Chapter 4 (Tori)
“I gotta go baby,” Micheal said after he ate his food. “Awww…” Beyonce whined. Ugh, I really couldn’t believe this prissy bitch was sitting here pouting like a little ass girl. I felt like throwing watching them kiss and feed each other like newlyweds, I was happy he was leaving. Beyonce was an undercover hoe, but I was the only one who seemed to notice. She had Jay wrapped around her finger and it looked like Micheal was about to be the same way. I knew she never told Micheal that Jay and I were first cousins so I did it for her. They couldn’t see that gold digger for what she really was. It pissed me off to see her sitting here dressed to kill like she had a nine to five, knowing she never worked a day in her life. They didn’t say, but I knew he was probably the one who bought her that car. Beyonce was the type of woman who was used to having everything handed to her. She never had to experience working to get what she wanted. I always had a job and sometimes two ever since I was sixteen years old and still couldn't manage to get out of the hole that I always seemed to be in. My aunties always told me that a man would forever be my downfall just like my mama. My mama died of a drug overdose when I was five years old, I didn't remember too much about her. The man that she was living with started her on heroin and she became hooked instantly. When he got locked up, she started prostituting to get money for her drugs. She never had time for me so I was always raised around my father’s family. When he got killed a year later, my uncle Shawn and the rest of my family took me in and made sure I was straight. It seemed like no matter what they did for me, I still wasn't happy. Something was missing from my life, but I didn't know what it was. I wasn’t happy and I hated to see when people around me were. Kelly was living a lie too. She had a million skeletons in her closet that had yet to be exposed. I knew Kelly long before I met Beyonce, but when she came along, Kelly forgot all about me and our friendship. "Girl I didn't know y'all were that serious," I said to Beyonce once Micheal left. "Yes, we are," she said with a huge smile on her face. I couldn't wait to slap that shit right off. "Girl Jay is going to lose his mind, you know how he feels about you," I said. Her smile faded instantly and was replaced with a look that I couldn’t figure out. “Girl fuck Jay!” She said, sounding pissed, “He got a wife and kids he should be worrying about, not me.” I was like a tape recorder, memorizing everything she said. My break was over 15 minutes ago, but I didn’t want to miss anything. "It was already over for me and Jay. I just didn't get a chance to tell him." She said, standing up. "Girl you have to do whatever makes you happy," I told her. "I already know and that’s exactly what I’m doing.” She grabbed her purse from the table and headed for the door with me close behind her. “I have class in a little while, so I’m out of here," she said. "Well, hopefully, I'll talk to you later,” I replied. We walked out together and went our separate ways. I needed to get in contact with Ty to see what was going on with Jay. I couldn't wait until he came home. I knew I could count on him to help me end this between Beyonce and Micheal. He loved Beyonce to no end and would do anything to be with her, so I would use that to my advantage. I still wanted Micheal and I planned to get him one way or another. I didn’t care that I had a man. Bentley was still locked up so he couldn’t do anything for me. He ended up having to do six months since I couldn't come up with the bail money he needed. I had somebody else occupying my time right now so I didn't care when he got out. I was really feeling my new boo, but I would drop him in a heartbeat to be with Micheal. Besides, he wasn't ready for anyone to know about us just yet and I blamed Beyonce for that too.
