Grizzley

Chapter One

Harmoni

I jumped out of my sleep to the sound of someone kicking and beating on my front door.

Rubbing my eyes, I sat up in bed, trying to grasp what was going on around me.

I had moved out of the hood long ago, so shit like this never happened.

Who the hell could be beating on my door after midnight?

I looked to my left side, and Jakari was snoring so hard that he didn’t hear anything.

My eyes rolled as I looked upside his head because he wasn’t going to protect shit.

By the time his tired ass decided to wake up, I would be dead.

So much for the man being the protector.

From the looks of things, I would have to protect us both.

Last night he took me on a date to make up for all the days he had been unaccounted for and to make things right between us.

I knew he wasn’t shit, but I’d always said that as long as I didn’t know his secrets, it was okay for him to keep them.

My deal breaker was a sloppy nigga whose hoes didn’t know their place.

I was a hopeless romantic who hoped my man was indeed faithful, but I was also a realist, and I knew the odds of that being true.

Jakari always swore it was work that kept him occupied, and I hoped that was the truth for his sake.

I had a feeling that it was about to be some bullshit tonight, and I also felt that Jakari would be the cause.

The beating on my door continued, and then the person on the other side really started showing their ass.

“J! I know you’re in there with yo’ hoe, so you may as well come on outside now before I cause a scene around this bitch!” the female screamed as she continued to beat on my damn door.

“Oh, hell to the fuck nah!” I screeched as I jumped out of my bed and grabbed my robe off my ottoman.

I slid my slippers onto my feet and headed for the door but was quickly pulled back by my robe.

“What’s going on, bae? What’s all that damn noise?” J jumped up out of his sleep and asked.

“You tell me! It’s some hoe outside my door causing a scene and calling your name.

This is my shit, and I don’t play those types of games.

Whatever lies and bullshit you may have going on, don’t bring that over here.

This is my shit! Not yours or ours! THIS IS MY SHIT!

This is where I draw the line, nigga!” I yelled.

“You know I ain’t got shit going on, bae.

You tripping. That’s probably some hood rat that couldn’t get a conversation out of me, and now she out here trying to lie on a nigga in hopes of you leaving me so she could have a shot.

Then again, I really don’t know who the hell that is, ma.

I’m sure I don’t even know the chick,” he lied as the female continued to bang on my door.

“Well, let’s just go see so we can go back to bed. You crazy if you think I’m finna let somebody just blow up my spot, and I lay down and ignore it. I’m finna see ’bout that!” I tried to walk off, but Jakari pulled on my wrist, quickly stopping me in my tracks.

“Man, just chill. I’ll go see who that is and send them on their way,” he stated, clearly taking me for a fool.

“Okay, baby. Tell them don’t come back over here playing, or they gon’ get their issue!” I said before standing on my toes and kissing his ear.

Jakari put his hands on my waist and started rubbing all over me.

He pulled me closer, and I grinded on him while he cuffed my ass cheeks, forgetting that it was a bitch outside showing her ass.

As soon as I had him distracted, I shook his ass and took off running down the hall toward my front door.

Just as my hand touched the doorknob, Jakari yanked me back by my hair.

He didn’t use much force when he did it, but the point was he would put his hands on me just to keep me from opening the door.

That move was exactly where he had me fucked up.

This fool had officially lost his mind, and even if I had to kill his ass tonight, I was going to see who was on the other side of that door.

I turned around and started swinging like a cabinet door that was off the hinges.

My wild punches landed everywhere on his body.

In the five years that I’d been with Jakari, he had never put his hands on me until today.

I had been ready to leave Jakari for a while because I had a feeling that he had been doing me dirty.

What else could be the reason we lived in separate places?

What man has a woman but doesn’t live in the same place with her after all those years?

I had been looking for proof and a reason to leave his ass, and now the proof was knocking at my door, but this nigga would kill me before he let me get to it.

He put his hand around my neck and pushed me into the wall.

“Go lay yo dumb ass down! I said I don’t know who the fuck that was, but I will handle it.

You just love drama and can’t accept the fact that I don’t know who that hoe is out there.

Stop trying to wear the pants all the damn time, and let me handle this shit, so I can make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Now stop fuckin’ playin’ with me and go back to bed! ” J barked through clenched teeth.

I looked him dead in the eyes with a scowl on my face.

I hated this trifling nigga at that point, and after tonight, I was done.

How the fuck did I love drama because I wasn’t about to let a bitch disrespect my crib?

He was crazier than he looked. I decided to just say fuck it and get some rest because tomorrow I planned to do some soul cleansing and clothes packing. I was done.

Sometimes you had to lose the battle in order to win the war.

I was gonna let him dismiss his side piece right now, but first thing tomorrow, I would have a new number, new locks, and possibly a new nigga.

It wasn’t even in me to be that bitch who accepted being in a long-term relationship but living separate lives.

I had accepted so much from this man that went against all I stood on, but I wanted to see the best in him.

I always asked myself what kind of man kept his phone on silent or let it mysteriously go dead every time he came over?

Clearly, a nigga who didn’t want to be caught up in his lies and a nigga who had secrets.

I was too good to this nigga for him to be keeping secrets, and I knew in my spirit that the person on the other side of the door was someone he had been messing around with.

I was just gon’ charge it to the game and move on because I really couldn’t take the disappointment of finding out for sure what I already knew. This was too much to deal with.

