ready to file for divorce.
He didn’t know what had suddenly come over his wife, but she ended the affair just as quickly as she started it.
Trudy begged for his forgiveness and they worked hard to get their marriage back on track.
“I am not afraid of my own child,” Trudy chuckled, hoping to hide her nervousness.
“And you’re still lying to yourself. I guess denial makes more sense than acceptance.” Melvin sat the pill bottle on the counter as he shook his head and walked away.
Trudy sat on one of the barstools and got lost in her thoughts.
She hated to admit it but her husband was right.
She was deathly afraid of their son, especially when he had one of his violent outbursts.
Trent was uncontrollable when he got angry, but she always tried to diffuse the situation before it got too bad.
A few times, she was unable to do so and saw a side of her son that she denied even existed.
After his last big blowup, the courts admitted him into a facility for three months, and Trudy begged her husband to get him an extension built on their house for Trent to occupy. She claimed that she wanted him to have his own space. The truth was that she wanted him out of hers.
She just didn’t understand how her husband and his siblings, with the exception of his oldest brother, were fine.
Their daughters were fine and so were the other siblings’ kids.
It just didn’t seem plausible to her how it skipped all over them and landed directly on her son.
Even still, she didn’t think that getting him locked up in a facility was the right move.
She firmly believed that with love and patience, they could help him more than anyone else ever could.
“Bitch, I’m drained.” Diva flopped down on the bar stool next to Clover and Dash. Kardi’s party was beyond amazing and she had fun with her friends and cousins. The weather was perfect for an outside event and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.
“I am too but I’m happy it’s over.” Clover downed the shot that Iva had placed in front of her and frowned.
“You better slow down, Clover. The kids are gone and we might have to dog walk a few hoes tonight.”
Diva looked over at some of Corey’s nieces who were sitting with Hank’s ex, Drea, as she made the comment.
Caprice and her cousin were sitting at a table with them and she could tell that they were being messy.
Her best friend, Jess, who was also Denny’s ex-wife and mother to his oldest three kids, overheard them saying something about Clover.
She couldn’t quite make out what they were saying because she would have responded if she did.
They always had to have Drea with them when they visited like her presence made a difference.
Hank acted like he didn’t even know her, so it was a waste.
Hank was married with adult kids, and she was still on that puppy love shit that they had when they were teens.
“Nah, let her drink.” Dash grabbed a handful of Clover’s ass and kissed her on the neck. He liked when she got drunk or tipsy because she turned into a bigger freak than she already was.
“Girl, fuck them! Kardi is gone for the weekend and I’m ‘bout to enjoy my freedom. The kids had their fun; now, it’s time for us to have ours.”
“I know that’s right, friend. Let’s pull out the karaoke machine,” Iva suggested.
“Yes, bitch, and I’m going first. I’m ‘bout to sing “Knuck If You Buck” and dare one of these hoes to say something.”
Diva was on one and she was ready for whatever.
One of her brother’s exes was there too, and she could get it right along with anybody else.
Jess had been her girl long before she got with her brother and she had her back.
She didn’t even know why them silly hoes kept coming around.
Dot was about her coins so she didn’t care who came to her bar, as long as they were spending money.
“Chill out, Diva, damn. We can’t even have a good time without some bullshit poppin’ off.”
Dash shook his head as he watched his mother mean-mugging his father’s ex-girlfriend and Clover’s cousins.
He had to keep reminding himself that Diva was young, but she was still too old for the foolishness.
He was cool with Caprice, but she was messy as fuck and always in the middle of some bullshit.
She showed up to his daughter’s party with the same cousin that he had fucked when he and Clover were separated.
The bitch sucked his dick two weeks ago and she had been begging him to fuck her again.
Monty was busy finishing up a tattoo for Irie’s husband, and Caprice made sure to sit at a table right next to where he was working.
She was sitting there frowning the entire time, as Iva was setting up the karaoke machine.
“Girl, Dash is fake as fuck. He was just with you two weeks ago. Now, he’s acting like he can’t breathe if he’s not sharing oxygen with Clover.” Caprice was salty and she made it known that she was hating.
Her cousin, Sade, had accompanied her to Kardi’s party, and Dash acted like he didn’t even know her.
That was funny seeing as how he was locked up in her and Monty’s spare bedroom with her only two weeks ago.
Of course, Monty wasn’t home because he wouldn’t have let it go down like that if he was.
As much as he cheated, he was always on Dash’s back about being faithful to Clover.
Fonzo was sitting down with Amina on his lap while Dash was hugging and kissing on Clover.
Meanwhile, her man was completely ignoring her and it wasn’t just because he was working.
More than likely, he would have been outside smoking or shooting pool in the back of the bar with the rest of the men if he wasn’t.
It pissed her off to keep hearing him call Irie, sis, like he was still in a relationship with her sister.
Hank was staying his distance but he kept his eyes on Diva the entire day.
Drea spoke to him and he acted like she was invisible.
He usually did whenever his wife was around, even though they were separated at the moment.
Drea’s feelings were hurt but she wasn’t surprised.
She no longer knew the man that she still considered to be her first and only love.
Where they were from, your first boyfriend became your husband, father of your kids and the man that you would spend the rest of your life with.
Hank always wanted more than their small town could offer and he got it when he moved to New Orleans.
He even had their accent now and she sometimes hated to hear him talk.
She regretted not stepping out of her comfort zone and visiting New Orleans like he sometimes begged her to.
Shantel didn’t hesitate when Corey told her that he wanted to go and Drea should have done the same.
She and Shantel were best friends at one time, but all that changed when she moved to New Orleans.
She got close to Diva and barely hung out with Drea anymore when she visited.