Page 11 of Without You I Have Nothing To Lose

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The next morning, I slept way past noon and didn’t care. I was refreshed and well rested. After handling my hygiene, I went straight to the kitchen to make some pancakes and bacon. In the middle of me cooking, Gabe came prancing in wearing clothes different from the ones he left here in two days ago. That was his normal routine. He’d be gone for a few days and would come back like nothing was wrong. He always said it was because he was working, but I rarely benefited from that. When I brought it up, he’d always throw in my face that I could leave anytime that I wanted to, but where would I go? I ignored his presence and continued to fix my breakfast.

“Aye, how you get home last night?” he asked, causing me to stiffen up for a few seconds.

“What do you mean? How did I get home? How have I been getting home?” I countered.

“Don’t get smart Daizha. How the fuck did you get home last night?” he growled in my face. Against my five foot five frame, he looked like a giant peering down at me.

“I…I caught an Uber,” I lied.

“Oh yeah? Let me see your phone.” Puzzled at his request, I squinted my eyes to understand him better.

“Huh?”

“Let. Me. See. Your. Phone.” he recited. Pushing the phone toward him, he picked it up and went to the Uber app. When he saw that the ride from last night was canceled, he gripped my jaws between his strong hands.

“This says the shit was canceled, so I’m gon’ ask you again. How the fuck you got home!”

“I…it was a co-worker. She offered to take me home.”

“Oh, yeah?” he smirked. “So why I heard that nigga that dropped you off the last time came in looking for you?”

Fuck! I knew it was nobody but Erica’s hoe ass that told him that shit. I heard they were fuckin’ around, but I didn’t have solid proof. But this is some shit she would do.

“He didn’t bring me home. I met this girl, and she offered to give me a ride,” I explained.

“What’s her name?”

“Jaylen.”

“Call her and thank her for the ride,” he ordered.

“I thanked her last night when she dropped me off.”

“Call her!” he yelled in my face. At this moment I was glad that I got her number. I dialed her number and waited for her to answer. When she didn’t pick up, the tears started falling at a rapid pace. Gabe had never gotten physical with me before, and right now I feared he would. I could feel a panic attack coming on, but seeing Jaylen’s name pop up on my screen, I sighed in relief.

“Hello?” I answered as calm as possible.

“Wassup, girl? I wasn’t by my phone when you called. You needed something?” she rushed out.

“No…I…uh. I wanted to thank you for giving me the ride last night after my Uber canceled. I really appreciate you for coming through for me.” I hope she got the underlying message that I needed her to come through for me right now.

Silence.

“Jaylen?” I called out.

“Yeah, girl. It’s nothing. You helped me out yesterday listening to me ramble on about my ain’t shit boyfriend while I was only shopping for tampons. It’s no big deal. You can call me anytime you need me. Okay?”

“O…okay. Thank you.”

“Alright, Dai. Call me if you need me.” Gabe hung up before I could get a chance to respond.

“I still don’t believe that shit, but let me tell you something. That nigga ain’t thinking about you. You think niggas want a weak bitch who can’t even keep her fuckin’ family around? You think a nigga wants a washed up bitch like you? Newsflash…we don’t. You lucky I still touch you. Go clean ya fuckin’ face and if I hear ’bout you and that nigga again, it’ll be more than me squeezing your fuckin’ face.” I watched as he walked away from me and went upstairs. Slowly, I slid down the wall with tears streaming down my face. This couldn’t be what life had in store for me.

Chapter Five

Demetric

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