by Tiya Rayne
I placed my phone back in the pocket of my black Ted Baker skater dress. I slid out of the booth and pulled my dress down.
“Duck, what are you going to do?” Devin asked alarmed.
“I’m just going to say hi!” I said with a smile and winked to my table before I walked off.
“Hold up let me go with you.” Keisha announced, and I could hear her sliding out of the booth.
I didn’t pay any attention to my meddling cousins as I made my way over to Vanessa’s table. I sat down at the open seat right across from her. Immediately conversation dies down. Mouse eyes went wide when she finally saw me.
“Hello, Vanessa.” I said politely. “How’s the pregnancy coming along?”
The guy she was sitting on looked just as shocked as the friends around her.
“I…uh….uh.” Vanessa fought to find the words to say.
I waved her off, no need to lie to me. My phone chimed in my pocket, I pulled it out and glanced down at it.
JACKSON: I hope she chokes on that beer. I’m sending this to my mom.
“Jackson sends his love.” I said holding the phone up for her to see.
For the first time since I saw her in Jackson’s office, I saw the real Vanessa. That coy, sweet girl shit dropped away and the real bitch came out.
“This doesn’t change anything. Jackson will always come back to me. He’s been doing it for years. Your novelty will wear off and he will be back in my bed, just like with all the other girls.”
I laughed. “It’s funny, I think if I would have saw this side of you a little earlier, I might would have liked you. Nevertheless, let me school you on something, sweet heart. You see, I can’t speak for those other women. I don’t know them. But I do know this, even if Jackson and I don’t last another day, I can guarantee, you will never have him. You see, chicken wings and beer is appeasing to men with basic pallets.” I glanced to the dude sitting under her. “However, once a man dines on filet mignon and fine wine, his taste buds changes. He craves the finer things in life, so basic meals no longer appease him.”
“Daaaammmmnnnn.” Keisha said behind me.
One of the girls at Vanessa’s table mumbled, “I think she’s calling her basic.”
“You are not a threat to me, Vanessa.” I smirked. “Not even when you were supposedly pregnant.”
Vanessa stared back at me, her mouth wide open. I gave her a wink and stood to my feet.
“It was nice meeting all of you. Take care, Mouse.”
I turned around and walked away slowly with Keisha behind me.
“Oh My God, Duck! That was so fire. That bitch couldn’t say anything. I was hoping she popped off because I was ready for her.”
I shook my head at her. First off, I wasn’t fighting anyone. I was too damn old for that, and I actually had a career. Secondly, I wasn’t letting her pregnant ass fight either.
As soon as we got back to the table Keisha was ready to explain what happened.
“Y’all missed it. That shit was so good.” Keisha started, but before she could finish, Devin grunted in pain and we all turned to her.
“Oh shit! Oh shit!”
“Devin what’s wrong?”
She looked to me with wide eyes, “My water just broke. Ahhhhhhhhh!”
We all jumped to our feet. I signaled the waitress and squared up the check, then ushered us all out of the restaurant and into my car. We had a baby to bring into the world.
At 10:11 pm my 8 pound 2 ounce god son was born. He was big and beautiful. Charlie Ross Davis, named after his Papa and God mother. I couldn’t be prouder.
It was after 2 am when I finally pulled into my driveway.
“Alright, Jackson, I’m home.” I said through the phone.
“Good, baby, stay on the phone until you get in the house.” I turned off my car and climb out.
I was exhausted, and as bad as I wanted Jackson to be here, I didn’t think I had enough energy for him.
“Seriously, I can’t wait until you see him. Jackson, he’s gorgeous.” I said as I walked into my house.
“I can’t wait to see him either.”
I gasped and dropped the phone.
My hands shook at the sight of my house. Everything was destroyed. My furniture had been shredded, pictures were broken, glass was shattered, and large holes were in my walls.
I stood in the middle of my living room and stared at the disaster until I finally heard Jackson shouting through the phone. I picked the phone up off the floor.
“Char! Char! Baby, please answer me. Char, I’m on the way.”
“Jackson.” I didn’t realize I was crying until my voice broke. “My house. He destroyed my house.”
I heard him sigh through the other end of the phone. “Jesus Char! Are you ok?”
“He’s back.”
“Alright, I want you to get out of the house. Get in your car, drive down the street and call the cops. Ok?”
“Ok!”
I headed back out to my car and climbed in. I did as Jackson said, but instead of calling the cops I called Sean.
“Hey, Charli. What’s up?
“Sean,” I said, rushing the words out. “I need you.”
“Charli what’s wrong? Talk to me.”
“I think he’s back.”
“Fuck! Ok, don’t go in the house. Stay right where you are, I’m on my way.”
“Hurry Sean!”
“I’m coming.”
I hung up the phone and a few minutes later Jackson pulled up behind me. He must have been driving like a madman. He jumped out of the truck followed by Lady.
“Are you alright?” He checked me over from head to toe.
I nodded my head.
“Ok! Stay here, I’m going to go inside and check.” He headed towards the front door but I grabbed his arm.
“No! Don’t go in there.”
He faced me. “Baby, I have to go in to make sure he’s gone.”
