My Crazy Ex

Mistrial

RIHANNA POV
Joyce stood up, walking towards the high school section of her picture shrine to her only son.

It was the most sparingly pictured part of the wall. I had wondered why when I first got here, but that wasn't a question I was ready to have answered just yet.

"My son, God I love him, but he has had some dark chapters in his life." She picked up his high school prom picture, smiling down at it. She truly loved him.

The picture was of Chris, in an all white tuxedo with a black bow tie, and three of his friends, all sporting the same white tuxedos with different colored bow ties. The picture stuck out to me because of the one boy with red hair.

"Come with me." Joyce put the picture down and hurried off down the hall.

She looked back over her shoulder at me once she reached a wooden door.

What lie behind it can only be described as Chris' old bedroom. She had left it seemingly untouched besides the womanly touch of a nice clean smell and a few added pictures.

Chris official prom pictures were on the walls in this room. It was him and Karrueche.

Kae looked absolutely basic. I prayed this was a junior prom picture because if this is how she showed out for her senior prom, Lord help her.

She was wearing a black spaghetti strapped crop top and a high rise black flowing skirt with a slight up to her midthigh.

Her hair was in a straight dark brown ombré style. She had minimal makeup and only wore a diamond necklace and a ring as jewelry.

"They were pretty serious, weren't they?" I didn't need to ask I already knew the answer. She must have had a feeling a did because she didn't answer.

"I knew the minute she walked through my door I knew she and Chris were horrible for each other." Joyce sighed looking over the pictures. "I knew my baby was.. Chris was always so angry."

"Angry?"

"Yes," Joyce looked over me a little confused that I didn't know about his anger, "Chris has always been filled with this horrible anger, but it's my fault. The things I put him through.. There's so much guilt, but I did all I could to help him control himself and control his anger."

She stopped, walking over to a set of individual photographs stuck in the sides of his mirror. All of them were of Chris and Kae.

"But that girl, she brought out the worst in my boy. She would pick and pick and pick at him until he snapped and all his anger flooded out. She loved it."

"What do you mean?"

"I caught them one day. I stayed home sick from work and they skipped school and wound up in Chris' bedroom." She looked at the bed as if watching the memory unfold before her eyes. "She was relentless with her nagging and picking. She kept talking about Chris' childhood. The next thing I know he was tearing through this room like a hurricane, screaming and breaking things. As I came down those stairs all I could hear was her laughing."

"Laughing?"

"She was laughing at his rage. It must have taken 20 seconds to get from my room to Chris' and-" Joyce shook her head angrily. "They were on his bed surrounded by destruction, going at it like animals."

I didn't know what to say. I mean honestly what was there to say?

"I knew that was the only sign from the Lord I was going to receive for that girl. She would bring about my baby's destruction but conceal it all in lust."

"So.. Chris isn't the crazy one?"

"No baby, my Chris, he's.. I know he's not all there. But he's not dangerous to anyone unless that girl is involved. She is nothing but a leech sucking his sanity out of him."

"Do you think he could ever hurt someone... Like really hurt someone?"

"When he's gets to be that angry, Chris is like a different person, but he could never get to be like that without Karrueche to guide him. If he ever hurt anyone, it's because of her."

"What happened between them? I mean what ended it all?"

Joyce sighed. "When Chris wasn't drunk off anger, he knew his relationship with her was toxic. He knew they couldn't be together. In order for her to keep him, she had to keep him angry."

She looked at him as if she didn't want to tell me the next part of the story.

"Joyce please, I'm married to him. I deserve to know who I married."

She still looked hesitant.

"Ever since I've been with Chris, I've been in these.. these accidents. He always blamed his ex-girlfriend for them but there was never any real evidence that it was her. I almost died Joyce. And I need to know if it could have been the man I married who hurt me." I wiped the tears from my eyes, joining Joyce at her side. "On our wedding day, Karrueche and some girl named Draya stopped us."

She seemed to cringe at the name.

"They said Chris cut up Draya's face and almost killed her.. I deserve to know if that's true- I came here to learn if that was true.. Chris loves me and I love him. He's never laid a hand on me. He only ever cared for me and tried to protect me.. I need to know if that was just a front."

Joyce nodded.

"Chris turned his anger on Karrueche. He stopped breaking mirrors and broke her jaw instead. In the middle of the night, she just left Virginia. I put Chris in anger management classes and just tried to forget about her. That was the end of it."

"Then why did he leave?"

"Kae called about two months later. She was pregnant and wanted Chris to help pay for her abortion. So I sent her the money, but she kept calling and finally Chris just left. He never told me why."

If anything, this visit only left me with more questions.

"He called at first or sent postcards from each new city he visited. I missed my baby, but he was happy and free." Joyce shook her head. "I should've known Kae was involved when he kept telling me how his girlfriends never stayed with him for more than two weeks or so."

"Why did he stop calling?"

"It... It was after Houston. That's the last postcard I got."

She was hiding something.

"Joyce please."

"He called me from the hospital crying about Andraya." She admitted. "Then the next thing I knew he showed up on my doorstep covered in her blood. I cleaned him up and I told him that he was dead to me." Her voice cracked. "I couldn't watch him destroy himself. I never wanted to see him again."

"I- .. Why doesn't he remember anything?"

"I don't know Robyn, but what I do know is that you brought my baby home. He's just like he was before Kae stuck her claws in him. He's happy, truly happy."

"What are you two doing in here?" Chris chuckled, walking through the doorway. "My two favorite women."

I was worried for my husband. I was worried for me. Why couldn't he remember the things his mother said to him? Why couldn't he remember anything?

"She was telling me about all your dark and scary days as an abusive hell raiser." I said coolly.

"Was she now?" Chris laughed, holding up the bag of groceries. The words didn't seem to phase him. "I got what you asked for ma."

Joyce rushed her son, scooping him tightly into her arms. "I love you my blessing." She soothed, squeezing him tighter.

"I love you too Momma." Chris chuckled. "It hasn't been that long, has it? I just ran to the store."