Breaking All My Rules

by Trice Hickman

  “Out of all the women to screw and the houses to rob!” Jerome lamented about his father’s deeds. “Damn!” He entered his apartment and kicked the edge of his sofa on his way over to his small kitchen. He retrieved a bottle of Cîroc from his cabinet, then opened the refrigerator in search of cranberry juice.

  Jerome mixed his drink as he thought about the night’s events, still trying to take in the hard reality of his hidden connection to Erica and her comment about this being a sign. Is that why we were drawn to each other?

  An hour later, Jerome was lying across his sofa, nursing the last drop of liquor in his glass. He knew that drinking himself into a stupor was a bad idea, but at the moment it was the only thing that numbed the disappointment and loneliness he felt. All he could think about was Erica, what she must be going through, and how he wanted to be by her side but couldn’t.

  His eyes blinked in quick succession when he heard a pounding knock at his door. He was startled because he rarely, if ever, had any visitors, and he wondered who it could be at this time of night. Then it came to him—Erica! She’d come to be with him and to work through the terrible mess that had been made back in the past.

  Jerome slowly stumbled to his feet, his head feeling as though it was spinning round and round like a hula hoop. He was in no shape to stand, let alone walk, but somehow he managed to prop himself up against the door for support. This wasn’t the state he wanted Erica to see him in, but at this point it really didn’t matter, because all he could think about was being with her and easing her pain.

  When he looked through the peephole and saw Kelisha, he had to do a double take to confirm that his eyes hadn’t betrayed him. He looked a second time as he blinked again, and there was no mistaking that it was Kelisha’s hard fists pounding on the door.

  “Jerome, I know you up in there, ’cause I seen your truck parked on the street. I talked to Jamel, and he said you didn’t sound good. Open up.”

  “I’m fine. Go home.”

  “No, you ain’t, and I can tell you been drinkin’. Open up!”

  Jerome didn’t need the headache of dealing with Kelisha, but at the same time he didn’t have the energy to stand at the door and argue until she went away. He needed to get back to the couch before he fell to the floor, which had begun to spin beneath his unsteady feet. He unlocked the dead bolt and then stumbled back to the couch, letting Kelisha make her own entrance.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” she asked, surveying the room. “It smells like a liquor house in here.” She picked up the empty Cîroc bottle next to the couch. “You drank this whole bottle by yourself?”

  “It wasn’t full when I started.”

  “How much did you drink?”

  Jerome was growing tired of Kelisha’s voice, and all he wanted to do was sleep next to Erica in peace and quiet. “Listen, I’m tired. It’s been a long night.”

  “I can see.” She stood over him at the edge of the couch. “You don’t even roll like this anymore. Somethin’ bad must’ve happened to make you so upset that you went back to drinkin’ like this.”

  Jerome’s stomach and head felt as though they were in a losing battle with his body. His eyes began to feel heavy, and he could barely hear Kelisha’s nagging voice any longer.

  “Let’s get you to bed,” Kelisha said with a smile. “I know how to take care of you. Like I was just saying the other week, I always got your back.”

  Chapter 47

  Erica awoke to the smell of bacon and eggs. “Mom’s down there cooking,” she said through a sleepy yawn. She stretched and yawned again, feeling as though she hadn’t rested, despite the fact that she’d gotten a full eight hours’ sleep.

  She sat up at the edge of her bed and rubbed her tired eyes with the heels of her hands. She felt exhausted and anxious, the way she usually did after a bad dream, only her nightgown wasn’t soaked with sweat and her heart wasn’t racing in her chest.

  For a brief moment she thought that maybe she had indeed been dreaming, and that the drama that had brought her holiday celebration to a standstill was all make-believe. But she knew every horrible detail from twenty-five years ago had unfolded in real time, right in the middle of her very own living room. The fact that her mother was downstairs instead of in her own house let Erica know it was real, and the fact that Jerome wasn’t lying beside her when she awakened confirmed it.

  “It happened, and now I have to get on with life,” Erica said aloud. She wrapped her warm terry-cloth bathrobe around her body and went downstairs.