He pulled away from me and I yanked him back. I didn’t know why, but I didn’t want Jackson inside that house. What if Cliff was still there? I kept getting visions of Cliff taking all the anger he took out on my house and using it to attack Jackson. I felt the first signs of my panic attack coming.
“No!” I shouted yanking at his arm.
I was thrashing against him trying to make him stay. I almost lost my footing, but Jackson caught me with his arms wrapped around me. Both of us missed Sean’s car as he pulled up behind us. He was out of his car instantly.
“Get your fucking hands off of her.” He shouted to Jackson with his gun raised.
Two police cars pulled up behind him with their red and blue lights flashing.
“Get your hands up.” A cop yelled as soon as he got out of the car.
Lady, who had no problem with me fighting against Jackson, was now losing her shit. She was growling and snapping at Sean and the cops.
Jackson let me go and Sean ran to me immediately wrapping his arms around me, he scanned my body from head to toe.
“Are you ok?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” I looked up to find the two cops walking up on Jackson with his hands still raised in the air, their guns aimed at him.
Lady was still growling and snapping at Sean.
“Hey do something about that damn dog.” Sean yelled when Lady snapped at him again.
One of the officers aimed their gun at her and I stepped towards her. I wasn’t an animal person, but Lady had started to grow on me. No way was one of these trigger happy cops putting a bullet in her. Us bitches had to stick together.
Sean grabbed my arm and pulled me back. Lady really got worked up then, even taking a step toward Sean.
“Lady, down.” Jackson said in a commanding tone.
Lady looked over to Jackson and whined, but sat down on her haunches.
The other two officers continued towards Jackson. One even went for his handcuffs.
“What are you doing? He didn’t do anything.” I said to the cops.
“That’s not what it looked like when I pulled up. It looked like he was pushing you down.” Sean pulled me into him for another hug.
“How did you get here so fast?” Jackson asked.
Sean watched him, before replying. “I was out not too far from here working on another case when I got Charli’s call.”
“You called him?” This time Jackson questioned me.
Before I could reply, the cop with the handcuffs grabbed one of Jackson’s hands and yanked it behind his back.
“Hey! I said he didn’t do anything. Why are you putting him in handcuffs?”
“It’s just procedure, Babe. He was hostile when we pulled up.” Sean explained.
He tried to wrap me in another hug, but I stepped away from him.
“Procedure my ass, let him go.”
“Charli…”
“Let….Him… Go.”
Sean stared at me for a minute. Then he turned to the other cops and nodded. The officer that was handcuffing Jackson sighed, but pulled out his keys and undid the cuffs. Jackson rubbed at his sore wrist.
“So what did you call me for?” Sean asked confused.
“He’s back. Cliff is back and he trashed my house.” I was getting worked up again.
“Ok! Calm down. We’re going to go in and make sure he’s not still inside.” Another nod from Sean had the other two cops pulling out their guns and heading towards my house.
“Stay here.” Sean ordered while following the other cops inside the house.
I watched Sean disappear behind my busted glass door that I didn’t notice when I first pulled in. I turned to Jackson and the look on his face wasn’t the same as the one he shared when he first arrived.
He was angry with me.
“Are you alright?” I grabbed his wrist to examine it.
An angry red line circled where the tight cuffs were.
“I’m good.” He didn’t sound good.
“Charli!” Sean called my name from the other side of my door. “We need you to come in and see if anything is missing.”
I was already shaking my head no. I couldn’t go back in there, I didn’t want to see what he did in my home. I didn’t think I could ever feel safe in there again. And I didn’t like not feeling safe.
Jackson turned me to face him, he cupped my face in his warm hands. “Hey, don’t worry. I got you.”
Hearing him say it and being in his arms helped calm my nerves. I took a few calming breaths and nodded.
Jackson entwined my hand in his and led me into the house. I didn’t get to see just how much damage was done the first time I came in. I only saw the mud room and part of my living room. The damage was so much worse throughout the rest of the house. He must have taken a hammer to all my walls. Small holes were randomly doted throughout the house. The word MINE was painted on over my bed in big black letters.
Only some one that was seriously sick and deranged could do something like this. They had to have been furious. And if they could do this much damage to inanimate objects, imagine what they would do to me.
“I need to go.” I said, finally having enough.
“You have to see the rest of the house, make sure we aren’t missing anything.” Sean said.
I shook my head no. I couldn’t stay in this house a second longer.
“Jackson, get me out of here.”
Jackson instantly reacted, pulling me towards the door and back out into the cooling evening air. Sean met us outside.
“You can’t leave yet. They need to ask you questions like your whereabouts tonight.”
“I was at the….”
“I thought you told Char that this guy had moved out of town.” Jackson asked cutting off my reply.
He helped me ease into the passenger seat of his truck where Lady was once again growling furiously. She was really worked up over those cops manhandling Jackson.
“That’s what I was told. However, the family is the one that told the cops that.”
“Yeah, well obviously they lied.”
“Hey, don’t catch an attitude with me. I’m just as pissed off as you are about this.”
