Lost & Found.

Chapter 14

TAZEEMA'S POV

"Alright baby girl, he's here" Travis said through the phone. Uh I really hated that nickname.

"Ok we'll talk later" I said but he had already ended the call

I turned over in my bed lying on my back while staring at the ceiling. I thought about the vast topics Jeremy and Travis could be covering during their meeting. Jeremy had always been discreet with our dealings. I thought of how much of a disgrace it would be if word of mine and Jeremys relationship got out. My brain was in total scrambles and I needed to find a distraction, so I put on some lounge wear, Slipped into my Uggs, grabbed keys and headed out of the apartment.

I rang the door bell a couple of times but got no answer so I turned to leave but then the door cracked open revealing an emaciated China. She had lost even more weight than the last time I saw her.

"Biscuit, come on in and join the fun" She said waving me in. She held a glass of wine and she wobbled a little barely able to stand on her two feet. It was clear that she had had one to many glasses of wine. I walked in past her while she closed the door. I could literally see the outline of her spinal cord. I moved towards her and hugged her from behind. She tensed a little but relaxed shortly after. A few seconds later she turned around and hugged me even tighter. Her body started shaking as she wept. Never had I seen China look this defeated, she was always happy and smiling even when she was struggling, she would say, "never let your enemies catch you slipping"

"Lets sit" I said and she released me and nodded. we walked hand in hand to her living room and sat on the couch. She remained quiet letting her tears fall while I gently rubbed her back.

"I cant believe I never noticed" she said shaking her head

"He's a whole father Biscuit, he told me he never wanted kids" I stared at her in shock, Flashbacks of Joey making fun of parents who couldn't control their kids played on repeat in my head. He'd always make it a point to say, "this is why I'm never having kids"

"How did you find out" I asked

"I hired a private investigator, nothing serious just to dig into his financials, you know something I could use during the divorce settlement. I didn't expect him to come back with news of a whole girlfriend and 5 kids in Houston. Biscuit his first child is 13. we've been married for 25 years, how did I not see this" she said barely audible because of the tears.

"He was always going on all these business trips and not once did I feel insecure enough to question him, he manipulated my whole life to the point that I thought he did no wrong. I gave that man my entire life and this is all I have to show for it" She said grabbing the envelope on the side table and handing it to me. The envelope contained so many pictures of Joey and the so called family. He looked so happy, the same way he looked with China. He had us all fooled. My heart ached for China. I didn't know what to say to make her feel better so I just hugged her and let her cry her till we both fell asleep.

I woke up alone covered with a blanket on the couch

"China" I called out while sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. I checked my phone to see it was 9pm. I had 3 missed calls, 2 of which from Travis and the other Kravtiz. I listened to my voice messages and It Kravitz telling me that she would be crashing at Chace's tonight. I decided I would call Travis once I got home.

"China" I called out again but this time getting off couch to look for her,

"In here biscuit" China yelled out from her walk in closet. I walked into her room and sat on the edge of her bed. China came out seconds later fully dressed with her hair and makeup done.