  “Good morning,” Maureen greeted. “You’re just in time for breakfast.”

  Erica took a seat at her kitchen table as her mother placed a plate in front of her. “You didn’t have to cook, Mom. There’s tons of food in the fridge that we never touched yesterday.”

  “You can’t eat turkey and dressing for breakfast. That’s just unnatural.”

  Erica unfolded her napkin and laid it across her lap. She wanted to eat because she hadn’t had a meal since yesterday’s breakfast. Her stomach was growling, but she didn’t have an appetite, so she drank her orange juice instead. “How do you feel this morning?”

  “Surprisingly, I feel pretty good. Thanks for letting me spend the night. It’s the first good night’s sleep I’ve had in years. It’s like my insomnia vanished.”

  “Really? I didn’t know you had trouble sleeping.”

  “There are a lot of things I’ve kept to myself over the years,” Maureen said in a low voice. “That’s the thing about secrets. You can lock them away, but they’ll eat at you little by little, until either they consume you or you set them free.”

  Erica thought about the wisdom and truth in her mother’s words, knowing they applied to her own life, as well. When she’d finally drifted off to sleep, she’d been afraid that a dangerous nightmare would break her slumber, which usually happened after experiencing the kind of drama she’d gone through yesterday. But instead of waking in a panic, she’d slept through the night without opening her eyes even once. Now that she’d faced the bogeyman, she no longer had anything to fear. She was free. Just as her mother had said.

  “Your father is moving out of the house,” Maureen said, breaking Erica’s thoughts. “We talked before I came down to make breakfast. It’s such a relief. We were just keeping up appearances, and now we don’t have to.”

  Erica nodded. “I still can’t believe everything that’s happened. I mean, what are the odds that I’d be dating the son of the man who traumatized our family and who . . .” Erica paused, not knowing how to say what she was thinking other than to blurt it out. “Who you had an affair with. It’s going to take a while for it all to really sink in.”

  “Yes, I know. It’s a lot to absorb. After Parry went away to prison, I didn’t think I’d ever see him again. But that shows you how strange life is. I never in a million years thought he’d end up being my in-law.”

  Erica put down her orange juice and looked at her mother with surprise. “I think you’re jumping the gun.”

  “And I think you’re fooling yourself. Sweetie, don’t let the past mess up what can be a happy future. Parry paid his dues for that night.... We all did,” Maureen said, a hint of sadness coating her soft voice. “It’s a brand-new day, and it’s time to get on with the business of living. You and Jerome are good for each other. Don’t let love slip away from you, because sometimes you don’t get a second chance at it.”

  Erica rose from her chair, walked around the small table, and kissed her mother on the cheek. “Thanks, Mom. You can let yourself out. Just call me when you leave so I can set the house alarm from my phone,” Erica said as she headed down the hall.

  “Are you going out to do a little Black Friday shopping?” Maureen called out.

  “Nope, I’m gonna take your advice. I’m going to see my man!” Erica yelled back. She walked up the stairs with a mission—get dressed and head over to Jerome’s house. She was going to put the gloomy past behind her so she and Jerome could h
ave a bright future.

  Jerome’s head felt as though balls were bouncing around inside it. He was stretched out on top of his bed, eyes shut, mouth dry, and his body feeling as though he’d been up all night.

  “Here. Drink this,” Kelisha said as she handed Jerome a glass.

  “What’s in this?”

  “Alka-Seltzer.” She smiled. “I found it in your cabinet.”

  In my cabinet? Who the hell told her she could go through my stuff? he thought. He wanted to call her out on rummaging through his cabinets and probably his drawers, too. He could only imagine how much she’d snooped around while he’d been asleep. There were things he certainly didn’t want her to find. But the deafening ringing inside his head quieted his fight. “Thanks,” he whispered instead.

  Kelisha sat on the edge of Jerome’s bed, smiled, and gently stroked his forehead. “I’ll always have your back. I’ma take care of you.”

