Some Day One Day

34

If I hadn't been grateful for Dreux before I cemented that gratitude that night. For some reason Marissa had taken an instant liking to Dreux and I think it was because he was such a good listener. Marissa was an earful to say the least and most people got irritated with her easily. She asked too many questions and strayed off topic so many times that one would find themselves tongue-tied and at a loss of words.
Dreux practiced an amount of patience that not only surprised but amazed me.
Instead of seeing the scary movie, we'd opted for a lighthearted one that although was thoroughly corny, was enjoyed immensely by Marissa. To me that was all that mattered and when I chancily looked over at Dreux, he didn't seem to mind either. In fact, I caught him staring at Marissa a whole lot. At one point he'd caught me catching him in the act and surprised the hell out of me when he blushed a little bit as he looked away.
In no time Dreux had warmed up easily to Marissa and I was relieved that her persistent persona hadn't annoyed him. Had it been anyone else they would've been spurting out rude remarks to her bluntness or fishing for ways to avoid her.
Dreux wasn't that person. He was soon laughing at Marissa's unintended humor and she seemed to live off of his every reaction.
When we were about to leave, Marissa asked to use the restroom. I said I would go in with her but she told me it was fine and she was only checking her hair. I thought that to be strange because Marissa only checked her appearance whenever she had a crush on someone-and Marissa crushed on guys quickly, even the ones who mistreated her.
Sometimes she couldn't tell the difference and I wondered if she'd changed.
As I waited for her, I walked u to Dreux who waited in front of a cut out for a movie that was playing.
"Hey." I greeted him to grasp his attention and when I did he smiled, turning around while shoving his hands in his pockets.
"Whattup?" he aspired.
"Nothing much. Did you enjoy the movie?" I asked him with a sheepish smile.
"It was iight." He hedged and I sucked my teeth.
"Mhmm. Whatever."
We stood there quietly, watching throngs of people stream out of a theatre.
"Dreux I'm truly sorry about tonight," I blurted out, "I couldn't leave her on her own. She's not like most girls. She's...she's special."
Dreux was quiet a moment. I assessed his reaction carefully, waiting for him to be surprised as most people were when they found out.
"I know." He said instead, the look on his face all knowing.
I didn't know whether to be relieved or not, but I easily got the conclusion that his knowledge of her condition explained his kindness and patience with her. I was mindful of the fact that I hadn't introduced her as Shawn's sister and she'd surprised me further when she hadn't brought him up. My reason for not bringing him up was because I hoped his angst towards Shawn wouldn't alter Dreux's treatment of her.
It was like sitting on pins and needles hoping that Marissa wouldn't mention Shawn's name.
Just as I started to get worried about her taking a while to get out of the restroom, she came out and when she saw us, she blushed at Dreux.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Dreux dimpling into a smile.
"You ready?" he asked her and her smile became shyer as she nodded.
In a matter of minutes we were leaving the movie theatre and before long I was left behind, forgotten by Marissa and Dreux as they chatted away.
I couldn't stop smiling at them.

~0~0~0~

Dreux stayed way, way into the night and I knew the reason was Marissa. He was seated on the couch and she was seated on the floor nearby him, enthralling him with her stories. He hadn't tired of her and he seemed genuinely intrigued by every single thing she had to say. I usually had a hard time keeping up with her but Dreux was a master when it came to repeating everything she said.
I watched them with an admiration that surprised me because with the way I always ended up being excluded from their conversations, I should've felt left out but that wasn't the case. If my mind wasn't playing tricks on me, something beautiful was taking place right before my eyes.
I was in the kitchen making both of them a cup of hot chocolate when a knock on the front door sounded.
"I'll get it." I sang out and walked out of the kitchen with the kitchen towel in my hands, realizing how much more I loved my apartment with company over. It was much less depressing and there was a brightness to it that I hadn't felt or seen before.
"Dreux?" I eavesdropped on their conversation as I walked passed them, realizing then that Marissa would put Dreux's name into every sentence when she got the chance. She'd already told him she liked his name three times that night.
"Sup."
"What's your favorite ice cream?" she asked him curiously and I turned from the door right when I reached it to see Dreux's reaction.
He was smiling at her, the dimples on his cheek deepening with the sincerity of his smile.
"Uh...cookies and cream." He said, grinning and she smiled back before looking at me with eyes that twinkled jubilantly.
