13
“Melissa is so dramatic. Nothing happened aside from me having to put a young disrespectful bitch in her place.”
“Yeah, well, that’s not the way that it was told to me. Trent is once again about to cause us more money and problems that we don’t need.”
“Not today, Melvin. I’m in a good mood and I’m not trying to have my day ruined. I cooked us a nice meal and I chilled a bottle of wine.”
“I guess you did cook since you weren’t invited to dinner.”
“It’s not the first time and it won’t be the last.” Trudy shrugged like it was normal.
“Actually, it is the last time because they’re tired and so am I.”
“Wow, so this lying ass lil girl—”
“She’s not lying!” Melvin jumped up from the bar stool and banged his fist on the counter.
“And just how would you know that?”
“Because unlike you, I do my research before I open my mouth. I’ve been following him and he’s definitely been following her.”
“Trent is not following her. They used to date Melvin. Maybe they’re just frequenting some of the same places.”
“The nail salon, her daycare, the grocery store, out to dinner with her man. He’s even followed her home and stayed parked outside of her house for hours. Need I say more? And if that’s not bad enough, he’s even started hanging with Caprice, who I just found out is dating Clover’s brother-in-law.”
Melvin’s heart dropped when he saw what his son had been up to.
Clover was right, and Trent had been following her to multiple places throughout the day.
Thank God, her home was on a private street with guards patrolling.
He would have probably tried to let himself in if not.
Trent seemed to be spiraling once again and his wife was acting clueless.
“Oh, God, please don’t tell me that. There’s no telling what kind of bullshit she’s putting in his head.” Trudy’s heart dropped.
“So, him being around his family is more of an issue than him stalking someone?”
“He is not stalking her. She could be leading him on for all we know. Hell, she did it once before and went right back to her husband.”
Deep down, Trudy believed everything that Clover told her.
She just felt like everyone was against her son and she wasn’t gonna turn her back on him.
Most times, she felt like she was all that he had since his father and sisters thought he was a psycho.
When he told her something about Clover being his girl, she already knew what it was.
“Are you fucking slow?”
“Excuse me?” Trudy gasped at her husband’s choice of words.
“What is wrong with you? Do I need to get the courts involved to make sure that he gets the proper help?”
“I think you sometimes forget that I’m an attorney. Under what grounds and with what proof?” Trudy smirked.
“I’m sure that the proof that I have in my phone from the past week will be sufficient,” Melvin answered, successfully removing the smug look from her face.
“You do that and I’ll never speak to you again.”
“As if I give a fuck. Hell, we barely speak now. And you can go ahead and enjoy your meal alone. I was invited to dinner so I already ate.”
With those parting words, Melvin left her standing in the kitchen and went down the hall to their sitting room, slamming the door behind him.
Tears fell from Trudy’s eyes as she thought about what her husband had just said.
She was hurt to know that her daughters invited their father over for dinner without her.
As much as she loved her son, she didn’t want to lose her husband and daughters over it.
She felt like she was stuck in the middle of a family war that no one would win.
It felt like she was suffocating under the weight of her problems and she needed some fresh air.
Trudy grabbed her purse and keys before heading to her garage to get in her car.
She didn’t know where she was going but she just needed to clear her head.
She hadn’t smoked in a while but she needed a big fat blunt to calm her racing nerves.
Her husband would die if he knew that she picked up such a nasty habit, but he could blame the younger man that she’d cheated on him with for that.
He was the one who used to supply her with it and she didn’t even know where to go to find some.
Just then, a thought came to mind. She remembered meeting him at a gas station a few times and they always had young boys out there selling it. The area wasn’t in the best neighborhood but she was about to take a chance.
When she pulled up to the store, she almost lost her nerve and headed back home.
The need for a stress reliever had her ready to take a risk.
She grabbed a few twenties from her purse before securing it under the seat of her car.
A stun gun was all the protection that she had, so she grabbed that too before getting out of the car.
It was still daylight but she still had to be prepared.
She was nervous so she walked up to the first lil boy that she saw.
He looked like he was no more than fifteen, but she didn’t have room to judge.
“Um, hey. I was looking to buy something.” Trudy’s voice was usually so strong but she sounded like a nervous child when she spoke. She was probably almost old enough to be the boy’s grandmother but she was afraid.
