This Can't be Life (45 page)

Every day I was caught off guard when mail came for Stacey. I was even more caught off guard when I received an envelope in the mail addressed to me from an attorney in
Beverly Hills
. When I opened it, I saw a petition for divorce in the name of
Carlton
and Charletta Banks. He filed for divorce? I couldn’t believe it. I picked up the phone and called him right away.

“I got the package from your lawyer,” I said when he answered the phone.

“Good. Now you know I’m serious. I want to be with you, Simone, and I’m not playing any games with you. The only thing that was keeping us together was the kids, and that can’t do it no more. I will always be there for my kids, but I deserve to be happy. I deserve to be with you.” I didn’t really know what I was feeling. I was so shocked that I couldn’t think of anything to say.

“How long will it take until its final,
Carlton
?”

“I don’t know. Depends on if she’s going to try to fight me, but I don’t think she will. Shit, she probably wants out more than I do. At least with me filing, she can get more. I’m basically giving her a way out. I’m offering her a lot. I’m more than ready for this to be over.”

“I love you,
Carlton
,” I said as a tear rolled down my cheek. “You make me so happy. I don’t know what I would do without you right now and that is so scary to me,” I whispered into the phone as tears ran down my face.

“Well, you don’t have to be scared. I’m here and I love you, too. You know that. When you’re ready to join me on the road, let me know and I’ll send for you, okay?”

“Okay, I’ll be ready in a few days. I need to get away from here for a while, but I need to spend some time with Talise. I’ll call you later, okay?”

“All right, cool. And hey, I’m working on a big surprise for you,” he said with a smile in his voice.

“What is it,
Carlton
?” I laughed through the last of my happy tears. He made me feel so good that this had to be right.

“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise, now would it? You just keep your head up. Remember, there is always tomorrow, all right?”

“All right,
Carlton
. I love you.” After hanging up the phone, I noticed my hands were shaking. I couldn’t believe that my relationship with him had moved so fast. No more than a couple of weeks ago I was willing to give him up, knowing I had never in my life felt this way about anyone before. Now things have turned a complete 180. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with that man and hoped that was what the future held.

I spent the next couple of days at Talise’s house. Malachi was at the hospital on a 48-hour shift and felt better knowing that I was going to be there with her. She finally shared the news of her pregnancy with me and I couldn’t have been happier. We joked that Stacey would be reincarnated as her baby girl. We had a good laugh at that. I finally got her out of the house to do some shopping and we spent a semi normal day together. We both tried to mend our hearts and go on with our lives, as we knew Stacey would want us to.

Deon

Sitting in my living room waiting for the call from my doctor, scared every time the phone rang, my nerves were shot. The sore had disappeared from my dick by the time I saw the doctor a couple of days ago, which made it hard for them to do a test for herpes. He said they would need to get a culture from a sore to get a definitive result. He took blood for an AIDS and HIV test and every other STD he could test for. He said we would have the results in a few days and that he would definitely put a rush on it. All I could do was wait to see what the outcome would be.

I hadn’t talked to my family in a week. I had only left my house to go up to Loyola Marymount to workout and play a game or two of ball to release some of this stress. That was my only reprieve. When I was on the court, I didn’t have to think about anything that was going on in my life, just the ball and the basket.

Shelly had called a few times and, of course, I sent her ass straight to voicemail. I don’t know why she was even calling me. There was nothing she could say to me. I had taken her to meet my family and felt like such a damned fool. I was too nice and nice guys always finish last and I’d be damned if I came in last at anything.

I picked up the phone, deciding that I couldn’t wait any longer. I called the doctor’s private line and thankfully, got him in his office.

“It’s Deon Bradford, Doctor Wharton. Any word yet?” I asked reluctantly after he answered by simply saying his name.

“Deon, I was just about to call you with your results.”

“Sorry, Doc. I couldn’t wait any longer. I’m going crazy over here.” I said honestly.

“Well then let’s get down to business. The HIV test came back negative and so did the test for herpes and all other STDs, but just because the herpes test came back negative doesn’t mean that you are in the clear. I recommend that you come back in six months to be tested again for HIV, and if you get another sore, you should come in immediately. Other than that, you have a clean bill of health by me.” Dr. Wharton made my day. I thanked him, got off the phone, and went up to the rooftop to take a swim. I felt much better, but my mind still wasn’t completely at ease. I knew that the possibility of me having herpes was still there and more likely than not, I was infected. There really was no other way to explain having a sore on your dick. Just waiting to see if anything would pop up again would be painstaking, but there wasn’t anything I could do, but wait.