"Beyonce he smiles cute at me." She said with an excited smile, as though Dreux wasn't sitting right beside her. Even though her words were broken I grasped it fully and looked up at Dreux who was laughing.
The knock on the door sounded again and I opened it without looking through the pea hole.
My smile dropped instantly when I saw Shawn standing before me with a slightly vexed expression.
I knew why he was mad. I'd forgotten to tell Marissa to call him when she was ready to leave and he knew it.
"Hey." I greeted him blandly.
"You didn't tell her did you?" he mumbled knowingly.
"It slipped my mind."
"It's nearly one o' clock in the morning. You didn't answer when I called." He tried to sound casual but I wasn't buying it.
"I forgot to turn my phone on." I started to get really irritated from the way he was speaking to me. Him not sounding mad made me think he was mocking me.
"How was I supposed to know if something hadn't ha-"
"Shawn!"
Both Shawn and I were interrupted by Marissa's squeal. His attention on me was fortuitously averted to Marissa as she came up to the door and hugged him.
Before Shawn could even respond, Marissa had caught a hold of his hand and was pulling her with him inside excitedly. At that moment I realized what she was about to do in dread.
"Shawn, I made a new friend and his name is Dreux. Come see." She yanked him until he was standing a few ways across from Dreux, who was wearing a small scowl that was meant for Shawn.
"Say hi." Marissa said petulantly, giving Shawn an encouraging nudge.
"Sup." Shawn murmured obligatory after a while.
"Nun'." Dreux murmured detachedly, not making an attempt to reciprocate the greeting with apropos.
"Dreux this is my big brother Shawn." Marissa said with the same excitement and adoration she'd have anytime she introduced a new 'friend' to Shawn.
"Yeah, we've met." Dreux mumbled dryly and I caught sight of Shawn clenching his jaw.
"Shawn. We went to see movie. Dreux took me and, and Beyonce to see a movie." Marissa recited to Shawn with unmitigated enthusiasm, traversing him along with her to the other couch and making him seat beside her.
Shawn still placed suspicious eyes on Dreux even when he responded to Marissa absently, "Really."
"Mhmm. I liked the movie a lot Shawny. The guy kept on telling the girl he loved her the way you used to tell Beyonce. It was nice I wish you were there with us. I know you would like it. And Dreux bought me popcorn with sprite. He was nice to me now he's my new friend."
The tension sparking off between both Shawn and Dreux was enough for me to feel but Marissa was so clueless my heart went out to her.
I was standing there feeling immensely uncomfortable, regretting that I hadn't told Dreux that Marissa was Shawn's sister earlier. I thought he would leave before Shawn showed up but we'd all forgotten about him.
Shawn wrested his eyes away from Dreux to Marissa and forced a colorless smile upon his lips.
"It's just fiction." He murmured and Marissa's eyes went large with inquiry.
"Fiction?" she asked and at that moment, Dreux suddenly surged to his feet.
"I need to bounce right now Beyonce." He said to me and I nodded, looking at him apologetically.
"No Dreux don't go!" Marissa implored suddenly and I was starkly reminded then of her vulnerability and her sometimes hazardous characteristic of attaching to people too quickly.
Dreux got an uncomfortable look on his face and Shawn stared at Dreux introspectively, probably already making his own assumptions like I had of what was going on here. It's a shame his reaction was the complete antagonism of what mine had been earlier.
"He said he has to go Marissa what did I tell you about talking to people like that?" Shawn said, his voice slightly cold. Not used to Shawn chiding her, Marissa's shoulders sagged and she apologized, keeping her head down.
"Later Beyonce." He seemed a little bit mad and I frowned at him, opening the door and stepping aside. When he reached the door, he looked over at Marissa.
"See you later Marissa." He told her, and I could've sworn he said that just to piss Shawn off, and piss Shawn off he did from the angry look that overtook Shawn's features that seemed to scream 'no-you-will-not-see-her the-fuck-later'. Dreux's words brought her head up to his with wide eyes. Her face broke into a quick smile.
"Bye Dreux. Will I see you again?"
"Marissa." Shawn ground out in a warning tone and Marissa looked at him inquiringly, completely oblivious as to why he appeared so irritated.
"What?" she asked him with a slight strand of annoyance that not only shocked me but Shawn too.
"Thanks for everything Dreux." I told him and he simply bid me a nod as he left the apartment.
