One Man's Trash

by Yolanda Allen

  Philip picked up the CD and opened the case. He read over the lyrics. He placed the CD back on the desk and shook his head. “So JT did steal the song. You have this registered with the copyright office, right?”

  “Yes, sir. I did that as soon as I found the CD.”

  “Good. Well I hate that this happened but we are going to have to let him go. We have to think about our reputation and there’s no way that we can work with someone that is basically a thief.”

  “I’m sorry that this happened too, Mr. James. I didn’t mean to bring any drama to your company but I couldn’t allow him to take credit for something that he didn’t create. Trust me I never knew that he was that type of person. I wouldn’t have had anything to do with him if I did.”

  “I know you’re not the type that associates with people like that, no need to apologize. The next step will be to release him from his contract.”

  “Thank you.”

  Diamond walked back to her desk. It was a bittersweet victory. On one hand she felt bad that JT’s first record deal was about to come to an end but on the other hand she felt that he got what he deserved. She would never wish anything bad on anyone but he started it. He made his bed and now he had to lay it, as her mother would say.

  Team DeeAye 2, Team JT 0.

  When Diamond returned from her lunch break there was a message on her office phone. She dialed her access code to check the message.

  “I guess you must be happy now that the label dropped me. You couldn’t let it go, could you? Just remember whatever happens, you brought it on yourself.”

  She saved the message. Whatever happens, she brought it on herself? What was he planning to do? She jumped at the sound of her phone ringing. Private Number showed on the caller ID. She turned down the ringer and let the call go to voicemail. A few seconds later, the red light came on. She entered her access code and checked the message.

  No words on the other end. Just heavy breathing then laughter. She deleted the message. It had to be JT. What was he trying to do? Scare her? For what? He couldn’t get back on the label. It was too late. She proved that he had stolen her song. It was his fault. All he had to do was create his own music. The phone rang a third time. Blocked number again.

  She picked it up. “Hello, Tri Records, how may I assist you?” Silence. “Hello, Tri Records, can I help you?” Heavy breathing came through the headset. “JT? JT, I know this is you. Stop calling my job. This is over. Move on.” She slammed the phone down.

  JT called back. She let it go to voicemail again. She quickly picked up the phone when the red light came on. “You think this is over?” He laughed. “This is not over.” He ended the call.

  Diamond placed the phone back into the cradle. She immediately dialed Kimmy’s number.

  “Hey, girl. Can you meet me after work? I need to go take out a restraining order on JT. He’s been blowing up my work phone basically threatening me because he got dropped from the label.”

  “What? Are you serious? See, Diamond, I knew he wasn’t right. I knew it.”

  “I know, I know. Can you go with me?”

  “Yeah, sure. I’ll be at your job at four o’clock.”

  “Thanks, girl.”

  At 3:58 p.m. Diamond rushed downstairs to the lobby. Kimmy waited near the revolving door.

  Kimmy greeted her with a hug. “You okay?”

  “A little shaken up. But I’ll be fine. I just want to hurry up and get this restraining order. This dude knows where I work and where I live.”

  “Do you really think he’ll do something to hurt you? I mean, maybe he was just saying those things because he’s upset.”

  “I don’t want to take any chances.” Diamond looked outside. JT stood at the corner of the street. “He’s here.”

  Kimmy spun around. JT waved.

  “Let’s go.” Diamond pushed through the revolving door and Kimmy followed behind her. JT began approaching them. She went in the opposite direction. He caught up to them.

  “Diamond. I know you saw me.” He stopped in front of her.

  “What do you want JT? To threaten me again?”

  “I didn’t threaten you.”

  “You said whatever happens that I brought it on myself. I took that as a threat.”

  “I just want to know how could you do this? I thought you loved me?”

  Kimmy sucked her teeth. JT glared at her. She crossed her arms over her chest.

  “JT, I did love you, but that went out the window when you cheated on me, remember Stephanie? And on top of that you broke into my apartment and stole from me. And if that wasn’t enough, you tried to use my music without even asking me. What happened to you loving me?”

  “I still love you. We can work this out. I was upset earlier when I left that message. I’m sorry. Can you give me another chance?”

  “I don’t think so. There’s no coming back from what you did. I think we should just cut all ties.”

  “How can you just stop loving someone that fast? Are you fucking someone else?” His voice got louder.

  “What? First of all, that’s none of your business. Second of all, when someone hurts you like you did me, love is easily lost.”

  “I said I was sorry.”

  “Okay, fine, I accept your apology.”

  “Alright then.” He smiled.

  “But I can’t have you in my life. At all.”

  “What? I apologized to you and you still acting like a bitch!” He took a step forward.

  “Let’s go!” Kimmy pulled her by the arm.

