Chapter 13 #2
“I don’t give a fuck! Postpone the shit until I say so!” I yelled back, shuffling down the hall as I pulled Raine along with me.
When we made it to my dressing room, I closed and locked the door behind us before turning to face Raine.
She was shaking and visibly upset. It reminded me of all the times her sister pissed her off, and my heart ached for her.
I reached out to place a hand on her shoulder, and she flinched before relaxing.
“Baby, please talk to me,” I said softly. “What is going on with you and Trelyn? What kind of history do y’all have for her to pray on your downfall so hard?”
She huffed, swiping the few tears as they fell. It took her a minute, but she finally looked at me. Her expression was solemn, and she looked as if she were ten seconds away from breaking down again. I pulled her in for a hug, stroking her back lightly.
“I hate that bitch so fucking much,” she finally said after a few minutes of silence. I pulled back to look at her. “I tried so hard to work with her, but every day she’d do something to remind me why I cut her off all of those years ago.”
“I have to ask…did y’all date in the past? Is she an ex?”
“Kind of,” she sighed, and I couldn’t help but feel a slight pang of jealousy. “I mean, we never actually dated, but we were best friends until the lines got blurred. I ended up falling for her, and she took advantage of those feelings, stole from me, and showed me her true colors.”
I nod, taken aback as she goes on to tell me of her first heartbreak and betrayal by the woman she thought was her best friend.
She explained how it wasn’t the first time her kindness had been taken advantage of, but it was the time that it hurt the most. She explained that experience, combined with the way her sister always treated her, was the reason why her confidence had wavered over the years.
It was why she didn’t believe that she deserved the good things she earned, and it made me so damn mad.
“Raine, why didn’t you tell me that she caused you this much stress and anxiety?” I asked. “Had I known that, I wouldn’t have agreed to let her on the team with you. I would have deaded that shit so fast.”
“Because she’s your friend and I thought she wouldn’t try to sabotage anything because it’s you we were dancing for,” she replied.
“Also, I was tired of her thinking that I wasn’t strong enough to deal with her.
I refused to let her get to me, and I held out for a good bit of time, but today was the last straw. ”
“First of all, she and I are not that close for me to care about her feelings over yours,” I clarified. “Yes, she’s a friend, but that’s all. You’re more than a friend. You’re my future wife. You tell me to jump, and imma be in the air before you even make it to the last letter.”
She chuckles softly, and I smile, feeling myself calm. She wraps her arms around me and buries her face into my chest, inhaling my scent. I could feel her body relaxing against mine.
“Now, on to my aunt.”
She sighs, pulling back a bit to look up at me.
“I don’t want to talk mean about your aunt, but the woman hates me,” she replied.
“I’ve felt it for weeks. She always has some snide comment to say about me and how I do things, constantly implying that I’m not worthy of the position that I have.
” She shakes her head. “Dawn, you should’ve seen her today, accusing me of stuff with no proof.
She let two of the security guards wreck my shit without giving me a chance to defend myself, all because of a lie that Trelyn told her.
I was so embarrassed, and she barely even apologized when she realized I was telling the truth. ”
I paused, letting her words stick. My stomach was in knots, and I was heated that she’d gone through all of this thanks to Trelyn and the woman I’d trusted these last five years with my life.
Trelyn was dead to me, but it made me sick to my stomach that my aunt would go and do some shit like this after the talk we had not too long ago.
I was tired of her overstepping my boundaries, and I was going to put an end to it today.
“Raine, as long as I’m around, you never have to worry about anyone making you feel less than or that you’re not worthy of what the universe has for you.
You are one of the most important people in the world to me, and I promise to spend the rest of my days proving just how loved you are, okay?
” I state, and she nods. “And as far as my aunt goes, don’t worry.
Leave her to me. I’m sorry you had to go through that.
It’s not right, but I’m going to make sure it’s all straightened out. ”
“Thank you, Dawn.”
“Anytime, sweetheart,” I say before kissing her once more. “How about we go out there and have a good rest of the show, huh? I promise that after tonight, you won’t have to worry about Trelyn ever again. This will be the last time she dances on stage with you.”
“Dawn, no, you ca-”
“Woman, don’t tell me what I can and can’t do on my own tour,” I reply, half-joking.
“We only have two more shows after this, but she won’t be joining us, and that’s that.
As a matter of fact, she’ll never be allowed to dance for me again.
One of the perks of being as popular as I am is that the company actually listens to what I have to say, and if I say that I don’t want her working here anymore, they’re gonna make it happen.
Fuck her. All I care about is your comfort, understand? ”
“Yes, ma’am,” she nods.
My eyebrow shoots up, and a smirk plays on the corner of my mouth. I back her up against the back of the door and kiss her neck, sucking lightly. She moans softly. There was fire burning inside of me just that fast, and I knew that if I didn’t let her go now, we’d be hella late.
“You’re lucky I don’t have time to savor you, or else I’d already be on my knees, and I’d get to taste you on my tongue throughout my entire show,” I whispered. She shivered, latching onto me. “But once we get back to the hotel, you’re all mine.”
“I can’t wait.”
We exchange a few kisses before finally heading back out to meet the others and start the second half of the show. The whole time, all I could think about was how I couldn’t wait to have Raine in every way she’d let me later on tonight.
11:43 pm - After The Concert.
“Dawn, can we talk for a second?” my aunt asks as I am heading back to my dressing room. I rolled my eyes, but followed her into the empty room that we’d been using for physical therapy. I sat on one of the benches, waiting for her to talk. “So, about earlier.”
“If you’re about to give me some half ass apology, then save it,” I say, getting irritated already.
She sighs deeply. “Auntie, I can’t believe you!
You humiliated Raine all because of a claim that you didn’t even think to ask about first. I don’t know what kind of power trip you and Trelyn are on, but leave Raine the hell alone.
She hasn’t done anything but work her ass off, and from what she tells me, you’ve had a problem with her since day one. ”
“Okay, I admit that was wrong on my part. We’ve never had any problems with Trelyn so far, and she came to me, concerned about Raine as a friend. We had to look into that.”
“Bullshit,” I reply, crossing my arms over my chest. “You let Trelyn get in your head because you already had ill feelings towards Raine. You were so quick to make her out to be something she wasn’t because you were hoping that it was true. What is truly your problem with her?”
“She’s a distraction,” she says, shaking her head. “Ever since she came into the picture, your head has been up in the clouds. You’re only five years into the game, and this is not the right time for you to be-”
“Imma stop you right there, Auntie, before you say something else that pisses me off,” I say and watch as her jaw drops.
“I love you, and I appreciate you for looking out for me, but I’m a grown ass woman, and I don’t have to answer to you about who I’m dating.
I care for Raine. She’s not a distraction, but she will be my wife one day.
” I walk over to the door and place a hand on the handle before turning back to her.
“You can either congratulate me or stay bitter like Trelyn, but just know that nothing you do will ever change the way I feel for her. And if you don’t like the sound of that, you can quit for all I care.
You are too damn old to be acting like this. ”
I don’t give her a chance to reply before I’m out of the door and heading towards my dressing room. My head was spinning, and all I wanted to do was lie in my girlfriend's arms. So, once we got back to the hotel room and showered, that's exactly what I did.