Swimming was therapeutic for me and helped clear my mind. Around my 10th lap, I decided to kill the old Deon. From this point on, the old Deon was dead! I emerged from the water a new man with a new attitude toward women. I called Darryl Withers, my wildest teammate, to see what he was getting into tonight. He was surprised to hear from me, but was more than happy to have me join him and his boys. They were going to a mansion party in the
Sunset
Plaza
area. I couldn’t wait. I was about to be a wild boy tonight. Hanging with Darryl Withers, there was no telling what kind of party this was going to be.

Simone

I sent
Carlton
a text message to let him know that I was on the phone with the detective, getting an update on Stacey’s murder case. He had just rung through my other line and I sent him straight to voicemail. I couldn’t believe what the detective was telling me. He interviewed Tyron and he completely denied even knowing Stacey. Said he may have seen him around a few times, but he didn’t know him personally. I was pissed off. I don’t know why I even expected him to tell the truth. It hurt to hear him deny my friend, because I know that would have hurt Stacey. Of course, he wasn’t anywhere to be seen at the funeral, and it made me mad that he wanted to make Stacey out to be some type of liar.

“Well, were you able to follow up on the purchase of the truck? He bought that truck for him!” I stated.

“Yes, we’re waiting on more info on that now. It was bought full out, so we are trying to do a paper trail and see how it was paid. We know he didn’t just walk in there and pay cash money. It had to be check or credit card or something traceable. Otherwise, it would have been reported to the FBI and IRS. You can’t just pay cash for a $100,000 car.”

“I can’t believe this asshole is denying my friend. I know they had a relationship. I know it! He was out there to see him.”

“Well something is definitely up with this Tyron Marks guy. He just doesn’t seem to be telling the truth. And to be honest with you, I can understand why. Not to say that it’s right, but he has a lot to protect. If he was linked to this in any way, it could have huge ramifications. He lawyer’d up on us when I asked if he would be willing to take a lie detector test. Something is definitely fishy if you ask me. We just have to prove it. There’s something else; the toxicology reports came back-pretty fast, actually. Did Stacey use drugs?”

“Never! Stacey would never use drugs or even smoke cigarettes. Why do you ask?” I was stunned.

“Crystal Meth was found in his system. It was injected hypodermically.”

“I can’t believe this. Stacey would never shoot anything up his arm.”

I was so angry that hot tears were streaming down my face.

“Were you able to get any information on the man that was stalking him?” I asked. I had given him the name and telephone number of my client and her husband. Stacey was positive that it was my client’s husband that was sending him that crap.

“We made contact and he definitely has something to say. He’s coming up here next Tuesday to talk. We were able to pull a print from the note that was sent in the FedEx box, we ran the prints but no hits. So, when he gets here we’ll print him to see if they match. We just have to wait and see. Plus, we’re still going through the evidence that we collected from the crime scene. Something will turn up.”

“Can you please call me after you interview him? I’ll see what else I can think of that may help,” I said, sounding defeated and feeling the same.

“I most certainly will. Please know that we are going to do everything in our power to find out what happened to Stacey and bring the perpetrator to justice. Unfortunately, things aren’t like they are on CSI. It does take some time, but we’ll put the pieces together slowly but surely.”

I felt completely helpless and deeply saddened after I got off the phone with the detective. I dialed
Carlton
’s cell number and was grateful that he picked up on the first ring.

“Any news?”

“Same shit. Doesn’t seem like they’re any closer to finding who did this. They may have a lead on the man that was stalking him. They’re going to interview him next week.” I told him through tears. It was still hard for me to believe that my best friend was dead. Everyday when I awoke, it was the first thing on my mind. It was like a rude awakening, a pain that nagged all day. I cried daily for my friend.

“What the fuck they mean they gon’ interview him next week? Why they ain’t interviewing him now? Why haven’t they already?” he asked, sounding pissed off.

“He said he doesn’t want him to lawyer up on them. They don’t want him to think that he is a suspect, I guess. I just know they have to find out who did this. I can’t rest until they do.” I didn’t want to tell him about the drugs for some reason and, of course, I left out Tyron Marks. I never mentioned anything about the relationship he had with Stacey. I knew that
Carlton
didn’t know anything about Tyron’s secret life. I was holding that card close. Something would surface that would connect Tyron and Stacey. I just knew it.

“That’s bullshit. Look, can you meet me in
North Carolina
this Friday?” he asked.

“Yeah, I don’t see why not. I need to get away from here as soon as possible,” I said happy that it was Tuesday and I would be seeing him by Friday.

“Cool. I’ll send your flight information as soon as I get it. I can’t wait to see you. I have a surprise for you when you get here.” I couldn’t imagine what it could be, but I was excited at the thought.

“Tell me what it is, please,” I begged.

“Nope, not happening. I’ll hit you back with your flight info later. Love you, girl, and keep your head up, a’ight?”

“Okay, talk to you later. Love you, too.” He made me feel so happy, yet I was so sad. I didn’t know what to do with myself for two days. I couldn’t wait to leave LA and escape the madness for a few days.