“How you feeling, baby?” he asked me.
I looked at the clock and realized it was only 8 p.m. I was shocked that he was in this early.
“I’m OK, I guess. What you doing here?”
“I live here! What you mean?”
“I didn’t mean it like that. I’m shocked you’re here this early.”
“I needed to talk to you about something.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I lost my job.”
“What the hell? How?”
He told me his supervisor told the big boss that he didn’t get his excuse about him being off for a few days. Therefore, he had been listed as a no-call, no-show for the days he had been out.
“That’s some bullshit!”
“I know! I’m sorry, baby. I’ll find another job soon.”
“Yeah, I don’t doubt that. I just hate you lost your job because of me.”
“Don’t blame yourself, baby. I would do it over again if it meant taking care of you.”
“Is that why you’ve been so moody?”
“Yes. I was trying to figure out how I was going to tell you. KO said he would help me.”
I told him everything would be OK. Our bills were paid right now, so I wasn’t worried about anything. Within a week or two, he would be back working, and everything would be OK. At least that’s what I thought.
Trent: Three weeks later
Business in the streets had been booming since I quit my job. I’d made more money in these last three weeks than I did during all the time I was working. The only thing that I hated was Kelsi’s nagging. I was bringing in money, but she still wanted me to get a job. Lately, I’d been trying to leave the house before she came home. Today, I wasn’t so lucky.
“Did you look for a job today?” Kelsi asked as soon as she walked in the door.
“Well, hello to you too, Kelsi,” I replied with an attitude.
“Cut the bullshit, Trent. Did you look for a job today or not?”
“Man, I’m not about to keep having this same fucking argument with you. Your ass act like I’m not bringing no money in here. Hell, I could pay all the bills in this bitch if you want me to.”
“It’s not about you paying bills; it’s about you stopping this street shit. Do you know how it looks for you to be on one side of the law and me on the other? You could get arrested at any minute.”
“What I tell you about saying shit like that?”
She knew I hated her talking about me getting arrested. That was the last thing I was trying to put in the universe.
“I’m just stating facts.”
“Nah, you stating some fuck shit, and I’m tired of hearing it. I said I would look for a job; now stop asking me about the shit. You keep nagging me, and I’m leaving.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard what the fuck I said. If you keep nagging me with all that job shit, then I’m leaving.”
“Leave then, Trent! I don’t give a damn. If you call me wanting you to be a man and work nagging, then maybe you should leave. I’ll be fine alone.”
“Whatever, Kelsi. I’m ’bout to go. I may or may not come back,” I told her as I headed out the door.
“Bye, nigga!” I heard Kelsi say.
Telling her I would leave was supposed to be a way for her to stop nagging me. I never thought she would actually tell me to leave. It was clear that I was losing control of this relationship. I couldn’t focus on that shit right now. There was money to be made, and that was the only thing that was worth my attention right now.
Kelsi
I decided to work from home today because I didn’t get any sleep last night. I called Trent’s phone every hour, only for him not to answer. True enough we got into an argument yesterday, but I didn’t think it was big enough for him to stay gone all night. I simply asked him to get a job so he could start helping out more. Yes, he was hustling and getting money in the streets, but that wasn’t working for me. With the career I had, messing with a street dude wasn’t a good look.
When we made our relationship official, he promised to leave that street shit alone. He kept that promise until he got fired from his job. We agreed to let him do the street shit for a while until he got back on his feet. I thought it would last for a couple weeks. However, here it was almost two months later, and he was still at it.
While I was lying down thinking, I got an Instagram notification on my phone. It was a message from this girl who randomly started following me a couple days ago.
XoXo_Drea: Hello! How are you?
Me: Good and you?
XoXo_Drea: I could be better. I was going to do a cute little introduction, but I changed my mind. I didn’t get any sleep last night because you were blowing Trent’s phone up. I’m sending him home tonight so you can talk to him about whatever it is you needed to talk to him about last night.
I had to have been reading this wrong. There was no way Trent was cheating on me, especially not with this tramp.
Me: Sweetheart, you must have me confused with somebody else. My man isn’t cheating on me. Idk who you are, but I would appreciate it if you got out my inbox with this bullshit.
XoXo_Drea: If you think Trent is being faithful to you, that’s your dumb ass. He told me he had a woman at home when we met, but I didn’t give a fuck. If you were doing your job, I wouldn’t have been able to pull him. Just know if you keep this shit up, you will lose him for good.
Before I could write back, she sent a picture of Trent lying in a bed that I assumed was hers. Something in my gut told me that Trent was cheating, but I pushed the thought out of my head. Now, I saw my gut was right. Tears formed in my eyes, but I didn’t let them fall. Trent told me in one of our late-night conversations that before he got with me, he messed around with several different women. I thought being with me would change him. However, as the saying goes, you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
About twenty minutes after the Drea bitch wrote me, Trent came home.
“What’s up, baby?”
Rather than answer, I showed him the messages from Drea.
“Baby, I can explain.”
“I’m listening.”
