A Story To Tell | Book 2

.16.

:::VANESSA:::

"That's the last of it."

    My big brother, Lamont said as he walked from out of my bedroom, rubbing his hands together. I was sitting on the sofa, staring at the TV, but not actually watching what was on the screen.

    I turned and looked at him and gave him a cheap smile. He realized that I wasn't in the best mood and he hated it when I was so emotional. He knew what Raymond had taken me through and he wanted me to be happy. The last thing he wanted was to come here to mount my flat screen on the wall and see me looking as if my life was completely over.

    I hadn't heard from Chris in I don't remember how long. It's like he's avoiding me. I've been blowing up his cell, driving by his apartment, and it's almost as if I could never catch him. I've even gone by his job a couple of times just to find that he wasn't there. Part of me feels he's around, it's just that he doesn't want me to know that he's around and tries to avoid me at all costs.

    He told me, last time I did talk to him, that he didn't want to see me until my bruises have healed. They were all healed, but he was still unable to be reached and it was scaring me. I really have feelings for this man and the last thing I need in my life is for him to just up and leave me hanging. He means a lot to me and he's the biggest part of my life.

    "You still down?" Lamont asked me, sitting next to me, pushing over my box of Chip Ahoy chocolate chip cookies. I reached at the coffee table and grabbed my carton of milk, about to drink from the carton until Lamont looked at me.

    "What?" I ask him, spinning the top.

    "Put that down." He said to me, taking the milk from out of my hand and putting it back onto the coffee table. "I know you're not all depressed over this dude I haven't even met yet." I shook my head and looked down.

    "Lamont, he's avoiding me." I tell him, about to cry.

    "Don't do none of that." He demanded as he wrapped his arms around me. "I'm sure he has a good explanation as to why he's not answering your calls."

    Lamont has always been the type of brother that consoles me. He always had positive words and refused to speak negative towards anyone. He was so into worshiping God and loving all people the same even if they don't have love for him. And he's an inspiration to me. He is who I'd hope to be like when it came to being married and being involved in the church. Lamont has great intentions and in his eyes, no one does wrong unless done a second time.

    Unfortunately, he's going through a tough divorce where his wife is wanting full custody of their underage daughter. The other two kids that they had together were of age to be on their own and the both of them chose to be with Lamont. It's a sad case. And although he's going through it with Adele, he still wants the best for her and their children. But that would also mean, going against the odds and fighting twice as harder to prove why he should be the lenient parent for their daughter until she turns eighteen, which isn't far around the corner.

    It's a shame how things seemed so perfect for Lamont and Adele, and now, all of a sudden, things made a horrible turn. I just hope he wins everything because he put forth all just to gain nothing.

    "He's avoiding me and I know it." I say as he let me go. The look in his eyes expressed his sorrow. "I just want to hear from him, Lamont. But he won't answer any of my calls. I'm afraid I've lost him."

    "Don't talk like that. He probably just needs some time. I'm sure seeing you all bruised and battered like that, it has him feeling some type of way. He's probably sitting around thinking about what he should do on his end. And right now, he probably needs time to himself. Let him have that." He touched my shoulder.

    "I did. We haven't talked in a while, Lamont. I haven't heard from him in about two weeks now. The bruises are healed. What more does he want? I really want to see him." I cry. "What if he doesn't want to be with me anymore because he thinks I'm still in love with Raymond?" Just thinking about that hit a nerve in my body.

    "Are you?" Lamont asked me.

    The thing that sucked about it was that I still loved Raymond. I'm not in love with him anymore, but I still love him. Yes, I know I'm a fool and that I'm crazy, but love just doesn't die overnight. I've only been separated from Raymond for four months, going on five. And believe me, I know the worst thing to do is to jump into something else with someone else and I did just that. I don't regret it because I've got Chris. And Chris actually means a lot to me.

    I'm in love with two men at the same time. It's wrong. But at the end of the day, I love Chris more. I actually took the time to get to know all about Chris before getting into something with him. We talked and gained a friendship before connecting the way that we do now. And right about now, all of it seems to be for nothing. It's just weird to me.

    How can you tell someone you love them so much, one day, then the next, you don't even want to take their calls or even answer their text messages? It just doesn't make sense to me. Why would Chris be doing this to me?

    "I just don't know why he's doing this to me, Lamont."

    "Because you need to give him time and stop pressuring him. When he's ready to face you, he will. But you must realize that coming here and seeing you all battered up like that, it can really shake someone up. And being that you told him that you had changed the locks, after you didn't, it has him feeling as if you're still in love with Raymond, probably." Lamont explained. "Just give the man time, he'll come."

    "I'm trying to be patient, but it's starting to become so much." I say, burying my face into the palm of my hands. Lamont hugged me again and started to pat my back for me as I cried into my hands. "What if I've lost him?" I cry.

    "You're going to have to take that loss and learn from it, Vanessa. And you're also going to have to stop jumping into relationships before you get over another one." Lamont said to me in his softest words. "I don't condone violence. You're my little sister and I love you to death, baby girl. And I try to stay out of your business and respect your wishes by butting out of your relationships, but let Raymond put his hands on you again...he's going to have to see me." Lamont said this with so much force that I knew he meant every word.

    "Okay." I responded.

    "Now...I'm about to head out. You make sure you call me if you need me." He said as he stood up from the sofa. I looked up at him, drying my eyes.

    "Mont..." I call for him. He looked down at me. "Can you change the locks, please?" I asked him.

    He looked down for a bit and grinned as he looked up at me.

    "I thought you'd never ask."

A/N: I want you all to keep in mind that most of Vanessa's POVs are going to be short due to the fact that she's just an extra in the book and I run out of things to say when I'm using her character. But, let's proceed!