The Boxer And The Dancer (Michael B. Jordan)

Chapter 32

•Drea•
I've Been In My In Home Studio For 3 Hours Now Trying To Figure Out What's Wrong With This Dance. Something About It Is Just Throwing Me Off And Not Only That But The Girls Too. I Stopped The Music And Sat Down In Front Of The Mirror. I Laid Back And Just Relaxed. I Closed My Eyes For A Few Seconds. When I Opened Them Marcus Was Standing Above My Head. I Jumped Up.

"Boy Don't Do That, You Scared The Fuck Out Of Me."

"I'm Surprised You Didn't Hear Me Come Down Here."

"Wassup?"

"Bitch I'm Bored."

"Really Marcus."

"And Hungry, Let's Go Out To Eat."

"Okay."

I Ran Upstairs To Freshen Up And Change Clothes. We Ended Up Going To A Place Called Damon's Steakhouse. We Were Seated Pretty Quickly And Looked Through The Menu. I Ordered Actual Steak While Marcus Got A Burger And Fries.

"So I Really Wanted To Talk To You Alone." Marcus Said.

"About What?"

"Michael."

"What About Michael?"

"You Don't Thinks He's Been A Little...Extra Lately."

"What Do You Mean?"

"Before You Went Into The Hospital. All The Arguing, Ripping Clothes, Yunno, The Bad Stuff."

"Oh No, We're Good, We're In A Good Place Right Now. Don't Jinx It."

"Jinx It? Drea He's Going To Start Back With That Shit And I'm Not Sure You Need To Deal With That Kinda Stuff."

Marcus Was Right. Just Like That, Two Days Later Me And Michael Were In An Argument. About What? I Don't Even Remember But To Make It Up To Me, He Decided To Take Me Shopping.

As I Walked Around Trying To Find Some Stuff I Liked, While Michael Looked In Another Section, A Guy Approached Me.

"He Lil Mama, What's Your Name?"

"Nun." I Said As I Continued To Look Through The Racks.

"Nun?"

"Yeah, Like Nun Yo Business."

"Awe Come On, Don't Be Like That. Can I Get Your Number?"

"No. I'm Good."

"You Look Real Familiar, Did You Go To Central Arts, The Performing Arts School."

"No, I Just Moved Out Here A Few Months Ago."

"Really From Where?"

"Chicago."

"Oh Shit, I Moved Here From Chicago Right After Highschool."

"Oh Word, Where You Stayed?" I Said Finally Looking Up And Paying Him Some Attention.

"Roseland."

"Really Me Too." I Said Chuckling A Bit. "Maybe We Have Meet. 104th?"

"103rd."

"You Went To Fernwood Too Huh?"

"Hell Yeah So I Have Seen You Before, A Long Time Ago."

Suddenly I Felt A Presence Behind Me.

"Everything Good Baby?" Michael Asked As I Looked Back To See Him Staring At The Guy With Furrowed Eyebrows, Almost A Grimace On His Face. I Nodded And Looked Back At The Guy.

"Oooh Now I Remember You, Jeremy, The Class Clown. You Were A Junior When I Was A Freshman."

We Both Laughed.

"It Was Nice Seeing You Though, I See You Got A Man So I'll Get Out Ya Hair." He Said Before Walking Off.

I Turned To Michael But He Just Bumped Passed Me And Walked Away. I Put All My Items Down And Followed Behind Him.

"I Know Good And Damn Well You Don't Have An Attitude." I Said Trying To Keep Up With Him With My Short Legs.

He Still Didn't Say Anything, He Just Walked Straight Out Of The Mall. We Both Got Into The Car. As We Made Our Way Down The Road I Just Stared At Him. He Was Gripping The Steering Wheel Hard.

"Michael Bakari Jordan, What Is Your Problem!?"

"I Know You Heard Me Speak To You In There. Was You Trying To Embarrass Me?!" He Said Harshly.

"First Of All, Don't Raise Your Mother Fucking Voice At Me. Second, Wasn't Nobody Trying To Embarrass You, You Saw Me Having A Conversation And I Nodded."

"And That's Another Problem, You Don't Need To Be Entertaining Other Niggas, That Shit Makes Me Look Bad."

"Oh Shut Up."

"Who The Fuck Are You Talking You?!"

"You! Shut The Fuck Up!"

Suddenly He Came To A Very Fast Stop Almost Making Me Fly Forward. "Then Get The Hell Out My Car." He Said Reaching Over And Opening My Door. "Gone Head, Since You Big And Bad."

I Didn't Move, I Just Crossed My Arms.

"Right, Watch Yo Mouth."

I Took Off My Seat Belt And Got Out. "I Have No Problem Walking, Bastard." I Said Before Slamming His Car Door.

He Zoomed Off, Leaving Me Where I Was And I Started Walking. I Ordered An Uber And Waited At The Nearest Fast Food Restaurant. While I Was Sitting In The Back Of The Uber I Suddenly Burst Into Tears. That Really Hurt My Feelings. Why The Hell Is He Acting Like That And Treating Me This Way? What Did I Do Wrong?

"You Okay?" My Uber Driver Asked.

"Yeah I'm Okay." I Said Wiping A Few Tears.

"Come On Hun, Tell Me What's Wrong." The Older Woman Pushed. "Maybe I Can Help."

I Inhaled And Exhaled Deeply. "Me And My Boyfriend Have Been Together For 3 Months Now And He's Starting To Act Like An Asshole. All We Do Is Argue Sometimes, He's Becoming Possessive And Even A Little Physical."

"Does He Have A History Of Abuse?"

"..Yeah, With His Ex Girlfriend."

"Just The Last Ex, No Others?"

"Well...I Don't Know."

"Honey You Already Know What You Need To Do, There's No Questioning It. You Don't Get Out Now, You'll Be Stuck Forever. You Don't Want To Live The Rest Of Your Life In An Abusive Relationship Do You?"

"No." I Said Softly.

"And It's Not Your Fault, I'm Sure He's Been Abusive With All His Girlfriends."

When I Got Home I Ran A Hot Bath. I Stripped Of My Clothes And Got In. I Sunk Down Into The Water Until It Was Touching My Chin And I Closed My Eyes.

I Wouldn't Say I Love Michael Because That's Too Strong But I Do Have Strong Feeling For Him And I Don't Want To Just Leave Him. Knowing About Everything He Had Been Through, I Just Can't Give Up On Him. That Lady Was Right Though, I Don't Want To Be In An Abusive Relationship. Maybe I Should Just Talk To Him...But I've Tried That And It Always Ends In An Argument.

Maybe I Should Have Listened To The Rumors. Maybe I Should Have Left When He Told Me About Him And Naomi's Past. I Should Have Left At Some Point But Me Being A Fan And Then Being In The Honey Moon Stages Clouded My Judgement. I Wanted Someone's Affection So Badly That I May Have Chose The Wrong One. What Did I Do?