5. Tahli
Khalif dropped me off at home a little after nine am.
Sore thighs had never felt so good. Each time we had sex it got better and better.
When I walked into the house and saw my mother placing items in a box, I stopped in my tracks.
A bottle of gin and numerous beer bottles littered the coffee table.
The stench of cigarettes was suffocating, but the boxes spread throughout the room had all of my attention.
My mother didn’t look up from what she was doing as I stood there staring at her with a slack jaw.
“Um, what are you doing?” I closed the door behind me.
With her gaze focused on the box in front of her, my mother’s words were slurred as they left her mouth. “We have to leave. We were supposed to be out yesterday. The mortgage is way past due, and I don’t have the money to catch it up.”
My mother’s head shot up, and she glared at me with her eyes narrowed into slits. “Don’t forget who you’re talking to. I’m still your mother, little girl.”
“Ha!” I scoffed. “You damn sure aren’t acting like it. This is so messed up it’s almost funny. Wow.” Storming up the stairs, I still couldn’t believe my mother.
Luckily for me, when I moved in with my mother, I left the bulk of my things in storage, so all I had to pack was clothes, shoes, purses, and some of my favorite books.
With tears in my eyes, I tossed my belongings into plastic bins, duffel bags, and trash bags.
Honestly, I didn’t even want to know what my mother had done with the money.
I was certain that no matter what I’d be pissed with her for a long time, but if I found out she gave my money to Earl, I would probably never speak to her again.
I took what she did to me very personal. But I was also pissed at how she’d treated the home that her parents worked so hard to pay off. Now, it was just gone. My blood ran cold when I heard Earl’s voice in the living room.
“You been knew this was coming. I don’t understand why your stuff isn’t already packed.”
“And I don’t understand how I helped you start a business, and you’re giving me your funky ass to kiss! The plan was you get the trucks on the road, and you take care of me. I lost my house, and now I can’t live with you? You don’t want me there because you won’t be able to bring your sluts there?”
“You have five minutes to finish this shit up, or you’re going to find someone else to help you.
I’ve looked out for you for years. I thought you helped me because of all the times I helped you not because you wanted something in return.
I don’t have to let you move in my house.
I hate the smell of those stinking ass cigarettes, and you can’t lay around my shit all day drinking and smoking, barely washing your ass, and not cleaning up. Fuck no.”
“Wowwwww,” I chuckled angrily shaking my head.
“If I barely wash my ass then you must not wash yours at all because I lost count of how many times your nuts was a little ripe!”
“Oh my God,” I grumbled with a frown. “Let me hurry up and get the hell out of here.”
I heard the front door slam, and I could only assume that Earl left.
I had money for a hotel room, but I knew as soon as Sheniah found out what was going on, she’d just ask me why I didn’t come stay with her.
She was newly single, and I didn’t want to infringe on her space.
After living with someone for so long, she could have been enjoying the solitude, or she could have been lonely.
Since I only worked part-time, I wasn’t sure how long it would take me to find a place, and living in a hotel would get expensive.
Once I was in the car, I’d call Sheniah and ask if it was okay to stay with her for two or three weeks.
I was pretty certain Sheniah wouldn’t do me the way my mother did, but I still refused to get too comfortable in anyone else’s house.
Maybe I would just start applying to work at other banks to see if they would hire me full-time.
I had the money to get my own place, but no one would approve me with the check stubs I had since the criteria for most places was a person had to make three times the rent.
It took me almost two hours to gather all my things.
It also took me about seven trips to the car before it was packed to capacity and nothing else would fit inside.
Whether I stayed with Sheniah or at a hotel, I was only taking two duffel bags of things with me. Everything else was going in storage.
“Where you going?” my mother asked after my last trip to the car.
Ignoring her, I went into the kitchen to get the fruit, protein shakes, and other things I’d bought. My mother stormed into the kitchen as I was removing items from the fridge.
“I get that you’re mad, Tahli, but don’t piss me off. You hear me talking to you!”
“Why does it matter?” I stopped what I was doing and stared at her. “You waited until the last possible minute to inform me that I no longer had a place to live. I’ll end up where I end up.”
“I have about $300. Maybe we can go half on one of those rooms at The Extended Stay until we figure something out.”
My eyes bucked at the audacity. “Until we figure something out? No ma’am. We aren’t figuring out anything. Wherever I go, I’m going on my own.”
“But when you needed somewhere to live, I let you waltz your ass in here with no questions asked!”
“You sure did, and I appreciated it so much that when you needed money to save the house, I gave it to you, and you spent it on God knows what! So, yeah, I’m done.” Grabbing the plastic bag, I placed my food and drinks in, I stormed out of my kitchen with my mother hot on my heels.
“This is what I needed! Mother fuckers want to give me their ass to kiss watch this! When I’m back on my feet keep that same energy.”
“I want nothing more than for you to get on your feet, and that’s the honest to God’s truth,” I replied while walking to the door.
In the car, I let my phone connect to the blue tooth then I called Sheniah.
“Hey boo,” she sang, and I was so happy that my friend wasn’t letting Nook’s hoe ass get her down.
“Want to take a guess for the correct answer of the guess who’s homeless trivia?” I asked in a dry tone.
“Homeless? What the hell?”
I ran the story down to Sheniah and by the time I was done talking, she was just as stunned as I was. “I know you better be on your way over here. You’ll never be homeless as long as I have a place to live.”
“I have to figure something out. I’m giving myself three weeks to have my own place.”
“Tahli.”