“Trust me, you couldn’t possibly be angrier than I am right now. That asshole destroyed her house, what the hell do you think would have happened if she would have been home?”
Jackson’s shouted words made the fear I was feeling real again. What if I had been home when Cliff came? I wasn’t scared to put a bullet in his ass, but what if he would have snuck up on me in the middle of the night or while I was in the shower.
“Well, let’s just be glad she wasn’t home.” Sean gritted out before turning to me. “Hey, I want you staying with someone for a while. And don’t let it be the same person, I don’t know if this guy has eyes on you or not.”
“If he’s watching me, could my family or Jackson be in danger?”
“I’m not sure about your family, but Jackson is definitely a possibility. This guy may see Jackson as a threat.”
I faced Jackson, ready to tell him that maybe we should back off this for a while. He was already having issues with his truck and business. I didn’t want Cliff to escalate. Obviously he was unstable, so it wasn’t farfetched that he would go after Jackson.
“We are not breaking up.” Jackson said before I could open my mouth.
I bit my tongue, I wouldn’t argue with him now, but I was definitely going to bring this conversation back up when we got to his house.
“Breaking up?” Sean repeated.
He turned to me with a huge smile.
“Am I hearing this correctly? Is the unconquerable, the never settling down, Ms. Charlice Rose Jefferies in a relationship?”
I blushed. “Yes!” I felt more awkward admitting it to Sean than it did to my family.
Sean stared at me for a moment in shock, then said. “Congratulations, Char. I’m seriously happy for you.”
The moment Sean wrapped his arms around me to give me a hug, Lady snapped at him nearly taking a chunk out of him.
“Goddamn it, Keller, do something about that fucking dog.” Sean looked down at his arm.
I took his arm in my hand looking over it. Thankfully Sean’s reflexes were so fast.
I looked up and found Jackson watching Lady closely. I’d never seen her act like this and I’d been around this dog for months. She didn’t behave this way when she found Howard in my bed. She was pissed about something.
“Detective Myers!” one of the cops called out Sean’s name.
“You guys should go. We can get statements later. And don’t worry, Charli. We will board up the door for you.” Sean said before walking away from us and towards the cops.
**
When I finally stepped out of Jackson’s shower the clock on his nightstand read 4:25 am. I was beyond exhausted. His bed was calling my name. I didn’t want to think about my house or Cliff. Today, Jackson was able to get Vanessa and her bullshit off our backs, and my godson was born. I wasn’t going to let one fucked up individual ruin my day.
“I’m exhausted.”
“I bet you are. Give me your foot.”
I placed my feet in Jackson’s lap at the foot of the bed and he used his thumb to massage the bottom of my foot.
I moaned so loud you’d thought I was getting my pussy ate.
“That feels so good.” My head hits my pillow and I whimpered.
Jackson chuckled briefly.
“How long have you known Detective Myers?”
With my eyes still closed I answered. “Since he was a freshmen in high school.”
Silence greeted me, I cracked open one eye to see Jackson staring down at my foot as if he was thinking.
“It’s not what you’re thinking. We aren’t in love or anything. At the most we’re friends. Plus, he’s in love with his girlfriend of three years.”
“Mmhhmm.” He said looking up at me. “The girlfriend he brought to the table while he flirted with you?”
I laughed. “He was not flirting
. Plus, they are getting married. I helped pick out the engagement ring. He is in love with her.”
Jackson shrugged, but he didn’t look convinced.
“Jackson Lee Keller, are you jealous?” I asked teasingly.
Another shrug from Jackson. “NO! I’m just saying, you’ve had a sexual relationship with this guy for at least sixteen years. Despite having him having a relationship or not, I know marriages that didn’t last that long.”
I removed my foot from Jackson’s lap and sat up crawling closer to him. I placed my hand on his cheek turning his face towards me.
“It isn’t like that. Sean and I were really good about keeping everything platonic. We care for each other’s wellbeing, but we aren’t in love. Besides, I never cooked for him.”
I finally got that sexy grin on Jackson’s face. He planted a kiss on my lips that turned steamy quick. I crawled into Jackson’s lap straddling him.
“You’re trying to distract me.” He said pulling his lips away from mine just long enough to talk.
I smiled against his lips. “Is it working?”
He grunted. “Fuck Yes!”
Jackson stood to his feet and I wrapped my legs around his waist. He turned me towards the bed and laid me down while covering my body. This was how I wanted to end my day, with an orgasm.
Lady started barking and Jackson groaned. He placed his forehead to mine.
“You have to go handle that.” I teased Jackson as I spread my legs wider brushing my exposed pussy to his crotch.
“Fuck!” he moaned. “Lady can wait a few minutes.” He placed kisses down my chin and to my neck.
That’s when we heard it, the unmistakable sounds of gunshots. Jackson covered my body fully until the sound was gone. Three shots rang out.
“Are you ok?” he asked as he lifted up from me.
“I’m fine.”
The silence after causing my heart beat to sound like drums.
Silence.
Jackson and I recognized it at the same time. Jackson jumped up and rushed towards the door. I was right on his heels.
“Stay in the house.” He shouted as he ran barefoot into the back yard.
