Leah #3
“Before or after you blasted Brandon online in your little video post about him cheating on his wife with you? Before or after you had us all thinking that you were getting married and had daddy give you thirty grand for a wedding you knew wasn’t yours?
Before or after you showed up on the wedding day to force Brandon to choose between you and Veronica in a twenty-thousand-dollar gown and walked down the aisle, and that woman’s friends and family tried to fight you? ”
I didn’t speak, and I guess she took it as an opportunity to keep going.
“Before or after, you continued to fuck Brandon, had his wife put him out, and he moved in with you, only for him to find out you had been stalking him and cut you off? You almost got us all arrested! I could’ve lost my license.
I had to beg Daddy to speak to you for years.
We were all embarrassed. So again. At what point did she ruin your wedding day? Before or after all this happened?”
I folded my arms across my chest tighter and glared at her.
“Tomato, tomahto.”
She threw her hands in the air like she gave up.
“So, you don’t think he was wrong for proposing to me knowing he was already getting married? He said he wanted to marry me; all I did was call his bluff.”
I laughed. She didn’t.
“Need I mention how you showed up to that woman’s house with a can of gasoline and doused it to get Brandon to come outside and talk to you?”
“No, bitch. Don’t even go there because I didn’t even have a lighter.” I stopped her.
“Exactly! You didn’t even have a fucking lighter, then had the audacity to think the police would think it was a joke too. Saying you just wanted to scare them. Your ass went right to Shady Pines.” She screamed.
“Mind over matter.” I corrected.
“Girl, whatever. You do the most when you think you’re in love, and it’s done nothing but ruin your life and alter ours because we love you. You think this is harmless and funny when these are actual crimes. You cannot do that type of shit to people just because you got your feelings hurt.”
I didn’t want to argue with my sister. I heard her, but my mind was made up. They had to trust the process, and I had been going through the process for five years.
“You are right, Dayari, and I hear you. Thank you for caring for me the way you do. I will see you at home.” I said over the argument.
“Yeah, I’m about to stay here for a little bit. As soon as I got up from the table, Daddy said, ‘Don’t think you’re about to leave. I need to talk to you too, Night Nurse.’
It was quiet for a bit, and then we burst into laughter.
“Well, good heifer, you blow up my spot, I blow up yours.”
I spun again to go back toward my car. She grabbed my hand before I could. Daya and I weren’t sentimental or affectionate.
“Love you, sister girl.” She said, then let go and disappeared back into my parents’ home.
“Love you too,” I called out behind her.
I pushed the elastic band of my leggings down below my waist for some relief. Then I backed out of the driveway and started the drive from their house to mine.
Before I could get lost in my thoughts, my phone lit up. When I finally stopped at the red light, I picked it up and saw a message from Daya.
Other Half: Leah, I just wanted to tell you again that I didn’t mean to upset you. We just don’t want you to go backward. You’ve been doing so good.
I finished reading just as the light changed, eased off the brakes, and threw my phone on the passenger seat. They didn’t know how to let go.
I was only moving because I knew that Rocko wasn’t done with me. Our chemistry was so magnetic. It was deeper than what he wanted to pretend. He was no-nonsense with everyone else, but he was so patient with me.
Even when I showed up at his home and rang his doorbell, he never cursed me out, never called the police; he’d just come on the camera and ask me, “Man, why you ain’t home?
” When I pulled that stunt at the arena with the bullshit pregnancy announcement, he could’ve gotten me banned from there, and after the scene that I made, I expected him to.
He didn’t; he just kept telling me that there was a place for people like me.
Little does he know I had already been there.
He tried his damnedest to figure out how I knew everything that I knew.
Before he revoked my access to his cameras, I could hear how stressed out I had him as he vented to his teammate and his sister.
He told his friend that he thought I was doing magic or had put some spell on him.
It was more insulting to me than all the times he’d refer to me as crazy, because how dare he think that I would let anyone else play with him. I’m a foot soldier in real life.
With all the patience he showed, I knew it was wearing thin, though. Especially now that he had hurt himself and was worried about his career. I could see the defeat all over his face, and sometimes it pained me to add to it.
Some nights when I was feeling generous, I would let him sleep. Then I would get an alert that he was up in the middle of the night and blow his phone up. He could have hurt my feelings, picked up the phone, and called me everything but a child of God, but he didn’t. He just ignored me.
I loved that. It solidified what I already knew.
Daya didn’t have to worry about me and this move. I would find a way to make things right with my man, and then I would finally behave and live the soft life.
I promise.