Let Me Just Say This (22 page)

Oh, out here hoeing around, are we, you will be dealt with whenever you get home.

Cheryl began to stir beside Matthew, who was snoring
lightly. As she began opening her eyes, a terrible pain shot through her, like a bolt of lightning.

“Cheryl, are you alright?” she heard him ask.

She couldn't speak because the pain was getting worse. She began to curl herself into a ball, hoping that it would ease the pain. She reached out and grabbed his arm.

“Cheryl!” he said a little louder.

“Oh God!” She screamed out. This pain was nothing like child birth. Matthew bolted up.

“Cheryl, talk to me. What's wrong?”

“It hurts! It hurts!” is all she could mutter.

“What? What hurts? Baby you have to tell me.”

“Matthew please, please make it stop!” She grasped his arm and held her stomach. She knew exactly what was happening.

“What? What? Honey please, you have to tell me.”

“Matthew,” she gasped, “I think I'm losing the baby!”

Kevin arrived back at his house and saw Rebecca's car parked in the driveway. “What?” he asked her, when she gave him a disapproving look.

“You did this Kevin?”

“What are you talking about?” he said as he found some vodka and poured himself a drink.

“Do you really think you need to be drinking? These are her clothes and they smell like the cologne you were…I have seen her wear this before.” Rebecca began to pace. “Did you and her have an argument?”

“Look, as far as I know, Cheryl has not been here yet. So I have no clue as to what you are talking about.”

Kevin's phone rang and he was more agitated when he hung up. He took another swallow from his glass, drained and refilled it.

Rebecca asked if anything was wrong and who was on the phone, but he declined telling her. He instead told her
that he needed to go out for a few minutes. He typed the directions into his GPS system and headed in that direction. Kevin pulled up in front of the office complex. There were no other cars around except for a couple of delivery vans. He had to make sure not to walk close to either one of them; someone could be lurking inside. He approached the building; having the uneasy feeling that someone was watching. He rode the elevator to the third floor like he had been instructed. When he stepped off, he noticed lights at the far end of the hall. He wasn't going to be a punk about this.

Kevin stepped from the elevator and called out. When no answer came he continued to the end of the hallway.

“Let's skip the hellos and get to it. What the fuck do you want?” Kevin asked as he found the office where the light came from and saw him sitting behind his desk.

“Don't you want to at least know who I am?” Matthew asked.

“I already know. I thought I recognized your voice. You called my house a while back, right? When all along you have been fucking my wife. She is probably with you right now, isn't she? She thinks I don't know about you and her. I heard your little plan the other day. Her making plans to come and see you. Is this where she comes? What, you can't spring for a cheap hotel room?”

“Partna, you got it all wrong. I am not sleeping with your wife, I'm only her friend. She needed someone to listen to her. Someone who wouldn't put his hands around her throat or hit her whenever she had something to say.”

“My marriage is none of your business. I don't know what she has been filling your head with, but what goes on in my marriage, is my business”. Matthew stood from behind the desk and moved around to where Kevin was standing.

“Does that include raping her?”

“You better watch yourself. You don't know who you are fucking with.” Kevin said.

Matthew inched closer to Kevin.

“Oh, but I do. You like to hit women, and then degrade them, and then you take what isn't yours to take.”

Matthew and Kevin stood face to face.

“You might want to back up partna.” Kevin said.

“Naw, I think I'm right where I need to be,” Matthew said. “Cheryl is my friend and I don't like my friends being treated like this. She came to me earlier and could barely move.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“You need to know what you did, didn't go unnoticed.”

“I've already told you, that what goes on in my marriage is none of your concern.”

“Oh, but you see, it is. When I looked at her, with her eyes swollen, and bruises everywhere, it became my business.” Matthew bumped past Kevin.

“Oh, are you trying to scare me?”

“No nigga, I'm not trying to scare you. Right now I am just trying to get you to feel what she must feel like, right before you hit her.”

