CHAPTER 24
"What the—?" I stared at my house from my car in the driveway. The lights were on. One thing I know for sure is that I didn't leave them on.
Was it a thief?
But it didn't look broken into. Plus, why would a thief turn on the lights while committing theft? To attract attention? Certainly not. Them motherfuckers are smarter than that!
I got out of my car and tiptoed to the door. There was a bat in my hand.
I barged in. "Who the fuck is in my motherfucking house?" I went as ghetto as I could go. I needed to scare whoever was in my house. Since people have labeled Black people violent, I wanted my voice to give off that impression.
The house was in order.
He's upstairs! I told myself. I quietly made my way to my bedroom and slowly opened the door.
There, on my bed, slept a man from the past—Kai!
"Get your ass off my bed, you fool!" I fumed. I darted to him and yanked him up by the arm.
"Ouch, Belair! I was trying to sleep!" he said casually, like it was his house.
"Does this look like your bed?"
"It actually does! Come on, baby, lay with me!"
My face twisted with disgust. His presence irritated me sooooo much it made my stomach churn.
"Really? I thought we were past this! You can't just barge into someone's house—you're trespassing!" I yelled. I gathered his clothes from the floor and threw them right into his face.
"Get dressed and get out!" I folded my arms.
The fool didn't move. He just kept staring at me. I'm sure he was undressing me with his sinful eyes. Kai was a sin—a temptation that I was willing to conquer. A sin I knew I wouldn't commit.
"What has he done to you? You couldn't get over me some time back. Now it seems that you…" He paused. "There's no way in hell!" He grunted, frustration hanging onto his words.
"Well, I found a way!" I took a deep breath. "Look, I don't want to fight or get angry. So kindly leave me and my house. That's all I ask."
His next reaction was unexpected. He banged his fist on the wall, and his knuckles began bleeding. I wanted to help him, but my conscience stopped me.
You know he's only doing that to get your attention! Once you go soft on him, you know what's next! it said.
It was right. Kai could be manipulative.
"You can break your bones for all I care, but do that at your house. I'm tired. I need to sleep!"
"Let me just massage your body, Belair. You're so tense!" he offered, with a seductive eyebrow raise that had once enticed me.
I'd had enough of this annoying piece of ass. I picked up my phone and dialed a number.
"Who are you calling?" Kai asked, rising from the bed.
"The police. I want them to get you to a mental hospital!"
"No, no, no—don't! Okay, I'll go! I'm going!" Kai replied quickly. His cocky countenance was wiped off. He seemed off. I couldn't tell his emotions, but I knew that the mention of the police had stirred unease in him.
Was he scared of the police? Yeah, I know everybody's afraid of the popo, but he looked like he had committed a crime and was caught in the act.
He hurriedly made his way out of my house after dressing. He didn't even look back.
SIMONE'S POV
I put Andrea in her crib and watched her fall asleep. The silent rise of her chest and her soft cooing made my heart swell with joy. At this point in my life, she was the only one giving me joy.
My eyes darted to the clock—past midnight, and he wasn't back yet.
I left the little one's room and headed to the living room to wait for him to get home. Time went by slowly, and after pacing for almost an hour, I got tired and fell asleep on the couch.
I was woken up by the door opening. My eyes burned red from sleep deprivation. He was drunk—that much I could tell. He stumbled over nothing and fell flat on his face.
He slowly looked up at me and smiled. "Hey, babe!"
"Where the hell have you been? It's almost daybreak!" I shouted furiously. This tendency had been going on for almost a week. He always arrived late from God knows where. I might not be sure, but I had a hunch where he might have been spending those hours.
Brenda motherfucking Belair.
It had to be her. That woman had always been a thorn in our marriage. She had always haunted my marriage.
"Calm down, baby! Give me a kiss!" Kai cut off my train of thought. He burped. How disgusting.
I was tired of this cycle. Even when he didn't come home late, there'd always be an issue he'd bring up just to irritate the skin out of me.
"I asked you a question, Kai! Where the fuck have you been? I have been waiting for you all night!"
"Isn't it obvious? I was out drinking. Jeez, give a man a break!" He crawled to the nearest couch.
He lay on his stomach, his eyes staring at the ceiling. They were slowly closing, and I wasn't going to let him have a nice sleep.
"Don't you dare sleep on me! I'm tired, Kai!" I sighed, trying to keep my voice steady. "You go out almost every night, and when I ask you where you were, you only give me the same answer every man gives his wife."
"I told you that I was at the…" burp "…club. How hard is that to understand, Simone?"
"I'm your wife, for crying out loud. I deserve to know where you are at all times!" I shouted. My anger was overflowing. I had been holding so much inside, and I wanted to let it out. For that, he had to be sober. I understood that our marriage was arranged, but we'd been together for over a decade. We had a child together.
"Where's my angel? Is she awake?" Kai asked.
I just rolled my eyes and walked away. He kept calling out for me, but I ignored him.