*****
It was about 10:30 when I pulled up to my apartment. I stripped down out of my uniform and left a trail of clothes behind me as I headed upstairs to take a nice long bath. I had worked a double today, from six in the morning until ten at night. Needless to say I was tired as hell. I ran me a steaming hot bath and added mint scented Epsom salt to soothe my aching bones. I grabbed a night shirt and prepared to soak for a while. As soon as I sat down in the tub my phone started ringing. As usual, Bentley always called at the wrong time. It was a good thing I had the phone in the bathroom with me or he would have gotten the voice mail. I was tempted to ignore his call, but I knew he would call all night until he reached me. “Hey baby,” I answered, trying to sound excited even though I wasn’t. “Don’t fucking ‘hey baby’ me!” He yelled, “What happened to the money that you were supposed to put in my account?” After working sixteen hours straight, this was the last thing I needed. He acted like my world revolved around his ass. “Bentley I worked sixteen hours today. I didn’t have time to do it. I’m off tomorrow so I’ll make sure it gets done then if that’s alright with you?” I said with an attitude. “Bitch you always trying to get smart. I keep telling you I’m not in here for life. That’s the least you can do since you left me in here for six months,” he said making me feel guilty. “I’m not trying to get smart. I just didn’t have time to do it today,” I said humbly. I needed Bentley for several reasons and I wasn’t trying to make matters worse with him. The low income apartments that we lived in were very nice, but it was all his. My name was nowhere on the lease. Without him, I wouldn’t even have a place to live. Living with one of my aunts or uncles was out of the question. I would rather stay here and take an occasional ass whooping from Bentley before I asked them for help. They belittled me enough when I was a little girl. “Your punk ass cousin got transferred up here a few days ago,” Bentley said changing the subject out of the blue. That was music to my ears. Ty told me that Jay was waiting to be transferred, but he didn’t know when it would happen. The department of corrections was slow as hell about things like that. “Did y’all say anything to each other?” I asked. It was a stupid question, but I was curious. “Fuck outta here with that bullshit!” He yelled. “Me and that nigga ain’t got shit to say to each other.” This nigga was a hot ass mess. He slept with Jay's wife, but he had the nerve to be pissed with him. Usually I would let Bentley's comments slide, but I had to speak up this time. “You act like he did something to you, you the one slept with his wife,” I said. I knew he was about to blow up so I braced myself for it. “This ain’t got shit to do with that hood rat bitch he married. That nigga used to walk around like he was God or something. He was eating damn good while he fed everybody else crumbs. Fuck that nigga and anybody that rock with his fake ass!” He yelled. So that was it, he was jealous of Jay. I always knew he was, but he just confirmed it for me. He was a hater. “You were getting money too, so I don’t see what the problem is,” I replied. I was pushing it, but I didn’t care. No matter how he felt about it, Jay was still my family. “Man, I wasn’t seeing half of what that nigga was seeing and why the fuck you acting like you this nigga’s cheerleader or something? Whose side are you really on?” He asked. “Don’t get mad with me, I’m always on your side. I’m just stating the facts,” I said in my own defense. “Fuck you Tori. I see where your loyalty at and it’s not with me. Just make sure you put that money on my books tomorrow and make sure you come up her next week for visits,” He said before hanging up. I was so tired of Bentley disrespecting me, but that was my own fault. When it started, I should have stopped it. It was too far gone for me to do anything about it now. I needed to really get myself together and try to get a place of my own because Bentley always held that over my head. He would threaten to put me out every time things didn’t go his way. I knew that would never happen because I paid all the bills in the house. Even though the rent was cheap, I still paid it along with the lights, cable, cell phone and car insurance bills. I was stupid enough to sign for a truck for Bentley and ended up getting stuck with another car note when he stopped paying the bill. It was three months behind, so it was only a matter of time before they came and picked it up. I knew he was going to have a fit when that happened. When he parted ways with Jay, it was over for him in more ways than one. I added some more hot water to my bath and leaned my head back on my bath pillow. I dialed my boo’s number and put the call on speakerphone. “Yeah,” he answered dryly. “What’s wrong with you?” I asked once I heard how he sounded. “I’m good. What’s up?” He asked. He didn’t sound like he wanted to be bothered, but I wanted some company. “Are you coming to see me tonight?” I asked in my best sexy voice. “I’ll pass, I’m in for the night,” he said, crushing my hopes of getting some. “Well, damn. You didn’t have to say it like that!” I snapped. “There you go. You always bitching,” he said, sounding annoyed. “I don’t care. I’m getting tired of this one sided ass relationship we have,” he breathed heavily into the phone before he spoke. “Look, you knew what it was when we started, but if you tired, feel free to walk away.” I was just about to respond when I realized he had already hung up. This secret lovers shit was for the birds. It wasn’t that serious, but he was right, I could walk away at any time. I just didn’t know if I could.
