Fierce (Wattys2014)

Chapter 2

Tasha sat at the kitchen table waiting for her cell phone to turn on. She took a bite of strawberry mini wheats and closed her eyes, listening to the birds sing their morning melodies. She loved how quiet everything was. The quiet is what kept her sane when she was dealing with the loss of her parents.

Her phone beeped, letting her know there were new text messages and an email. The text messages were from her grandmother Lila, her best friend Tori, and an email from her ex best friend Allison. She clicked on the email and read what Allison had to say.

“Natasha, first off, I want to congratulate you on marrying the man of both of our dreams. He's an amazing guy and you deserve to have someone like him in your life. I also wanted to explain why I didn’t reply to you or Drake about the wedding invitation. Truth is, I’ve always loved Drake. I’m sure you know this, but I don’t think he told you he came to visit me a few months before your parents died. I thought him and I connected, but I guess I was wrong. I’m sorry you had to find out I slept with him through an email, but I didn’t want to tell you in person or over the phone. I know you would say exactly what is on your mind about the situation and I don’t blame you, I would be mad too. Well, congratulations on the marriage and the pregnancy, I wish you both the best of luck.”

She reread the email three more times before finally realizing what Allison had said. Her breath caught in her throat when it finally sank in, Allison had slept with Drake. She couldn’t believe Allison had done that to her, she was supposed to be Tasha's best friend when it had happened. All those nights she spent crying on Allison’s shoulder, for Allison to go and have sex with Drake behind Tasha’s back. She clenched her fists, her nails dug into the palms of her hands. Allison was lucky she hadn’t told Tasha to her face because she would have knocked Allison out cold. She took a deep breath and tried to relax, but she couldn’t.

“So you slept with Allison? How was it? I bet it was great!” She said before walking out of the kitchen and into the living room. Her hands trembled when she sat down on the couch.

“What do you mean? It’s not like I had sex with her while you and I were together. It was an accident that happened before anything happened to your parents,” he replied as he followed her into the living room. He knew the second the words came out of his mouth he had said the wrong thing.

She hadn’t cared when it happened, she just cared that it had. She was pissed that he would do something like that. “I know, Drake, she texted me and told me. Why the fuck couldn’t you have told me? It wouldn’t have bothered me as much if you had told me,” tears streamed down her face as she took a deep breath. “She always has to have what I have. I always get her seconds. I’m the second best to her. The only thing I have that she doesn’t, are my children and a husband. But she’s already fucked my husband, so that doesn’t count.” Her breathing became staggered, and she took a few breaths to relax.

“Tasha, I don’t know why I did it, and I feel bad. If I could turn back time, I never would have left you. But I can’t. The past is the past, can’t we move forward?” He asked, moving closer to her. “Those sixteen months without you were the hardest months of my life.”

“Drake, don’t come any closer. I can’t let something like this go. I can’t believe we got married, and I didn’t know this until now. What else have you done that you’re hiding from me?” She sobbed. They hadn’t even been married forty-eight hours, and they were already fighting.