The Demise of Alexis Vancamp

by Karen P. Williams

  “Alexis!”

  “Yes, Mom?”

  “Pay close attention when I am talking to you. Your father and I worked very hard to give you and your sister the life that we have. And what the hell are you doing with this man? You had a great guy and you seem to have forgotten that just thirty days ago, he killed himself. And you are parading this guy in front of the church? He should be in jail after the way he treated Clare.”

  “He was protecting me. Clare slapped me.”

  “If I were Dannon’s mother I would have done a whole lot more. I would have whipped your ass!”

  “Mom!” My mother never spoke to me in that way. It was offensive.

  “I’m not going to handle you with kid gloves when I feel like you are making bad choices. You should have shown them more respect than to do what you did.”

  “Oh, Mother, please. Why go to the funeral when it was clear that everyone, including you, blames Santana and me for his death?”

  My grandmother was mixing something in a bowl. “Sandy. Let the girl make her own mistakes. She will learn soon enough on her own.”

  My mother ignored her and started chopping an onion. “I know you didn’t pull the trigger, but Dannon was obviously very hurt that he caught you with another man when you two were supposed to marry. That man loved you. And he was a good man. You should have done better by him than you did. You should have broken it off or stopped seeing that man you call yourself crazy about. But to carry on for a month with that man behind Dannon’s back, knowing the pressure he was under, was just wrong. And to have the man in your house!”

  “Well, I can’t change the past. And I really need you to give Santana a chance. You keep comparing him to Dannon. He is an underdog. He wasn’t raised with a silver spoon in his mouth. And, Mother, you know what they say about underdogs. They come out on top. He is in school right now, studying to be an auto mechanic. And you always loved a man good with his hands, like Daddy. So, Mommy, I’m merely following in your footsteps. I think he’s going to be something great. You will see, Mommy. And if you just give him a chance you will love him like I already feel that I do.”

  At this point it seemed that my mother had tuned me out. She offered no response and was now checking on a pot on the stove. It was fine by me, because at the end of the day, I was going to make my own decisions whether she supported them or not. And her focus on the food cooking gave me the opportunity to go back out to the living room and hang out with Santana until Sunday dinner was done.

  Just as we sat down to eat, I tried to introduce my mother to Santana and everyone else. My mother was so cold to him, stiffly shaking his hand before taking her seat at the dinner table. My father had already met Santana and even though he was no longer working for him, he was pleasant to him, and so were my grandmother and grandfather. My sister didn’t even acknowledge him. But that didn’t last for long.

  We all sat across from each other at our huge dinner table in the dining room. I squeezed Santana’s hand under the table. We feasted on baked salmon, roasted Cornish hens, a super tender and well-flavored roast beef, asparagus tips that Santana almost gagged on, garlic new potatoes, collard greens, and vegetable medley. For dessert my nana had made sweet potato pie, pound cake, and a five-layer chocolate cake. As good as the food was, there was so much tension at the table. My sister sat there chewing on her food and shaking her head at me. My dad was neutral but my mother continued to stare at Santana with a piercing gaze, all while my grandmother took the opportunity to stuff herself with food she didn’t need due to her diabetes. But ever since my grandfather had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, she had been using food for comfort. Normally, my mother would monitor her but her attention was on my new man. My grandfather acted like he didn’t even know who my sister and I were. I just hoped the attack I received at church, when Dannon’s mother had gone off on me, would be the last one. But my bitchy sister continued to sit at the table with a foul expression on her face like she had just drank some buttermilk. So I didn’t think the war was over. I knew someone was going to go in on me during dinner. I gave her a look that said, “Don’t start,” but it didn’t stop her from drilling me. She was such a spoiled, snobby bitch. Ugh! Just because we were pretty and wealthy didn’t give any of us the right to act like we were the shit.

  “Alexis! I’m scratching my head trying to figure out how you can have the nerve to bring this man in our house, to our dinner table, after you lost your fiancé. What the hell is wrong with you?”

