"Latch"

Over And Done With

August and Toya got back to his house before I did, but as soon as I got in the door, I made sure to slam it close.
I heard them talking in the kitchen, so I went right in there to give him a piece of my mind before I packed my things.
"What the fuck was all that about August?!"
"Oh boy.", Toya said, rolling her eyes.
"You just shut the fuck up cuz I'm not talkin to you!"
"Don't come in my man's house wit that bullshit!", she said.
August just sat at the counter, playing on his phone, not saying a word.
I laughed. "This shit is crazy.", I said. "August, I just want you to know that everything you did and said tonight was uncalled for! And since you wanna air out the truth, let Toya know how good you thought my p*ssy felt!"
And after that, I left out of the kitchen, went up to what would no longer be my room, and started packing my belongings.
I was upset at how things went down, but I was more upset that August had nothing to say or to at least come upstairs and try to apologize to me.
I was a lil too worn out to be transferring my shit from one house to the next, but it needed to be done.
I refused to stay another night in August's house.
I left his keys in the middle of the bed, put the rest of my things in the car, and left.

I made it safely to my apartment and didn't bother to unpack a damn thing.
It felt so strange to actually be back home and not at August's house, so I kinda had to force myself to get comfortable.
I changed into a t-shirt and layed across my bed while I checked my text messages from most recent to older.
Aaron: Hey babygirl. I know u prolly still mad &tired but just gimme a call when u get a chance
Ev: i just got in the house. Is Aug still bein an asshole? Smh hit me back when u get this
Aug: So u just gonna ignore my messages cuz dat nigga here? Aight Mel! U got it!
Aug: Melanie! We need to talk forreal. Shit jus doesn't feel rite smh
Aug: Mel
August had sent those messages when we were still in the bowling alley, but like I said, I thought it was Myla or Jennifer.
I was completely over the bullshit, so I just ended up going to sleep.
The next day I got up and went to the mall to get a few things for my apartment and to meet Aaron for lunch.
He seemed to have gotten over last night's incident, but I knew he just wanted to talk to see if I was okay and to piece together what went on and most importantly, why.
We sat in Applebee's while we waited for our food.
"So, what's up?", he asked.
I shrugged, "Nothin' much. Just picked up some things for my place... you know, try to bring my apartment back to life."
He nodded. "You officially moved out of his house?"
"Yeah."
"What about your job?", he asked.
"What about it?", I smirked. "I don't plan on ever seeing him again, let alone work for him. It was a personal hire so it's no biggie."
"I apologize for all of..."
"No. You don't have to apologize.", I said, cutting him off. "He was just being an extreme d*ckhead. He never acted like that before. Well... I never witnessed him act like that."
"Yeah, but we both played a part in actin a fool in public and the liquor in our system didn't help. I'm sorry you had to witness and be in the middle of that Melanie.", he said, as he reached across the table and touched my hand.
I smirked. "Yeah. Who would've knew it was gonna get crazy like that?"
"I damn sure didn't. I honestly don't have a problem wit the dude."
"He doesn't have a legit problem wit u either. He's just...", I said, stopping myself from going into depth why August didn't care for him.
"He's just what?", he asked.
"He's just a crazy Virgo.", I replied.
I don't know why I just didn't explain to Aaron that August was a little jealous of him getting my time and attention.
"That's his excuse or yours?", he asked.
I looked at him with squinted eyes. "What is that supposed to mean?"
Before he could answer, our waiter came with our food.
"Bacon cheddar cheese burger and fries.", the waitress said, as she put the plate down in front of me. "And you sir, the 4 cheese pasta and chicken."
"Thank you.", he said.
She walked off after situating us at our table, and Aaron picked up on the conversation we were having.
"Anyway... I think August is a cool dude, but when it comes down to you bein wit me, he seems to have a problem.", he stated.
I shook my head, still denying August's jealousy.
"Like I said, it's just him and his Virgo ways."
"Him telling your business that you decided to not tell me was part of his Virgo ways as well?", he asked.
