Mercedes joined the United States Army, after long procrastinating. She took the career seriously, even joining the Special Forces. With the seriousness of her job as a soldier Mercedes makes the rash decision of cutting communication with Shayden...
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𝓘𝓷 𝓔𝓪𝓼𝓽 𝓐𝓽𝓵𝓪𝓷𝓽𝓪,
"Wait so you and Shay?", Selena was in Dee's office trying to figure out what had happened at the Fundraiser event a couple of weeks ago. "Y'all were a thing?"
Dee had finally returned to work after she decided to take some time to recover from all the hard work she's been putting in to prepare for the fundraiser event. She spent a lot of time in the boxing gym, it was a good release for her. However, it was hard for her to find a good sparring partner. After she nearly gave someone a concussion, a punching bag was her sparring partner.
"Yeah", this was all news to Selena. She had noticed how Shay reacted when she saw Dee and how Dee ran after her. She knew something wasn't right when Dee had returned with a red left cheek and red eyes. Dee's mood was off the rest of that night and Shay was nowhere to be found.
"Damnnn that's a crazy coincidence.", That it was.
Mercedes couldn't stop thinking about Shay. It pained her to see how much she hurt her. After all she's been through in the last six year, pushing Shay away was the only thing she regretted.
After being wounded in combat, the only person she wished to have by her side was Shay. She could have texted her, told her what happened and hope that she would respond.
That she would jump on a plane and come see her. But that didn't happen, Mercedes was too afraid.
Afraid that she wouldn't text back, that she wouldn't give a damn about her anymore, that she would hate her for ghosting her. So, seeing her that night, hearing her voice the hate she felt crushed Mercedes.
"So what happened? She ain't look too happy to see yo ass", Dee was supposed to be going through her emails but Selena's nosiness was preventing her from doing so.
"I fucked up", Dee said blatantly not really wanting to get into the details of it.
"Yeah clearly. I didn't even know Shay was into females...well you learn some new everyday. I'm about to go see if there's anything that needs to done around here, I'll talk to you later.", She got up from her seat. When she opened the door, Cheddy was outside about to knock.
"Oh shit", Selena laughed, surprised to see Cheddy, she let him in and left out the office.
"Wassup Ched?"
"So, we have a little over a 100 kids registered for the camp. I'm going to need at least 2 more coaches", Dee was aware of our abundant attendance for our basketball camp. Although , she took a break, she never really stops working.
"I know, there will be 3 more coaches coming in tomorrow.", Cheddy nodded.
Cheddy was a mellow guy, he had a passion for basketball but got injured in college. It took him a while to adjust to a life off the court, but he found himself another path that still consisted of basketball. Coaching, he got degree in Sport Science. The first team he coached was a recreational team, his first season was trial and error. Once he had his groove, he led the recreational team to its first Championship.
When Dee found him he had just led his AAU team to Nationals. Dee was offering him less than what he was being paid but she promised him the work he would do with her was a payment of its own. He wasn't hearing shit she was saying at first, then there was a another viral event of police brutality. A sixteen year old beaten to death for resisting arrest.
When he watched the video he began to understand what Mercedes meant.
They were going to change the world.
Child by child. City by city.
"So have you thought about the self defense program that I pitched in the meeting?", Cheddy asked.
He thought it was important for people of color to know how to defend themselves. There was a chance of becoming a victim of violence everyday for the people living in the slums and he felt a self defense class would be necessary for developing gifted black children and even adults.
"Yeah I have, I believe it's a great idea. But there's also a chance that a self defense class could result in more violence. I think you should include more precautionary measures and more lessons on the importance of decision making.", Dee gave her advice on the matter and Cheddy nodded.
-
At home, Dee sat on her yoga mat in the crisscrossed applesauce position. She was trying her best to meditate but she still had lingering thoughts about Shay.
Her mind wouldn't silence itself, just as she thought her consciousness would evaporate into the peaceful abyss a murmur of her name would sound through her mind.
Shay
She could hear her saying, "I hate you.", like she was right in front of her.
"Man fuck it", Dee got up from the yoga mat and sat on her couch. She was overwhelmed with frustration, she was trying her best to relieve it in a healthy way but that wasn't working.
Nothing was working.
The 17 year old Dee wouldn't believe it if she was told she would cuff Shayden McFallen, ghost her after dating for a year, and would be wearing her heart on her sleeve for this woman after 6 years of nothing.
Those random hookups they shared all those years ago were meant to stay at that. Yet, they found themselves trauma bonding that eventually turned into a real relationship.
The sound of Dee's phone ringing broke the silence in the house. "Hello?" Dee answered.
"Mercedes, our class is figuring out what we're doing for homecoming this year. I was wondering if you wanted to join in this time?", Aamoni voice came through the phone. She sounded unsure, like she knew Dee wouldn't give a single fuck about their Highschool homecoming. Hell, she didn't even graduate.
"Uhh I don't know Moni. Y'know I try to stay away from Milou.", There was too much history in that city that could easily ruin everything she's worked for.
"Mm yeah I know. Well... How are you doing?", Aamoni was genuinely asking. After she found Dee in the hallway crying with Jax trying to comfort her, she's been worried about her.
It's been a while since she seen Mercedes cry, and when she learned that it was because of Shay, Moni couldn't help but roll her eyes.
"Mercedes be fucking for real, you're at your fundraising event. Don't let anyone ruin this for you. Tighten up", she said. There's always been some unspoken conflict that revolved around Moni and Shay. Ever since their senior year, when Shay seemed to become apart of the picture.
Aamoni always felt like Dee cheated on her with Shay, So when they started dating she wasn't surprised. However, when Mercedes finally told her about the kiss her and Shay shared during their relationship, Aamoni didn't talk to Dee for almost a week.
"Mann, I'm all over the place lately", Dee confessed. With everything she's been through, keeping a strong exterior became normal for her. Never wanting people to pity her or to overwhelm her with their worries. "I'm just... I can't get this girl out my head. I've been doing good but i'm lacking a peace of mind"
There was silence on the other end of the phone, for a minute. Dee thought about how stupid she was to talk about Shay with Aamoni, knowing she probably wouldn't give a damn. "She really got you sprung like that?", Moni finally broke the silence.
Dee laughed a little, "Bruh I don't know how, just seeing her again...ion know. It reminded me of everything I was before I fucked around and nearly got blown to bits." Fun and wild, she was the exact opposite of the calm, patient, and mature person she was now.
The months she shared with Shay were everything Dee wished she had ever since her mother died. The spontaneous outings, the mind altering conversations, the laughs, the affection, even the arguments. It was a time that she genuinely enjoyed in her life.
"Maybe y'all should talk. Give both of y'all some closure", Aamoni said.
