Tell Him
The LA sun was shining and the weather was warm rather than the usual two million degrees it always feels like in June. Aside from the dozen paparazzi following us (well, her) and the fact that I'm the worst friend in the fuckin' world, today was pretty good.
Cameron and I have spent the entire day shopping in the stores lining Belmont and Robertson. Well, she's been shopping. I've just been walking behind her, pouting. I shouldn't be here. I should be with Justin, telling him his bitch ass girlfriend wasn't carrying his child. She was carrying nothing.
But I'm too afraid of what she'd do with that godforsaken letter of mine.
"I really don't see why we couldn't go our separate ways," I complained as we stepped in a Coach store after buying some JavaJuice up the block. Cameron groaned and looked at me with an annoyed expression.
"I told you that Justin's going to call one of us and ask to speak to the other, just to make sure we're really together." I rolled my eyes, but knew damn well it was true. Justin was slick like that, which is one of the reasons why I love him.
"Well, can't we just say we're in the bathroom or something?"
"I really don't know how Justin can stand being with you for more than twenty minutes."
"I can say the same thing."
"Don't get bitchy."
"Believe, you'll know when I'm bitchy." Cameron narrowed her eyes at me and huffed.
"Why do you always have to try and intimidate me?"
"I'm not trying to do anything," I said, "If you see this as intimidation, that's your problem."
"You are such a-"
"Before you say anything, remember that you're not pregnant therefore open for an ass whooping." Her mouth opened, but closed like a snapping turtle and I smiled mockingly.
"Buy something."
"What?"
"Buy. Something." she repeated slowly, "Hurry up."
"Why?" I asked.
"Because it's going to look really weird if you're just standing there with nothing when I have a million bags."
"What the hell are you talking about?" I questioned, "Weird to who?"
"Them." She nodded toward the paparazzi outside the dimmed display windows, snapping photos as we browsed at the Coach sunglasses.
"Who cares?" I rolled my eyes. "What are they gonna do? Sue me for not wasting one-hundred and fifty dollars of my money on these?" I pointed toward a pair of cute Samantha sunglasses in the glass cases lining the store's walls.
"No, I just don't want to look like a stingy bitch," Cameron said, "So, get something."
"And help you hid your true identity? Never." She glared at me and smiled to myself as I wandered off toward the purse section. As I cringed at the fifteen-hundred dollar price tag, my cell phone vibrated against my thigh. I removed it from its clip and read the word 'Jay' written on the caller i.d. screen. I sighed as I flipped it open, pressing it to my ear.
"Hey," I greeted.
"What's up, Beautiful?" he said cheerfully. I smiled and began to play with a purse strap aimlessly.
"Nothing," I answered, "What's up with you?"
"Same," he replied, "I just wanted to check up on ya'll."
"We're good," I told him, glancing back to see Cameron modeling the same pair of sunglasses I thought were cute. Bitch.
"How's the appointment going?"
"Uh, it's fine," I lied, "It's going fine."
"Is Cameron okay?" I glared as she smiled at her reflection.
"Oh yeah, she's just peachy."
"Mind if I speak to her?" When I looked back at her, I saw she was having some type of negotiation with a saleswoman.
"Not now," I said, "She's talking to the doctor." Wow, this was sickenly easy.
"Oh, okay," Justin stated simply, "Whenever she's done."
"All right."
"So, has she been behaving?"
I scoffed. "No."
"What did she do?"
"She was born," I answered smartly. Justin chuckled and I smiled because it was such a cute laugh.
"You're so mean," he said, his smile still lingering in his tone, "Don't tell her I laughed at that."
"I won't," I promised, "And I'm not terrible. She is."
"Did she do anything, aside from being born?" I shrugged even though he couldn't see me.
"Not really." She blackmailed me into being here and is lying about having his baby, but other than that. . .
"Well, good," Justin said. I turned and saw Cameron was no alone. I couldn't bear to lie to him again.