I knew the baby topic would eventually surface, but he could've at least waited until after we ate.
I took my time and chewed the food in my mouth slowly, as I thought of how I should answer, but he interrupted my thoughts by speaking again.
"How come you didn't tell me Melanie?"
I stirred one of my french fries around in ketchup, "It just wasn't something that I wanted to discuss.", I replied, without giving any eye contact.
"May I ask what happened to the baby?", he asked.
"I lost my baby in the car accident."
He twisted his face up, "Wait, so you was pregnant when I met you?"
I nodded. "Yeah. About 2 and a half months along."
"Wow.", he said, with raised eyebrows. "So if the baby hadn't died, when were you planning to tell me?"
"I don't know Aaron. I mean, I would've had to tell you eventually, otherwise you would've just witnessed my mysterious belly growth.", I replied, with a sigh. "It was just all a crazy situation that I was in, not somethin that I easily handled."
"Listen Melanie, I'm not mad at you for not wanting to share your personal business wit me so soon. I just would've appreciated it if you had told me then, instead of leavin me in the dark, cuz if August didn't bring it up, I don't think you would've ever told me.", he said.
"Probably not.", I agreed. "I apologize though."
"And I accept your apology, but for future reference, don't hesitate to tell me something I should know - and by future reference I mean I would like to continue this friendship and see where it can go. If you would like to of course."
I gave him a warm smile, a smile of relief for getting this conversation over with. "Yes, I would."
He put his fork down and held his hand up with his pinky out.
I looked at his pinky, then at him, and held my hand up directly in front of his with my pinky out as well.
"What am I promising? ", I asked.
"WE, are promising to go about this the right way. I like you Melanie, and I think you're an amazing person, someone I wouldn't mind keeping around. Let's just let things flow accordingly and leave all of the other bullshit at the door.", he said.
I locked my pinky with his, "Agreed.", &then broke them apart.
We had some dessert and talked a bit more on a less tense level.
Aaron is really a sweet guy. I'm not sure how far this would go, but I'm interested in finding out.
After lunch, I drove straight home and started to fix up my apartment the way I wanted.
Something different and something that would help get rid of the last bad memories.
Laziness hit me and I was too tired to finish my decorating, so I decided to just continue tomorrow.
I stripped down to my bra and panties, grabbed the bottle of wine out of the freezer along with a glass from the cabinet and headed straight to the bathroom to take a nice hot bath.
Once my bubble bath was ready, I played some music on Pandora from my iPad, got in the tub, took a few sips, then closed my eyes to relax myself.
I started wondering what August was doing and if he even thought of apologizing to me about the incident.
Most likely not.
I picked up my phone that was on the side of the tub and went to August's contact as if I was contemplating on hittin him up.
The wine must've definitely snuck up on me, because why was I even caring about August when I just had a pleasant evening with Aaron.
I shook my head, hoping it would find its way back to reality and went through my phone to delete any content of August Alsina.
It felt awkward, but I knew that it would just be best for me to wash my hands with him.
I thought August and I shared some type of special bond other than sleeping with him one time, but they say shit happens for reason. Perhaps that bond was meant to be broken.
After deleting pictures, his number, and unfriending him on social media, I opened my Gmail app to compose an email for Donald to inform him that I'd no longer be Aug's assistant.
Missing him was gonna definitely hit me sooner or later, but as long as I keep myself occupied, I should be fine.
All of the thinking I'd been doing, I had to interrupt my own thoughts yet once again, because I know damn well that he wasn't worried about me.
I sent the email, put my phone down, and went back to trying to enjoy my bath.
Oh well, I guess all that I can say is that it was fun while it lasted.

-Dag! Melanie's friendship with August came to an end smh
Aaron tryna get his brownie points in &win her over.
Stay tuned for the next chapter!