Fault

Chapter 54

"YOU TALKED TO WHO!" I demanded, for the first time ever ready to cross all lines with my Aunt. Deep down, genuine respect was there, but Tionna holding a conversation with my ex while I wasn't around was just too much!

"YOU HEARD WHAT THE F**K I SAID! NOW, I'M GONNA TELL YOU THIS ONE TIME...YOU ALREADY BROUGHT ONE BABY INTO THIS HOUSE WHEN YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE GOING TO SCHOOL AND GETTING YOURSELF TOGETHER. BUT, I'LL BE DAMNED IF I LET YOU MAKE A FOOL OUTTA ME BY BRINGING ANOTHER ONE UP IN HERE!"

"Tionna...first of all, I'm trying my BEST to remain respectful..." I responded calmly, pinching the bridge of my nose. "I'm mad as hell you and Jeremy sat up and had a full blown conversation about me and my business. Y'all are so..."

"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN HOW YOU FEEL RIGHT NOW TO BE PERFECTLY HONEST!"

"WELL, I AIN'T PREGNANT!" I screamed through the pain of my truthful reality. "But even if I WAS, it wouldn't be HIS place to tell you! PERIOD!"

"Well at the end of the day, it doesn't matter what either of you have to say, because this test right here is gonna say it all, baby! THE TRUTH!" Tionna remarked, waving the pregnancy test box in my face.

"You have no idea who Jeremy really is, while you're over here swapping stories and being all "buddy buddy" with him! HE IS CRAZY AS HELL, AUNTIE! STOP TALKING TO HIM! ESPECIALLY ABOUT ME!"

"Girl, please! EVERYBODY is either a little crazy or not far from it!" She uttered dismissively, ignoring my warning, and not realizing the urgency of the situation.

"No, see...you're REALLY not gettin' it! How were you even able to talk to him? You're paying for his collect calls now? Cause the last time I checked, he was still in jail for putting his hands on me since he couldn't afford bail!"

"WHAT? ...IN JAIL!" Tionna gasped.

"Listen, let's just handle things like this," I began, staring Tionna squarely in the eyes. "I swear to you on my life right now that I'm not pregnant, okay. This isn't a situation like last time with Jamal."

"Cool, then take the test!" She demanded, shrugging her shoulders.

"Auntie, I don't need to take that test cause...I'm actually on my cycle right now. Now if you STILL don't want to let it go, I can prove it to you!" I said, fully prepared to substantiate my point.

"Oop! Nope..please don't! All of that won't be necessary ma'am, thank you!" She said, with a disgusted look on her face. "I think I'll just take your word for it!"

"You sure? Cause I can just pull my pants down right now and show you..." I laughed, unbuttoning my pants.

 "YES, I'M SURE! Now, if you're lying to me...time will tell."

"YES, it absolutely will!" I agreed, buttoning them back up. "Now, promise me you won't speak to Jeremy again! I'm done with him! We've been broken up since the day the police were called."

"Wow! I had no idea! We didn't speak for very long over the phone, but from the way he was talking, I would never have thought you two weren't together. HELL, I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THE MAN WAS IN JAIL!" Tionna articulated. "He called me from a regular number to say he'd been trying to get in contact with you for a while, but couldn't. According to him, he was just 'so worried about you' since you were pregnant!"

"Wait...so he didn't call you collect from jail?" I said, extremely concerned.

"NO, IT WAS A REGULAR CALL! That's why I'm sittin' here like...what the f**k is goin' on? If he's still locked up, someone must have put him on a 3-way call then. I would show you the number, but I cleared the house phone call log after I checked the messages."

While fear was certainly a factor, fury trumped every other emotion as I went over all the details in my head. Clearly, Jeremy's disclosure to my aunt was his backhanded way of sending me a message. His calculated actions were executed as a mechanism to get under my skin, while still proving he could exercise his "power" over me. Too bad, I was one step ahead.

Although seething with rage over Jeremy's desperate display of action, for the first time in a while I couldn't wait to receive a call from him. I needed only one last conversation and there was no doubt in my mind that it would come sooner rather than later.

"Auntie, if he calls the house phone again, I'll take the call, okay."

"That's fine, but if you're really done with him then make that clear. I don't want any drama coming to my house! Now, I done told you that once before..."

"Ugh, I knoooow," I sang, in an annoyed tone while walking away.

When I made it to my room, I was eager to find out whether Jeremy had gotten out of jail or not. Not wanting to torture myself with suspense, I texted Jada to inquire whether she had heard anything.

"Yep, he's still in there," she confirmed almost immediately. "I'm glad you reached out though...can we talk in about 10 minutes?"

"Sure," I responded, not knowing what she wanted to talk about. 

Shortly after, the phone rang...