Like a Virgin

Chapter Eight

Imani's POV
"So did y'all fuck or nah?",Devonie asked.
"No!"I shook my head and waved my toilet scrubber in the air, "There was none of that and there isn't going to be any of that."
"Imani! Here is your chance, you have to take it!"
"I don't have to do anything but clean these damn toilets and go home and sleep."
She shook her head,"So you ain't feelin him? At all?"
"Why does it even matter Dev? The man is just doing me a favor, a BIG favor and I don't wanna ruin it before I end up back on the streets."
"How did you get to work today?",Devonie asked.
"He drove me."
"How are you getting home?"
"He's driving us home since we live together. Why?"
"Nothing",she smirked.
I rolled my eyes,"Just clean these damn toilets so we can go home!"
"Alright, alright. Damn. I'm done, what about you?"
"Yeah, me too."
"Cool.", we put away our toilet scrubbers, took off our rubber gloves, then washed our hands and made our way into the hallway while pushing our cleaning carts.
"I'll see you tomorrow Dev.",I said pushing my cart in the opposite direction.
It's kinda hard to see over the huge cart and as I pushed it further down the hallway I bumped into someone and they yelled,"Watch where the FUCK you pushing this damn cart!"
I walked around the cart to see an angry faced Chris glaring at me. I looked at him apologetically and said,"I'm so sorry Mr.Brown. It was an accident!"
"Sorry? Bitch you're gonna be sorry for that shit you just pulled!"
My shoulders dropped and my head cocked to the side. One thing I don't tolerate is disrespect. From ANYBODY. And DON'T call me out of my name!,"Excuse me?"
"The fuck you still standing here for?",he glared.
"Well for starters you've just disrespected me for no reason. I didn't mean to hit you with my cart and I apologized for it but that's no reason to call me out of my name."
"I don't pay you to be respected."
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Trey walking towards us but I couldn't bite my tongue," I'm a human being, and I demand to be treated as such and tha-"
"Aye! What's going on here?",Trey asked the both of us.
I shrugged my shoulders then crossed my arms.
"This fucking cleaning lady, is over her demanding shit she supposed to earn.",Chris spat.
"I'm pretty sure I've shown you tons of respect as opposed to you who is always talking down on me and getting in my face when I ACCIDENTALLY bumped into you, or I forgot to refill your condom boxes, or-"
"See this shit, how you gon be demanding respect if your ungrateful ass can't respect your own BOSS!"
"You called me a BITCH!"I threw my arms in the air,"That's not my name and I don't take that from anybody."
"Shit." Trey wiped his hand across his face, "It's hella late y'all and we're all under a lot of stress right now. Maybe it's just best if we all go home so we can be ready for work tomorrow. Aight?"
I huffed my breath and pushed my cart into the elevator. I just wanna go home, take a shower, eat, then go to bed. I don't have time for ignorant little boys like Trey's "older brother". Chris acts like such a damn five year old its hard to believe he's the older one. I put my cart in the storage unit on the first floor then I trudged my way over to Trey's car and waited for him to come outside.
When Trey finally emerged from the building I sighed in relief because I was starting to get tired of waiting in this cold ass weather. He unlocked the car and I got in and shut the door behind me. He started driving towards the house and he looked at me and said,"I'm sorry about all those things my brother said to you."
"It's fine",I replied staring out of the window.
"He's really a nice guy once you get to know him."
"I'm sure."
"Your not mad at me are you?"
"Nope."
"Aight."he continued driving. About fifteen minutes later we pulled up to the house just as a car backed out of the driveway and sped off before we had a chance to see who it was. I looked over at Trey and he looked furious.
I slowly walked behind him as he stormed inside the house and yelled,"Megan! Megan where the fuck you at!"
She emerged from the living room and ran her hand through her hair and asked,"Hey baby how was work?"
He ignored her greeting and walked over to her and asked,"Who did you have over here?"
She raised her eyebrows,"Am I not allowed to have anyone over here when you're gone?"
"Megan, if I find out you had some nigga over here th-"
"Oh just stop Trey! Do you really think I'm a hoe or something? That was my friend Jasmine that just left alright?"
Trey's face dropped in embarrassment and I just stood there in amazement. This girl was lying right through her teeth and Trey was dumb enough to believe it. It makes me so mad when good guys end up dating girls with terrible personality traits.
It's really not my business but if she keeps this up I'm going to have to tell Trey. He's just too good of a person to be dealing with this trashy girl. I shrugged my shoulders and walked upstairs to take a shower.

