Write In The Middle Of It

Erik was annoyed with himself because he didn’t know what to read to Sadiah today. In one week, he has read her Moliere, Racine, and most of the poetry of Blake, Woodsworth, Shelley, and Keats. Sometimes he wanted to read her The Princess of Cleves because he knew little girls loved stories about princesses but he remembered that as a student the lineage of the whole story damn near put him to sleep.

It’s such a good story though, but maybe another day.

He secretly hoped that Sadiah would recover so he could pass this wonderful collection on to her; but in the interim he decided on The Metamorphosis by Kafka.

I mean who wouldn’t love a story about a man turned into a roach.

With that he smacked the book shut and headed to Sadiah’s room.

***

Even from the serenity of her bathtub, Mekayla could still hear the blaring television, and quite frankly, it was pissing her off. Normally she would listen to music as she was bathing, but since Brett had never left from the time that she let him into her home all she heard was the same damn Sportscenter music over and over again. Not that she didn’t like sports, but she never understood how men could watch the same highlights again and again as if the outcome was going to change. The one thing Mekayla was thankful for at this point was that she didn’t own a Playstation Two because Brett struck her as the type of individual that would be playing that mess on her flat screen from dusk till dawn.

She promised herself that if she ever married a man that still had it in his nature to play video games that she would have to buy a house, with a den either in the basement or so far away from her relaxation area that she couldn’t possibly be disturbed by the noise.

Right now, she was disturbed, and to be brutally honest, she didn’t like it.

Not one bit.

Mekayla sighed, closed her eyes and tried to submerge herself deeper in the tub.

She had taken some much-needed time off from work in order to concentrate on herself and everything that transpired over the past few weeks. Unfortunately, with the appearance of Brett and his baggage, none of that happened. She went from sickeningly single to instant housewife in a week. The first few days were fine because she actually enjoyed having a man in her bed again. There was nothing that Mekayla enjoyed more than to inch over in her bed and feel a man’s body up against hers. And she wasn’t even talkin about the sex.

Initially the sex was good, no okay, great. The first night Brett did things to her body that haven’t been done to her in a long time and for the first time in a long while Mekayla had a good night’s sleep. But after that, Mekayla began to feel cheap.

Dirty even.

Brett always wanted it and when she gave it to him it seemed aggressive, impassionate and selfish. Her needs weren’t being met. Sometimes she would just fake her climax, so he could finish and she could take a bath.

He tried to be considerate by asking her if she wanted some Chai but he just stood there looking stupid when she said yes.

That’s when he would finally confess that he needed money and Mekayla unenthusiastically went into her purse. He told her he was on vacation as well. But Mekayla put two and two together

and realized that he didn’t have a job.

So consequently, she was paying for and cooking all of the meals, cleaning up, and giving up the ass. This was not what Mekayla was used to, and she was wishing that she would drown in the tub so she could make it all go away.

Not to mention, Brett wasn’t as up on his personal hygiene as Kevin was and now it seemed that her apartment had a musty odor to it. It made her ill. She needed to wash this funk offa her so she reached in one of her baskets to pull out a wash cloth for her face She submerged it under the bubbly water and ran it all over her face. The stench became unbearable and she literally gagged.

With her empty hand, she rinsed the bubbles from her face and gasped at the rag. It was one of Brett’s dirty socks!

“What the fuck!”

She yelled as she hopped up and damn near fell out of the tub.

As she caught her balance, she stormed out of her bathroom, down the hall into the living room, and saw Brett’s naked unwashed ass sitting on one of her crème pillows. She almost threw up.

Instead she threw the dripping wet sock right at Brett’s head making it stick to his face.

“Shit!” Brett exclaimed, finally turning his attention away from the television. He peeled the sock from his face and tossed it into a soppy mess on Mekayla’s hardwood floor.

“That’s really nasty!” He yelled with his face all frowned up. “What did you do that for?”

Mekayla responded without missing a beat. “No what’s nasty is your dirty socks in my damn bathroom, that’s what’s nasty!” She yelled.

“Well you ain’t have to throw it at my face.” Brett said returning his attention to the television.

She became livid. “I washed my face with it!”

She screamed at decibels that she never thought her little throat could meet. Brett did not even look at her, and she became infuriated. She walked over to Brett snatched the remote from his hand and shut off the T.V.

“Get out.”

She said with her teeth chattering from either cold or anger but neither could decipher which.

Brett frowned, “Excuse me?”

“You heard me, take your unwashed, naked, freeloading, unemployed, cum quick ass, out of my house!” She said still chattering.

Brett darted up and flew over to Mekayla so swiftly that she took a step back out of fear. She secured her footing as Brett bent down so he could get face to face with her.

His breath made her eyes water.

“That’s not what you said last night.”

She could do nothing but laugh as she turned on her heel to walk back into her room.

“Amazing,” she announced through a chuckle while turning around.

“Of all of the shit I just said to you, the only thing that stuck out in your mind was the insult on your manhood.”

Brett was left standing there looking stupid and speechless. She turned around again to walk away.

“I’m gonna get dressed and clean my house from top to bottom,” she said to no one in particular. But then she turned around again addressing Brett.

“And when I am done, I want you and the two bags you came with gone, capeishe?”

Brett realizing his plan was falling to pieces right in front of him. He went to softly grab her by her waist.

“Baby, I...”

Mekayla did not back down and she was unsure of where all of this sudden courage was coming from.

“Do not touch me. I am not your baby. I actually belong to someone else.”

As she spoke those words, she instantly regretted them but at the same time they brought back fond memories of Kevin.

Jesus, what have I done? As soon as this duck leaves and I sterilize my home, I have to call my baby. That is if it’s not too late.

While Mekayla was deep in her own thought, the fury inside Brett reached its boiling point. At once, an evil gargle expelled from his throat. He grabbed her wrist twisting until it was about to snap.

“You trifling whore!”

Mekayla let out a small wail mostly because she was scared.

“I knew there was more to you than what you put on. Your boyfriend, your best friend, shit now me!” He twisted her wrist and this time a crack was heard.

“You are fuckin us all ain’t you?!” He twisted her wrist again and now Mekayla was crying out in pain vehemently shaking her head no.

“Let go of me!” She screamed. But instead Brett drug her into the bedroom and threw her on the bed.