Violation (27 page)

“Did law school make you two deaf? Get the fuck outta here.” Dee roared.

My agent looked at me like I was the boss of his body movements.

“This won’t take long.” I nodded for him to go.

Dee looked at his agent and he rose to his feet. He grabbed the contract and his briefcase. My agent, who of course had a law degree followed suit and I watched them leave me alone in the room with the one guy on the planet I knew hated me dearly.

I leaned back in my chair and braced myself for something, maybe a staring contest. Who knows?

“You can’t have my wife.”

I already had her, multiple times. I don’t know why I was being a prick inside my own head.

“So what? Do you think you love Serena?” He asked.

“I know that I do.”

He chuckled. My love was trivial, comical and minimal as far as he was concerned.

“Why?”

“I just do. You wouldn’t be able to understand.”

“And why is that, because I sleep around?” He sucked his teeth. “Or is it because you are such a good guy and I’m a big bad black man?”

“I don’t know. You just wouldn’t get it.”

“Yeah motherfucka you know. Keep that shit one hundred No-Hart. Tell me.”

“I love her. I would never ever treat her the way you do. Hurting her is not an option for me.”

“Why ‘cause you better than me?”

“No because I can see that she is a prize. Any man would be happy to have her.”

“You think I’m not happy to have her?”

“I know you’re not.”

“Well you should know that I would never let her go.”

“Why not? You don’t even want her.”

He smirked. “Maybe I do. Why the fuck do you want her? She’s old as fuck. She pushed two kids out that old pussy. It will be three soon enough. Those titties may be real but they don’t sit up the way they used to. She’s used goods.”

“What’s old to you is brand spanking new to me.”

“She was new to me too, twenty years ago. So how do you think this is going to play out? I have Serena’s mind. I can manipulate her.”

“But you don’t love her.”

“I do. I love my wife. I always have and I always will. I only have to show her a little love and she will forget all about you.”

“Impossible, she’s carrying my child.”

“That’s your little trump card.”

“I don’t need cards. I’m not going to beg you to divorce her. You should want to walk away from this with some dignity.”

“Dignity? I will leave that all to you, the man who fucked his teammate’s wife.”

“We are more than just teammates.”

“I thought so but apparently some old pussy was more important than eight years of friendship.”

“As fucked up as it sounds I love Serena and I love you too. Be a friend and let Serena be happy.”

“I would rather die than let you have my hoe ass wife. What you think is going to happen? You think she’s going to divorce me and marry you? That’s the scenario you cooked up in your perfect White man’s world.”

“Do not try that race shit with me. You’ve had more other race pussy than I ever could dream of having. In my perfect White man’s world, I’m in love with some undeserving man’s wife. So fuck you for being married to my perfect woman. Fuck you for acting like you give a fuck about her when you don’t.”

“No fuck you!”

“Yes fuck me. I made a mistake. I was wrong. I have apologized to you over and over. I fucked up. It’s done. I’m deep in it. The way you loved her enough to marry her above all the other girls I’m sure you were fucking, that’s how I feel. I’m not going to apologize for that. I shouldn’t have to. If you stop being an asshole long enough you can remember what that shit felt like. I know you loved her once. Remember that, I feel it now. Right fucking now! Go fuck Kat or Nia or Larissa or Kayla. You are not in love with Serena. Let her go.”

“That was deeply profound. My heart bleeds for you. Oh yeah go fuck yourself. Never, will I ever, give Serena to you. I will ruin her before she gets a dime of my money. I will make her fear me before I let her be with you. As soon as I get that trophy in my hand I will run your ass out of this country. Get ready to play overseas, I here Russia is looking for a Power Forward.”

That was enough for me. It was time to leave. “See you on the court bro.”

“Send my wife back home per the signed contract Hart!”

I made my dramatic exit.

The drive back to my home was long. I had to break the news to Serena. When I arrived I ran down all the particulars. She listened without saying a word. Then she asked a thousand and one questions. I’m not sure why I thought she would go back to him, but that wasn’t what came to her mind. She even laughed out loud when I mentioned it.

She told me she was going to a hotel. The contract didn’t say she had to go back to him. Then she added that Kozlowski couldn’t tell her where to live. She was right.

I think I was thrown by Deshawn’s arrogance. Dee hadn’t canceled her credit cards. I didn’t have a chance to see how iron clad this contract really was. She told me she could lay low if it meant there was the slightest chance I could re-sign with the Cavs.

She talked and packed. She gave me kisses in between. She was happy for me and sad at the same time.

“It’s not forever.” She assured me.

“I know that. It’s just I will miss you.”

“We will FaceTime. If I can find a way to see you, I will. I just want you to focus on your game, and winning and being great.”

I followed her to a hotel. There was no way I would let her check in without my help. Her bags were heavy. There was no way she could carry them from the car into a hotel lobby.

She picked a place close to the airport. It wasn’t that far from the stadium. I talked her into using my agent’s credit card number. One call and he was onboard. I didn’t want Dee to be able to trace her whereabouts. My agent wanted his part of that one million I was promised for behaving and staying away from Serena. I was to reimburse him for the charges and he would get his cut of the contract money. He wasn’t in a position to turn down my offer. He was eager to help Serena and me.

I reluctantly left her at the hotel alone. We made love like it was the last time we would see each other. I knew it wasn’t. Dee could kill me but he signed his contract so I believed I was safe. Nevertheless, I wasn’t going to stand on a hotel balcony next to him anytime soon. I wasn’t going to a shooting range with him. I wasn’t going to stand close to him in the presence of knives, swords or machetes.