“I met Drea at a party last month. I told her I had a girl, but she kept pushing up on me. We exchanged numbers and started hanging out. I know it was wrong, but you been stressing me out so much lately. She was like a breath of fresh air.”
“Well, go ahead and be with your fresh air then. I don’t need this shit. I was up all night thinking something happened to you. Instead, you laid up with the next bitch. I’m done with your ass.”
I tried walking out the living room, but he grabbed my arm and stopped me.
“Look, I get you mad and all, but threatening to be done with me ain’t called for.”
“Ain’t called for? Seriously? If I had been out all night with some dude, you would leave me.”
“Nah, I wouldn’t leave you. I would beat that nigga ass and dare you to see him again.”
“We two different people. We don’t move the same way. I said I’m done.”
Once again, I tried to leave, and he stopped me.
“For the last time, your ass not going anywhere. You pissed me off, and I stayed the night with another bitch. You not leaving me, and I’m not leaving you. Now, I’m about to go take a shower. Get dressed so we can go get something to eat.”
“I don’t feel like going out. I’m tired. I was up worried about your ass all night.”
“That’s my bad. Come shower with me and then I’ll cook us something to eat while you rest.”
I stood there looking at him for a minute, trying to understand how he could be so sweet to me after being laid up with another woman all night.
“Come on, Kelsi!” Trent yelled from the shower.
I was conflicted. On one hand, I was still pissed that he was out with the next bitch. On the other, I thought it was sweet that he wanted to cook so I could relax.
“Kelsi!” Trent yelled
again.
This time, I walked into our bedroom, stripped out my clothes, and got in the shower with him.
“What took you so long?” Trent asked me.
“I was thinking.”
“About?”
“Trent, you can’t just expect me to pretend like last night didn’t happen.”
“You right, baby. I was wrong, and I’m sorry.”
“So this is how it’s gonna be? Whenever we argue, you gonna go fuck somebody else?”
I could tell by the look in his eyes that my question pissed him off, but I didn’t care. Rather than answer my question, Trent lifted my leg up and put it on the side of the tub. He got down on his knees and started giving me some mind-blowing head.
“Damn, bae,” I moaned.
“Delicious pussy,” Trent stopped and said.
He ate my pussy until the water got cold. After warming the water back up, we cleaned up then got out. Trent dried my body off, helped me slip into my gown, then picked me up and laid me on the bed.
“I’m ’bout to cook us breakfast. After that, we going to spend some time together. I don’t want to hear about this situation anymore.”
I nodded my head, and just like that, all was forgiven.
Trent
All I wanted to do was come home, shower, and lay up under my woman. Instead, I was in here cooking breakfast for Kelsi. It wasn’t that I minded cooking for her; I did it all the time. It was the reason I had to cook. After Kelsi and I got into it about me not working, I rode to Mississippi with my cousin and got fucked up with some of my folks. I got wasted and was high as hell by the time I got back to Bama.
Kelsi hated when I came home drunk, so I decided to stay the night at Drea’s house. She was the chick I met at KO’s party. I knew she was a hoe and was nowhere near as bad as my woman, but I got her number anyway. It was really to get her ass out my face.
When I got to her crib, she sucked my dick, and I went to sleep. Every so often, I woke up and saw that Kelsi was blowing my phone up. I could have answered her and told her I would be home in the morning, but I didn’t feel like hearing her mouth. Had I known Drea’s ass was going to write her, I would have never gone to her crib.
Drea knew from the beginning I had a woman, but she didn’t care. In the few times we had texted, she told me she wasn’t looking for anything serious and was cool if we chilled from time to time. In my mind, she was somebody I could fuck with every now and then. That shit was dead now though.
I loved Kelsi, but she nagged the fuck out of me. She was always on me about having a legit job. I made good money hustling, so I saw no need to get a job. Kelsi was worried about people finding out what I did and it affecting her. I wasn’t gonna lie and say I hadn’t thought about that. However, at the end of the day, it was nobody’s business how I got my money. Our bills were paid, and Kelsi didn’t want for shit. Most of the money she made went into her savings. She knew I was a street nigga when she met me.
While I was cooking, I decided to get on Drea’s ass and go off on her for the shit she pulled.
Me: I don’t appreciate that shit you pulled this morning.
HoeDrea: I don’t know what you talking about.
Me: Man, stop all that dumb shit. I don’t know why you felt the need to write my girl this morning, but just know if you ever do that shit again, I will fuck you up.
HoeDrea: Whatever nigga! You ain’t gonna do shit. I can write whoever the fuck I want. If you were so worried about your girl’s feelings, you wouldn’t have been in my bed last night.
Me: I’m not bout to go back and forth with your hoe ass. Like I said, don’t write my woman again. Try me if you want to.
Clearly, this bitch thought shit was sweet, but I was going to show her. I put her on my block list. I knew at some point I was going to fuck with her again because she was a beast with that head. I had to fix my relationship first. I was also gonna find a bitch who didn’t run her mouth. A nigga couldn’t stand a vocal bitch.
Kelsi: Two months later
“Ms. Tyler, what brings you in today?”
