For better or worse

Tying up loose ends

"Honey, what happened?"

"It was malc....." She swallows the rest of his name as she gets up to run to the bedroom bathroom. "He wants a divorce "

"What? Wow"

"I thought he would never leave me" sobbed Vanessa.

"Me neither. But why do you care? You were just in bed his friend"

"What does that say about you as a friend, James?"

"Look, I ain't shit and I also wasn't the one who was begging me to come over now was I?" James said getting out of her bed and putting on his underwear. "At least now you can be with a real man," he said while walking towards the bathroom.

"James, what are you talking about?" Vanessa said cleaning her face in the mirror.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. I think you should tell him about us"

"There is no us. This is just something that I needed at the moment. That's it." Vanessa said as she finished wiping her tears from her face.

"Yeah, that's why you call me and tell me you need me. Either you tell him or I will. If y'all already divorcing, you might as well be as honest as possible, and besides" He walked behind her, grabbed her by the waist and held her close "if he can't understand what he has, he should lose it. " James whispered in her ear.

Vanessa shuddered as she heard his voice. Her eyes closed as she rested her head on his chest. Then frantically snapped back to reality. "we not di...di.... Separating."

"ok if you say so but I'm tired of playing side nigga and sneaking around. You got to make a choice." James said as he walked out the door.

Once again Vanessa was alone. While the sex with James not the same as the sex was with Malcolm, James filled a void in her. His bluntness, his nonchalant attitude, his firmness. He was what she considered a real man. With him gone, however, She felt the fear setting in, slowly creeping down her spine. So she called someone she knows would answer the phone no matter what.

"is something wrong, Mom?"

"No, why you say that?" Vanessa said worrying that he told the girls beforehand.

"Daddy called me just to tell me he loved me"

"Really? Well, no honey nothing is wrong. I guess he just wanted to say he loves you, but he wasn't at work?"

"No. He said he was at the gym" Nat chuckled

"THE GYM???"

"I know right. That shocked me too."

Now Vanessa knew something was up. She opened the car finder app to see the location of their car.

"Yeah and he must be working hard too because he was out of breath," Nat added

"Oh really? Did you hear anything else?"

"Not really it wasn't that long of a call."

"Oh ok well I don't want to stop your vacation go ahead have fun with auntie. Imma call you back sweetie"

"ok I love you, mommy"

"I love you too"

She hangs up. "It was no point of telling Nat if he didn't." Vanessa thought while she put on her grey tracksuit.

Too many thoughts ran through her mind. "Where was he? Why would he say he at the gym when the car looks to be somewhere else? Why does he want to leave me?"