"Hold on, Jay," I began to make my way toward her, "She's done talking." I handed the phone to her and she mouthed 'who is it?'. I rolled my eyes and turned my back to her instead of answering.
"Hel. . .Hello?" Her eyes lit up, "Hey, baby," Gag me. "No. . . Yeah, I'm fine. . . Sure. . .Everything's good. He said the baby's all right. . . No, of course not. . . No, the drinking didn't do anything. . . Yeah, I'm sure. . . I'm sure he knows what he's talking about, Justin. He is the doctor. . . Yeah. . . All right. . . Love you too, baby. Bye." She hung up my phone and tossed it at me like it was diseased or something.
"What did he say?" I asked.
"Nothing, just how the baby was." We stood there for a moment and Cameron sighed heavily. "Thanks for doing this with me."
"Whatever." It wasn't a polite thing to say, but fuck her. She's the one that's holding my letter over my head. I'm not doing this as a favor. I'm doing it to save my own ass.
"Look, we can go now," she said, "Justin's waiting for us." I was thankful to hear that, but at the same time, I was scared to face him. Lying to him was easy over the phone, but one on one wasn't going to be like that. Despite that, I still drove Cameron back to his place. The ride was silent and tense and so way the parking and walk up to his door. Cameron went to use her key, but I stopped her.
"Wait," I said, "I can't." She looked at me strangely.
"You can't what?"
"I can't go in there."
"What? Why?"
"Look, you may be able to lie straight to his face, but I can't really stomach that right now." I began to walk back down the stairs. "Tell him Tiff called and I couldn't stay."
"Okay," she nodded as I made my way back to my car. She stood there waiting until I got inside of my Honda and drove off. The ride home was quiet, but I somehow developed a headache along the way. It didn't take long for the migraine to develop as I made my way inside of my apartment. Bosco barked and the T.V. was on two nonches too high.
"Lonnie!" Tiffany's high pitched welcome caused me to groan as I grabbed the remote and turn off the television. "I was watching that."
"I have a migraine," I whined.
"Well, you were with Miss. Diaz all day." I wanted to smile and acknowledge the humor in her statement, but every muscle I moved seemed to make my pain worst.
"Pills. Now. Please." Tiffany nodded and scurried off toward the bathroom. She returned to the living room where I was lying on the sofa after making a pit stop in the kitchen for a bottle of water.
"Here ya go," she said, handing me some Excedrin and Aquafina.
"Thank you."
"So, how was the doctor's appointment?" Ugh, she doesn't know. I forget that I lied to her too. I can't do that. I can't keep this from her too.
"There wasn't one," I confessed, "Oh, Tiffany, she's not pregnant. It's lie. A big sham." Tiffany stared at me before laughing.
"You're funny, you know that."
"I'm not trying to be," I said, "Tiffany, seriously. She's not pregnant." It took a while to finally register in her head that I really wasn't kidding and when it did, all hell broke loose.
"That lying, backstabbing. . . Oh, I cannot believe her! What kind of person keeps something like that a secret? She's not human! She's a dog. . . A bitch! A. . . a. . ."
"Me?" I suggested. She angrily waved me off.
"I'm serious," Tiffany said.
"So am I."
"Alonsha, what are you talking about?" She stared down at me and I covered my face with my hands.
"He doesn't know," I said, "I know and she knows, but. . . we haven't told him. . . we aren't." There was silence and I thought she either flopped over and died or walked into the kitchen to get a knife and kill me. She did neither one.
"What do you mean you aren't telling him?" she asked rhetorically, "Of course you're telling him. Alonsha, you love him."
"She loves him too," I whined. Tiffany snatched my hands from my face and frowned at me.
"Please don't put you and Cameron on the same boat," she said, "You're better than her."
"Apparently not," I told her, sitting up on the sofa.
"Yeah, now," Tiffany agreed, "But if you tell him-"
"I can't," I sighed, "She has the letter, remember? She has the letter."
