Page 14 of All This Love
There was no need to lie. The cat was out of the bag. “I was only in town to visit my father a few weeks back. I stopped by the gas station and four niggas robbed me. I got word that the niggas were Ivan and his flunkies. He robbed me because he owes the plug. He’s the business that I’m in town handling.”
Tatum’s jaw slacked. “Are you serious right now? Did you know I was his baby mama when you approached me?” I could see the fear in her eyes. One wrong word from me, and I could tell it was over.
I could have lied. I should have lied. I didn’t want to hurt her so mentally; I went back and forth on what to admit. Unfortunately, I didn’t have to answer because my hesitation to speak told Tatum everything that she needed to know.
“Wow,” she chuckled angrily and took a step back. “So, this was all a lie? You involved me in this petty ass bullshit. You lied and played games with me from day one to what? Get information from me? What?”
“I’ve never asked you any details about that man. I wasn’t trying to use you to get information on him.”
“You just wanted to piss him off? You took me out, bought flowers, had sex with me.” At the realization that we’d had sex, Tatum’s eyes narrowed, and her chest heaved up and down. “Get out. Get the fuck out right now.”
Running a hand over my waves I pushed out a sigh. “Tatum, please understand me when I say this. The plan was just to get underneath his skin. Nothing major. And if I didn’t like you, I wouldn’t have gone through with it.”
“I’m so damn stupid,” she shook her head. “Dumb and stupid. I actually for half a second thought you might be a decent guy. Joke’s on me.”
“Tatum,”
“Get out!”
When her voice cracked, I knew she meant business. She was about to cry, and Tatum had a look in her eyes like she was ready to black out on my ass. I was going to leave well enough alone. I’d been caught red handed. Ivan had admitted that his friends robbed me. That made any guilt I had about killing Mont dissipate. If he wasn’t lucky, Ivan’s ass was going to be next.
There were more things that I wanted to say to Tatum, but I knew she was pissed and needed to cool down. There was a good chance that she’d never forgive my ass. But I had managed to hitIvan not one but three times. Shit, I wasn’t too upset at how the day had gone.
seven
tatum
I sat bouncingmy leg anxiously as my neighbor, Joan, sipped her wine. I had already gone through two glasses and was trying to slow down a bit. Angel was eating dinner, and I still had to get her through bath time and a bedtime story. Clearly, I hadn’t drunk enough, however, because I was still itching to slap the shit out of somebody. It had been more than two hours since the fiasco between Ivan and Onyx, and I was still in disbelief.
“That’s a tough one. I swear it is.” Joan shook her head pitifully. “Just when you think you’ve heard and seen it all. This whole time he knew who your baby daddy was. I’d be pissed too. He’s just a straight up liar, and he came at you under false pretense.”
Everything she was saying, had already crossed my mind more than once. Things that I already knew but hearing her confirm it, made me even angrier. My nostrils flared like a raging bull, and I had to grab the wine and refill my glass before I screamed.
“That shit was all fake. Wow.” Fuming, I shook my head and took a big sip of wine. “Niggas are so good at pretending. I’m officially done. Never will I ever give someone’s dusty nappyheaded ass son the chance to play in my face.” The fact that I wanted to cry pissed me off further.
Why couldn’t I just chalk it up to his loss and not let it bother me? I did have fun. Some amazing sex was had, and I got $500. That was better than getting nothing besides a wet ass and embarrassed. “It’s all good. I’m going right back into grind and mommy mode. Actually, I never left, but like a dummy, I was trying to find time to squeeze Onyx in. All for him to be a fraud. Wow.” I clicked my tongue. I still wasn’t calm, so I gulped down the wine and enjoyed the head rush that I got from doing so.
“Ivan is a low life if ever there was one, and Onyx is a phenomenal actor. That, or he actually likes you for real.”
I snorted. “Girl, bye. He spent this entire time manipulating me. Pretending to be such a stand-up guy. I bet his entire persona was fake. Fucking bastard.” I seethed.
“Maybe he already had his eye on you and when he found out who your child’s father was, he didn’t let that deter him.”
“You be naïve and green to the bullshit all you want. I’m good on that. He knew who I was, and he knew what it was. He almost knocked Ivan off his feet. Had I not been panicking, I’m sure he would have almost killed the man. Onyx hates Ivan way too much to have ever had any kind of good intentions toward me. And my silly ass fell for the okie doke. He can simply return to Charlotte, and we can forget that we ever met one another.”
“Good luck with that.” Joan mumbled.
“What other choice do I have? That nigga used me to get back at Ivan.”
“I’ve already told you that you aren’t wrong, and I stand on that. But maybe, he realized that he liked you for real. I mean let’s be honest. He took you out on nice dates. You had good conversations that flowed easily, and you said the sex was out of this world. Maybe he fell too. Because he could have tried sleepto with you out the gate and never taken the time to get to know you.”
“It would have never been that easy for him,” I scoffed. “If he did just so happen to fall, he better shake that shit off. The entire situation was built on a lie. I’d never trust his sneaky ass. And as much as I hate Ivan and the ground he walks on, how would that look? Me being with his enemy. A man that has spoken freely about killing him. My daughter could possibly find out when she’s older that I dealt with a man that did something to her sperm donor because he damn sure isn’t a father. But he’s still her family.”
Joan sighed. “I’m tired for you, friend, so I know you’re exhausted mentally. I get it. You’re making some very good points. I think that maybe after you cool down a conversation wouldn’t hurt but if you simply don’t want to, you don’t have to.”
With a sad smile, I stood up. “I’m about to check on Angel. I told you that you could fix a plate if you want one.”
Joan followed me into the kitchen. My mind was so consumed with thoughts of Onyx and how he pulled the wool over my eyes that my daughter was talking a mile a minute, and I didn’t hear a thing she’d said. Joan played a game with Angel while I cleaned the kitchen. Just that fast I’d lost my appetite.
