Maisha shot him a look because of his word choice.
With a sigh, I admitted, “Antonio.”
Terrell cocked his head to the side, confused. “I thought you weren’t talking to him anymore.”
“I wasn’t, but it’s easier to avoid phone calls than it is to avoid someone showing up at your door.”
Terrell’s posture stiffened. “Where was I?”
I shrugged. “In your room I think. Yeah…it was the day you were waiting to go get Maisha from work.”
“Why didn’t you call me?” He asked.
I didn’t see what any of this had to do with my story? “Because I didn’t need you; that’s why. He just wanted to talk.” I couldn’t take Terrell’s antics at the moment; my emotions were all over the place and here he was wanting petty details that didn’t even matter. When I gripped my hair in frustration, he left it alone. “My point is, today wasn’t the first incident; today was just confirmation.”
A rogue tear raced down my face and I swiped it away angrily.
Terrell watched me for a moment, and then pulled out his phone. “Who’re you calling?” Maisha asked.
“Who you think? AJ.”
No!” Maisha and I both protested in unison. “What’s wrong with you?” She asked.
“Nothing’s wrong with me; I just wanna talk to him, hear what he has to say.”
Maisha snatched Terrell’s phone away and gave him the death stare. “Don’t do that! Mind your business!”
“Well, we’re not gonna leave you here by yourself tonight,” Terrell stated with a matter-of-fact tone. “Maisha has to work first thing in the morning, so I’ll sleep on the floor.”
“You don’t have to do that. I’ll be alright.”
He saw the fresh tears in my eyes and decided to hold his ground. “I’m staying.”
Maisha rubbed my shoulder. “You shouldn’t be alone. I’ll stop by as soon as I get off at four.” She hugged me gently and left Terrell and I sitting there.
“So, now what?” I asked, prompting Terrell to shrug his shoulders. “I don’t even know how to do this without him.”
“Do what?” He asked.
“Life! Everything! It all revolved around him; all my plans included him. How do you recover from that?”
“I’m sure y’all are gonna work this out. Just give yourself some time to calm down and then y’all can talk and…”
“No…….not this time.”
My chest burned as that realization cut straight through to my soul. There would be no talking and hugging it out. Another girl? I shook my head in disbelief; this had to be a bad dream.
My entire night was spent lying awake, crying off and on. Terrell’s snoring was surprisingly a comfort. It reminded me that I wasn’t alone, physically or emotionally, thanks to him. A million and one thoughts ran through my head. Was that girl still with AJ? Lying in his arms like I loved to do? Did he feel even a little remorseful for ruining my life?
This must’ve been how Antonio felt when I hurt him. It’s baffling how things come full circle, isn’t it? Once upon a time, Antonio and I were in love and then here comes AJ. Now look at the mess that one seemingly minor adjustment made. It was a mistake ever letting AJ get in my head in the first place. Had I stayed with Antonio, none of this would’ve happened.
When Terrell awoke, I was sitting up against the headboard staring off into space. He stood from the floor where he’d slept and sat beside me on my bed, wrapping his arm around my shoulder.
“Did you get any sleep?” He actually sounded hopeful when he asked.
“Nope.”
“Well…..wanna go get something to eat? I’ll buy,” he offered.
“No, thanks. I feel a little queasy.”
When he got tired of trying to get me to talk, he reached over to the nightstand and grabbed the TV remote, bringing my attention to the alarm clock. He was supposed to be in class about an hour ago.
“Why’d you skip?”
Terrell shrugged his shoulders and changed the channel without responding.
“Because of me?”