"I thought she got rid of it."
"So did I, but I guess I was being stupid." I finally popped the Excedrin into my mouth and drank some water.
"So, what? She's blackmailing you?"
"Pretty much."
"Screw that shit," Tiffany said, "You have to tell."
"Are you crazy?" I asked, placing my glass onto the table, "She'll show him the letter."
"He'll hate you if he finds out you knew about this." I looked at her thoughtfully and shook my head.
"No, Cameron said if I kept quiet, she wouldn't put my name in it."
"Cameron also said she got rid of your letter."
"I know, but he can't find out. . . God, I shouldn't have written that thing."
"She shouldn't have stolen it."
"You're right, but what am I suppose to do?"
"Tell him."
"No!" I groaned, "Are you listening to me? She'll show him the letter."
"So?" Tiffany shrugged, "You being in love with Justin and Cameron lying about having his non-existant baby are too very different things." The logic was, well, logical, but I couldn't shake the sickening thought of him knowing that I loved him.
"I can't," I said, "He can't know." Tiffany rolled her eyes and ran her fingers through her jet black hair in frustration.
"Alonsha, this is going to blow up in your face," she told me, "Big time." I watched as she turned and stomped off down the hall and into her room, mumble things under breath before her door slammed shut. I flinched when Bosco barked suddenly and caused my migraine to pound through my head again. I fell back onto my sofa and tried to get some sleep. Maybe when I wake up this will all be a dream.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
I woke up three hours later, migraine-free and loving it. As I made my way into the kitchen, I found Bosco fast asleep in his doggie bed snuggled up in the corner. I smiled to myself as my feet touched the cool tiles of the kitchen floor and made a bee line for the fridge. Right before I opened the silver door, I spotted a note posted on it.
Gone to Scott's. Bosco's feed. Tell Justin. - Tiff
Very subtle I thought to myself sarcastically as I rolled my eyes and balled up the small yellow square. I tossed it onto the counter before finally opening the fridge. The red and white carton of Chinese leftovers caught my eye and I grabbed it along with a Snapple iced tea bottle. I grabbed a bowl from the dish holder and poured the carton's contents into it. General's Tso chicken. Just what I wanted. As I placed the bowl into the microwave and started it up, I frowned. The Chinese food reminded me of Chi which of course reminded me of Justin.
Just as I was ready to smack myself for being such a horrible friend, the phone rang. I picked it up and tiredly said, "Hello?"
"Hey." Despite the fact that I had been mulling over my terrible secret (well, secrets if you count the being in love with him part), I couldn't help but smile at the sound of his voice.
"Hey," I greeted with more umph than before.
"What happened to you earlier? Cameron said you weren't feeling well."
"Oh, I'm sorry about that," I said, "I got a really bad migraine and decided to just go home." Okay, it wasn't a complete lie. Sure, I got the migraine after the fact that I told Cameron to say I was sick, but whatever.
"Okay," he said, "Are you feeling better?"
"Yeah, Tiff gave me some Excedrin and I took a nap, so I'm good."
"Good, good," Justin repeated, "Do you feel good enough for company?"
"Sorry, Jay, I already have company." I smiled to myself as he began to whine.
"Who?"
"Me, myself, and I." He sucked his teeth and I chuckled lightly.
"Ha, ha," he said dryly, "I'm coming over, smartass."
"Okay, dumbass."
"Hate you."
"Love you too." I nearly choked on air when I said that.
"You alright?" I nodded even though he couldn't see me.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Alright then," Justin said, "I'll be there in a few." He wasn't lying either. I had barely finished freshing up when I hard the buzzer. I gave myself the one over before jogging down to the door. I adjusted my shorts and vintage t-shirt as I buzzed him in. I ran my hands over my hair to make sure my ponytail was in place just as he knocked on my door. I waited a few seconds before opening the door even though I was right there. I didn't want to see too anxious.
