One and Only

TRUTH

Abel and I fell fast asleep after all that work. When I wake he's gone. My bed is empty and my heart races. This fucker left me! I reach over to my phone and Jordan has called. Shit. I call him back.

"What's up Jordan?" I really don't want this right now.

"Bitch you are impossible to reach anymore!" Jordan sounds exasperated. "No one has heard from Tony. We call, we text, nothing."

"Well Tony is no longer a client, remove his name off the project board." Where the fuck is he? What went on with Abel?

"Oh um I wasn't sure. Ok then, so we have another project starting in New York in a few weeks and they are personally requesting you."

I've been off for about a month and I'm honestly kind of missing work. "Who is it and for what business." I'm too far in the game to not be picky.

" It's for Cash and the XO brand, it's something new, they're trying to come up with concepts for their clothing line. They need marketing ideas, planning etc."

Does Abel know this? I agree to meet up with Cash in four days in New York. I've also decided it's time for me and Abel to talk.

I go downstairs to see Abel in the kitchen.... COOKING! He really does make breakfast.

"Morning," I say.

He turns around with a huge smile on his face. "Morning, you hungry?"

"Yeah," the smells are insane. He comes and sets a cup of coffee in front of me, black only. I don't like all that sweet shit. Then comes a plate of bacon, eggs and toast. He sits across from me. "Abel we need to talk."

He looks up from his plate and gives me the opportunity to speak.

"Where's Tony, Abel?" He is shocked by the question.

"Why don't you tell me what happened with the two of you first?" It's more of a demand not a question.

"Fair," I state. I look for how to start this, and just decide to go for it. " After helping my dad establish his successful businesses, I thought I'd try to branch out on my own. My dad was completely against it. I should've listened but I was young and hungry for success. I left my parents house at 19 with a small amount of capital and went to take on the world!" He laughs." Well the world wasn't ready for a young woman with her opinions. The battle I fought against men was excruciating, and they won. God I hate to say that, but they won. I left to start college and instead found myself finding a fast way to a quick dollar." Abel is completely engrossed in my story. Looking me dead in the eye, probably trying to find any trace of a lie. "So I started stripping. I hated it! The exact thing I didn't want to portray was what I became. " I feel tears. He moves next to me. " Then I found that if I did extra I could pay off schooling easier, bills, whatever I needed. I just couldn't go back and face my father without being successful. Every time I'd strip I would just loathe myself. And then came the propositions." I gulped.

"It's ok," Abel says lovingly, "I won't judge."

"I never did shit with men, only women because I just couldn't stoop that low. What's fucked up is I didn't start to see anything wrong with it, until... Tony. I mean I hated it but it helped me survive. But Tony would come and see me and LISTEN and treat me with respect. He'd always tell me I was too good for this shit.  After a year or so of being friends I fucked around with him. Immediately he changed, became controlling. And when there was "business" to handle I'd get sent in to deal with it.  I became his girlfriend,  business associate and his prostitute. I'd have to do things to get him out of bad deals. He had earned a rep of not following through on promises. And some of the people he promised weren't the kind you just back out of." I took a breath and Abel rubs my arm. I look to those beautiful brown eyes and smile. "After I'd get done doing his "work" he'd beat me and tell me what a whore and embarrassment to my family I was.  He then reminded me he had proof of some of my "work" and kept me under his thumb. Then Kamika found out. She got me out of there so fast. It wasn't until then that I really started getting what was happening in my life. I made so many bad choices. I just couldn't tell my dad. So she took me in and I never looked back. I've been forced to be in some dealings with Tony because of his line of work. Which always keeps us connected. He can't let go. He claims he loved me. " The tears are falling.

"He didn't love you Rachel," Abel's eyes were full of sympathy. "He's a scumbag piece of shit."

"What did you do with him?" I ask again.

"Why do you care?" Abel responds.

"I don't know, but I need to know Abel."

"I didn't do anything, I sent a few friends to see him after we left so he would understand what crew he fucking with."

"Is he dead?" I'm dreading this answer.

"He is to you." Abel wraps his arms around me and I let out more tears.