“I know hunny. Now, I need you to ride to mommy’s job with her.” After groaning, she allowed me to put her shoes on. Ipacked a bag of stuff she liked to have, and we were out the door. Grabbing my phone, I called Tyla.
“Hey, are you okay?”
“No, but I will be. Can you call the station and tell them I need a breaking news slot.”
“What are you going to say?”
“Can you please just do that for me? I’m on the way there now. Meet me in my office.”
“Okay.” Hanging up, I mentally prepared myself for what I was about to do. I was done playing his game. He would no longer have a contract over me because I was about to break it. No more crying in silence, settling for a man who didn’t love me, or being scared to start over. Sometimes you have to lose, to win again. I was taking my life back and Garrett would no longer have power over me.
This time when my tears fell, I let them. They weren’t from hurt, but from the strength I felt knowing how I was about to relieve myself from this burden. I had convinced myself that I was sacrificing for a better life. Wasn’t shit better about this. By the time I had pulled up to the station, I was ready and there were no more tears. When I got out, I saw Garrett’s car was still in the garage, but I didn’t care. Nothing would stop me from doing what I had to do. Grabbing Mila, I headed inside and walked her to my office.
“I need you to sit with her for me.”
“Of course.” I could tell Tyla was nervous about what I was about to do, but I wasn’t. I felt empowered as I walked towards the set.
“Make up is ready for you,” Jerry stated, but I didn’t need any of that today. I was in jogging pants, a t-shirt, and my hair was pulled into a ponytail. I wasn’t speaking for the cameras, today was about allowing the world to finally see me.
“I don’t need it. Just mic me and I’m ready.” He did as I asked, and I walked to my seat.” I waited for my cue and then I began.
“These past couple of days, you have heard a lot of things. I’m here to clear everything up, so there are no misunderstandings. From the outside looking in, my life is perfect. Me and Garrett have the perfect marriage, and I have a successful show. I’m here to tell you all of that is a façade. When I graduated college, I came home and found out I was pregnant. I was broke, lost, and had no idea what direction I was going to take in my life.
I started working for Garrett as an intern, and he built me into the powerhouse you see today. However, that came with a cost. He didn’t want anyone else to get the cash cow he created, so he married me and made me sign a contract. He could basically sleep with who he wanted to while I had to smile and make him look good to the world. If I did anything to mess that up or tell anyone including Mila’s real father the truth, he would take it all from me. My name, my job, and my life.
So, a scared, unsure, and insecure little girl signed it. Everything was going good until I ran back into Devin Mercer. Mila’s biological dad. He was unaware of my pregnancy or that I had a child. We become sexually involved, but I was too scared to tell him the truth. The day that he was arrested, he came to my house to check on me and found out about Mila. He was blind sighted and reacted out of hurt and pain. The narrative being pushed in the media about him stalking me because of my segments was put out there by Garrett.
I know you all are wondering what does this have to do with sports? Why is she telling us all of this?’ It’s simple. I’m tired of hiding. I’m tired of living in a fake marriage, and I’m tired of hurting other people around us. Those comments you heard from Garrett by mistake, that’s who he really is. I’mchoosing to show you the real me. Thank you for allowing me the space to do it. I-…” Out of nowhere, there was screaming, and Garratt came flying on the set. It all happened so fast; I couldn’t stop him from attacking me. Once I regained my composure, I took off. I was swinging at anyone and anything that looked like they were trying to stop me from tearing his ass up.
I threw anything that wasn’t nailed down at his ass, and every swing I hit him with was empowered by the ancestors. It took three of my co-hosts to break us up. They were holding him when I finally calmed down and walked over to him.
“If you come anywhere near me or my house, you will regret it.” With that, I walked off and went to my office. Tyla ran to me with tears in her eyes as she hugged me.
“You’re my she-ro!”
“Girl, I’m your broke hoe. You know them people about to fire me.”
“You tore them people shit up. They were so busy trying to break it up, they didn’t even cut to commercial. Your ass is definitely grass.” I laughed, but deep down I wanted to cry.
“Well, it was a good run. I’m going to miss you, Ty.”
“Now, you know they getting my black ass up out of here too.” I hugged her again, grabbed Mila, and left. I didn’t want to be around when Garrett left because if he approached me again, I would kill him. When we got in the car, I pulled off and tried to call Devin. It was going straight to voicemail, and I didn’t blame him for being pissed at me. Seeing he wasn’t going to answer, I left him a voicemail to warn him of what was to come. The media was going to for sure be all over this story.
Pulling up on my block, I should have prepared myself. It was so many reporters outside of my house, they were blocking the street. Slowly driving through them, I took a deep breath as I parked. Looking back at Mila, I had tears in my eyes. I would have to explain all of this to her, and since I’m sure this shit wasall over the internet, she would have to see how the adults in her life royally screwed this up.
“Mommy, who are all of these people? Are they my friends?”
“No, baby. When we get out of the car, I need you to keep your face buried in my chest until we get in the house. Can you do that for me, Jam?”
“I know how to lay down, mommy. I do it every night. I’m smart and know how to do stuff.”
“I know baby, I wasn’t insinuating you didn’t.” Parking the car, I took a deep breath before jumping out. They were screaming at me from every angle asking questions, but I stayed focused on getting Mila out of the car. Grabbing her and all of her things, I cradled her legs around me and began trying to push through the crowd. Mila began screaming, and I could feel her tears hitting my neck. “Get back! Please, move out of the way,” I screamed towards the reporters, but they didn’t listen. They were one track minded trying to get a story.
Out of nowhere, I felt someone pulling me and Mila through the crowd. Bodies began flying backwards, but I kept my eyes on the front door. Finally making it inside, I took a deep breath and turned to see I was face to face with Devin. Even though he helped me past the reporters, the look on his face told me this was not a friendly visit.
26-DEVIN “THE MERCENARY” MERCER
When I showed up to Brianna’s house, I don’t know what I was thinking. It was so many emotions going through me, reporters being on the scene didn’t cross my mind. I walked through the crowd, sat on her porch, and zoned out. I had no idea what they were asking me because I had too many thoughts invading my mental. I saw her segment, and even though he had her by the balls, I still couldn’t get with that.
