A Heart Full of Lies (7 page)

              “Or what Erin?” Skyy challenged her.

              Sasha stood up and snatched the bottle off the table. “Come on y’all. Erin, put the weed down, we apparently got unresolved issues.”

              Skyy drank her glass down and handed it to Sasha. “Friends support friends, that’s all I’m saying.”

              Erin felt her face turning red. “And who exactly ain’t supporting who?”

              “You!” Skyy shouted at Erin.

              Erin sat up straight. “How!?”

              Erica called from the top of the stairs. “Erin?”

              “Erica, I’m good stay upstairs.” The last thing she needed was her hot headed sister in the mix.

              Skyy stood up. “Every since I told you about Deidra you been acting funny.”

              “Like how?”

              “I called you last week and told you I was having mixed feelings about letting her meet my family, and you brushed it off, like-“

              Erin stopped her. “For one, how are you going to be mad at me because you’re confused.”

              “Confused!?” Skyy was appalled. “Bitch, I’m not never confused.”

              Erin had to stand up. “Hold the fuck up-“

              Sasha jumped in between them quick. “Y’all quit. Y’all taking it too far, we’re better than this.”

              Erica came running down stairs. “What’s going on?”

              Skyy snatched her purse up and made her way towards the front door. “I don’t have time for this shit, y’all a bunch of fake ass bitches.”

              Sasha gasped. “Y’all? What exactly did I do?”

              Skyy put on her jacket and opened the door. “Y’all some fakes, and y’all quick to judge.”

              Erin rolled her eyes. “Oh shut up, you drinking that liquid courage, and you feeling some type of way. If I said or did something that offended you, you should’ve let me know! Instead of bottling it up like a little bitch.”

              Skyy swung the door open. “Like I said-“

              Erin cut her off. “No bitch, like I said.”

              Skyy stormed out, and Sasha followed after her. “Skyy! What’s going on? What did I do?”

              Skyy opened her car door.“Anything Erin does and says whether it’s fucked up or not you support. You need to let her know when she’s wrong. She calls herself a friend, and the bitch is far from it.”

              Sasha was still confused. “So you flipping out on me because you’re mad at Erin?”

              Erin slammed the front door. Skyy ignored Sasha’s question. “Bye, I don’t have time for this.” Skyy got in the car and pulled off.

              Jeanette and Kory sat in the living room drinking and listening to music. She and Kory were in a good place right now. She understood there were just some things people wouldn’t get. The only person who seemed to really accept and respect her feelings lately was Skyy. And because of this they’d been hanging out more as well.

              Erin had planned this girls’ night, but she just wasn’t feeling it. The past couple weeks, she’d distanced herself from Sasha and Erin. The vibe she’d been getting from them since they’d found out she let Kory back in was so negative. Any phone conversation Jeanette made sure to keep it short. She knew Erin would be pissed off if she was a no show but that was something she was willing to deal with. Yea maybe she could’ve called and let her know she wouldn’t make it, but she just wasn’t in the mood for Erin’s twenty questions.

              Jeanette and Skyy had become close over the last month. They understood what it felt like to have your relationship judged and could relate to the uneasiness of everybody’s –especially Erin’s - constant opinion. Jeanette reached for her phone about to call Skyy when the banging on the front door startled her.

              “That must be them.” she spoke out loud to nobody in particular. Jeanette opened the door to who she assumed was Skyy and her girlfriend Deidra. They entered as she closed the door.  Skyy had mad written all over her face.  “What’s wrong with you”?” She faced Deidra. “Hi, I’m Jeanette nice to meet you.”

              As they entered the sitting area Jeanette introduced Deidra to Kory. “Baby this is Skyy’s girl Deidra. Deidra this is my man Kory.”

              Skyy plumped down on the couch. “Bitch, I can’t with Erin and Sasha ass.”

              Jeanette sat down next to Kory, and pulled some playing cards out of the box. “What happened? They mad I didn’t come?”

              Skyy scoffed. “Yea, talking ‘bout why you ain’t answering the phone. Erin lonely ass need some dick, always trying to run everybody else relationship.”

              Jeanette shook her head. “If I don’t want to answer my phone, I don’t have to. Neither one of them pay my phone bill.”

              Deidra took one of the shots that was on the table and sat next to Skyy. “Skyy, you drunk already, take it easy.” Deidra shook her head in irritation.

              Skyy rolled her eyes and continued. “Then the bitch gone have the nerve to say I need “liquid courage”, I should’ve punched her ass.”

              Jeanette’s eyes widened. “It got that serious? It got that heated? What Sasha say?”

              “You know how they roll, always taking one another’s side.”

              Kory poured some more shots. “I never liked Erin’s mean ass anyways.”

              Jeanette laughed. “She’s always been like that. Quick to call somebody out but can’t take the shit. I don’t have time for it. I know this little “girls” night out wasn’t just to catch up and kick it. She was probably going to try to grill us.”

              Skyy took one of the shots on the table. “Ain’t nobody got time for that.” she laughed.

              Deidra slid Skyy’s shot glass away from her. “Ok, no more, you good for the night.”

              Jeanette laughed. “Damn how much you have to drink?”

              Deidra answered for her with an attitude, “Too much.”

              Kory poured himself a shot. “Y’all need to just separate y’all selves from them negative hoes and do y’all. Jeanette I been telling you that.”

              Jeanette shrugged. “I’ve learned to accept it.”

              Skyy smacked her lips. “I’m done accepting it. Erin doesn’t accept us. She hates you Kory. Jeanette, she hates y’all relationship. The whole time Kory was locked down, she was trying to hook yo’ ass up.”

