TOMMIE (COMPLETED)

SIX

After the fight at the restaurant, Scrapp drove home uneasy about leaving Tommie alone. He offered to let her stay with him or even out her up in a hotel, but she was adamant about going home.

He didn't know how or why Stevie brought Tia to the restaurant, but he did know that it made things harder for him. The situation only made Tommie cling to her boyfriend even more.

Scrapp pulled up to his house and saw Stevie's truck parked out in front. He walked to the side of the car and saw Stevie smoking a blunt.

"What's up, nigga?" Scrapp asked getting in on the passenger side, "Why you didn't go in?"

"I left the spare key at the hut, but I came over here to apologize, nigga. I would've never brought Tia to that restaurant if I knew ya'll were there too. I knew you were going out that way but fuck," Stevie said passing Scrapp the blunt.

"It's good, nigga," Scrapp said inhaling the smoke through his nose. He paused for a second and slowly exhaled the day away.

Stevie was like Scrapp's brother. He knew Stevie wouldn't try to play him out like that, so as far as he was concerned, it was water under the bridge. They sat in Scrapp's driveway for an hour and smoked an eighth Stevie had, and Scrapp let the weed take him away a thoughts about how he was going to fix things with Tommie permeated his head.

$$$$$

After Scrapp dropped her off, Tommie went home to pack up her stuff. She knew once Ace found out, he would kick her out anyway, so she thought she would be one step ahead of the game.

The lobby was empty when she arrived. Not even the doorman was around. Her heels hitting the tile floor echoed throughout the room as she approached the elevator. She tried to go over each scenario in her head.

She knew Ace wouldn't want to hear anything she had to say, but she had to figure out something. He was her family. He was all she had. She called Tia over and over, but she sent her to voicemail.

When Tommie got inside, the entire house was dark. She forgot to leave the kitchen light on before she left to meet Jewel. She dropped her keys on the dining room table and made her way to the bedroom.

As she walked down the hallway, she heard the TV. When she eased the bedroom door open, she saw Ace asleep on the bed, and a vase filled with long-stemmed, red roses sat on the nightstand with a card.

He wanted to make things right. He knew Tommie deserved better than he gave her, and he wanted to start being the man she needed.

Sorry, baby, you mean the world to me. There is no me without you. I LOVE YOU!
— Ace .

Tommie felt so guilty. Here she was with the man that was supposed to be the man of her dreams, but all she could think about was Scrapp.

She had to forget about him and focus on her relationship with Ace. A few minutes later, Tommie took off her clothes and nuzzled herself underneath him.

He didn't wake up, but his body acknowledged her presence. Tommie kissed Ace on his forehead and drifted off to sleep.

Later that night, Tommie was awakened by hard blows to her face and body. She tried to shield and protect herself but failed. She didn't know what was going on, but soon realized it was Ace.