Falling Under Pressure

Chapter 2: Danasia

The way that I was just snapped up out of my sleep to answer my door for an puffy eyed Jói for the second time this week made me pissed. No, I wasn't pissed with her. I was pissed at the situation. Why does she keep allowing and accepting the same shit from the same ignorant motherfucker. Jói pierced through my soul with them saddened eyes and instantly my heart softened for her. "Come in Jói, grab a seat." I said opening the door slightly wider for her to get through. Instead of grabbing a seat she headed straight to the kitchen, in search for my stash. "A few glasses of wine and some sticky is well needed right now." I quickly glanced at the clock that read eight- thirty and looked back at Jói with concern. "Ma'am it's far too early to be drinking and rolling up. What's your deal?" Jói looked at me with an brow lifted and retrieved an flute from the cabinet. "Honey, as long as we've known each other you should know that I drink when I'm depressed. A few flutes of these should numb the pain." She said lifting the flute of bubbly. A nagging voice in the back of my mind told me to just knock her in the head for being such an bird brain but I simply figured that I'll just leave well enough alone. This shit better not have a damn thing to do with Jovan. It's too early for any of this shit. I thought to myself as I glaced back at the clock that displayed 7:55 in big bold red numbers. All my mind happened to be set on is my body making love to my soft king sized bed and fluffy pillows. My body was still tiresome from last night's event. "If you don't mind me asking... No fuck that I'm gonna ask anyway. What brings you here early this A.M. it's not even ten o' clock yet." Jói took an long sip of her drink and eyed me as if she was debating if she wanted to tell me about her issues. She exhaled deeply before telling me anything. "It's Jovan, I believe that he's cheating on me yet again. Right again... I thought to myself as I tightened the belt to my terry robe a little tighter. "Once again you gave this man the power to get up under your skin. What could've went wrong early this morning to make you wanna come here and wake me up out of my sleep?" Jói took an long pause and looked at me sternly before pouring her heart out to me. "Girl.... This relationship with Jovan is driving me insane. Why is it that I feel like I'm the only one who's playing my part? Holding it down?" Jói said with misty eyes as her voice began to crack. A part of me wanted to reach out an console my friend but I didn't. She continued to set her own self for failure every time. I knew what Jovan was all about just as much as the next man. He damn sure wasn't anybody that I would want to keep. But my girl Jói... I think that she's head over heels in love with him. Nobody couldn't save her from that shit but herself. I sat right across from her at the kitchen table. Working on her second cup of Gin. I snatch the neck of the bottle from her grasp and twisted the cap back on. "Oookay enough of this you're finished! It's too damn early for you to be throwing back drinks like this. So speak on what happened. I mean being that you woke me up, I have all the time in the world." I opened my liquor cabin and placed my Gin back in it's shelf. I sat back down across from Jói ready for her to spill the beans. "I decided to go through Jovan's messages this morning. Most of them were from his boys and business partners. But these was this one thread of messages that stuck out like an sore thumb. He was texting to an nameless number..." I didn't even try to fake amusement or anything. We're talking about men here. With most men you're always gonna find that one faceless number in his phone. Especially if he has something to hide. It's like one of the oldest rules in the Players handbook. "Soooo...?" I questioned, wanting her to go on with the story. Not to mention that my patients with hearing stories about Jovan was running thin. Jói scrunched up her face sensing that I was uninterested. She grabbed her Juicy Contour bag off of the table and swung it around her shoulder. "Just forget it, I came all of this way because I thought that I needed an friend to listen to me about my heartbreaks and troubles. But I guess that I must be asking for much too much." Jói shift in her seat getting ready to stand. Before she could I stopped her. "Jói, stop.... Sit back down. You know that I'm here to listen if that's what you want. It's just that I can't stand hearing these stories about him hurting you." My hands clenched into fist tightly. Trying my hardest not to lash out my frustrations. The back of my eyes burned with tears. "He has an whole other bitch out there and she knows about me." Jói blurted out, locking her eyes with mines. I took an long pause hoping that I didn't just hear what I've thought I've heard. I kept rewinding what she said over and over again. I shook my head.... "Wwh...what? How do you know?" "Well, that faceless number that I found in his phone I texted. Girl... I asked 'em how did they know Jovan. Without hesitation she let it be known that Jovan has mentioned me and that she was expecting me to appear and question her a whole lot sooner." "Sooner? So how long has this girl and Jovan dealt with each other? She said it like they have some type of history or something. " I asked kinda in shock of Jovan's actions. He was starting to get real careless. He had to have a good long talk about Jói to this other woman for her to come out the side of her face to say something like that. "I don't know... I flipped off at the mouth before asking questions. I had to know how did she felt about being the side chick. She threw an shot so hard that it pierced me right through the heart. She boldly told me that she was the side chick with main chick tenancies...." Jói dropped her head down in the palm of her hands in shame. Jói's face flushed pink as tears rushed down her face heavily. I felt both her pain and embarrassment. I've been there... But yet she allowed being disrespected. I got up from my seat and walked over to Jói to comfort her. I knew how it was to have your heart broken over and over. But I also knew when enough was enough. I didn't care how much that I loved mine if going was going to mend this broken heart so be it. "The nerve of that son of a bitch! Why don't you just leave him Jói? Why do you keep putting up with the same shit? LEAVE!" I yelled hoping that her hearing the disapproval in my voice would move her a little. Just walk away from this toxic relationship. She glanced up at me with glazed over eyes and shook her head no. "That's easier said than done..." Jói said with a sniffle. I frozen into place and did an gesture with my hands as if I was asking "why" but no words seem to escape from my lips. "I'm pregnant.... I can't raise our child alone." My mouth dropped and I stood there in shock hoping that this was an joke. But there was no sign of Ashton Kutcher running from the back room screaming "you've been punk'd". My soul wanted to cry out for her. But instead I decided to be strong for her. I dropped to my knees directly in front of Jói "Aww baby...." I cooed wrapping arms around my friend's neck tightly. I could only imagine what was going on in her mind right now. As her best friend I wasn't going to let her go through any of this alone.