Matthew raised his arm, causing Kevin to step back.

“Why don't you just let Cheryl go and let her find someone who will treat her like she ought to be treated?”

“Oh, is that someone you? Did she tell you that I asked her for a divorce and she begged me not to leave her? Yep, cried like a baby. Then she fucked me real good, that's probably when she got pregnant. She is nothing but a conniving bitch, which will stop at nothing to get some weak ass brotha, like you, to believe she is so innocent. Did she tell you that she fucked me so good last night, that she had me hollering? I guess she didn't,” he said with a laugh, “That bitch sucked my dick like a newborn on the tittie.”

Matthew grabbed Kevin and had a handful of his shirt.

“Nigga, I suggest you let me go. Someone knows I came here and now that I have your name, it wouldn't be hard to report you.” Matthew gave him enough of a shove to send Kevin backwards.

“Get the fuck out of here!” Matthew shouted. “Oh, but one more thing, give her the divorce and anything she wants. But this, between me and you, this isn't over partna, count on it.”

Kevin was shaken. Who in the hell does he think he is? He is only the man fucking her, I'm her damn husband. I will gladly give her ass a divorce. I have been trying to do this shit for weeks, and here she got this dude thinking I'm the one who doesn't want it. God only knows what she has been telling this fool and this nigga got the nerve to be threatening me. Oh Cheryl, you will be dealt with.

Kevin walked in the house and Rebecca was putting the finishing touches on cleaning up his mess.

“What happened? Where did you go?” She asked.

“Just stay out of it!” he snapped and walked into the kitchen to get a glass of water. She came behind him, grabbed him and spun him around.

“Don't you ever, as long as you are black, tell me to stay out of something! If I ask you a damn question, I expect an answer! I expect the same courtesy I give you. Do you understand me? You leave me here, cleaning up your raggedy shit, I'm worried half to death that you could be sitting in jail and you have the fucking nerve to tell me to stay out of it! I don't fucking think so!”

“I am sorry. I know you care. I'm under a lot of pressure, with being arrested and not knowing where in the hell Cheryl is. I didn't mean to yell at you.”

Matthew got lost in the words that Kevin said, “she cried like a baby, begged me not to leave her.” His cell phone brought him out of the trance. He had called Dee to tell her what happened and she was calling him back. Of course she was on her way to the hospital. He got back to the hospital to see Dee, who was sitting with an older couple. Dee introduced them as Cheryl's parents. The father rose and shook his hand, the mother; she gave a disapproving
look and turned her head.

Kevin walked into the emergency room and greeted Cheryl's parents. He glanced to his right and saw Matthew sitting there. Matthew saw him and it was more than he could bear. He ran up on him and starting swinging. Matthew caught Kevin with a blow to the side of his head. Kevin managed to get to his feet and you would have thought the twelfth round of a championship bout had just started. Security had to be called and the two men were separated.

“Officer, this man came at me for no reason.” Kevin said. “I came here to be with my wife.”

“Bullshit! How are you coming to visit your wife and you have her with you?” Matthew said, pointing in the direction of Rebecca. “Your wife is in the back, beaten black and blue and just had a miscarriage because of you.”

“Look, I have no idea what he is talking about. I want this man arrested.”

“You might want to rethink that buddy. You might end up in the same cell.”

After walking Kevin down the hall, the other officer addressed Matthew.

“Is what he said true? Did you attack that man?”

“Look, I know I was wrong. But you should see what he did to her. She lost a baby because of him. She doesn't deserve this shit. I care for that woman, as a friend, and if he thinks that is going to change, he is sadly mistaken.”

Kevin was close enough to hear the last statement. “Dude, she is still married to me. Don't get it twisted. She is my wife, not yours. Keep your comments to yourself.”

“Or what?” Matthew said, side-stepping the officer.

“Don't think this shit will happen again,” Kevin said while straightening his shirt

Matthew started towards Kevin.