  My mother’s fork dropped. “Bria,” she hissed. “Watch your mouth. You have adults at the table.”

  “I’m grown too.”

  I narrowed my eyes to slits at her. I had never disrespected my mother like she just had. And, secondly, where the hell did she get off questioning me? There were videos of her all over WorldStarHiphop.com, busting it open and kissing girls! Not to mention her horrific Facebook page.

  “It’s none of your—”

  “It is! Dannon was like a big brother to me. And you’ve got this thug at our table.”

  “Bria, stop it!” I fired.

  She frowned and crossed her arms under her chest, giving me the stink eye.

  Santana threw his head back and laughed at her. She then turned her stink eye on him.

  “You lucky you a cutie, else I’d make you cry, little girl.”

  She gave him a weird look at him calling her “cute.” I knew he wasn’t flirting with her. He was just saying she was cute because she was my little sister.

  “Which projects did you crawl out of?”

  “Don’t be a little bitch!” I yelled.

  “Alexis! Bria!” my mother shouted.

  She flung her shoulder-length hair to the side. “Well, someone has to take that stick out of her ass, or something else that is obviously stuck up Miss Prissy, with the dumb moves you’re making.”

  My mother and I gasped.

  Santana chuckled.

  The sound of a fist hitting the table made everyone except for Santana and my grandfather jump.

  We all looked at my daddy, who had fire in his eyes. And he was normally a calm man.

  “Listen. That’s enough. You two girls need to watch your mouth and how you speak to each other. I didn’t raise you two that way. Yes. It is sad that Dannon died.” My father pulled off his glasses and continued. “I loved Dannon like a son. And I’m sure Alexis didn’t plan on things going the way they did. But we as her family need to respect her wishes.”

  I exhaled. “Thank you, Daddy.”

  My sister continued to stare at me and shake her head.

  Santana pushed his chair back and stood. “Where is the head?” Everyone looked confused, so he said, “Bathroom.”

  “Down the hall to the right,” I told him. He walked out of the room.

  “But, Daddy, she is dumb. You wasted all that money educating her and look at the dumb decisions she is making with this—”

  “That’s it! I can’t take her anymore.”

  I pulled my napkin off my lap and tossed it on the table before pushing my chair back and standing to my feet. I walked out of the dining room toward the bathroom Santana was in and knocked on the door.

  “Damn. What?”

  “Baby. Meet me at the car outside.” I turned to walk to the living room and the hell out of my parents’ house before I killed my little sister. We were always so close but she was being such a judgmental bitch. I didn’t judge her with all her mishaps she was doing in college. When I got to the door and reached for the knob I heard someone call my name.

  I turned around and saw my mother walking toward me with a Bible in her hand.

  Oh, Lord.

  She placed it in the air as if in surrender. “I didn’t come to berate you at all. Just listen to me. I want to show you something.” She turned the Bible to Proverbs 4:23. She put her manicured index finger on a line and said calmly, “Read that, baby. That all I need you to do and then you can go.”

  “Mom.”


  “What does it say?” she insisted in a stern voice.

  I took a deep breath and read it. “It says . . . ‘Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.’”

  “What do you think that means, baby?”

  “Mom! Are we going to have Bible Study right now, like really?”

  She closed her eyes and nodded. “Okay. But just think about what it says, Alexis. And if you have a question about it, call me.”

  “I will, Mom.” I gave her a hug and opened the door. Before stepping out, I paused and gave her one final look. She stood there wringing her hands as if she was filled with so much dread. She really didn’t need to be. I knew how to take care of myself. I was perfectly fine. I knew Santana was rough around the edges but other than that, he was just fine for me. Gosh. I had always been taught that it didn’t matter where you start but where you ended up. Santana would be just fine. He had me to shape and mold him into the best man he could be.

