Page 13 of Trading Up
“Can we call Petey and Jenson? This has to be harassment of some sort,” I asked, my voice sounding calm and detached, like it wasn’t mine. I felt him moving, not lifting my head, too emotionally closed off to handle anything right now.
“Jenson?” his voice rumbled through his chest, “Petey needs to start grabbing posts off her timeline. They’ve got friends and family spamming her account with happy photos and posts about the ‘loving couple’. Yeah. Do you want to pursue this, Sar?” I could feel the warmth and safety in his voice,wrapping around me like a hug, like a blanket covering me, hiding me from all the bad in the world.
“Yes,” I closed my eyes, trying to organize my thoughts and emotions. It wasn’t going too well. That snake was lurking, waiting to strike. And the first one would be with Jenson and Petey. The second, would be with proof of him being a lacking father while I thrived, even while I struggled.
“Burn their world to the fucking ground. Humble these motherfuckers who don’t know who they’re messing with.”
E L E V E N: DIL
Devereaux’s POV
I got the call from Ma, first thing in the morning. Then I started getting called from a mutual friend of mine and Sarah’s at seven that morning, alerting me to the social media campaign against my girl. I was confused by his words, but I pulled up the Book and there it was. All over their profiles, on her timeline. All these happy posts about Will and the thot he knocked up. They were bragging about the pregnancy, their two-year relationship, the whole nine yards. His family and friends were on there, sharing posts, happy to share the ‘happy news’ of ‘getting a granddaughter’ and being ‘thrilled’. I wanted to vomit.
How could these people, all of whom knew her, treat her like this? Make her the butt of their joke? Fuck no. I called her, telling her to stay off her socials until I could get down to her apartment in ten minutes. Tossing on whatever clothes I could find quickly, I hustled down to her apartment, calling my Pops.
“It’s too damn early for you to be callin’ boy.” His voice was rough with sleep.
“Pops. They blasted her on social media. They shared all the posts, the pregnancy, baby shower photos, everything. All over her timeline. I need you and Ma to come up here. I need help supporting her and the boys right now.” I heard rustling on his end.
“What you say?”
“She served that motherfucker yesterday. He and his friends and family are posting all about him and the thot he knocked up on social media. Sarah’s socials.”
“Oh hell nah! Not my daughter-in-law. We be there in a few hours. I’m callin’ in backup.” The call ended right as I was walking through her front door. I didn’t hear a sound as I mademy way down the hallway to her room. Walking in, I saw her sitting on her bed. Her eyes were wide and frozen, staring at a photo of his whole family and friend group huddled around him and his whore. Gently, I tried talking to her, taking the phone from her hands, but it was like she was in a trance.
When she asked me to call Jenson and Petey, to burn their world down, I was only too happy to oblige. I’d do whatever I could to protect her and her state of mind. I would do anything to protect her peace. I wouldn’t let her, or the boys, go through the bullshit they were going to try to put her through. I blocked each and every person who had posted something on her timeline, making sure I had each of them on my accounts, or someone who was willing to snitch was on them. I wasn’t taking chances. I wanted to know what they were doing. I needed to make sure I could stay ahead of their shit storm.
I went through all her socials and blocked them all. I made sure she couldn’t get access unless she unblocked them, and I didn’t think she was going to. Not in the state she was in at the moment. She looked like she was seconds away from falling apart or turning into one of those broken women she reads about in her romance list that never seems to get smaller. I hoped she would bounce back from this, but better than those women. I needed her to focus on the positives that were happening.
“My family is coming. I called them,” I said as my phone buzzed. I saw it was Ma and answered, “Hey, Ma.”
“Who in the hell do those people think they are?! How dare they pick on her! Making it out like they’re the victims in this! You tell her I’m coming, and I have some ideas I’ve been sitting on and wishing a bitch would!”
“You’re on speaker, Ma. She’s kind of in this intense trance,” I was finishing when she spoke for the first time since I got there.
“Thank you, Ma.” Her voice came out watery, full of emotion, right before she wrapped her arms around my neck. She pulled herself to me, burying her face in my chest. I wrapped my arms around her, holding her to me, leaving Ma on speaker.
“Oh, baby girl,” Ma cooed at Sarah, “Don’t you worry. We’re on our way to stay with you two. We’re coming to help with the boys, the apartment, the lawyers, whatever it is that you need from us. We’ve got you. Even if it’s meals and dusting.” I could feel her crying harder as she sobbed into my chest, her body relaxing as whatever sadness she was feeling left.
“You’re family, baby,” I squeezed her, trying to pour all the love I had for her into that hug.
“Dev’s right. You’re part of our family. And nobody messes with family,” Pops chimed in. I could feel her starting to calm down. “We’re leaving now. Be there in about two hours.” Pops hung up the phone, and I just held her for a while after, not willing to pull away. I waited until she pulled away from me. She didn’t get off my lap, kept her hand on my chest, and looked at me.
“Thank you,” her eyes looked so sad and broken. “You guys really consider me family?” I nodded, giving her a small smile.
“They tell everyone you’re their future daughter-in-law.” I kissed her forehead, pulling her in for another hug.
“Can we cook breakfast together?”
T W E L V E: New Dreams
Sarah’s POV
I was so thankful that his parents came into town to stay with us. They were staying in his apartment, but they were also here most days. His mom has been helping me with the boys and keeping up on the apartment housework. I was having meetings with Petey and Jenson, as well as with the financial planner, to go over my accounts. It was draining, meeting all the time, trying to maintain a happy face in front of the boys so they didn’t see my exhaustion.
The only highlight was the singing telegram videos that were trending in our area. Row sent me the best one. It was a video that one of the guys from Will’s crew took. In the video, you could see Will, standing there, holding the manila envelope with the papers inside. He looked pissed, as a quartet sang a remix version of Sam Smith’s ‘I’m Not the Only One’ and Gotye’s ‘Somebody I Used to Know’. I watched over and over again as his face turned red, pissed that he was being publicly humiliated for fucking his whore. At the end, they ended with, ‘She hopes you don’t get AIDS and die; Just sign the papers and go on with your life’. The uproar of laughter and the excitement from his crew were enough to know that not everyone agreed with his actions.
That video was what gave me laughs. That and my boys. I was just trying to survive one day to the next, worried my ideas for a startup wouldn’t take me where I wanted to be, and that I’d be spending more time working than with the boys. Which would work against me in the divorce.