  JT yelled after them. They hailed a cab and headed to the Family Court located on Lafeyette Street. Diamond walked up to the front desk. The clerk hung up the phone when she approached.

  “How can I help you?”

  “I want to take out a restraining order.”

  The clerk pushed some forms under the glass. “Fill these out. When you are done, bring them back to the window.”

  Diamond filled out the forms and returned them to the clerk.

  “Ma’am you need to go to the second floor and wait to see a judge he will decide based on what you filled out if you will receive a temporary order of protection or a final order of protection. If granted, per your request on your form, the respondent is not allowed to show up at your home or work. And he’s not allowed to call you at your job. If he violates this order of protection, please call the police and he will be arrested.”

  “How long will the temporary order last?”

  “Until you go to court. The respondent will be served with papers informing him of the order of protection.”

  “Thanks.”

  Diamond and Kimmy took the elevator to the second floor to wait to see the Judge. They waited about an hour to see him. He granted the temporary restraining order and arranged for the summons to be delivered to JT by the police. He set a court date a month from today. Diamond left the court house.

  “Is this really my life right now?”

  Kimmy hugged her and rubbed her back. “It’s going to be okay, Diamond. As Auntie Jannie would say, this too shall pass.”

  # # # #

  Diamond jumped out of her sleep. She looked at the clock on her nightstand. 3:30a.m. Who the hell was ringing her bell at this time of the morning? She eased out of bed and tiptoed to her living room window that faced the street. She peeked out the window. There was no shadow in the doorway so no one was buzzing from downstairs. Her bell rang again. Someone was at her apartment door. Her heart pounded. She looked around the dark apartment.

  “Diamond!” The voice came through her door. “Diamond, we need to talk.”

  She tiptoed to her front door. The alarm was on. She didn’t dare look through the peephole. JT had gotten into her building. She’d changed the locks to her apartment but she couldn’t convince the landlord to change the locks for the front door. That would’ve been too costly. She walked quietly into her bedroom and snatched her phone from the nightstand. Her hands trembled. She stood in the middle of
her bedroom floor with her eyes closed, wishing him away.

  Her bell buzzed again startling her. She grabbed a pair of sweats from her chair, put on her sneakers, and a t-shirt just in case she had to make a run for it. She walked back into the living room when she heard her neighbor in the hallway. She stepped quietly to the front door and looked through the peephole.

  Her neighbor advised JT to leave because he was causing a disturbance. JT swayed a little. He’d been drinking. He walked down the stairs without saying a word. She hurried back to the window and watched as he came outside and leaned against her building. Just then a cop car cruised down the street. He stepped off the porch when he spotted the car. He looked back at her window. She ducked out of sight, hoping he hadn’t seen her peeping. After a few seconds, she pulled the curtain back a little. He was gone.

  She exhaled.

  Her hands trembled as she pulled up the contact list on her phone.

  “Ryder, sorry to wake you.”

  “Diamond, what’s wrong?” he asked, half awake.

  “JT was here. Ringing my bell and calling my name.”

  “What? Did you call the cops?”

  “He’s gone now. I’m just a little rattled. Sorry to call you so late or early.” She looked out the window again. No one.

  “No, it’s no problem. Diamond, I don’t know if you should stay there until the court date or at all. This guy knows where you work and where you live. Apparently he doesn’t give a shit about a restraining order. It’s not safe for you.”

  Diamond slid to the floor and rested her forehead on her knees. “How did I end up here, geez?”

  “If you move back home, it won’t be like you gave up. You have to look out for your well-being. I’m sure you can find an internship here. Besides I kind of liked having you around those few days.”

  A smile tipped up the corners of her mouth. “So this is all about you huh?”

  “Maybe.” He chuckled. “Seriously, your safety comes first. We can worry about the rest later. If you need me to help you, I will do what I can. I’m here for you, okay?”

  “Thanks, Ryder.”

  “Do you think you can go back to sleep?”

  “I’ll try.” She rose from the floor and shuffled back into her bedroom. She lay down on her back.

  “You lying down?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I’ll sing you to sleep.”

  She closed her eyes as his smooth voice comforted her.

  FOURTEEN

  Diamond turned the alarm off on her cell phone. She rubbed her eyes. It seemed like she had just closed her eyes five minutes ago. She dragged herself into the shower and dressed for work. During her twenty minute commute she decided that she would quit her job. She could move to another area in New York and find another job. But why put herself through that unnecessary madness. She could just go back home and make a life there. She had nothing to prove to anyone. Like Ryder said, her safety was the most important thing right now. And she didn’t feel safe.

  Team DeeAye 2, Team JT 1.

