Snapped (Urban Renaissance) (23 page)

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Authors: Tina Brooks McKinney

BOOK: Snapped (Urban Renaissance)
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CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
 
MERLIN MILLS
 
“Son of a bitch.” The coffee cup that I had been holding in my hands shattered all over the floor. It wasn’t like me to lose control at work, but I felt like I had been pushed over the very edge of the earth. “How dare the fucker follow my wife.”
“Specialist Mills, are you all right?” my job supervisor asked.
“No, I’m not all right. I need to take a personal day starting right now.”
“Report to the captain. I’m sure it can be arranged.”
I had no doubt my request would be granted after the last Army soldier went ballistic and shot up half his camp, but I didn’t want to go out on a bad note. I went to find the captain. I had found her to be completely human the last time I had to speak with her.
“Captain, I have a family emergency and I have to leave.”
“At ease. Shut the door.”
I turned and closed the door behind me. I didn’t want to take the time to explain the situation, but I also didn’t want to fuck myself in my haste to get off the base.
Captain Jamison looked at me with genuine concern. “What’s going on, Specialist?
I did some soul searching before I was ready to admit to the circumstances of this new emergency. “Captain, you’ve been more than just an officer with me. You have shown me true compassion since I’ve been on base and I appreciate it. However, my brother is trying to make a move on my wife, and I can’t let that happen. I thought he had moved on, but I found out a few minutes ago that he hasn’t. I need to handle this situation.” I could not bring myself to tell her that there was a good chance that the child my wife carried might not be mine.
“Go handle your business. If you can’t make it tomorrow, call me.” She reached across her desk and gave me her personal card with her cell and house phone numbers on it.
“Thank you, Captain. You don’t know how much this means to me.”
“Yes, I do.”
Our eyes locked for a second. She had told me her story, and I believed that she understood what I was going through.
 
 
I rushed off the base, intent upon setting Gavin in his place once and for all. He must have really lost his mind if he thought for one minute that I was going to allow him to come into our life and ruin our marriage.
I didn’t give a flying fuck if it was his child. He was going to leave my wife alone. I was so angry I almost ran my car into a truck in front of me that stopped suddenly. I stomped on the brake, causing myself to push up against the steering wheel.
I drove over to my mother’s house so that I could talk to my brother. I really didn’t want to see him, but he wouldn’t answer the cell phone I had given him. When I pulled up to my mother’s apartment complex, I didn’t see his car or my mother’s. I was so far removed from her life, I had no idea what shift she was working.
I sat in the car for several more minutes, hoping that one of them would show up, but it was to no avail. As a last-ditch effort, I wrote a note to my mother.
Mother, I am trying to get in touch with Gavin. When he comes back, can you please have him give me a call on my cell? Better yet, if he shows up, could you please call me and I’ll come back over. What I have to say to him, I need to say it to his face and not onthe phone.
Thanks for your help.
Merlin.
 
I wasn’t happy about this unexpected delay, but it was what it was. I would just have to wait and deal with my wayward brother later. Of course, this could have been a blessing in disguise because I really didn’t know how I would have reacted if I saw Gavin at this exact moment.
With no other options, I drove home to comfort my wife.
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
 