Just as I went to walk off, I heard a little boy crying on the other side of my door.

The sound startled J, and for a second, he took his focus off me.

The look he wore on his face let me know something wasn’t right.

I used his being surprised to my advantage and slid under his arm, ran back to the door, and yanked it open.

“About time you answered! Wassup, bitch? You been messing up what I have going on with my family, so you gotta see me,” the female said as she put the toddler down and made him stand beside her.

My facial expression instantly changed, and I looked at this hoe like she had lost her mind.

It wasn’t until I looked down at the toddler that I understood what she meant.

I was lost, and I couldn’t form any words.

My eyes locked with the little boy, and he was the spitting image of the nigga I had been with for all these years.

He looked to be around two years old, and that infuriated me.

It had been almost three years since my stillbirth, so this nigga had to have gotten this chick pregnant immediately after the death of our son.

“Daddy! My daaadyyy!” The little boy perked when he saw Jakari.

He ran and hugged Jakari’s leg tightly while steadily calling him daddy.

Jakari looked me in my eyes with sympathy.

His eyes were apologetic, and I could tell he knew he had officially fucked up with me.

Jakari bent down to pick up his lil’ twin, then he kissed him on his forehead.

The baby laughed and hugged his neck tightly while jumping up and down on him.

In my mind, I expected him to deny the child or at least do something to make me feel better about the situation, but the love he had for his son was clear, and I couldn’t compete with that.

Without my permission, a tear fell from my eyes, and I tried to hurry and wipe it away before it could be seen.

Just as J put his hand on the back of my neck and started to plead his case, his hoe started speaking.

She was clearly unaware of what she was getting herself into.

“Don’t cry now! You wasn’t crying when you was posting pics, taking trips, and spending his money.

You knew what came with a street nigga! I just had to show you that yo’ nigga was indeed touchable.

All them stupid ass captions about how a bitch could never take what was yours.

Hoe, you looked stupid! I watched y’all walk around this bitch for years like hood celebrities.

You thought you had a good nigga, but his dog ass took the bait and ain’t stopped coming back yet!

You may have the cars and crib, but I have his junior, and that’s something you’ll never have! ” She smirked.

All I saw was red after that. Not only did she disrespect my relationship, knowing J had a woman, but this hoe had the nerve to come and disrespect my home too.

She was talking major shit like she didn’t know I would kill her stupid ass.

Now I was wondering if he had been laying up, pillow talking about me with this bitch.

She told me that I could never have his junior, and I felt like that was shade because I lost our son, who was indeed a junior.

I didn’t know what she meant by it, but what I did know was that now I had to take this bitch’s head off her shoulders.

Jakari stood there arguing with his baby momma and trying to calm down his hollerin’ ass son at the same time.

I tuned them out while I let everything she had just said replay in my mind.

As I stood on the inside of my doorframe and the hoodrat stood on the outside, she continued to argue with this nigga, forgetting that she was at my house.

I swiftly grabbed her by her shirt collar and pulled her into my home.

Using all my strength, I kicked my door shut and body-slammed her onto my dining room floor.

I could hear J begging me to stop, but I was too far gone, and I dared that nigga to touch me or try to break it up.

I sat on top of her and banged her head against the floor, then I went to work on her face.

Before today, I thought my life was damn near perfect, but now I was taking all my frustrations that I didn’t even know I had out on this bitch.

I punched her head so hard that knots started to pop up on her forehead like a cartoon.

I threw another hard punch, then I heard something crack.

Blood splashed on my shirt and all over my face.

I looked down and couldn’t tell if the blood was coming from her nose or her mouth, but something had taken over me, and I didn’t care about busting this hoe up.

Word to the wise, you should know exactly who you are fuckin with before you decide to do a pop up at somebody’s house behind a nigga.

I continued beating this girl’s ass until my hands went numb, and even then, I couldn’t stop.

Jakari held his son in one arm and tried to pull me off his baby momma with his other hand.

I kept shaking his hand off me and continued to beat on his side bitch.

I was so hurt, and this was the only way that I knew how to express myself.

When I finally got tired, I sat on the floor and tried to catch my breath.

“Get off that girl, Moni. You beat her ass already, and she knows not to play with you again. Get up and clean yourself up. You have blood all over you, man,” Jakari spoke in a soft tone.

I knew he was scared and shocked at the same time.

He’d seen me flash out before, but today I really checked out.

I had an out-of-body experience, and it was like I could see myself while I was beating her ass, and I still didn’t want to stop.

She lay under me, crying and trying to regulate her breathing.

“Don’t say shit to me, you bitch ass nigga!

Get yo’ hoe, get yo’ hollerin’ ass son, and get the fuck out my house!

Pick this bitch up and get out of my crib by the time I make it to my safe, or I will blow you and this bitch to pieces.

Play with me if you want to,” I said as I got up and stormed off toward my bedroom.

“I’m sorry, Moni. It ain’t what you think, but I’m so fuckin sorry!” he hollered behind me.

I made it to my closet and to my safe, then I broke down crying.

It took me over three times to get the combo right because my hands were shaking so badly.

When I finally got my gun and made it to the living room, it was empty.

All that was left was a puddle of blood.

He knew I wasn’t playing. A good ass date night with my man had ended in me finding out I had been betrayed in the worst way, and now I was single.

All I wanted to do was take a hot bath and soak all my pain away.

I just wanted to go back to bed and start my day over without all the bullshit events of tonight ever happening.