  “Please don’t do that,” Jerome said, moving Kelisha’s acrylic-laced nails away from his head.

  She threw her hand in the air. “I can’t believe you. I took care of your pissy drunk ass, made sure you got in the bed, and cleaned you up in the shower this morning. But now you don’t want me to touch you? What kinda bullshit is that, Jerome?”

  Jerome hadn’t suffered from a hangover in so long, he’d forgotten how awful it felt, and Kelisha’s presence wasn’t making it any better. He appreciated the fact that she’d taken care of him, but he knew the singular motive behind her kindness, and he knew that the slightest contact with her could lead to trouble. He wanted to beat himself up for getting drunk and letting his guard down in the first place, because now he had to contend with the consequences.

  He barely remembered falling asleep last night in a booze-filled haze. The last thing he felt before closing his eyes was Kelisha’s arm draped over his shoulder, her breasts pressed against his back, and a sense of regret, which he’d been too tired to fight, but now he wished he had. He didn’t want Kelisha thinking that just because they’d slept in the same bed—he was glad that sleeping was the only thing they’d done—it entitled her to take certain liberties, like she’d obviously done this morning.

  When he’d awakened, he was naked, standing in the shower with water beating down on him and Kelisha hovering an arm’s length away. She’d tried to towel him off, but he’d rebuffed her actions. After he lumbered back to his bedroom, it was all he could do to pull on his pajama bottoms and fall onto the mattress for a few more hours of sleep.

  Jerome was disappointed that he’d allowed this situation to even happen, and he knew he had to fix it right away. “Listen, Kelisha, I appreciate what you’ve done, but you didn’t have to come over here and I didn’t ask for your help with anything. I’m not trying to be disrespectful, but c’mon, you know I’m in a relationship. And you and me, we ain’t like that anymore.”

  Just then his cell phone rang on his nightstand. He saw Erica’s name flash across the screen and debated whether he should answer. He wanted to hear her voice so badly, but he knew he couldn’t risk talking in front of Kelisha, who he was sure would purposely say something in the background so Erica could hear her on the other end.

  “I’ll walk you to the door,” he said.

  “Oh, no, your black ass didn’t!” Kelisha nearly screamed. “You gonna put me out just ’cause she callin’ you. I don’t understand you, Jerome! First, you say you want to get back wit me, and now you playin’ me off for some uppity bitch and—”

  “Hold up. I never said I wanted to get back with you.”

  “That’s not what I heard.”

  “From who?”

  “Who you think?” Kelisha spat. “Oh, just forget it. I ain’t got time for this bullshit. I’m out!”

  Before Jerome could question her further, Kelisha slammed his front door behind her. He didn’t want her leaving in a mad fit, but he was relieved that she was gone. He picked up his phone and hit Erica’s number. He waited as it rang and rang, until the call finally went to her voice mail.

  “Hey, baby. It’s me. Sorry I missed your call. Hit me back.” He saw that she’d left a message, so he quickly retrieved it.

  “Hey, it’s me. I’m actually parked outside your building, getting ready to come up. I guess I’ll just knock on your door. See you in a few seconds.”

  “Shit!” Jerome hung up and rose from his bed. He walked over to open his mini-blinds, and when he looked out his window, he felt as though all the life was draining from his body. He shook his head at the scene taking place two stories below—Erica and Kelisha, standing toe-to-toe.

  Chapter 48

  Erica’s eyes bucked wide when she saw Kelisha staring at her with a smile as she strolled out of Jerome’s building. At first she wondered why the heifer was there and who else she knew besides Jerome who lived in the building. But that thought quickly faded because the bounce in Kelisha’s step and the satisfied look on her face practically shouted the name of the person she’d been there to see.

  How can this be? Erica thought. Her mind quickly went to work imagining possible scenarios, and she determined that this hadn’t been just a quick drop-in to say hello. For one, even though they’d met only once, Erica knew that Kelisha wasn’t the type of person who walked around with a smile on her face, especially the kind of schoolgirl grin she was now sporting. And second, it was only 9:00 a.m., and the only logical reason she’d have for leaving his apartment at this time of morning was that she’d spent the night.

