HENDRIX
Chapter Eleven
“Aye. Call yo’ female cause her calling my phone back-to-back looking for you ain’t it. She one call away from getting fed an ear full of nasty words and I ain’t talking about no freaky shit.”
Dex walked into my office not caring to knock or greet me first. He was aggravated and he had every right to be. I hadn’t been home in days and Sorimah was the cause of it. I wasn’t ready to part from that woman and she still wouldn’t tell me the reason for up and quitting so suddenly.
I went to work, got off early, made sure I spent some time with my daughter, fed her and dropped her off with her aunt. We Facetime whenever she wanted so she was content for the moment. Her mother needed to step up anyway and show my baby more attention than what she was giving.
“I really don’t have anything to say to her bro. My feelings ain’t there no more.”
“Then tell her that shit. I’m tired of her calling my damn phone. What you do? Block her?”
“Nah. My focus on and her behind not on the list.”
“Why you not going home? What’s the issue and where you staying if you not at the crib?”
“Sorimah had a nigga locked down man. For some reason, I’m willing to risk my family for her. She quit and I wouldn’t let her leave me, so I made a few sacrifices.”
“Y’all been making sex again?”
“Yeah fool. I was going to get my baby when I got off and chill at Ri’s crib for the weekend.”
“The hell you are. You got some nerve leaving me for that fat bitch. Let me guess, she told you about the fuckin’ bastard ass baby she’s carrying for your dumbass. I can’t believe you’re leaving me for a sloppy joe-built bitch like that.”
Both me and Dex were surprised with Aviana’s pop up, but it was bound to happen since I was dodging her. Aviana wasn’t the woman I was trying to make it work with any longer and she knew it. I was over our relationship.
However, I didn’t miss out on what she said. Ri’s pregnant?
“Don’t come up here with that bullshit Aviana.” Dex was already irritated so he was going to speak freely.
“Shut the fuck up with your punk ass. Go find a bitch already. Always under my nigga with your gay ass,” she shot back.
“You know me better than that. And for the record, I’m banging his woman’s sister. Oh, damn. You must ain’t get the memo that he was in a relationship with someone else. You might want to tread lightly before I have your broke ass crying in here.”
With me telling Dex the feelings weren’t there anymore, he was unloading the clip on Avi. Where they started, definitely wasn’t where they were now. He couldn’t stand her and vice versa.
“Relationship? So, I’m getting played by a nigga that want a bitch that can’t even bend down and tie her own shoe without being out of breath.
I mean, I knew she was who you cheated on me with but damn, you went back for more.
I thought you was a nigga with exquisite taste, but I see you like swine. ”
The way she was going in on Sorimah was pissing me off more by the second. She wasn’t here to defend herself, so I was going to do it. Aviana could flap her gums all she wanted but the ending result was going to remain the same. I was leaving. I’d handle Ri and the pregnancy in private.
“Checkmate!” Dex commented as he walked past her with a smirk.
“Watch your mouth when talking about her. She ain’t did a darn thing to you,” I finally spoke.
“She stole my fuckin’ man!” She was screaming at the top of her lungs, and I knew my employees were getting an earful of the drama that was unfolding.
“Lower your tone. You know I don’t tolerate disrespect.”
“Fuck you because you been on that disrespectful shit. You said you weren’t going to hurt me and look what you did. You forgot about our daughter just to be under a bitch that clean houses for a living.”
“Stop playing with Sorimah like that. She’s the CEO of a business that brings in over a million dollars a year. The only reason she took the job of being a nanny was because you kept asking. Be a mother for once.”
“Ha! Okay. Well be a father to the child you made because me and mine are gone.”
“Don’t take my child away from me Aviana. She is not a pawn.”
“Akeera is my daughter. I told you not to play with me Hendrix. If you knew I would take her away, why even jeopardize it? You don’t have to love me anymore but understand wherever I go, she will too.”
I knew I wasn’t going to be able to stop her from removing Princess from my life.
This was the only game she would be able to win against me.
I couldn’t fight her because I had no rights, and she was going to pull the only card she had.
However, this was going to affect the relationship between them because Akeera loved her father.
“My baby not about to suffer all because her mother isn’t wanted anymore. Stop being selfish for once!” I bellowed.
