Moving On

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Part 2 of Unfaithful

For the last month Lauryn hadn't come home. I'd call and be sent immediately to voicemail. I never meant for this to happen Asia was a mistake. The biggest one I'd made in 29 years of life. I wanted nothing more than to be with my baby right now.

Every part of the house reminded me of her. From the smallest memories, like the food fight we had in the kitchen our first year here, the couch in the den where she first told me she was pregnant, the shower where we made sweet love when she saw I had a long day at practice. I fucked up.

"Bro...I know you're in there somewhere, I see the lights on. Answer the phone!" Victor's voice echoed through the house from our answering machine. My phone buzzed again from my couch, I was sprawled out over the floor watching the ceiling fan rotate above me.

"Hello." I rasped.

"You sound horrendous...." Vic's voice trailed empathetically. "Come open the door man." Reluctantly, I stood on my feet and shuffled to the front door, letting him in. "Oh gross, my nigga have you showered?" He directed my way, fanning the air from his face.

"No." I fell back into my spot on the floor. "I can't get my mind off her man." My eyes met his, only they were upside down, considering he was standing over me.

"You sound pathetic. Call her Beckham!" He plopped on the couch, switching on lights from the remote that controlled them.

Since Lauryn dipped last month, I'd be cooped up, locked away in darkness. "She won't accept or return my calls." I sounded like an inmate on death row, already made up I had nothing else to live for. "How am I gonna talk to her when she won't give me the chance to?"

He gave a long hard sigh, dragging his hands down his face in the process. "I really hate that you two look to me and Elaina for marital advice." I gave him a puzzled glance to which he rolled his eyes and spoke again, "She's been staying in the guest room at my place. Elaina's been trying to get through to her."

"What?! Why didn't you say anything?" I shot up, staring at him angry he'd been harboring my wife all this time while he's seen how miserable I was.

"Hey man, Ellie didn't want me to say anything and you know as well as I...happy wife, happy life." I couldn't argue with that. That was the main reason my ass was on the brink of divorce now. I'd been fucking up a lot even before the Asia debacle. "Please, go shower ya ass and I'll take you over there. Ellie bout damn lost her mind and Lauryn, love her like my little sister....she gotta go. She eatin all my baby's snacks crying over this shit man. Do you know how much Fruit Roll-ups cost?? Too damn much. HUT! HUT!" He yanked me to my feet and pushed me upstairs.

I barely cracked a smile, remembering how bad of a sweet tooth my baby had. Then I remembered how hard it was for her to cut sugar out her diet and here she was binging on it because of what I put her through.

I showered and threw on my Giants gear, sliding in the passenger seat of Victor's BMW. When we pulled up to his house, I felt like I went back in time to me and Lauryn's first date. I was so nervous. She was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. From the random dimple that formed above her right eyebrow when she smiled a certain way, to the little gasp she took before laughing, the way her tongue stuck out slightly when she was focused, the wrinkle in her forehead when she was upset, the little things man. I fell in love with every part of her. The idea of knowing I'd hurt her so deeply broke me.

When I walked inside, Ellie looked at Victor like she wanted to cut him but upon seeing my face her expression quickly softened. "You fucked up real bad Junior." Elaina slapped my shoulder but then wrapped me in a warm hug. Victor was more than my teammate so his family was an extension of my own. "She's straight back, you know where the extra room is." Ellie gently pushed me towards that direction.

Curled under the covers, hair pulled up into a messy bun, I could make out Lauryn's shape hidden. "Lauryn? Can we talk ?" I stayed by the door, leaning against the frame.

"Go away." Her voice was muffled under the covers and barely audible.

"Please jelly?" I smiled at the memory, one day after our first thanksgiving, we were in the gym at my condo and she hadn't worked out in god knows how long. When we finished, Lauryn toppled over in my lap on the couch telling me her whole body felt jelly and from that moment the nickname just...stuck.

She chuckled a little, the same memory playing in her head too. Next thing I know her face popped up from under her shield of fabrics. "You have 10 minutes Odell." The look on her face was dead serious.

"I miss you baby. Seriously, I really miss you. You know how I am with words so this is gonna be rough but I'll try. Lauryn I was an idiot okay?" She nodded at my accusation. "I don't want anyone but you, I never did since the first time I saw you but I was stupid. I've always been stupid but I try and I changed. I had one slip up baby, it won't happen again." She was sitting up in the bed completely, looking intrigued with my speech. By the time I finished, I'd crawled to her bedside, hands covering hers with my face in her stomach, crying, begging, pleading for her to come home. "Lauryn I have never felt so miserable in my life, I need you."

"I hear you but...." I didn't like the sound of her words. "I think we need to have a trial separation. Maybe it's best, you know?"

"No!" I shout, my eyes wide in fear. "I don't wanna separate. I want you!"

"I need space Odell. You betrayed our vows. You cheated on me with some skank and you expect me to just...run back to you?!" Her voice jumped a few octaves nearing the end of her question.

"It was a mistake. It was a fucking mistake. I never even did anything with her." I was feeling like my world was crashing down on me.

"I don't want to be with you right now Odell. I just don't." Her mind seemed made up. "First thing tomorrow morning, I'm getting my things and moving in with my sister."

"Please baby, don't do this!" My voice cracked pitifully as tears broke free. "What do I have to do to fix this?"

"You can't sweetheart. I need time to move past this."

"We can do it together...Lauryn, please?" I was squeezing her hand tight as she pushed me out the room. "Lauryn, no."

And with that the door was shut in my face. The world seemed to stop and nothing made sense to me anymore. It wasn't supposed to be like this. I felt Vic and Ellie's hands on my shoulders as they consoled me. This wasn't how this was supposed to end. It just wasn't. I had to have her back.


Y'all this had me crying fr, man Odell was really going through it. I'll finish this one up tomorrow. Enjoy 😘

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