“Aht, I’m not ready to be face to face with you just yet. I wanna kick ya ass to be truthful.”
“Aye, mama, I know, and you have every right to feel that way. I want to kick my own ass for betraying you like that. I was hoping that you would be available today when you get off of work. I really need you right now,” Shane cried. “I wanted to know if you could come over and pick me up. I’ve been here sick to my stomach. Ion know what’s going on with me, but I feel awful, and I really need you right now. I went to the doctor last week and had to get some tests ran. I truly believe I might have some kind of cancer or something. My doctor called me back today. My results are in, and they won’t give them to me over the phone which has me stressing like hell. I have to go into the office for my results, and I really don’t want to go alone.”
“Are you fucking serious right now? I’m sorry you’re going through whatever it is you’re going through, but you have a lot of fucking nerve. You betrayed our friendship and now you have the gall to ask me for a fucking favor? Go to hell, Shane, real talk!”
“Please, Ava, I need you! I really think something is seriously wrong with me. I know that I fucked up and you probably hatemy guts right now, but I truly feel that this is a matter of life and death. I don’t have anyone else to call! You’re my only friend!”
“We aren’t friends anymore. Let’s be clear on that!” I scoffed.
“I don’t have anyone else?—”
“Why don’t you call Justin?” I interrupted. “You guys seemed pretty close last time I saw y’all!”
“Okay, I deserve that. Please, could you please find it in your heart to come with me?”
“I don’t know, Shane. I’m really not feeling you or what you have going on right now.”
“I know, and I totally understand. But please, I know your heart and you have a heart of gold. Please, please, please just come with me this one time, and I promise you won’t ever have to talk to me again after this,” Shane continued to plead.
“I’m still sitting here trying to figure out why the fuck you callin’ me with this shit. We’re not friends anymore. What’s going on with you is no longer a concern of mine.”
“Ava, please,” Shane cried. “I really think it might be cancer. I have been sick and in excruciating pain. Something is terribly wrong with my body… I just know it,” Shane boohooed. “You know how cancer runs in my family on both sides. I’m terrified, Ava, please! I can barely walk! I’m in so much pain!”
In all the years that Shane and I had been friends, not once had I ever heard him cry about anything like he was doing today. He was right, cancer did run on both sides of his family. Over the years, he had lost quite a few of his family members from cancer, so I could see why he was so concerned. As much as I wanted to tell his ass to go play in traffic during rush hour, I couldn’t. Plus, if nothing else, I wanted to hear him out. I needed to know why he betrayed our friendship like he did when I had done nothing but be the best friend I could with him.
“Ugh! What time is your appointment? Because I have an important appointment scheduled for today that I cannot and will not miss for anything or anyone.”
“My doctor’s office is open late today, but the earliest they could get me in is at five-thirty.”
“My appointment is at three. If I’m done by then, I’ll come pick you up.”
“Ahhhhh!” Shane screamed out. “Thank you so much. Thank you, thank you.”
“Don’t go getting yourself too excited ‘cause if my appointment runs late, you gon’ be shit out of luck.”
“Okay, okay. I would really appreciate it if you come. If you can’t, I understand. I’ll just have to take an Uber or Lyft.”
“Yeah, whatever.”
Just as I was hanging up with Shane, not giving him a chance to keep begging me, Kevin walked into my office.
SHANE
When Ava and Dawn showed up to my house and caught Justin over here, I could’ve died right there on the spot. Not only was I embarrassed, but I felt terrible. I knew I shouldn’t have been fucking around with Justin, but I wasn’t thinking with the right head when we first started. To be honest, I was so caught up in the physical moment and taken aback that Justin was even interested in me that it just happened.
Just like Ava would come to me and vent about the things that would go on in their relationship, Justin had started doing the same thing. One of things that I was most surprised by was the fact that when he and Ava would have sex, he wouldn’t be completely satisfied. His whole undercover, down low sex life really was a shock to me because I always looked at him as a full heterosexual man. Even when Ava would boast about their sexual escapades, she never once told me that he complained about not being satisfied. This had all become too much for me, and before I knew it, I was so caught up in such a tangled web that I had no clue how to get out of it. Actually, I wasn’t even looking to get out of it any time soon, and that was the sad part about it all.
Justin tried to put all the blame on me when we got caught, but the truth of the matter was we were both wrong. We had no business sneaking around like we were, but when I thought about it, I really felt that I was a much better match for Justin than Ava was anyway. I also believed that Justin felt the same way, but he was too busy trying to be on the DL to see that. It was just an overall messed up situation for us all, and I truly regretted my actions.
Ever since the day we got caught, Justin and I hadn’t seen each other in a minute. I had started to not feel good and it came on all of a sudden. I went from feeling bad to horrible. At first, I thought I was just overly stressed out and coming down with a cold. Then I thought that maybe my allergies were getting the best of me. But then my body started to ache. I was feeling tired as hell all the time too, and it seemed like every time I would eat, I was racing to the bathroom to take a shit. As I started to feel worse, it began to interfere with me being able to be as productive as I would usually be at work. I was always feeling nauseous and different smells would make me feel sick to the stomach.
I remember when my mom and uncle had cancer and how they would have similar symptoms that I was feeling. My mom died from brain cancer and my uncle died from stomach cancer. His stomach cancer symptoms really had me feeling spooked, which was why I buckled down and made an appointment with my doctor. I was petrified wondering,why me, Lord,but at the same time thinking this was my karma coming to bite me in the ass for fucking around with not just Ava’s husband, but all of those other married men. It seemed like every man I was with was either already in a relationship, on the DL, or married on the DL. When they said that karma was a bitch, they ain’t never lied.
I knew Ava was feeling like I was being very selfish by calling her and asking her to come along with me to the doctor, andI guess in a way and considering the circumstances, I was. But I didn’t have anyone else in my life that was close to me like she was that I trusted to come with me. I felt that if my test results showed that I had cancer, I was going to lose my shit, and because of that, I didn’t want to go alone. Also, I was in so much pain and the pain medication and antibiotics that my doctor prescribed to me weren’t working. He couldn’t really give me anything more than what he gave me because I didn’t have a full diagnosis just yet.
For Ava to agree to go with me if she finished with her appointment on time was a true blessing and testament to the fact that she had a heart of gold. Which in turn really had me feeling very fucked up for sleeping around with Justin, but I couldn’t change or undo what was already done.
As I waited with baited bells on for Ava to pick me up, I prayed that once we talked, we would be able to salvage some of the friendship that we once had. I just hoped she didn’t bring her sister along for the ride ‘cause me and that wench were on the outs. She didn’t know it yet, but as soon as I figured out what was going on with me and got to feeling better, Dawn had an ass whoopin’ coming to her, on life.