GINA MEADOWS
 
I packed as many boxes and bags that I could fit into my car. It was so loaded, I could barely see out the windows. For the first time, I wished that Gavin were here so that he could help me and I wouldn’t have to make so many trips.
“Shit, I should have rented a U-Haul truck.” As soon as the words left my mouth, I realized just how stupid it would have been because I had no idea how to drive a truck.
All right, Lord, I’m just going to do this the best way I know how
. I looked around for my purse. Once I found it, I locked the house up and took the long drive to Alpharetta. I started getting excited the farther I got away from the city. I was looking forward to the peace and quiet of the new neighborhood.
When I arrived at the gated community, the guard waved me in. He had gotten used to seeing me during the construction phase of our home.
He leaned out of the booth to speak with me. “Good afternoon, the door is open because some delivery men have already arrived with the furniture.”
“Thanks, I’m just going to drop off some of my things and be out.”
“No problem.”
I was absolutely giddy when I pulled up in front of our new home. Leaving my purse in the car, I carried two boxes to the stoop before I tried the door. I walked into the foyer and marveled at how nicely the furniture that I picked out went with our living room.
I bent over and pushed my boxes over to the corner. As I was standing up, a lady walked out of the kitchen. She appeared to be in her late twenties/early thirties. She smiled at me in a greeting manner, and I returned the smile.
“I’m just dropping off a few boxes,” I said as I headed to the door.
She didn’ t say anything, and it didn’t dawn on me to ask who she was. I went back to the car and grabbed a few more boxes. I was getting tired and sure would have liked to have had some help with all this lifting and shit. I practically dumped my next box of household items all over the white carpeting.
“What company are you with?” she asked, still standing in the doorway of the kitchen.
I started to tell her that it was none of her business, but I decided to be nice. “I’m not with any company. I live here,” I proudly announced.
“Excuse me?” Her eyebrows rose significantly as she placed her hands on her hips.
If I weren’t so tired, I might have noticed her defensive posture. “My husband and I are moving in over the next few weeks.” I knew I didn’t have to explain myself, but my exhaustion got my tongue to wagging. Plus, I was proud of our new accomplishment.
“What’s your husband’s name?” Her tone was even and held no hint of attitude.
“Ronald.” I turned around to go get some more boxes.
“That’ s interesting.
I didn’t know who this nosey bitch was, but she was starting to get on my nerves. “How so?”
“Because this is my house and my husband just so happens to be named Ronald too.”
It felt like the floor just rushed up and smacked me in the face. Before I knew it, I was face down on the carpet. I looked around to see who had pushed me, but there was no one else there but the lady, and she hadn’t moved. “There has to be a misunderstanding,” I stuttered. Surely Ronald did not play me like this. He wouldn’t be that heartless.
“Oh, yeah, there is some misunderstanding. I think you made it.”
I pushed myself off the rug trying to figure out what was really going on. I wasn’t upset because I knew there had to be a mistake. “How long have you been married?” I asked in a whisper.
The woman practically glowed at the mention of her marriage. “Three months.”
I staggered back. I needed to get out of that house before I did something that landed my ass in jail. I stumbled toward the door.
“What are you going to do about these boxes?” She was pretty calm given that I had just barged into her house claiming ownership.
“Keep them.” There was no way I was going back into that house after learning that Ronald had duped me again. It was inconceivable that he would treat me this way. As I drove away, I was numb and was operating the car on autopilot. I was so void of feeling I couldn’t even cry.
“This is crazy. I mean, really crazy.” But I could not deny any longer what was placed right in my face. Ronald gave me his ass to kiss with a big-ass bow on it. I tried to remember every conversation that we’d had over the last few months, and he never gave me any indication that I wouldn’t be moving into the house with him. In fact, he kept saying we would be a happy family.
How the hell were we going to be a happy family when he had some other heifer living with him? Hell, he even married her and that was something that he never did for me. I was having a hard time processing this information. It was all so bizarre.
Why would he let me pick out the furnishing to a house I wouldn’t even be invited to? I was ready to call him and cuss his ass out, but I needed to pull myself together first. Over the years Ronald had done his dirt, but he’d never just thrown it in my face like he did today. I dealt with the cheating, the long-distance relationship, and the money he hoarded, but when it was all said and done, I felt confident that he loved me on some level. It hurt me more than anything to know that he married this woman after stringing me along for damn near twenty years.
Hell, as far as I was concerned, I was his wife. I thought he felt the same way. I was trying to get up the energy to go into the house, but I just didn’t have the strength. I looked at all the boxes lining my car and felt like screaming.
“This is some
Jerry Springer
bullshit.” I looked toward my door and saw a note attached to it. It had to be from Ronald. He’s was going to tell me it was a sick joke and that we were all right. Suddenly energized, I quickly undid my seatbelt and rushed to the front door to get the note. My blood was rushing through my veins. I thought my heart was going to leap right out of my chest. I snatched the note from the door and read the opening line, hoping for the best.
It read:
Mother, I am trying to get in touch with Gavin–
I crumbled the note without reading anything further. I used my key to open the door before I started crying on my front stoop. My hand was trembling so badly, I could barely get the key in the lock. I leaned against the door to keep from falling. When the lock finally unlatched, I fell into the house and landed on the floor. I kicked the door shut.
“I’m going to lay here until I feel better.” The tears came, and I was happy that I had been able to hold them back until I was alone.
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
 
GAVIN MILLS
 
Damn, things hadn’t gone anything like the way I’d planned. I was back in my car, speeding to my apartment to regroup. I could not believe I had underestimated the effect I would have on Cojo when I showed up at her doctor’s appointment.
Shit, I thought she would’ve been happy to see me, especially since her own husband hadn’t taken the time to come himself. Women are such a fickle group. Half the time you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. I should have been getting some rest for my shift tonight. Instead, I took my precious time to let Cojo know I was there for her and our baby, but she acted like I had stepped in shit and tracked it all over her carpet.
I slipped into my room as quickly as I could. I didn’t want to get too close to my neighbors. The less they saw of me, the better. It was not my plan to live in this dingy one-bedroom apartment for long. As soon as I could get Cojo to see I was the better man, I planned to move in with her. She needed a real man, and I was more than enough for the job.
Hell, I was even wearing the lucky Polo shirt that I’d taken from Merlin’s closet, and she didn’t even notice. I said it was my lucky shirt because every time I wore it, the women and shims just threw panties at me. I could not understand why Cojo resisted her inner instincts.
“She’s gonna mess around and lose me if she doesn’t change her attitude.” I was talking shit and I knew it, but it made me feel better to say it out loud. I knew it was going to take some convincing to get Cojo over to my side of the bed, but I really was willing to put in the work because I recognized her for the jewel she was. I just had to convince her I was the better man, which wouldn’t be hard to do since Merlin has always stood in my shadows.
My room was a mess. I hadn’t fully unpacked, and I hadn’t bothered to do any cleaning since the day I moved in. I had dirty dishes in the sink and clothes strewn all over the floors. Even as a child, housework was never my thing. But if I ever hoped to bring someone back to my place, I knew that I needed to clean up.
I scooped up all the dirty clothes from the floor and hid them in the tub. I didn’t have a washer so after I had worn my last piece of clean clothing, I would go over to my mother’s house while she was at work and wash. There was no way that I was going to pay seventy-five cents a load to wash and dry my clothes when I could use her utilities for free.
I took off the clothes I was wearing, threw them into the tub, and took a shower. I had just enough time to catch a couple hours of sleep before I had to go to work.

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