  I walked to my car, opened the driver’s door, and sat down. A few minutes later, Santana came walking toward the car and was talking on his cell phone. He had the HTC. I got it for him; before that he had a Metro PCS phone. I told him he needed an upgrade. When he saw me in the car he cut the convo short and placed his phone in his pocket. I wondered who he was talking to and why he couldn’t have the conversation in front of me.

  Before I could ask him who he was talking to he slipped in the passenger seat and said, “Your family is a fucking trip! Y’all may have money, but all y’all got issues.”

  “No family is perfect,” I said defensively, making a mental note to ask him later who he was talking to.

  “But, shit, your granddaddy didn’t say a single word. He acted like he didn’t know how to fucking talk. And your grandmamma acted like she was going to eat herself into a grave.”

  “Well, since my grandfather was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, she has been very depressed and eating more. She used to be small like my mother.”

  “Whose parents are they?”

  “My mother’s. My father’s parents live in West Virginia.”

  It was like he stopped listening as I talked. Like he went into a daze.

  “Santana?”

  He refocused his eyes on me. “And your sister.” He shook his head.

  She had pissed me off so bad today. I probably wouldn’t have defended her to anyone. I loved her to death but she was changing. She always had been wild and a little loose. But she always had respect for me as her big sister.

  “Your mom cracked me up, though. She seems bougie as hell. She reminds me of you. But I’m going to break you up out of that shit. The only one that seems halfway decent is your father.”

  My mind went back to the phone call. “So who was that you were talking to when you were walking to the car?”

  “No one,” was the quick reply.

  I was silent, not buying it because he was speaking to someone. His quick reply and refusal to tell me who it was caused a little alarm. I made a mental note to look in his phone and see if it was the same girl whose number I saw in his phone earlier. I wanted to question him further but I didn’t want to argue because I wanted to make love.

  “Aye, baby. Come here.”

  “What?”

  “Go down and suck on Lethal.” That was the nickname for his penis.

  “Baby. Can’t we wait until we get home?”

  He pulled it out of his pants. It was so big it slapped against his stomach. “I want it now.”

  I sighed and knew if I didn’t do what he wanted he wouldn’t let me come over, and I always feared that if I left him wanting he would go to another. Other women should have thought that way too. That was why their men were cheating on them. That’s probably why Arianna’s man had cheated on her.

  I looked around the long driveway. No one was outside and they were probably enjoying dessert now. My sister’s Charger was parked next to my Infiniti. Then there was my mother’s Benz and my dad’s Beemer. I figured no one would be outside anyhow.

  So I bent my head down and started sucking on my baby.

  “Damn. Shit, baby.”

  I bobbed my head up and down on his dick. I made sure I kept my mouth wet. I used my hand to rub up and down his shaft like he had taught me to. He was pushing his body up from the seat, like he was entering me. I held on tight and continued to use my jaws to suck him. When he came, I swallowed all of it.

  Suddenly out of nowhere, Santana started laughing.

  Confused, I peered up at his face and asked before I even got a chance to wipe my face, “What?” Cum leaked from my chin.

  He pointed out the window.

  I sat up, looked out the window, and saw my sister staring back at me, near her car. She started shaking her head.

  Embarrassed, I put my head down.

  Chapter 6

  After Santana dozed off to sleep, I went through his phone to see who the last call was from. And, sure enough, the caller’s name was Reina. Instantly, I wondered who she was. The fact that she was a female and he was so dismissive when I asked who he was talking to made me furious. Logically speaking, I knew he had no family out here so she being blood related was not a possibility. I told myself that it could possibly be someone from his school or old job. But I was unable to convince myself that that was where he knew her from. I needed to know just who the woman was. I needed 100 percent confirmation and nothing less....

