Chapter 86: What Will It Take?

Blake

“How are you? How am I? You are unbelievable.” I was trying to control my anger. Let’s just say it’s gotten bad over the years and she’s just making it worse.

“Look I don’t really know what I’m supposed to say to you.” She ate yet another spoonful of ice cream as if that was the most important thing in the world.

“You can start by putting the damn ice cream down!” I snapped. She placed on the table and gave me her undivided attention.

“Since when do you where that much makeup?” She eyed me. I have been wearing a lot more make up since she left but that’s not the main priority here.

“Around the same time you decided to ditch everyone and go off to who knows where. People change after a year. You sure did. I used to know you but I don’t know who the fuck you are now,” I shook my head.

“And you swear a lot more now. Mere’s right you did change,” she said.

“Another thing, you went somewhere and kept in touch with Mere? Mere!? Mere of all people!?” I cut my eyes at her. Why in the world would she be talking to Mere?

“You got a problem with me keeping in touch with her?” She let a slow smirk cross her face. I just wanted to rip that damn thing off of her face.

“Last time I checked y’all were never in touch.”

“Maybe you haven’t changed Blakey.” That smirk never left her face and that made me grow pissed.

“Don’t you dare call me that. You don’t have any right to call me that. You lost that right when I woke up one morning to find you gone and all your stuff with you.” The only feeling I had for her was anger. I was completely pissed at her and it just makes it worse now that Mere’s involved in this.

“I’m sorry I left the way I did. I should have thought it through a little more,” she apologized. She looked like she didn’t even mean the apology.

“I don’t want your fucking apology! I don’t want anything from you except for answers. You know what I don’t need this. I need to get faded and forget this ever happened.”

“Faded? What the hell happened to you Blake?” She looked me over as if she was trying to figure out who I was.

“You happened. You always happen. I’m glad you left. It helped me find a backbone and not give a fuck.”

“You obviously do give a fuck if you’re pressing me for answers.” She looked over of this conversation.

“What the fuck is your problem?” I glared at her.

“Oh so it’s actually my turn to talk or are you just gonna continue to yell at me like I’m always in the wrong?” She rolled her eyes.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me Blake. I’m not always in the wrong but you sure have been this past year,” she looked at me in disgust.

“How the fuck would you know!? You haven’t been here,” I reminded her.

“And I’m glad I wasn’t. You’re one of the few people I was glad to lose touch with,” she crossed her arms.

“You have to be fucking kidding me right now. So you leave and come back as a bitch!? What the hell is wrong with you!?” She didn’t even seem like the same Nae she was before she left.

“I’m the bitch? You are hilarious Blake. You really are a great actress. You always act like you’re some perfect little angel but at this moment you’re the exact opposite,” she cut her eyes at me. I stared at her in shock. “Wow you’re silent for once? I’m glad we had this little talk. Maybe it’ll show you that you can’t manipulate at least one of your exes.”

“Manipulate? What the hell?” I didn’t understand what she was saying.

“Mere and I are two different people and unlike her I’m not afraid to tell you all the shit you don’t want to hear. I swear she’s too nice to you,” she shook her head.

“She’s too nice to me? What are you even talking about?”

“Mere!” Nae called out. Mere walked downstairs and looked at Nae.

“Yeah?” She had that weird look on her face again.

“I can’t talk to her anymore or I might say something that you don’t want me to say,” she warned her as if I wasn’t in the room. Mere turned to me and let out a sigh.

“Blakelynn,” she started but I cut her off.

“I can’t believe you would lie to me every fucking day for a year. We’ve never had secrets between us but I guess you broke that as soon as you and Nae became close.” I knew that she could recognize the look in my eyes.

“I’m sorry Blake but it’s more complicated than that,” she huffed.

“I don’t know why you’re apologizing to that girl. This is exactly what I mean; too nice,” Nae spoke up.

“Shut the hell up,” I cut my eyes at her.

“You wish I would don’t you?” She smirked.

“Nae,” Mere gave her a look.

“Fine I wanted to finish my ice cream anyway,” she grabbed it and walked into the kitchen. “Don’t apologize to her,” she called over her shoulder. Mere turned and looked at me.

“I’m glad I see where I stand in your life,” I shook my head.

“Blakelynn,” she started but I turned and walked out of her house. I wiped my tears and hopped in my car. I grabbed my phone and called Sage.

“Hey rocker girl,” she answered.

“Hey let’s do something.”

“I have something in mind.”

 

Mere

I sat on the couch and let out a sigh. I knew she would take this as me taking Nae’s side but it’s all just too complicated to explain. Nae walked back in the living room and sat next to me. “Stop crying,” she wiped the single tear that fell down my cheek.