“I think I have a UTI. It hurts when I pee, and I’ve been having some discharge.”
“OK, let’s find out what’s going on.”
For the last week, I’d been having discharge, and it hurt like hell when I peed. I tried some over the counter stuff, thinking it would go away, but it didn’t. I did a half day at work so I could go to the doctor. Thankfully, Dr. Reese had a cancellation and could see me today.
After giving a urine sample and getting an exam, Dr. Reese gave my results. To say they weren’t the ones I was expecting would be an understatement.
“Kelsi, I’m sorry to have to tell you this, honey, but you have trichomoniasis.”
“Tricho what?”
“Trichomoniasis. It’s a sexually transmitted disease.”
I almost fell off the exam table.
“Are you sure?”
She explained that my exam and test results showed it. Everything after that was a blur. I heard her say something about informing my partners so they could get tested as well. The only person I’d been sleeping with was Trent. I thought I was the only one he was sleeping with, but clearly, I was wrong. After getting my instructions for treatment and her telling me my prescription would be called into the pharmacy, I left.
On the way home, a lot of thoughts ran through my mind. How could Trent do this to me? After that shit with Drea, he assured me he wouldn’t mess around again. Since things had been going so well with us lately, I assumed he was telling the truth. I wanted to cry so bad but couldn’t.
When I pulled up to our apartment, I said a prayer before getting out the car. The way I was feeling, I could kill this man.
“Hey, baby!” Trent greeted me when I walked in the door.
“Hey, Trent,” I dryly replied.
“Come here. I got something to show you.”
“I got something to show you too.”
He led me into the bedroom where he had rose petals and candles lit. Had it been any other day, I would have appreciated the gesture.
“What’s all this for?”
“To celebrate. I got my job back at Mercedes.”
“That’s what’s up. I’m happy for you.”
“Thank you, baby. What did you have to show me?”
I was waiting on his ass to ask. I took out the paper with my test results on it and gave it to him.
“What the fuck? You got a STD? Who the hell you been fucking, Kelsi!” Trent yelled.
The audacity of this nigga! I couldn’t believe he tried to play me like that. This was some bullshit.
“Don’t do me, Trent. We both know you the only person I been sleeping with. The question is who the fuck you been sleeping with!”
He stood there looking stupid for a minute. It was like he was trying to figure out how to explain himself.
“I’mma kill that bitch,” he finally said.
“What bitch? Drea?”
“Nah… Rynesha.”
“Rynesha? Who the hell is that?”
He explained that she was a chick he met at his cousin’s house one night. He got drunk and woke up to her riding his dick. That sounded like a lie.
“So you mean to tell me you woke up to this random chick riding your dick, and you didn’t stop her?”
“I tried to, but it was feeling too good.”
I slapped the hell out of him. That excuse was lame as fuck, and he knew it.
“Girl, don’t put your damn hands on me. It ain’t my fault the bitch pussy was infected.”
“You right. It’s not your fault her pussy was infected, but it’s damn sure your fault that mine is!”
“Well, it’s no use in dwelling on it. That won’t help the situation. Guess I’ll go get tested tomorrow.”
The fact that he was so calm about the situation wasn’t sitting right with me. I went in the room and started packing a bag.
“The hell you going?”
“Away from you. I can’t believe you did this shit to me. Then got the nerve to say it’s no use in dwelling on it. That’s some bullshit, and you know it.”
“What the fuck you want me to do? It ain’t like I can go back in time and change the shit. It’s a lesson learned.”
“And what lesson might that be? To put a condom on your dick when you at your cousin’s house?”
“No! I just know not to get that drunk while I’m out. I still don’t get why you leaving.”
“You don’t have to. I’m out.”
I grabbed the bag I packed and left. Trent had me fucked up. I went to the Residence Inn off Rice Mine Road and booked a room for a week. I needed time away from Trent. I couldn’t believe he was acting like this STD shit was no big deal. I’d never had a disease in my life. Knowing that I had one now made me feel disgusting. Once I got to my room, I took a long, hot shower. While I was in there, the tears started falling. I couldn’t believe the turn my relationship had taken. I knew we would have some bumps in the road, but this shit was too much.
After I got out the tub, I decided to read a book. Reading was something I loved to do. However, with the busy schedule I had, I hadn’t had time for it. Trent was supposed to be it for me. He was supposed to be my forever. I couldn’t help but wonder if his feelings for me were real. There was no way they could be with all the shit he had done to me.
Not being able to focus on my book, I closed the Kindle app on my phone and cried myself to sleep.
Janell: Two days later
Kelsi and I had been so busy with work that we hadn’t had time to hang out. I got off work earlier than planned today, so I decided I would take her to lunch. She usually liked to rest on Saturdays, but I knew she wouldn’t turn down food. When I pulled into the parking lot of her complex, I didn’t see her car. I knew Trent drove her car, so it being gone didn’t necessarily mean she wasn’t home.
“What’s good, Nelli?” Trent greeted me when he opened the door.
“Not shit. Where’s Kelsi? I wanted to take her to lunch.”
While He Was Sleeping: Kelsi's Story Page 4