Time away from Serena wasn’t ideal. Some of our games were away so I wasn’t in town anyway. Her daily cell phone pep talks kept me focused. The rare time I could sneak and see her was more than worth it. Pregnancy agreed with her. She was glowing, beautiful and well worth all the agony I faced with Dee and a few of my disapproving teammates.

I was good, especially if Serena and our baby were good. She loved me. She made that clear and she clearly wanted to be my wife as soon as she was free of Deshawn. Pretending to be cool with Dee wasn’t that hard for me. It was harder for him. Sometimes he would slip up and treat me like his brother. Then he would remember my betrayal and reignite his cold shoulder.

***

The road to excellence was always grueling. We won. We did it. We snatched up a three-peat. It took six games to beat Houston, but we did it. Dee and I were on fire throughout the series. We worked together as a team. We were brothers on the court. Strangers as soon as we walked off the court. We were able to fake it until we made it. We were even able to film a commercial together. I was just happy the season was over and I got to be back with Serena.

***

Serena had moved back to my place. Having her in my life was a great comfort when I wasn’t quite sure what my future held. Was I going to be a Cav next season? I didn’t know. It was up to the owners but Dee had input and he was M.I.A.

My cell phone woke me up one sunny day in the off-season.

I answered the phone. “Hello.”

“Noah I’ve been calling you.” Lance’s voice was anxious.

“What time is it?”

“Turn on the news.”

“What?”

“Turn on the news.”

“Okay, okay.” I wiped my eyes and reached for the remote control. I turned the power on. I felt Serena moving beside me.

“We have a breaking news story to report this morning. The top story this morning is beloved NBA player of the Chicago Cavaliers Deshawn Jones was rushed to the hospital. He is currently in critical condition at Mount Sinai Hospital following a car accident on Lake Shore Drive that occurred at approximately 2 A.M. this morning. Witnesses say the Porsche registered to Deshawn was going at a high rate of speed when it suddenly lost control and struck a tree. Deshawn and his unidentified female passenger had to be removed from the wreckage by Fire and Rescue and airlifted to the hospital. The unidentified female was pronounced dead at the shortly after she arrived at the hospital. Our prayers go out to the Jones family at this time. Since the news broke fans of Deshawn Jones have arrived and held a peaceful vigil in the parking lot of Mount Sinai Hospital.”

I turned to see Serena sitting up in bed beside me. Her eyes were glued to the TV screen.

“Noah are you there?”

“Yes, I’m here.”

“You tell Serena. She needs to hear it from you. Is she there?”

“Yes, she’s here.”

“I will see you at the hospital.”

“Yeah, we’re on the way.”

“It sounds bad.” He muttered.

“Yeah.”

“Okay.” He hung up the phone.

This was unreal. Deshawn had resurfaced after a few weeks. I heard he went to Brazil. I didn’t know he was back in Chicago.

We dressed while phone calls were being made and received. Our phones had to be completely silenced or they would never stop ringing and vibrating.

***

The drive to the hospital was quiet. We first went to pick up DJ and Tenisha. At this early hour, they were at home asleep. They were completely oblivious to what was going on with Dee.

I drove with the radio off so the kids couldn’t hear any news about their father. It was more for our benefit than theirs. I didn’t want to hear anything bad and I’m sure Serena felt the same way.

The radio silence didn’t matter much. The kids were both on their cell phones. Social media was filling them in on their father’s accident. It was my hope that the information was, at least, accurate. I could see Tenisha silently crying in the rearview mirror. I wanted to offer her a tissue, but I didn’t want to upset Serena. She was pregnant. I also didn’t want to draw attention to Tenisha’s sorrow.

When we arrived at the hospital things became a blur. There were numerous camera crews and Deshawn’s fans that were up early in the morning. The fans were in their Cavalier gear. I tried not to look at them. We were ushered into the hospital by police and directed to a waiting room area where Lance, Jaden, and a few of the other Cav staff were seated. We greeted as many people as we could.

Coach Tucker was off in the corner on his cell phone. He nodded to me when he noticed me.

A team of doctors approached Serena within seconds. They ushered Serena, the kids and me off into a different, quieter room. I feared it was bad news. They talked about different injuries and my mind went blank. Tenisha’s tears distracted me. I heard the part about the chances not being good. I heard the part about life-saving measures and DNR forms. I couldn’t believe we were at the Do Not Resuscitate stage.

“Mrs. Jones. You can go in and see him alone.” The female doctor plainly stated. “He’s awake and can speak.”

Serena reached back and grabbed my hand and squeezed it tight. “Stay with the kids. I’ll be back.” She left me standing there with DJ and Tenisha.

I watched her walk away with the three doctors.

SERENA

I walked into the room all by myself. There he was. Deshawn was hooked up to so many machines I couldn’t count them. The machines were constant and loud. My heart was beating out of my chest, but the roar of the equipment drowned it out. Deshawn was only slightly propped up. He looked terrible and not like the man I had been married to, the man I was technically still married to. His face wasn’t really recognizable. The glass must have shattered in his face. His head was wrapped up with bandages.

His appearance scared me. I never wanted this to happen. This was bad. It just occurred to me the actress Nia Pillar was dead. This accident was not a fender bender. Someone died. She was too young to go like this. This was life changing. The doctors said it didn’t look good for him. Deshawn couldn’t die. He was really a superman, superhuman. I mean nothing could kill him. Could it? He was invincible. He would die inside if he couldn’t play ball anymore. He loves the game more than anything on this earth.

“Deshawn.” I whispered his name and watched his eyes flutter open.

“I’m alive Rena,” He muttered.