“I just feel horrible. I never wanted her to take it that way.”

“Mere,” she sighed.

“She probably hates me now.”

“I don’t get how you can’t be mad at her for what she did to you,” she shook her head confused at my actions.

“I already forgave her. I don’t like to hold grudges and she’s Blake. It’s kind of hard to hold anything against her,” I shrugged.

“I swear you’re too nice but that’s one of the qualities that I love about you,” she smiled small.

“Thanks,” I let out a small chuckle.

“I get it Mere. Trust me I do understand why you can’t hold a grudge against her but you have to stop letting her walk all over you,” she shot me a knowing look.

“I know,” I nodded. That was something I needed to work on.

“Promise me that you’ll try to put yourself first. I don’t want to see you in the state you were in practically a year ago,” she pleaded.

“I was a fucking mess,” I chuckled at the memory.

“You really were,” she laughed.

“I promise,” I assured her.

“If Blake knew that I was here then the girls know too,” she pointed out.

“So do you want to see them or,” I trailed off.

“I don’t see the harm in seeing them. You know they’re gonna ask why we’re close,” she sighed.

“And?” I didn’t see what the problem was.

“What will we tell them?” She looked at me.

“That it ain’t none of their damn business,” I shrugged.

“I swear you think too much like me. Am I rubbing off on you?” She squinted her eyes at me. I chuckled and shook my head.

“You wish but no matter what you choose to tell them I’ll stand by you,” I promised her.

“You’re literally a fallen angel,” she said.

“I’d say a mix between that and a goddess,” I flipped my hair cockily.

“And there you go back to normal,” she laughed.

“I love you Munchkin,” I smiled at her.

“I love you too Cheeks,” she returned the smile as I groaned.

“You’re never gonna give up that name huh?” I questioned.

“Nope you’ll never be able to change the reason why I call you that,” she smirked.

“I give up,” I threw my hands up before eyeing her ice cream. She looked at me and I knew that she knew what I was thinking.

“Here,” she handed me the bowl.

“That’s why I love you,” I joked.

“That’s why you’re Cheeks,” she grinned.

“Now I’m gonna kill you,” I playfully rolled my eyes with a smile on my face. “Thanks for always knowing how to cheer me up.”

“I gotchu Mere.”

 

Drake

I walked into our room and saw Nicki on the bed. “I want us to talk about this and I mean really talk about this,” I told her.

“I don’t see why we should. I think everything has already been said,” she shrugged. She has been acting like this ever since she got home early this morning. I don’t know where the hell she goes all night long but I didn’t wanna start more drama with her.

“There’s so much more we need to discuss and you know it Onika.” I didn’t want her to hold this off for as long as she possibly could. That will just make her stay mad at me longer.

“And what exactly do you suggest we do?” She raised a brow. I thought for a second and then an idea popped into my mind.

 “Let’s go on a date.”

“A date?” She repeated trying to reassure herself.

“Yes, a date where we can put all of our issues out on the table and just be honest,” I offered. I think that’ll be good for us just to tell the truth.

“Okay,” she agreed. I smiled before telling her a time that worked with both of us. I just hope this is my last chance to convince her to stay and work through this with me.

Nicki

“This is a nice place,” I said as I looked around the restaurant.

“It’s one of my favorites,” he said as we ate.                      

“So where do you wanna start? I feel like we’ve been through this nine years ago,” I reminded him of the time when we went to a restaurant to sort out our issues.

“I wanna start by apologizing for how horrible of a husband I’ve been to you and a father to our children. I’m ashamed by the fact that I stressed you out and caused you to lose our baby.” He looked like he was getting emotional.

“I’m hurt by that too. That’s a child that I’ll never get back and you should’ve been around more to help me out. You don’t understand how hard it is to do all that I do without any help. You promised that you would always try to make me happy. I’m not happy Aubrey and I’m not sure if I’ll ever be happy after this,” I admitted.

“I never thought all of this could happen and now you and Mylan hate me. I’m sorry and I don’t blame you if you leave me.” He knew that he fucked up and this could be the last straw.

“I don’t hate you Aubrey but I’m sick of going through this cycle with you. We have two children to worry about and I don’t have time to be worrying about our marriage,” I shook my head.

“So what are you saying? Do you want a divorce?” He looked worried.

“I’m not gonna lie and say that I’m not going down that path. I’ve been contemplating this decision for a couple of weeks now. I just can’t deal with this anymore,” I sighed.

“Nic just give me another chance,” he pleaded.

“I’ve given you chance after chance. I’m done Aubrey. I want a legal separation,” I said.

“A legal separation? What good is that gonna do?” He looked at me like I was crazy.