“Or what nigga? I'm not Cheryl, you punk ass mothafucka. Try that shit with me and you won't be able to
lift your hands to hold your dick while you pee, let alone hit someone.”

Kevin tried going around the security guard.

“That's enough you two,” The officer said.

“I'm straight,” Matthew said to the officer.

Kevin walked back towards the nurse's station.

“I'm here to see my wife.”

The officer pulled Matthew to the side.

“Is what you said true? Did he assault her?”

“All I know is, when I saw her yesterday she wasn't bruised and shit like she is today.”

The officer raised his eyebrows.

“Look, don't get it twisted, like I said, I'm only her friend. Nothing more.”

“Well, if that is true, you need to talk her into pressing charges.” Matthew walked away and sat down. A nurse called to him. He went to her and she informed him that Cheryl wanted to see him.

Matthew pulled the chair closer to the bed.

“Feeling better?”

“Much” she said sleepily. “I'm sorry.”

“Don't be. If it was meant to be…”

The nurse walked back in and told her that her husband was here. Immediately her heart began to race. Matthew noticed her hands become sweaty.

“I'll be outside,” Matthew said and gave her hand a squeeze.

Kevin walked past Matthew and brushed up against him. He looked at her and she could tell by the twitch in his jaw that he was fuming.

“I lost the baby because of you.” She blurted out.

“I have no idea what you are talking about.” Before she could say anything else, the nurse said the doctor would be in shortly. Kevin leaned down over her and her breathing quickened.

“Care to know that your little boyfriend will be arrested by the end of the day.”

“He is not my boyfriend.” she said.

“Oh, that's what you say. Anyway, he attacked me, right here in the lobby, everyone saw it, and I am pressing charges.”

“Attacked you for what? What did you do to him?”

“Isn't that sweet? You are sticking by your man, more than you ever did for me. I guess since you have been fucking him behind my back, you got your priorities twisted.”

“That is not true. I haven't slept with him. I am not like you.”

“No matter. No man attacks another man over some chic he hasn't screwed. He will be sorry though.”

“Are you blind, or just stupid? Can't you see that my eye is swollen and these cuts didn't get there all by themselves? Maybe you are the one that I should be sending to jail.” she said.

“Why you little…”

“Mr. and Mrs. Goldman, I'm Dr. Thornton. First my apology on your loss.”

Kevin spoke up. “Thank you, sometimes things happen beyond our control.” She sucked her teeth.

Yes, well don't let that deter you from trying again,” he said. She spoke up quickly, “Oh, we won't be trying again, it was for the best.”

The doctor continued. “Now, I need to discuss some things with the both of you.” She interrupted him again.

“Can he leave please?”

“Uh, sure. If that is what you want.” Kevin tried to protest but the doctor was already escorting him out of the room. As the doctor walked in, she could see the expression written all over his face.

“Doctor, first let me say. No matter what you think, I am not pressing charges, nor do I need to go into a shelter. They have already talked to me and I told them my answer then.”

“Oh, so you have heard it before, so when will you listen, when you have a broken arm, or when he puts your
eye out. Maybe it's when he puts a bullet in you. There is no reason you should have had a miscarriage because you have had two other pregnancies that went to term. Your baby didn't have to die.” Why was he being so harsh to her? “I have seen women in your predicament before and the outcome is always the same, they are either seriously injured or end up as the lead story on the local news.”

“Stop it; I don't want to hear anymore.”

“You need to hear this. Do you realize you could have bled to death? Your uterus was torn, that doesn't just happen. Did you also know that you have twenty three stitches in your perianal area? That doesn't just happen either, that is from brutal force, from being raped.”

“No, I was in an accident a little while ago, and my stomach had been bothering me ever since, and my husband likes it a little rough, that's all.”

“Oh, is that what you normally tell people. That the bruises are from rough sex? What about the bruises we found on your back, what is that from? Please let someone help you.”

“I would like to get some rest now,” she said as she turned over.