"Hey," I said evenly as he stood before, wearing a pair of black shades. His tan cargo pants and yellow polo shirt did him justice, and he even shaved a little. Justin was looking very cute, if I do say so myself.
"Hey." He leaned down and hugged me, his scent filling my nose with the masculine smell of his cologne.
"What's up?" I asked nonchalantly as we pulled apart and I made my way back to the kitchen. I heard him shut and lock my door before the sound of his keys hitting my coffee table resounded in my ears.
"Nothing, just wanted to chat with you for a bit." His voice got closer and I looked over my shoulder, seeing trailing just a foot behind me.
"About?" I asked curiously. As we finally got into the kitchen, he walked around me and headed straight for my fridge. The boy wasted no time.
"Wedding stuff," I cringed.
"What wedding stuff?" I questioned as I sat down at my small wooden table. My Chinese was cooling off on it while I ran around here like a manic trying to tidy up for him.
"Well," Justin began, finally emerging from the fridge with two pieces of fried chicken and a sprite, "We changed the date."
"To what?" Never? I wanted to ask, but bit my tongue.
"Uh. . . July. . .first." My expression must've been something else because Justin looked down so fast that I'm surprised he didn't get whiplash.
"Tell me you're kidding."
"I'm not," Justin said, taking a seat across from me, "Look, you're here, so that's no longer a problem and Cameron said she wanted to get married before she actually started to show. You know my mama was already made that I'm having kids outside of marriage, so how do you think she'll feel if we have some hillbilly wedding with the bride ready to burst at any moment?"
"Then wait until after the baby."
"That's going to be worst," he said, "My kid shouldn't be a part of our wedding. He or she should be an after-wedding thing."
"Well, July first is too soon. That's in like two weeks."
"I know when it is," Justin grumbled, "No offense, but I wasn't really asking what you thought about the date. I was just saying that it was changed."
"Alright," I said, swallowing my pride, "You're right."
"Sorry," Justin apologized, "That came out really rude."
"No, it's fine."
"Okay, but I have to ask you something."
"Oh, so you want my opinion now?" He gaze me a tired expression.
"Alonsha. . ."
"Okay, okay," I said, "What is it?"
"Alright, aside from the fact that you think that the date is bad and that Cameron is the devil," I smiled, "Is there anything you want to tell me before I get married?"
"Wh. . . Why?" I stuttered.
"Because I'm trying to get shit out in the open now so I wouldn't have a Jerry Springer wedding," he chuckled, "So, if there's anything, anything at all, that you want me to know. Spit it out now."
Hmm, let's see. . . Your fiancee isn't really pregnant and oh, I'm madly in love with you.
"There's nothing," I answered, "Absolutely nothing." He searched my eyes for a moment and I struggled to keep my composure.
"Are you sure?" he asked, giving me a second chance to confess.
"Yep," I told him, "There's nothing." After a few seconds of staring, Justin finally looked down and drummed his fingers on the table top.
"Okay," he smiled, "That took care of that." I smiled awkwardly and scratched my arm. Images of Cameron and my letter began to run through my head as Justin took generous bits of his chicken and I aimlessly stabbed at my General's. My heart was pounding in my ears and screaming 'TELL HIM!'. I glanced over at the counter and spotted Tiffany's note, all balled up and carelessly tossed. Tell him. . . Tell him. . .Tell him. . .
"Justin," I called, breaking the silence. His eyes looked up at me with curiousity and concern since I was one notch away from screaming his name.
"What?" he asked, "Are you okay?" Damn, where was an extra pair of balls when I needed them? The moment he looked at me. I mean, really looked into me with his navy blues, I lost all my courage.
"I just wanted to. . . Give you my blessing," I lied, "I'm happy for you, Jay." He looked at me with uncertainty before smiling.
"Okay. . ." he said, "Thank you." I nodded my welcome and we both turned back to our food. I was definitely going to hell for this.
Story Tags: Be the first to add a tag to this story