When I closed the door, the apartment resorted to silence.
Shawn was aiming blameful eyes at me and it was no mystery why.
Of course, Marissa pierced it.
"Shawny?"
"Yes?" he answered her, his eyes still pinned to me.
"Are you mad?"
"No babygirl. Aye, Beyonce can I have a word with you real quick?" I knew it killed him to sound so polite, but he was only doing it because of Marissa's presence.
"Sure." I tried to practice the same civility.
"In private." He told me through clenched teeth, clearly perturbed.
"There's nowhere private in this apartment. You should know that."
"Your room."
A nervous flare went through me. The two simple words sounded so simple coming from him.
"Why can't we talk here?" I groped for reasons not to be in a confined space with him.
"Why can't you stop being so fucking difficult?" he countered and Marissa flinched the way she always would when he murmured a curse word.
"Damn Marissa what the fuck?" Shawn hissed at her with a scowl, rubbing his arm. That's when is remembered Marissa always used to pinch him whenever he said a curse word.
She pinched him again.
"No cursing. You said I should pinch you whenever you curse." She said to him with an innocence that would've driven anybody else mad.
I smiled smugly at the fact that he couldn't retaliate.
"My bad." He murmured under his breath as he stood up slowly and looked my way.
"Can I talk to you in the other room...please?" he asked impatiently and I made a disgusted sound, stamping to my room.
"Fine." I pushed the words through clenched teeth and headed for the room, certain that Shawn was following me after he'd told Marissa he'd be back after a minute.
Folding my arms and shifting all my weight onto one leg, I waited for him to come through the door. I tried not to be nervous but it was much easier said than done.
When Shawn stepped into the room, he closed the door behind him. The sound of the door catching the latch made me flinch for some reason.
His expression, as usual, was difficult to read. The first thing he did though was openly survey my room, taking in everything that made it up. It reminded me of the first time he saw my bedroom back at Flagstone.
I was just as nervous.
He finally leaned against the door, hood over head, chin tilted upwards.
"I like your room." He said idly.
"Yeah. whatever." I said dryly, rolling my eyes.
"But," he pushed himself off of the door and started to walk towards me slowly, "What I don't like, is you bringing niggas who I know nothing about around my sister."
I knew Shawn didn't mess around when it came to Marissa. A blind person could see that, but he was taking things a little bit too far.
"Whoa...Are you being serious?"
"Does this look like a laughing face to you? Maybe I sound like I'm laughing?"
When I said nothing, he continued to taunt, taking another intimidating step closer. It was all I could do not to step back in retreat.
"Tell me cause, to me? It seems like I'm serious...and to my ears I sound real fucking serious right about now."
"Okay then if you're being serious about this you must be fucking crazy. That's why you're mad at me right now?"
"Fuck yeah I'm mad at you why you bringing niggas up in here while Marissa's here...without letting me know first? Is this why you turned your phone off?"
"No it is not. I simply forgot to turn my phone on. Second of all, you're the last person I need to tell whether or not I'm bringing a guy to my place. Lastly, Dreux and I were going to go out anyway."
He stared at me inscrutably for a while.
"I asked you if you were busy and you said no."
"Because I forgot." I said defensively even though my defenses were wavering.
"Wow. Sucks to be Dreux huh? You forgot that you had a date? I feel bad for the nigga and I don't even like him."
"Is that what this is about?" I tilted my head at Shawn introspectively, having to roll my neck back just to look at him appropriately since he was so tall, "Me going on a date?"
"No. I don't give a fuck if you go on a date," he scowled at me deeply, eying me like I was scum, "What the hell are you talking about?"
"Are you sure? Last time you were about to bust one of your balls when you saw me hugging Dreux."
"I don't give a fuck about that nigga. I just don't want him around Marissa. Look at what you've done and it's only the first night. She's already attached to him and she ain' ever seen his ass before today." He spat, extremely livid. I couldn't believe it, then again, I could considering the fact that this was Marissa.
Still, I knew most of his anger was channeled simply from the fact that it was Dreux.
I stared at him for a while without speaking.
"Shawn, please tell me this is a big ass joke." I finally said and his eyes grew hotter.
"Again...do I fucking look like I'm joking?!" he bellowed at me.