  When I went to work the next day, I could not for any reason focus. I ignored my office phone as well as my e-mail. Same applied for doing paperwork. I dialed Reina’s number. Santana was my man and I had a right to know who she was. I didn’t want to ask him because then I would be telling that I went through his phone. I didn’t want him to feel that I didn’t trust him. He had always told me that that was an open door for him to cheat. “If you think I’m doing the shit why the fuck not do it?” he always said.

  So without any more hesitation, I dialed the number and took a deep breath. I felt super nervous as the phone rang. Part of me hoped that she wouldn’t pick up. And if she did . . . What was she going to tell me? That she was sleeping with Santana? That he was in love with her and she as well? It would positively crush me. An image of Santana panting over another naked woman filled my eyes. I shook my head to block the image out.

  A female answered, “Hello?”

  My heart sped up. Thinking of a lie, quickly, I said, “Hi. I found this number in my boyfriend’s pants pocket.”

  “Then, bitch, put it back!”

  I gasped.

  Then the call ended.

  Now I was more curious as to who the bitch was. The nerve of her to hang up in my face! I started surfing the Web to see if I could find out a way to get a person’s address with merely their phone number. Granted, it was never something I ever had to do with Dannon, but Santana was a different man. I never had any doubt in my mind as to what Dannon was doing when I wasn’t around. Don’t get me wrong, I felt Santana was just as good of a man as Dannon was, minus the silver spoon in his mouth, but the thing was, our relationship was so fresh, so new. Maybe he had some loose ends he hadn’t quite yet tied. My loose end was Dannon, and that loose end was now tied because he had died. But had he still been alive, who was to say he wouldn’t have been calling or popping up to beg me to go back to him? Had Dannon still been alive, I would have broken things off with him for Santana. It could be the same scenario for Santana. Maybe he had broken things off with her and she was still begging him back. Or he had one foot out and one foot in because he didn’t know how to end it with her. But to be sure, I needed to find out on my own.

  I dialed Arianna’s number.

  “Hello?”

  I ignored the irritation in her voice. “Arianna. What was the name of that site you used to track down the chick Will was cheating on you with?”

  I frown as I was greeted with silence. She was my bestie and if anyone should be upset it should have been me, not her, after how
she brutally judged me at church.

  “Well?’ I snapped.

  She sighed into the phone. That was it! She had tried my patience.

  “Never mind!” I hung up in her goddamned face. “Self-centered bitch!” Madly, I typed away on the computer for a good twenty minutes, until I discovered what site it was. It was called Spokeo. I paid twenty-five dollars for the service and put the number in. The shit was amazing. Reina and Trisha Brown popped up. It had all their info: where they lived, how much money they made. It was insane! The one I was concerned with was Reina because she was, after all, the bitch calling my man.

  I jotted down all the information I needed. She lived in Compton, on Bullis Road. I called my dad and left a message, telling him I would be out of the office for the rest of the day.

  I put the paper in my purse, grabbed my cell and keys, and locked up my office. Since my office was located in Lakewood—across from a shopping center that had various restaurants like Pick Up Stix, Cornerstone Bakery, and Cold Stone, and a cleaners—I was not far at all from Compton. I could take either the freeway or the streets. To avoid traffic, I decided to get to Atlantic Avenue and take that all the way to Compton. Once I made it to her street, I drove slowly, scanning for her address. I found it and parked across the street from her yellow house that had a huge picture window. I looked around disdainfully at all the raggedy apartments and run-down houses on her street. Yes, she had a house, but look where it was. After inspecting her home further, I saw that it looked pretty shabby as well.

  I turned on my satellite radio and waited for any type of movement, someone coming to or leaving the house.

  It was well over an hour that I still found myself parked out there. I needed to use the bathroom and my throat was dry from thirst. But still I waited. I wondered who she was and what she would look like. Was she competition for me? Again, I asked myself, what was the extent of their relationship? If there really was one. The thing about Santana was that he was far more manly and sophisticated than Dannon. There was still a mystery that surrounded Santana. At times I liked it and at times, like this, I didn’t.