“When did you do all this?”
“While I was following you for the last three and a half hours. Now let’s go back.”
“I’m not ready to go back.”
“Too bad, grow a dick and stop acting like a bitch on the fucking rag. And you threw the fucking ring at her? If we didn’t have this shit to deal with I’d kick your ass myself.”
“How is this my fault? After everything I’ve done this is how she treats me?”
“All of what asshole? You’re only doing what a man is supposed to do. It’s been four hours, long enough for you to get over being pissy. And if not, too bad. You love her, this is part of that love shit, now let’s go. We haven’t spent this much time in Jersey since our teens at Wildwood. I think there might still be open warrants and shit.”
“You go, I’ll catch up with you later.” I’m not ready to see her or to hear any of her bullshit excuses. And no matter what he says, I have gone above and beyond for her and I deserve better. Shit, I do sound like I drank bitch juice.
“Fine, what do you have planned?”
“Well, for starters, Sherrie knows that Arlene was behind this as well. She doesn’t know where she lives, at least she didn’t know three hours ago, but we both know she has resources and once she finds out…”
I was heading for my car on the run. “Why the fuck didn’t you say something?” I drove out of the lot with him on my ass. Where is this day going? When is my life going to get back to normal?
It took us two and a half hours to get back to the city because there wasn’t a cop in sight. I damn near broke down the door, suddenly afraid of what could’ve happened to her while I was gone.
I was ready to apologize, to do whatever it took to get her to forgive me for some shit that I didn’t do. Yep, this is my life now, those chickens are roosting like a motherfucker.
“Where is she?” Mom, aunt Jess, Travis and the baby were in the kitchen when I came back from checking our room.
“Oh you’re back. The girls left like half an hour ago, said they’d be right back.”
‘Travis, didn’t I tell you not to let your sister go anywhere?”
“I figured since she’s with Sherrie she should be okay.” Oh you poor fool.
“Let’s go.” I grabbed Tony and headed back for the door. “One guess where they went.” He was already calling Sherrie, but we both knew she wasn’t going to answer. She never does when she’s up to no good.
I’ve never been to Arlene’s house, but Tony put the
address in the GPS when we got downstairs. “Westchester, fuck that’s like an hour away.”
“Call Anna’s phone, maybe we’re not too late.”
She wasn’t answering so I left a message. Meanwhile, how could she not answer my call after all the shit that has happened?
ANNABELLE
My life, what has happened to it? One minute I’m bawling my eyes out, reflecting on my life and where I as going from here. And the next I’m in a car with Sherrie on my way to as she put it, ‘put the beat down on a bitch’.
“So you’re telling me that this woman was behind all this stuff? But why?”
“Long story short, she worked for Max, she wanted the dick, he wasn’t interested and she lost her damn mind.”
“Who is this person? Who does stuff like this?”
“Welcome to New York. Besides, my brother is fine, this isn’t the first time some chick got into her
feels over him and I had to go take care of her ass.”
“But why didn’t he tell me all this was going on?”
“My guess, he was being a ‘man’ protecting the little woman. If you told him half the shit you told me about your life, he’d think he has to stand in front of you. It’s cool in small doses, but sometimes us girls have to handle shit. Besides he’s not going to hit a woman, that’s where we come in.”
“Wait, we’re really going to hit her?”
“Damn straight, some of these bitches don’t learn unless they get a fist in the face. I know you said you can’t fight, so I’ll hold her down and you stomp her ass in.”
“This isn’t really how I handle things, maybe we should turn back.”
“Fuck that, aren’t you mad?”
“Well yeah but, I’m just glad Max isn’t cheating on me. Oh he’s going to be so mad at me.”
My life has become a rollercoaster. I think I’ve gone through every emotion there is in the last few hours. But the fact that I felt whole once again, now that I was assured that he really hadn’t done this, says it all.