They turned their backs and went into their houses. Trent dragged Nicole into her house by her ponytail.
“Yeah, bitch. I don’t see you talking that shit now,” Trent said as he backhanded her.
Nicole’s eyes bucked as she cried, “Baby, what’s the matter? I’m sure we can work it out.”
“Fuck working it out,” Trent said as he slapped Nicole again.
Nicole tried fighting back, but it only made matters worse. Trent dopefiend her, blackening her eye. It closed up at once.
“Bitch, this is what you want, right? You just can’t accept your position as my sidepiece, huh? You keep playing like you’re wifey. Know your fucking place.”
Trent was fuming. He was so mad that spit came out of his mouth as he said, “Bitch, you’re lucky I have some compassion for your ass, or I would’ve beat you like a nigga in the street.”
Nicole was baffled. Tears poured out of her eyes, mixing in with her snot. She knew she had fucked up big time, but she didn’t think Trent would go to the extreme of beating her ass. Nicole had an agenda and that was to make Trent hers. She was tired of playing the sideline. She felt she deserved to be Trent’s main girl, and that was what she had been trying to do. Trent looked at Nicole with fire in his eyes as she scurried on the floor, trying to get away from him.
“So, you gonna keep playing these games?”
Trent moved closer to Nicole and stood over her.
“No, baby, no more. Baby, I promise,” Nicole said while looking at the floor.
Trent picked Nicole up by her ponytail.
“Stand up,” Trent ordered. “Daddy don’t like to put his hands on you; just stay in your fucking place! You doing stupid shit like this is not gonna make me leave my girl. If the position you signed up for is too much for you to bear, then leave it alone,” Trent said cold heartedly. After he finished speaking, he dropped Nicole to the ground and threw his ticket at her and said, “Make sure you pay it when it’s due.”
As Trent left out the house, he was sure that he had gotten his point across. He knew he had one hell of a dilemma that he had to face, but, until that day came, he was going to keep doing him.
Back at home, Kendra was so high. She didn’t know if it was the weed or the alcohol that had her feeling the way she was felt, but she loved it. She was dancing her ass off in the living room like she was auditioning to be in a video. When she was finally exhausted, she flopped down on the couch and grabbed her cell phone. She had twelve missed calls and eleven messages. Kendra checked her messages and erased all but one. She kept playing this one message over and over again. Kendra was still shocked. She listened to the message very closely, making sure she’d heard it correctly.
“Hello, Ken. How are you? Fine, I hope. This is Wiz, and, if you’re wondering how I got your number, I’m a man who gets what he wants. I’m very persistent.”
Kendra smiled and thought about how she’d met him. She wanted to call him back right away, but two things came to mind: first, she was still in a relationship with Trent, and, although they had their differences, she couldn’t come to terms with calling another man, and, secondly, she wasn’t that thirsty. Kendra laid out on the couch and turned on the TV with the volume down. She thought it would be a good time to finally let Trent know exactly how she was feeling. She was tired of being on an emotional rollercoaster because it wasn’t a fun ride.
Chapter 4
Nicole continued to lie in the spot where Trent had left her. She was so distraught and all cried out. She just knew that, by doing everything Trent had asked of her and more, she would be his number one girl. A knock at the door startled Nicole.
“It’s open! Damn it,” Nicole yelled while holding her side.
“Oh, my gosh, Nikki! What happened?” Treniyah asked as she walked through the door and spotted her friend lying on the floor. Treniyah had missed Trent by five minutes.
“Some stupid bitches from the J’s jumped me,” Nicole said, referring to the Jungles, a small division of apartments in L.A. that you dared not get caught up in.
Nicole couldn’t tell her best friend that she was sleeping with and selling drugs for her best friends brother, so she had to make up a lie. She didn’t want her friend to get the wrong idea about her.
“Where them bitches at?” Treniyah asked, pumped and amped. “We can ride on them. Just say the word.” Treniyah paced back and forth. She was in fight mode, ready and down for whatever.
“It’s okay. Just let it go, okay? I’m too weak to even move. All I want is to lay down. My body hurts.”
Treniyah helped her friend back to her room, helped her out of her clothing, and laid her gently on her bed. Treniyah tidied up her friend’s room.Mostly, she picked up the clothes that were on the floor. She picked up Trent’s ticket, scanned it, and laid it on the nightstand. Then, Treniyah laid on the bed with her friend, held her tight, and cried softly with her.
Trent still hadn’t heard from Kendra because she refused to answer his calls. It had been a total of three days, and he was more than positive that Kendra had calmed down. Besides, he was ready to sleep in his bed with his woman. When Trent opened the front door, he didn’t expect to see what he saw. The house was a mess. Dishes hadn’t been washed; food was on the kitchen floor and counter, and clothes were everywhere.
“Oh, hell nah!” Trent said as he looked at the weed box and saw that it was empty. “I know like hell no nigga was in here smoking my shit!” Trent let his anger get the best of him. He knocked over the dining room table, startling Kendra out of a deep sleep.
“What the fuck?” Kendra said as she jumped up out the bed and ran downstairs to meet Trent’s stare. “Oh! It’s only you,” Kendra said, rolling her eyes as she got up and walked to the bathroom. Trent walked in behind her, and she yelled, “Damn! Can a bitch pee in private?”
She tried to slam the door, but Trent caught the door with his foot.
“Ken, look. We need to talk. Come out when you’re done,” Trent said.
“I’m not really interested in what you have to say, Trent,” Kendra said while flushing the toilet and rolling her eyes.
“Ken, I don’t feel like the headache now. I came home so we can work things out,” Trent said, growing angrier by the second.
Kendra could see the seriousness in his eyes, so she eased up just a bit. “Okay, Trent. Go ahead and talk,” Kendra said calmly.
They both took a seat on the couch. “First off, look at this house, Ken. We’ve had way more arguments that were bigger than this. C’mon, ma. Step it up. Get yourself together. This is not even you. Tell me what’s going on, baby. Your man is listening.”
Trent caressed Kendra’s face. Tears escaped from her eyes. Trent caught them with his lips. It had been three long days since they had been wrapped up in each other’s arms. Trent embraced Kendra with a warm hug.
“You ready to tell me what’s been going on?” Trent asked.
Kendra took a long breath and gathered her thoughts before she spoke.
“Trent, you know I love you more than words. So much has been going on. I really don’t know where to begin. It didn’t just start with the phone issue. Our relationship has been up and down for the past two months now. I’ve tried to take your hustling and being on the block into consideration, but here I am. I work, go to school, and still come home to please my man,” Kendra said, trying to fight back the tears.
“C’mon, mama. I love you. You are my world and nothing can change the way I feel. I won’t let my work come between us. I promise you, babe,” Trent reassured Kendra.
Trent looked at Kendra. There was so much hurt in her eyes. He thought he was being the man by not giving a fuck about anyone else’s feelings. He thought he had the best of both worlds and couldn’t no one stop him, but only now did he realize that he was hurting the one woman who had stuck by his side.