“Fuck you Hendrix. You made this bed bitch, so lay in it.”
She stormed out and the office floor was quiet as a mouse. My business was out in the streets, but I was cool with it. When Avi was no longer the woman on my arm, they would realize what was up anyway. Better to get this over with now than prolong it.
Dex made his way back to my office and I remained sitting on the sofa. Secrets were being revealed and I was too caught up in my own thoughts to make a move. Sorimah being pregnant made the situation worse because that child would be my first born and the emotions behind that were spiraling.
“What’s on your mind?” he asked, shutting the door.
“My kids. If Ri is pregnant, a nigga will be ecstatic, but I’m also pissed because you know how long I’ve been around her and she ain’t said a word?
I mean was she thinking about getting an abortion?
Hell, is that why she quit? Then Princess is about to go through hell because her mama too messed up in the head. ”
“Don’t jump to conclusions, bro’.”
“How can I not? Sorimah ain’t told me a darn thing and when I ask her questions, she ignores me and changes the subject. I really don’t know what to do other than go over there and see what she got going on.”
“You need me to come with you in case things get out of hand?”
“I doubt it will, but I don’t mind. Let’s roll.”
I grabbed my keys and phone off the desk then was one way out the door. I caught the side eyes on my way out as well. Never really cared about what others thought of me and this situation didn’t change that. I was the one signing their checks, not the other way around. Dex joined me minutes later.
He was always going to be my support system and I loved him for that.
One thing I wanted more information about was him mentioning his relationship with Sorimah’s sister.
I had yet to meet EJ officially, so I was curious about how they even ran into each other.
We pulled out with him driving. We had a distance before we hit Max Peeks so we could talk.
“You straight?” he asked.
“When did you start messing with EJ and why didn’t you tell me about y’all lil’ whatever?”
“When I saw her in the club, I wanted to get at her but that wasn’t the time or place.
I figured she would be close to Sorimah, so when you ran a background check on Ri, I saw Erykah’s picture, and she was listed as her sister.
I started sending her flowers and lunch on some secret admirer type shit and then went from there. We been at this shit for months.”
“You too sneaky for me. That whole time you saw me in my feelings about Ri and you were dating EJ. That’s foul.”
“Nigga I practically told you when I said I was anxious about her gold mine. Around that time, I had just revealed my face and she wasn’t on that shit Ri was. She made me wait.”
I didn’t pay attention to what he was saying because he was on some joking junk all the time. Plus, I was losing my marbles that day because she wasn’t supposed to be in my house. My thoughts wouldn’t let me process his responses correctly.
“What I’m supposed to do about all of this? Avi’s going to take Akeera if I don’t be with her. That’s something that’s going to mess with me every day until I can see her again.”
“That’s something you’re going to have to eat because the baby Sorimah’s carrying has your blood. Aviana ain’t your wife and you never had any intentions of marrying her either. Y’all were running up on five years and you hadn’t even thought about buying a ring.”
He was speaking facts. Aviana wasn’t a permanent partner for me.
She didn’t behave like a woman who loved their man, and she damn sure didn’t cater to my needs.
Loving Ri seemed easier to do than being with Aviana.
It was sad because Sorimah had only been in my life for a matter of months while Aviana had years.
“Cause out of nowhere she changed, and I wasn’t rocking with it. My money somehow became her world.”
“If I was you, I’d snatch all that shit. I’d stop her shit right now, to be honest. Bitch you can get the fuck on but leave my money behind. She’s probably out there doing her any damn way. I don’t like that hoe for real.”
“I thought that at first too, but she told me about the shoe line she was trying to get started and was going to surprise me with some prototypes that I still haven’t seen.”
“Believe that shit if you want to. That bitch out here fuckin’ and you can’t tell me any different. What woman can go months and I’m talking months at a time without fuckin’ on they nigga? She already fucked and don’t want to bring you shit, plain and simple.”
His statement was causing me to look at the same things I was before.
She was gone all day and the sex had pretty much become nonexistent between us.
We didn’t show affection to one another, and she didn’t acknowledge me until I made her.
My first thought was there was someone else but when I turned her cards off, she buttered up just like Dex said.