              Kory scowled. “What?”

              Jeanette grimaced at Skyy, then faced Kory, “Baby-“

              He interrupted her. “That scandalous ass bitch. Why you didn’t tell me that?”

              Jeanette shrugged her shoulders. “Cause you don’t have nothing to worry about. Erin was just being Erin.”

              “A hater.” Skyy added.

              Kory snatched the bottle off the table. “Fuck that, I don’t want you or my son around that hoe.”

              “Ko-“

              “JEANETTE! I’m serious. Let me catch you hanging around that homewreckin’ hoe, and we done. I’m not going to tell you again.”

              Skyy laughed.

              Erin and Sasha sat on Erin’s back porch patio lost in their thoughts. After the fiasco with Skyy not too much had really been said, they were both confused. A simple ladies night turned into a screaming match. They knew lately the sisterhood felt a little different, but neither felt it had reached a breaking point. And with Jeanette not answering the phone, there was a good chance Skyy and her were on the same page.

              Erin hadn’t spoken to Skyy since their last conversation. Skyy had called her practically crying because she and Deidra had had an intense argument, because Skyy wasn’t ready to come out to her family or the world. Erin told her if she was uncertain of her relationship with Deidra then what was she doing with her. She’d also called Skyy “confused” and “lost in the moment”.  But she didn’t think that would set her off, or at least not like that.

              Sasha interrupted her thoughts. “Erin, you hear me?”

              “What you say?”

              “I said Shawn has a baby.” she said in a near whisper.

              Erin looked puzzled. “You’re pregnant?”

              Sasha shook her head no. “He cheated on me.” She began crying. “He cheated on me and now he has a baby.”

              Erin sighed and began to comfort her friend. “Aw man Sash, I’m so sorry.” Tears formed in her eyes.

              Sasha continued. “I feel so stupid E. I still love him, and I’m still in love with him. But I feel so distant.” She wiped the tears from her face, with the sleeve of her jacket. They both sat in silence as the chilling October wind blew through their hair. Sasha sniffled and looked down. “What I’ma do? I forgive him, but I don’t. Every day I wake up, I despise him Erin. I wouldn’t have even found out if the idiot was smart enough to delete messages out of his phone. He has a six month old daughter.” she started bawling.

              Erin hugged her. “Sash, it’s going to be ok.” She started crying too. “If you love him then work it out, but if it’s too much to bear let him go. I went back and forth with TreVell for years, and each time he told me he would change, but he never did. Yet I still believed in us. Sasha if you feel deep down in your heart he would never hurt you again, then that’s a start. But you can’t beat yourself up over his mistakes, trust me, been there done that.”

              Sasha fixed her shirt. “I just feel like I played a big part in it.”

              Erin wiped the tears from her eyes. “How so?”

              “Erin I’ma keep it all the way real with you right now. We’ve been trying to have a baby, for what, two years now? It hasn’t happened yet. What I couldn’t give him, he got from somebody else.”

              “It’s just not your time, God is waiting for that perfect moment, watch.”

              Sasha leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. “We’ll see.”

Chapter 6: Own It

              Erin finished putting the cocoa butter lotion on her body, and peered into the mirror that was on the wall looking at her naked body. She turned to the side taking in her thick thighs, and slim waist. The tattoo sleeves on both her arms and the sleeve on her left leg popped with her caramel complexion. She ran her hands through her hair and made faces at the mirror. She turned around and looked back at her ass, and smirked, yea it was phat. She was proud of the transformation because she’d been working on her body for almost two years. 

              As her phone started ringing, she went to her dresser drawer and put an oversized t-shirt on. She picked up her iPhone and seen it was a FaceTime from Tone, she frowned and answered but turned the camera away from her.

              Tone spoke. “Wassup? You there? Cause I can’t see you.”

              Erin sat down on her bed and shook her head. “I can hear and see you. What’s up?” She could see he was lying in the bed in a wife beater. She couldn’t even front, he looked even better than the day she’d met him. She bit her lip and smiled.

              Tone laughed. “Turn the camera on you, I wanna see your pretty face.”

              “Santonio, usually people text, and ask can they FaceTime. How you know I wasn’t busy doing something, or I didn’t have company?”

              “You answered didn’t you? So if you are busy you just made time for me, and if you got company he a lame, and you tryna see what a real nigga is about.”

              Erin laughed and put the camera on her. “You talk a lot of shit.”

              Tone smiled at her. “Cute ass. That your real hair?”

              Erin fingered her hair. “Yea.” He gave her a look like she was lying. She laughed. “OK, don’t believe me.”

              Tone rubbed his hands over his face. “I need proof.”

              “How can I prove my hair is real?” she laughed again.

              “Let me pull it.”

              Erin shook her head laughing. “Hell no. Why would I let you pull my hair, it’s mine, this is all me.”

              Tone gave her a serious look. “I’ma pull it one day.”

              Erin curved his comment. “So what’s up?” She watched as Tone started moving around.

              “I’m about to pull up on you real quick.”

              Erin gave a bugged eyed look. “No you’re not.”

              Tone ignored her and she watched as he sat the phone down and seconds later picked it back up wearing a crisp white t-shirt, and a royal blue Kansas City Royals fitted cap. “Where you stay?”

              “Santonio did you hear me?” The tone in her voice got serious. “You’re not coming to my house, its eleven o’clock at night, and I don’t even know you like that.”

              Tone hung up the phone.