"You may not look like it but that's what's making it so funny to me!" I shot back
Shawn laughed derisively shaking his head while staring at the ceiling, "You're fucking with me Beyonce. Quit fucking with me."
"No. I'm just showing you how silly you're being. All I did was invite Marissa with us to the movies."
"With some random ass nigga that I know nothing about?"
"Dreux is not random. He's my friend. He's a good person and he was a gentleman to Marissa the entire time."
"Out of sympathy. Just like everybody else-"
"No! It wasn't like that. Dreux was genuine with her. He was patient with her and that's why she likes him so fucking much already!"
"So what the fuck are you tryna get at?" his voice was gruff and I knew that he was trying to sustain his anger.
"That you're just an asshole who's mad at the world and everyone in it. So now you're just looking for something to be mad at. It's not a big deal. You need to fucking chill yo."
Shawn chuckled for long moments as he stepped back, but it was obvious nothing was funny.
"I need to chill? Four years later and you never seem to amaze me with your bullshit. I need to chill? See it's that motherfucking careless attitude about not giving a worth damn about anything that makes me so damn sick. Is that how it was so easy for you to jump from one nigga to the next? It's always no fucking big deal so you hop from one dick to the next one?" he shook his head at me with repugnance that made me feel dirty even though I truly hadn't done anything wrong, "I dont want your ass around Marissa no more. I don't want your ways rubbing off on her."
That barb hurt me and I couldn't stop it from showing on my face and reflexively, I raised my hand to inflict as much pain inside of me on him, only for Shawn to manacle my wrist. He then twisted my entire arm painfully behind me and yanked me roughly up against him. My immediate reaction was to use my other hand to fight him off but Shawn quickly grabbed it and did the same to it as he did to the other hand. Pain shot through my arms at the discomforting angle Shawn had me in. Now that we were inseparably close, my breasts were meshed on his hard chest and my bear feet were ramming painfully against the soles of his timberland boots.
"Let me go!" I ordered in a strangled voice, wriggling forcefully against him. Unfortunately, in my desperate attempt to escape I felt his sex dig into my stomach. The feel of his hardness made me freeze but not as much as the cold, hard look in Shawn's eyes when he brought his face a breath away from mine.
"I let that shit slide the first time, but if you ever, ever try that shit again...I swear you'll regret it Beyonce. Don't fuck with me."
Not giving him the satisfaction of effectively intimidating me, I tried to wrest free of him, only making him tighten his hold on me.
"I'm trusting you ain' that crazy Beyonce," he said in a more warning tone, "Dont make me regret what I'll do if you try."
"Oh so is that how you get retribution these days? You hit people?" I asked with a bravado I definitely didn't feel.
The right side of Shawn's lips lifted into an uncanny smirk and chuckled mischievously.
"Trust me, that ain' how I do it. What I'd do is far more painful and I doubt you'd like it," Shawn's hands tightened around me as he thrashed me roughly our bodies inseparably together, his hardness digging into me as he leaned forward to speak through clenched teeth, "Or maybe you would."
"Let me go." My knees were buckling and my mind was straying away because he continued to inch closer and closer to me. the closer he got, the weaker I became.
"Or what..." those were his last words before his lips touched mine. I stiffened and strained against the soft touch of his lips. Damn, I I'd never hated my body as much as I did that night because pinpricks both hot and cold combusted through me when our lips met. The more I struggled against him, the rougher he hauled me against him until I couldn't fight him any longer. I tried to be unresponsive to the kiss and remain motionless as their softness brushed against mine but it was getting harder with the innate way my body acted on reflex.
Completely catching me off guard, Shawn's silky tongue thrust into my mouth without any question. He just rammed himself into me as if I was one of his idle possessions just waiting to be conquered. I tried to protest against his mouth, but only ended up sounding like I was imploring him for something, anything through a moan. Disarmingly, my head fell back when his velvety tongue caressed mine in such a sexual cadence that I was bereaved of my morals and scruples.
Shawn's tongue left no part of my mouth unattended, exploring every part of me as if catching up on long lost years and searching for any new changes. He groaned and murmured something unintelligible to me against my lips before capturing them in his again, nibbling on my bottom lightly before sliding his tongue sleekly into me again, tilting his head to uncover undiscovered parts of me. It was difficult holding a tight rein on every part of my body to not give in to the sensations that were taking place in me. Every time his tongue plunged into me, I delved deeper and deeper as though he couldn't get enough. It was a tempestuous kiss, delicate at one moment and unforgiving and punishing the next.
