DEEP

Chapter III

ERIKA

For some reason, all I could do was stare into my coffee. Like that shit was an eight ball and I was trying to find the answers to my future by shaking it up.

Did I fuck up? Yes. How bad did I fuck up? Catastrophically, bitch.

I put my head down on my forearms and sighed.

Rashad was pissed. Actually, pissed was probably an understatement. We argued the entire night. I don't know why I didn't tell him about Dallas. I guess I should've, but damn, our relationship already had enough problems. I just didn't want to add to the list. I'm not sure if Rashad was more pissed at the fact that I didn't tell him about my relationship with Dallas or that another man had feelings for me in general.

Either way, when I woke up this morning, he was gone. He wouldn't even answer my calls or texts. I had to figure out a way to make this right. I'll be damned if I let another nigga ruin my relationship. Rashad and I had a good thing...we just needed to get back on track.

A door creaked from down the hall and I picked my head up. A few seconds later, Riggan walked into the kitchen. Damn. I wonder when she got here. With all the drama and chaos of last night, I didn't even remember seeing her.

"Hey girl," Riggan smiled at me. I watched her open the fridge and peer inside.

"Hey," I tried to smile back "You're not going to find anything in there. Trust me."

She reached in the fridge and pulled out a carton of eggs and some milk, "I guess I'll make due," Riggan laughed "Ja Khell called and asked me if I would make him some breakfast so that he could eat when him and Rashad came back from the gym this morning. But he neglected to tell me his ass didn't have any food to cook."

I actually laughed at that. See, I knew Riggan was cool. She was personable, unlike Pharrah-that bitch. I breathed a tiny bit of relief inside. If Rashad was at the gym, he probably didn't have his phone. So maybe he wasn't ignoring me after all.

"When did you get here?" I asked.

Riggan put all her ingredients on the countertop. She'd found a pack of sausages to go with the eggs. "Oh, I came after I got off work. By the time I got here it was pretty quiet. Mostly everyone was asleep."

"So you missed the drama?"

Riggan's mouth twisted, like she knew what I was talking about but didn't want to say.

"Did Ja Khell tell you what happened?" I asked. I didn't really care if he did. To be honest, I just wanted to talk about it to someone who didn't have a dick. Someone who wouldn't be so biased. I'm not sure why, but Riggan seemed like the right person. She just had that vibe about her.

"He told me a little bit," Riggan admitted. In my head, I gave her points for being honest. "Just that some guy you knew showed up and they weren't sure why. Was it one of your exes?"

I nodded, "His name is Dallas. We had a - rocky relationship. When it ended, he didn't take it very well. He's been popping up all over the place and just when I thought he would finally back off, his ass shows up here ofall places."

"Damn girl," Riggan cracked a few eggs into a bowl and began mixing them, "How did Rashad react to that?"

"He flipped out," I sucked my teeth "I mean, he had every right to. After Dallas finally left I tried to calm him down but people were making comments, acting like I was still fucking Dallas or something." I narrowed my eyes. Thinking about that bitch Pharrah was making me mad all over again "And it just made everything ten times worse."