  Erica stood in front of her car, which was parked just a few spaces behind Kelisha’s, and tried to stop her emotions from building. The clouds above were threatening rain, looking as though they were about to burst open just like her anger. She locked eyes with Kelisha, who was casually strutting up to her, looking happier than a kid who’d just been given a slice of cake.

  “You should get back in your fancy car and leave,” Kelisha commanded with a sly smile. “I took care of him real good last night, so your services are no longer needed.”

  “What’s wrong with you? Why can’t you leave us alone and let us be happy?”

  “Hey, he’s the one who called me over here last night.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  “You just need to go,” Kelisha said, keeping her voice low as she looked over her shoulder.

  Erica didn’t want to be one of those stereotypical women who fought over a man or, worse still, who fought over a man who was in the wrong! When she was in college, she remembered shaking her head more than once at girls who’d squabble over a cheating boyfriend while the dog in question sat back and went on to eat the meat off another bone. Erica had too much pride to be one of those women.

  She looked Kelisha in her eyes. “The only place I’m going is straight upstairs to Jerome’s apartment to hear what he has to say.”

  “He just gon’ lie to you.”

  “You’re the one who’s lying.”

  “Bitch, I know you didn’t just call me a liar,” Kelisha snarled, taking an aggressive step toward Erica.

  Erica surprised Kelisha, as well as herself, by making her own equally threatening advance as she spoke. “Don’t let the degrees and the smile fool you. I’m not gonna get into a crazy catfight with you, but I’m not gonna stand here and let you call me out of my name, either.”

  “What you gon’ do?” Kelisha smirked, putting her hands on her hips.

  “I’m going to call Jerome so he can come down here and we can settle this. I want the truth.” Erica reached into her large handbag, pulled out her phone, and hit Jerome’s number.

  Kelisha huffed as she started walking at a fast pace around to her car. “Bitch, I already told yo stupid ass what happened. He asked me to come over, and we slept together. That’s all you need to know.”

  “That’s a damn lie,” Jerome said, startling both Erica and Kelisha as he walked toward them. “Erica, baby, she’s lying.”

  Small raindrops had begun to fall, making the chilly air feel eve
n colder. Erica looked at Jerome and didn’t know what to believe. He was standing in front of her in a pair of loose-fitting pajama bottoms and the sweater he’d worn yesterday. The faint smell of alcohol wafted up to Erica’s nose, causing her to take an inventory of his bloodshot eyes and the uncharacteristically ashen color of his skin.

  Erica folded her arms across her chest. “Jerome, what in the hell is going on?”

  “I’m outta here!” Kelisha said, hurrying to open her driver’s side door.

  Jerome walked up to her. “What’s your rush? You were talkin’ all that shit just a minute ago, and now all of a sudden you ready to go?”

  “I don’t have to take this,” Kelisha yelled.

  “First, you didn’t want to leave my apartment, because you were tryin’ to start trouble, and now you want to go ’cause you’re lyin’. Tell the truth,” Jerome demanded in an angry voice.

  “I already told her what happened. You and me slept together, and you know it!”

  “Nothing happened between us last night. That’s what I know. Why the hell are you doin’ this, Kelisha?” he said.

  “Because you told Sasha you wanted me back!”

  “What?”

  Jerome and Erica both looked at Kelisha with surprise. He’d known that he hadn’t heard the last of Sasha after her departing threat in front of the courthouse, and now this explained why Kelisha had been acting so strangely. This had crazy written all over it, and the one thing he knew was that Sasha was definitely crazy.

  “She told me everything,” Kelisha said with a smug look on her face.

  “What exactly did she tell you?” he quizzed.

  “That while y’all were in court on that trial, all you could talk about was me, and how bad you wanted to get back wit me. But you had to be careful ’cause of that bitch right there,” she spat out, looking at Erica. “She crazy just like Tawanna was, and you didn’t want her to go off. But you know what? I ain’t scared of her!”