It was tempting, so tempting that I my frozen body began to melt due to the hot kiss. I was elevated into a dizzy cloud, nearly giving in, nearly succumbing, my eyes fluttered shut and my tongue stroked his...
When reality struck, it struck with a vengeance so punishing I felt like I'd been knocked over.
We seemed to have pulled away at the same time, both of us robbed of adequate breath. My nipples throbbed against his hard chest. My lips were swollen from the intrusive kiss. My womanhood had never throbbed so much in my life and the realization of that made me angry.
"Get out..." I breathed out of fear. Not of him, but of what I felt myself doing.
The lust in Shawn's eyes that I'm sure mirrored my own faded away and out came the detached cloud. Letting go of me every slowly, he stepped away with movements just as unhurried, wiping his moist lips where a devilish smirk had just sparked.
"Or what? You'll call the cops on me again Beyonce?"
"I never called the cops on you!" I screamed at him in frustration.
The smirk slowly left Shawn's face and the amount of distrust in his eyes galled me
"Must have been some fucking set up then." He murmured
"Nobody was setting you up damn it!" I yelled at him.
"Then tell me how the fuck they got there!" he shot back and he stared at me with suppressed anger and...hurt...
I began to falter, unable to find the right words to defend myself effectively.
"It was my parents. My parents! I had nothing to do with it-"
"And you sure as fucking hell didn't do anything while those motherfuckers took me away! You didn't do shit! You did nothing you just fucking stood there and watched!" he exploded, the rage and hurt in his eyes enough to make me recoil.
I couldn't dispute that.
I turned away from him, eyes blurry from guilt. The image of sirens and Shawn getting roughly handled by the cops while he called out my name would be something that would never be erased from my mind.
"My father held me back when I tried to run after you!" my eyes dropped because I couldn't handle looking at him any longer, "A-and I didn't know what to do! What was I supposed to do Shawn?! I was confused. I didn't know wh-what to do. I was just a child-"
I cut myself off when all Shawn did was stare at me with an amount of hurt and betrayal that made me hate myself. No explanation seemed plausible enough to erase that look off of his face.
Then, as though realizing he'd said too much, shown too much, Shawn's exhausted eyes dropped from mine and the slight confusion that graced his features hurt my heart.
"I'm sorry Shawn. I'm sorry." I croaked out but as I did Shawn shook his head and turned towards the door, out of the room.
Rubbing my tired neck, I stared at the ceiling as if the answer would drop from the heavens above.
Sighing resignedly, I reluctantly retraced Shawn's steps back out to find him standing in front of an appalled Marissa.
She had her hands over her ears and her eyes were wet but there was no evidence of tears on her face.
"Are you guys mad at me? Why are you yelling? What's going on?" she asked both Shawn and I unmasking her hands from her ears.
She turned to Shawn, her eyes glistening with more tears. There were times whenever Shawn was upset, Marissa would start crying because she said she didn't like him looking like that.
"What's wrong? Why isn't everyone happy? We're all together why is everyone sad? Did I make you guys mad? Did I make you mad Shawn? I don't wanna make you mad."
All I could do was furl my lips and turn away from the hurt on her face. I heard Shawn sigh heavily.
"No. It's not you."
"Then what's wrong?" she sounded really confused and it hurt me to hear her that way.
"Nothin' babygirl. Let's go home iight?" I heard Shawn tell her while I kept my eyes trained to a spot on the floor.
Daringly, I looked up to see a confused Marissa trying to blink her tears away. Marissa may have not been one to grasp things as quickly as others for the most part, but there were rare moments when she would know something was definitely wrong.
Without a fight, Marissa consented and they got ready to leave. Right when they got to the door, she looked up at Shawn hopefully.
"Can Beyonce come over tomorrow?" she asked him casually, the way she used to do when we were younger.
Shawn's jaw bunched as he tilted his head to look at me expectantly. My heart began to race.
Turning away from me and staring straight ahead, Shawn spoke forcefully.
"Ask her."
"Beyonce can you come visit tomorrow?" I heard Marissa ask. My eyes were still on Shawn's.
Taking a deep breath, Shawn shifted, staring at the ground sightlessly.
He didn't want me to go.
I didn't either.
But for Marissa's sake...
"Yes. What time?"