Be Bad For Me(23)

She couldn't figure out what she had done wrong to deserve this. Where  had their relationship gone wrong? Had she been too pushy? Had she not  been straight forward enough with him? She just couldn't pinpoint at  what moment he decided that she wasn't enough for him and he had to go  out and cheat on her. Was it last month, was it a year ago, was it just  today? How long had he been going behind her back? She admitted that the  clues were there, but she never paid them any mind. All those  hints … dodging her phone calls at all hours of the day and night,  canceling and forgetting about dates with her, spending more time with  Leroy, and at the studio, and at work, finding text messages from girls  in his phone, screening his phone calls before deciding if he wants to  answer them. How could she have been so stupid? All the evidence was  right there in her face, but she hadn't sat down and figured out how to  put two and two together.

She had invested so much time in Anthony and they had gotten so far, to  have to go through this. There was no doubt in her mind that her  relationship with Anthony would never be the same. It just hurt too  much. She could never look Anthony in the face again after what she just  discovered.

When she got home, she wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone or do  anything, so she turned off her cell phone and went to bed. Maybe when  she woke up, she hoped that it would have, somehow, all been a bad  dream.





Chapter 15





Annette had not had a bad dream last night. It was all true. Anthony was  cheating on her and she felt like her life was over. At work the next  day, she couldn't even focus on her job. She worked at a slower pace and  she found herself daydreaming about what she was supposed to do to  prevent Anthony from cheating on her. Why would he go outside of their  relationship for sex? Annette had never refused Anthony any sex. Anytime  Anthony wanted something, she did it.

She had told Bianca and Denise what had happened on her lunch break and  they were completely surprised as well. Bianca wanted to do some dirty  shit, like throw rocks into the windows and smash eggs onto his new  Mercedes. She told Bianca that she just didn't believe in doing stuff  like that. Two wrongs didn't make one right. Instead, she swore to  herself that she would not fall for the "I'm sorry, forgive me" shit,  give in, and go back to him. His punishment would be never seeing her  again. If he loved her so much, it would hurt him even more to see her  gone. And if he didn't love her and didn't give a shit if he ever saw  her again … well … it was in her best interest to leave him alone.

It was harder to ignore him than Annette thought because when she  arrived home from work that afternoon, he was parked in the parking  space in front of her apartment building. When he saw her pull up, he  got out of the car with a big bouquet of roses. She took a deep breath,  grabbed her bags, and stepped out of her car. She tried not to even look  at him, but he didn't look like he was going to give up on her.         

     



 

"Annette, can I talk to you?" He followed her up the steps.

"Talk all you want, but I'm not listening. You had your chance to explain already."

"I'm sorry, Annette. Can we just talk about some things, please?"

"What things, Anthony? Now is not the time to give me your sad sob story. You made your choice and now it's over with."

"I know that I'm wrong, but I never meant to hurt you like that."

"Now, I know why it was so hard for you to move to the next level with  us. You were fucking other girls all along." She fumbled with her keys  and unlocked the door to her apartment. She was expecting him to say  something, but when he didn't she knew that what she had suspected was  confirmed. He had been cheating on her all along. "How long have you  been cheating on me?"

He looked down at his sneakers and shook his head. "I don't remember when it began, baby."

"Oh, you sick bastard. You could have given me an STD or something."

"It's not like that, Annette. I don't fuck every girl I meet, a'ight.  Besides, you're the only one I fuck without using a rubber."

Annette backed up into the door of her apartment, even more sickened by  the fact that Anthony may have given her an STD from one of those nasty  hoes he had been fucking around with.

"Please, here me out. Give me a chance, Annette. I made a mistake." He  grabbed hold onto the door to prevent her from closing it.

"You made too many mistakes … "

"Here, these are for you." He handed her the fresh bouquet of roses.

"Do you honestly think that you can change my mind with roses and gifts  all the time? All those times you were trying to make me happy with  material things, you were fucking around with other bitches. Was that  your way of saying sorry?" She glanced at the dozen roses, all perfect  and fucking rosy. She frowned. "Do you know what I think of this attempt  to get me to feel sorry for you?" She looked up at him. When he didn't  say anything, she hurled the roses over the banister onto the grass  below and watched his eyes widen in shock. "Now, get the fuck out of my  face!" She slammed the door. She didn't give a fuck that it almost  smacked him up in the face neither. She locked the doorknob and deadbolt  and immediately picked up her phone to call the apartment office.

"Hilltop View Apartments and Townhomes."

"Yes, this is Annette Reynolds in apartment three one six. I need someone to come over here and change my locks ASAP."

"Is this an emergency?"

"Yes, I think someone got a hold of my keys and I don't feel safe. If  there is a charge and you need to call an outside company, please add it  to my account. This needs to be done tonight."

"Okay, we'll send someone right over."







The next day, Annette was at the doctor's office flipping through an  Elle magazine that had an issue date from three months before. She  glanced up at a lady that just sat down in front of her who looked like  she was nine months pregnant. Her belly was so big that Annette was  certain that she was carrying triplets. Another couple who was sitting  beside her appeared to be arguing based on the expressions on their  faces. She couldn't hear what they were saying because they were  whispering and hissing at each other. Annette had made an appointment to  get tested for STDs and HIV. She wasn't taking any chances. On many  occasions when Anthony ran out of condoms, they had sex without one.  Anthony had lied to her too many times and she couldn't risk getting  sick. She wasn't the one that was running around with different  people … he was. Her cell phone rang and she picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Beautiful." It was Jordan. She looked down at the phone again and  saw that he was calling from a number that he had never called her from  before.

"Hi," she said.

"What's wrong? You don't sound so hot."

"Nothing."

"What are you doing?"

What would she say? I'm at the doctor's office getting tested because I  think my cheating ex-boyfriend gave me an STD. "Nothing."

"Are you sure that you're alright? Did I catch you at a bad time or  something?" Jordan's cheerful voice was now beginning to get like hers.  Sad and tiresome. She could tell that he was concerned.

"I'm okay. I just had a busy week, that's all."

"That's too bad because I know what might cheer you up. Still having  second thoughts about going out Saturday with me and the guys."

"I'm still not going to be able to make it, Jordan. Maybe another time."         

     



 

"Well, I hope that you feel better."

"Reynolds!" The nurse called her name from behind the counter.

"Look, Jordan. I've got to go," she said, closing the magazine and tossing it on the end table beside her.

For a few seconds, there was silence on the other end, and then, "Okay."

He hung up.

I followed the nurse to one of the back rooms with a lump of pain rising in my throat.





Chapter 16





"Did he tell you how long he was cheating?" Denise said, swirling her straw around in Starbucks iced coffee.

It was Saturday morning and the Annette and Denise were talking at a  Starbucks. Bianca had to do some weekend work at the law firm she was  employed with, so she couldn't make it.

"I don't know, Denise. If I asked him, I don't know that I'll be able to trust what he says."

"Well, it doesn't really matter how long or when. The fact is that he  committed the ultimate betrayal by cheating on you behind your back. And  from what you have been telling me, it's been numerous times with  numerous girls. You were right to go get tested."

"I just can't believe I was so stupid. How could I have not seen it?  What did I do to make him cheat on me?" Annette let her hand drop in her  palms.

Denise reached across the table and grabbed her hands. "Listen, Annette,  you didn't do anything to make him cheat. That was his decision. No one  put a gun to his head and made him do it. When men don't put their  priorities in order, they make bad decisions that not only hurt  themselves, but other people."