“You ain’t looking to buy shit from me. You better get your ass back in that nice ass whip and ride the fuck out. And you better not take too long before I be riding out in that muthafucka.”
“Excuse me?”
For the second time in less than an hour, Trudy was appalled by how she was being disrespected. The boy had a baby face but that mouth belonged to a grown ass man.
“You heard what the fuck I said! You might be an undercover for all I know. I ain’t never seen you around here before. Bitch driving through the hood in a hundred thousand dollar car asking to buy some dope. The fuck outta my face.”
Once again, Trudy was ready to break down in tears. She was just about to rush back to her car until another’s man voice stopped her in her tracks.
“Aye, watch your mouth, lil nigga.”
“My bad, big dawg, but she needs to move around.” The young boy looked at Trudy from head to toe with a frown.
“I agree. The fuck is you doing outchea?” he looked at Trudy as he spoke.
For as long as she lived, she would never forget that face or that voice.
She had to cross her legs as thoughts of the past consumed her.
He was more than twenty years younger but he did things to her body that her husband never did.
She was ready to risk it all for him and, at one point, she did.
She almost lost her marriage to her affair until her young lover gave her a reality check.
He was young and didn’t want what she wanted.
He was a handsome ladies’ man and he was only one of many.
After spending thousands of dollars and falling madly in love, he broke her heart and had her begging for her husband’s forgiveness.
“God, this is so embarrassing.” Trudy dropped her head in shame.
“What’s good, beautiful? You look like you got a lot on your mind.” He lifted her head up so that they could make eye contact. Trudy wanted to turn away but she couldn’t. The feelings that she had for him obviously hadn’t gone away because she felt like she was in love all over again.
“You have no idea. I just needed something to help me relax. I know it was stupid of me to come around here. I just remembered meeting you here a few times before. This was a mistake.” Trudy tried walking away before he pulled her back.
“Go get in your car and give me a minute.”
“Okay.” Trudy got in her car and locked the doors. She watched as her ex-lover talked to his brother who she’d met a while ago. He handed him some keys before walking back over to her.
“Let’s go,” he ordered as soon as he got into her car.
“Go where?” Trudy’s heart was doing backflips in her chest.
“To my house.” He looked over at her, making her shift uncomfortably in her seat.
“No, I can’t. I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“You trying to light up or what? You said you got some shit going on and need to relax. I’m trying to help you out but I’m not pressed.”
“Okay but just for a minute. I can’t stay too long.”
“That’s cool. Smoke you one and I’ll give you a lil something for later.” He winked, making her weak in the knees.
At that moment, common sense should have kicked in.
She should have aborted her mission and asked him to get out of her car.
But, just like before, she was drawn to the younger bad boy like a moth to a flame.
She pulled out into traffic and headed to a familiar place that she swore that she would never step foot in again.
“That hoe got the right one. They already know how I’m coming behind mine. Wait til’ I finish eating and wash my hands. Jess is tight with all the judges in Orleans Parish and they do favors for her all the time,” Diva fussed as she ate her crawfish.
Dash and Monty were boiling seafood while Kardi and the other kids enjoyed the pool.
Clover’s friend, Cash, was there with her kids, and Irie dropped her kids off while her and her husband went out for a while.
Iva was there too but her and Monty were posted up in the corner talking.
Clover had just filled them both in about her run-in with Trudy a few weeks ago, and Diva was pissed.
She knew all about her brief fling with Trent and it was over just as fast as it started.
Jess started out working as a deputy in the courthouse. After many years and multiple promotions, she now supervised and oversaw work release inmates and community service offenders. The judges loved her and so did the staff. It would be nothing for her to get a restraining order.
“It’s cool but that bitch gon’ see me again.” Clover frowned.
“She gon’ see us again. Three things I don’t play about and that’s my money, my man and my kids. She better get her retarded ass son in line before I do.”
“I hate niggas who can’t let shit go. I told you that I had a nigga like ole boy once before too,” Cash said.
“Oh yeah, the kidnapper,” Clover giggled.
“Who got kidnapped?” Diva asked in shock.
“I wouldn’t really say I was kidnapped,” Cash answered.
“Bitch, you were taken against your will. You were kidnapped,” Clover clarified.
“Well, that’s true.” Cash shrugged.