“Nope. I’ve let myself get too comfortable. Life is expensive, but I’m an adult, and I have to do what I have to do. I’m shooting wig videos every day, and I’m applying to every bank in the area that’s hiring.”
“I’ll never tell you not to get that money, but please know there is no time limit on my invitation for you to stay with me.”
“And I appreciate you for that, but it’s time for me to get my shit together.”
I walked into the restaurant I was meeting Khalif at for lunch.
I had just gotten off work, and he was on a break.
I’d never seen him in his uniform before, and I had to admit that he looked rather sexy.
I’d never seen myself with a cop, but it wasn’t really that bad.
At times, I forgot that Khalif was an officer of the law.
“Hey you look nice,” he stood up to hug me.
“Thank you. You’re looking kind of dapper yourself,” I chuckled as we sat down.
“Talk to me. Why didn’t you want to talk last night?”
Khalif had called, and I texted him that I had been through a literal shit show, and I would catch him up later. By the time I ran the story down to him, he was staring at me in disbelief.
“Are you serious? You don’t have any idea what she did with the money?”
“From what I heard, it sounded like she gave the money to Earl. My mother does drink excessively but as far as I know, she doesn’t do drugs. Her losing a house that was paid for is definitely crack head behavior,” I sighed.
“I know we haven’t known each other long, but you are familiar with my bed. If you ever want a night or two away from Sheniah’s when I don’t have my daughter my door is open.”
“Thank you. I applied for three jobs last night. I’m going to go to Sheniah’s and apply for more.
I’m not going to stop until I get something full-time.
I can take an offer letter into a leasing office.
I have some money in my savings, so I’ll feel comfortable moving in before I earn a few checks.
Sheniah isn’t rushing me out, but I just want my own place.
Living with other people has left a bitter taste in my mouth. ”
“I can understand that. I’m sorry you had to go through that. That wasn’t a small amount of money you gave her, and she has nothing to show for it.”
The waitress picked the right time to come take our orders because I was getting mad all over again. By the time she walked off, I was ready to change the subject. “How has work been today? I’m sure there’s never a dull day.”
“You’re right. Within my first two hours at work, I had to get a drunk man out of Dunkin Donuts that was trying to pee in the trash can, and I pulled over an eighty-year-old woman for speeding, and she had enough meth in the car to send my kid to college.”
“What?” I laughed. “Jesus. All with in the first two hours? Wow.”
Lunch with Khalif went by too fast. He had to get back to work, and I needed to apply for more jobs.
I also had to do another wig video. I never thought I’d see the day that I was happy about the fact that no one had reached out to me in a few days.
I had at least ten videos to film. I didn’t like talking about my private life at work, but I finally had to tell my co-workers what I did because they commented so much about how often I changed my hair.
Which was really none of their business, but I didn’t post much on my page aside from wigs, cooking sometimes, and when I traveled.
Hair videos had taken over lately. I didn’t have the energy to post any other content.
Khalif gave me a hug and a forehead kiss before we parted ways.
When I pulled up at Sheniah’s house, my brow hiked when I observed Nook’s car in the driveway.
It was Sheniah’s house and her life. If she was cool with Nook, I didn’t have a damn thing to say about it.
I wouldn’t have forgiven him after the shit he pulled at her birthday dinner, but that was me.
Inwardly, I groaned when I reached the door and heard them yelling.
I wasn’t sure what I should do. Wait outside until they were done?
Walk in and go straight to the guest bedroom?
Slowly, I put the key she gave me in the lock and crossed the threshold.
The yelling stopped, and Nook looked over his shoulder to see who’d come in the house.
Sheniah took advantage of his sudden quietness.
“Can you get the fuck out?!”
“Sheniah, don’t try to show out because Tahli is here.”
“Show out? I’ve asked you to leave at least four times. I don’t have to show out for anybody. I gave all your shit to Khalif. You don’t have anything here homeboy. Goodbye!”
“Homeboy?” he drew back. “I get it. You’re mad, and you have a right to be. I was tired of us arguing, and I jumped the gun. I’m sorry.”
Walking past them, I headed toward the guest bedroom that I was occupying.
“Please don’t be sorry. You thought the grass was greener on the other side. You thought you and Clint were going to have a cool lil’ bachelor pad, and that shit didn’t work out how you wanted. Now you want to come crawling back. Fuck outta my face. You wanted to be single. Stand on that shit.”
I couldn’t say that Sheniah would never take Nook back, but she was for sure letting him know that she meant business, and I loved that for her. I’d never had an issue with him but playing in my girl’s face was a no no.
I didn’t hear another word from Nook. Instead, Sheniah walked in the room and flopped down on the bed. “I’m so sick of that bastard.”
With a giggle, I took my shoes off. “Well, you need to find a remedy because he’s not letting up any time soon. That man is applying pressure.”
Sheniah’s upper lip curled, and she looked absolutely disgusted.
“No thank you. In the beginning, I think I was so hurt because Nook is all I’ve known for ten years.
Even if the relationship wasn’t healthy, he was all I knew for so long.
Once I got over that odd feeling of being alone and single, baby, I love it here.
He can stay gone, and I mean that shit.”
“As long as you’re happy that’s all I care about.”
A whole lot could happen in ten years. People could remain the same, change for the better, or for worse.
Nook started out as the perfect boyfriend now, I couldn’t even recognize his actions.
It was hard to imagine one day just waking up and Khalif was an entirely different person that the one I met and was falling for. It happened all the time, however.
Things had been going very well with him. In fact, it was almost too good to be true. Which had me lowkey nervous because I kept waiting for shit to hit the fan.