A clinking sound hit the floor, and my hands were empty. His bare foot covered the knife, then he slid it across the room.
He caught hell. I couldn’t let it go. My emotions were running wild. Oliver was hit, smacked, scratched. I was seeing red, and I had to take my anger out on somebody.
“Oliver, let her go,” I heard Romelo speak.
“What the fuck is going on in here!?” Mimi asked, making her appearance known.
In one swift motion, Romelo jacked me up, grabbed me by my neck, and lifted me off the ground. There wasn’t fear in his eyes, nor was there remorse. Oliver knew better than to intrude. Romelo could cause damage. I placed my hand around his to get him to loosen his grip.
“No, you know huh,” he spat. The diamonds from his grill blinded me, causing me to squint. “This yo way of crashin’ out or something.”
I couldn’t breathe again. If I died right here, I’d be satisfied because I’d be in his arms.
“Romelo, please.” My voice croaked as I begged.
“I don’t give a fuck ‘bout none of this bullshit. I been told you what it is from the get-go wit’ me and you. You chose to ignore the signs and listen to whatever voice in yo fuckin’ head. That ain’t on me, Trecee. You can’t blame me for this shit.”
“Y-yes I can,” I cried. “You never loved me. You never fucking loved me!”
Mustering up the strength, I raised my hand and hit him blindly. I didn’t care where my hand landed. He was causing me pain, and I wanted him to feel that pain too. I was hurting, so I wanted to make him hurt. It felt better, but my feelings couldn’t be erased.
Then he released me, and I grabbed my throat, letting out a gut-wrenching cough that made my chest sting. My ears were ringing too. No matter how much I coughed, though, I still couldn’t breathe. Tears were still swarming down my face, and they wouldn’t stop. I was hurt. I was scarred. The love of my life isn’t the love of my life anymore, and everything felt tainted.
“I trusted you!” I screamed. “And this whole fucking time you’ve been fucking her!” I stabbed my finger in the direction Synthia was laid on the couch.
Romelo said nothing. My tears didn’t move him at all. Everybody was looking at me like I was a madwoman.
“You need to leave. I ain’t got shit else to say to you,” she finally spoke.
Oliver came over and stood between us.
I could see my veins protruding from my head and neck. My ears were on fire too.
My head turned to Mimi. I felt so fucking betrayed by her the most. “You knew?” My voice was raspy, filled with so much hurt and anguish.
She parted her mouth to speak, but her mouth hung low, and no words escaped. Her brows were knitted with sorrow.
“Fuck all of you motherfuckers!” I snapped again as I pushed Oliver out of the way and trotted toward my room with heavy feet. Entering the room, I slammed the door after me. Plopping down on the bed, I took a deep breath and swallowed the lump in the back of my throat. My neck felt so sore, so I knew by morning there’d be a bruise with Romelo’s big hands imprinted around it.
Slumped over, I opened my hands and placed them in my lap as if the answers were there. I revisited the events in my head, and none of it added up that Synthia had been creeping with my man. It was so unusual, and it never dawned on me that he’d been seeking interest in her.
Then the questions began to flood my mind.
How long?
When did it start?
What caused it?
Why?
I always wanted to be the girl who got away, and I did. I ran into the arms of my man who didn’t care about my past. Romelo and I went through the mud, and you couldn’t look me in my eyes and tell me that man isn’t my happily ever after.
I’d always said Synthia was jealous of me, and that’s why I hated him around her. I never wanted him in close proximity with her because she didn’t carry herself like a woman. In my eyes, she was sloppy and unkept—living off my mama and too lazy to get off her ass and get some money.
I was the fool—the joke. The girl who didn’t see any of this shit coming. My birthday didn’t matter anymore. I’d lost him, but did I ever really have him to begin with?
LATER ON, THAT NIGHT,