Melanie's POV
I pulled down my long sleeves to cover up my many scars hiding on my arms as I walked down to the hospital kitchen to retrieve the tray of fruits I have to deliver to Ms.King. I grabbed the tray and headed over to her very familiar room and I knocked lightly and waited until I heard her say,"Come in."
"Good morning Margret.",I said with a bright smile. I set her tray down on the table next to her bed and sat down on the edge of her bed.
"Good morning baby, how're you?",she seamed.
I nodded,"Good."
"So when do you guys find out when Dr.Neal is gonna tell you who's going with him to Detroit for the auction?"
"How do you know about that?"
"Child, I know EVERYTHING that goes on around here."
I giggled,"Well I don't know and I'm not so sure that I care too much about it. I doubt I'll get picked for it."
She shrugged,"Well, I guess we're just gonna have to wait and see now won't we?"
"I guess."
"Oh yeah before I forget, I saw the pregnant woman that stole your man Melanie."
"Margret, what man? I'm completely single."
"Dr.Neal. I saw the woman that he's ALWAYS with. She's really pretty."I nodded.
"What's her name?"
She shrugged,"I don't know but ole girl can dress! She is gorgeous, but if you still want Dr.Neal I can hook that up for ya just gimme the word and it's done."
"No, I don't want him."I laughed.
"Well what kind of guys are you interested in anyways?"
"I want someone who is genuine. Someone who is big and strong so they can be protective of me. I just want someone to love me......like the way I know I should be loved."I shrugged "I'm sorry, it's stupid I know."
Ms.King shook her head,"No Melanie, what's stupid is that you don't feel like you even deserve your own happiness."
"Yeah I do."
She shook her head,"You're not happy. I can see it in your eyes and it's written on your wrists."
I looked down at my exposed wrist to where all my scars were and I pulled down my sleeve in embarrassment. "I, I-"
"You don't have to explain anything to me. I just want you to know that even when the going gets tough, there will ALWAYS be somebody out there who loves you. And that person would hate to see you hurting yourself like this, please, Melanie I'm begging you, do NOT do this to yourself. Ever again."
"Yeah right, who in this world is left to love me?"
"Me, I love you. Like my own daughter and it pains to see your hurting inside enough to hurt your self on the outside. No more, please."
I opened my mouth to respond but I was stopped when the door was opened by Dr.Neal. He looked at me and smiled,"Ah Melanie! Just the person I wanted to see. After I put in Ms.King here's injection, I would like to have a word with you in my office."
"Yes sir."I nodded and headed out of the room just as he stuck the needle into Margret's arm.

Dr.Jordan Neal's POV
I took off my gloves and tossed them into the waste bucket by the door. I left the room and headed back over to my office and saw Melanie waiting by the door like I had asked her to do. "Come in, come in."
She looked extremely worried but she had no reason to. I came to her with good news. We walked into my office and sat at my desk and she sat across from me.
"Um, Dr.Neal, am I in any form of trouble?",she questioned.
I chuckled,"No, not at all. So I understand you signed up for the big auction trip in Detroit?"
"Yes."
"Right, and I've been reviewing over your file and I must say, Melanie it's rather impressive. You've never been late, in fact you sometimes show up an hour early just to communicate with some of the patients. Speaking of patients, I had them each tell me what they thought of you and I got nothing but positive results. So in conclusion, I just wanted to congratulate you because you have been selected to join me on the trip."
Her mouth hung open and she was unable to speak. I let out a small chuckle and said,"You will be receiving a very prestigious award and a hefty bonus on your next paycheck."
"I-I don't know what to say. I've never won anything in my life before. Thank you SO much Dr.Neal.",she finally said.
I shrugged,"Don't thank me, you're the one whose been working hard and I'm glad you were able to recognized for that. Once again, congratulations Ms.Blake and because the trip is next week, this envelope is full of everything you need including your plane ticket. I would love to continue our discussion but I have to be somewhere."I said standing up from my desk.
I have to meet Candace in an hour to take her out. She and I have become really close friends lately and I don't wanna disappoint her. Besides, I haven't had this much fun with anyone in ages. It's nice to finally be with a friend who actually makes life a whole lot more interesting.