  “Mr. James, can I speak with you for a quick moment, please?”

  “Of course. What’s on your mind?”

  She sighed. “I’ve enjoyed working here. I really appreciate you giving me this opportunity so it saddens me to say that I can no longer work here.”

  His brows furrowed. “Why not?”

  “JT wasn’t just my friend. He was my boyfriend. Before you signed him we broke up and he stole my music. Not just the song that he performed at the listening party, but all my music that I had hidden in a safe.” Philip’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Basically he started stalking and harassing me once he was dropped from the label. In fear of what he may do out of anger, I took out a restraining order. He violated the restraining order by showing up at my apartment early this morning.”

  “Oh lord. Diamond.”

  “He knows where I work, he knows where I live and I just don’t know if he’s going to stop harassing me. So I’ve decided to move back to Atlanta. I don’t want to take any chances that he won’t violate the restraining order again.”

  “Did you call the cops?”

  “I didn’t call the cops. I mean I know I can call the cops but honestly, I’ll be looking over my shoulder every day until court. And I just don’t want to stress myself like that.”

  Philip shook his head. “I can’t believe you’re going through this. Oh my goodness. Is there anything you need, anything that I can do?”

  “I don’t think so. I haven’t told anyone my decision yet, since I just decided on my way here.” A weak smile spread across her face.

  “Well if you need anything at all, feel free to call on me. Anything.”

  “Thank you, Mr. James. I really appreciate it.”

  “And Diamond our offer still stands with the music. We still would like to see some of your work. So once you get settled back home, email me. We can still work with you. You’re very talented and I wouldn’t want you to let anyone stand in your way. Okay, kiddo?”

  She smiled gratefully. “I won’t.”

  # # # #

  Diamond stayed with Kimmy and Auntie Jannie for a week. During that time she’d talked to her landlord and explained her circumstances. She was allowed to break her lease but she lost her security deposit. Just out of good measure she helped them find a tenant to replace her. Ryder got permission from his parole officer to come to New York to help her move. She felt safe sleeping in her apartment again with him there.

  Auntie Jannie greeted her at the door. “Hey Auntie!” She hugged her hello.

  “My other favorite niece! How are you, suga? Come on in.”

  Diamond stepped inside. “I’m doing fine. How are you?”

  “Can’t complain. Who’s this fine fella you got witcha?”

  “Ryder.”

  Ryder reached out his hand to Auntie Jannie. “No baby, we only give hugs around here.”

  She hugged him tight and winked at Diamond over his shoulder.

  “Nice to meet you, ma’am,” he said after she let him go.

  “Have a seat dear. Kimmy!” she yelled. “We got company. Bring your butt in here, girl!”

  Kimmy ran from the back. “Hey y’all!” She greeted Ryder and Diamond with a hug. “Are you all set?” Kimmy sat on the floor Indian style.

  “Pretty much. I found a new tenant. I should be out by the end of the week. The movers will be here in two days to get all my big stuff.”

  Kimmy covered her face. Diamond knelt down to comfort her. “Don’t. You’re gonna make me cry. Stop now.”

  “I can’t help it. I’ll miss you.”

  “Kimmy, I’ll be back to visit. And it’s not like you won’t be coming to Atlanta. You have to come home and visit your family.”

  She wiped her eyes. “Oh yeah. That’s right.” They laughed. “Ryder, you better take care of my best friend, especially since Ryan’s not there. She won’t have any close friends there but you. You promise?”

  Ryder held up three fingers. “Boy scouts honor.”

  “Were you even in the boy scouts?” Kimmy asked.

  “Of course I was. I was a good kid.” He winked.

  “We were leaving the cafe down the block and wanted to stop by before we went home. I got a lot more packing to do so we’re going to head home. I’ll see y’all before I leave, okay?”

  She hugged Kimmy and Auntie Jannie goodbye.

  “Sorry your first time in New York has to be under such less than pleasant circumstances,” she said when they got outside.

  “When all this is over, we can always come back and act like tourists.” He smiled and offered his hand. She gladly accepted. His hand was warm and a little rough to the touch. Their arms swung between them as they walked.

  “I never asked you why you wrote me that song?”

  She felt her cheeks burn. She’d hoped he never asked her why. How could she explain her deep feelings for a man that she never dated. Or kissed. They had rarely hugge
d back then. “Girly crush. I never intended on giving you the CD, but when everything happened with Daniel’s death and then the fight with that guy. I wanted you to remember me.”

  He stopped walking. She looked away. He stepped closer and turned her head to face him.

  “I’ve liked you since forever,” she continued. “It started off as just a crush but as the years went by and I learned more about you it developed into deeper feelings. But I knew that we could or would never be together. It’s weird, I know.”