The look in his solemn eyes told me what I was doing was something good for him. Something that he’d coveted. From that moment on, all condemnation of my careless actions vaporized. The guilt was mitigated. If I could turn back the hands of time, I would’ve avoided this pregnancy, but I could no longer carry the weight of the onus that consumed me because of it. Stenton had just extinguished that.
After that day, our frequency of communication didn’t improve, but Stenton did attend several appointments with me. I had to adjust to life in this new place. I was able to finish out the semester, but it was no small feat. I sobbed like a baby the day I filled out my leave papers. Although I knew there were provisions for me to return, I couldn’t shake the mentality of failing my family, my parents. Myself. It was a depressing ride home that day.
~~~~~~~~~~
“You sneaky bitch!”
I leaped from my bed and twisted my torso too fast, causing a shooting pain from my groin to my abdomen. I grabbed my stomach, tensing from the ache. Panting out of control, I finally looked up to find a shaking Angela, seething like an inferno. I was surprised to see her. Last I’d heard from Karen, Angela had agreed to marry Timmy and was planning their wedding. It disappointed me, but who was I to have an opinion considering my recent quagmire.
She was now here, in my bedroom with guns ablaze. My breathing was out of control and my heart was beating wildly. I knew this day would come, just not when I’d finally been able to get sleep in short increments.
“Don’t sit there looking dumb and innocent. You are the biggest fraud there is! Now I see what that lecture about forgiveness was about. You only wanted to get Alton Alston off the hook to make yourself look good to Stenton Rogers. You’re a manipulative little whore!”
Ruth jumped into my doorway with eyes as big as saucers. Not now Ruthie! She stood there frozen.
My weary eyes trailed back to Angela.
“Oh, and all you have is a fucking rolling of the eyes?” Angela inched toward me.
I was able to find my bearings. “Angela, I know I should have told you…and before now. It’s just that things have been crazy—”
“Crazy? Yeah, I bet! You fucking ballers who wouldn’t normally look twice at your dry ass if it wasn’t for me laying the foundation by acting like the thirsty groupie! Did you fuck Alton Alston, too?”
Is she crazy?
One thing that did strike me along with her asinine accusation was how she referred to them by their first and last names, making it clear she really didn’t know either one of them.
I didn’t realize I was still rubbing my belly until I heard Ruth diffidently ask, “Zo, you okay? You don’t look good.”
Without looking at her, I raised my hand, needing her quiet and not getting my parents involved. Angela was sharp with the tongue, but she’d never fight me. That thought was just ridiculous.
“I swear to god, Zo, I feel like beating the living shit out of your sneaky ass!” She drew a fist at me.
“Uh-oh!” I heard Ruth shrill before taking off.
“Ang, don’t be ridiculous. I didn’t have sex with Alton. This thing with Stenton wasn’t planned and I didn’t manipulate any—”
“Yes the hell you did! And you betrayed me by going after someone you knew I wanted. I know you go all “good girl”, but Zo, in the streets you’d get your ass kicked for touching a guy your girl was after.”
If her street code jargon didn’t give away Angela was beyond pissed, the vein pulsing just underneath her left eye did. This wasn’t going to be easy and the pain was still smarting too much for me to defend myself if she called herself hitting me. Angela was no more a fighter than me, but she did crazy things in the name of Stenton Rogers…or anything she was passionate about.
Steady rubbing the pain away, I tried to calm my breathing enough to speak clearly. “Ang, I’m sorry about all of this, but I think you’re laying claims to a man you don’t know—”
“I don’t know Stenton Rogers? Bitch, you don’t know Stent—”