“It gives me space and a feel of how divorce would be like. It’ll give me a chance to see if this is even worth it anymore. I don’t need to be stressing out like this and you already see how Mylan is acting.” I knew that this would be for the better.

“What would this mean?”

“I can’t have you around me. Can you stay at your old condo?” I couldn’t have space if he was always in the house.

“What else?”

“You can get the kids on the weekends,” I offered.

“What about us? Does it have to be a legal separation?” He begged. I thought about it for a minute.

“I guess it doesn’t have to be for right now. If it gets to that point don’t be surprised,” I warned him. I was not about to deal with everything all over again.

“Alright,” he agreed.

~~~

“We talked earlier and we’re separating,” I told him as we laid on the couch. He bought pizza and we were just watching random movies on the TV.

“What does that mean?”

“It means that I need space from him. It gives me a feeling of how divorce is gonna be like and it’ll show me if I want to fight for this marriage,” I shrugged.

“Do you want to fight for your marriage?”

“I don’t know anymore. It honestly can go both ways. I used to be scared of divorce but I’m not really afraid anymore. I’m strong enough to stand on my own and take care of my kids. I’ve been doing that for the past year.” I knew that I could make it if we really did split up.

“You’re a strong black woman,” he grinned as I giggled.

“You are so stupid.” I playfully rolled my eyes.

“Any time you need me you know I’ll help you out,” he reminded me.

“You’re such a nice guy,” I smiled small.

“It took a while. I've made a lot of mistakes in my past,” he pointed out.

“It doesn’t matter how long it took you. You’ve always been nice. Everyone has their moments but I say leave the past in the past. Forget about the mistakes and move on,” I offered.

“I can definitely do that,” he grinned.



Cassie

I let out another yawn as I waited for Shad to answer the door. He opened it a few seconds later and observed my appearance. I was definitely not looking my best at this moment. “You look,” he started but I cut him off.

“Like shit I know.”

“I was gonna say exhausted. Have you been getting any sleep?” He looked at me.

“I’m sleeping fine Shad. I just need to get the kids.” I just wanted to go home.

“Cass.” His hands moved to my face and before I could realize what he was doing my sunglasses were in his hands. I knew that he could see the bags under my eyes.

“Okay so I haven’t been sleeping that great but I don’t see how any of that concerns you,” I crossed my arms. His eyes roamed down my body and I knew that he wasn’t looking at me in a sexual way right now.

“Have you been eating?” He gave me a knowing look.

“I’ve just been busy Shad,” I sighed.

“That’s no excuse to not eat Casandra. I don’t need you fainting like you did back on the dance team,” he shook his head.

“Can you just get our kids and let me go home?” I pleaded. He stared at me a little longer before nodding. He turned and went to get the kids and I was thankful. He came back with both Brayden and Alexis asleep in his arms. I helped him put them in the car before closing the door. “I’ll see you Wednesday,” I was hoping to leave but as I expected he grabbed my elbow. “What?”

“Look I just don’t wanna see you damaging your health. If you need anything don’t hesitate to call me. I’ll do anything to help you alright?” He checked with me.

“Okay.”

Drake

I grabbed the last of my bags and placed them in the car. I debated talking to the kids but I didn’t want them to see me like this. I drove to my old condo and put my stuff up. I can’t believe how much I’ve screwed up in this past year. I heard a knock on my door and scrunched up my face. No one knew I was here besides Nicki. I opened the door and was shocked to find Shad standing there. “What are you doing here?” I let him in.

“I was dropping something off by one of my boys when I saw your car out front. Wassup bro? Why ain’t you at your house?” He questioned.

“Nicki and I are separating,” I sighed.

“Man I’m sorry.”

“It’s my fault that all of this happened this past year. You told me earlier to open my eyes but I never did. I was too blinded by getting the expansion done. I wanted to make my mom proud but now I’ve screwed up everything. I don’t think there’s any coming back from this,” I admitted.

“You’re serious? You think Nicki’s serious when she says she’s done?” He looked at me in shock.

“I’ve done some fucked up things in the past but I’ve never seen Nicki look at me the way she does now. She looks like she’s completely done with me and I can’t completely blame her. I brought this upon myself,” I shook my head and plopped down on my couch.

“You know that I’ll have your back. No matter what happens, family sticks together,” he moved and sat next to me.

 

“You right,” I nodded. I just needed to give Nicki the space she wants and see where we stand after that. I made my mistakes and now I gotta live with it no matter how this ends. “Do you think there’s someone else?” I’ve been wondering that for a while but I really didn’t want to think about it.

“You think she’s cheating on you?” Shad eyed me.

“I don’t know. She’s always out doing something. If she’s not with her girls then who is she with?” Nothing was adding up when it came to her.

“The truth always comes out in the end.”