Dallas, Texas
Bye Week
Aurora woke up with slight pain and spotting that they'd told her she was going to have for a couple days or weeks. She had been awake long before Jameer did and she spent that time with her mother outside. The entire household had been giving Aurora their full focus but she wanted them to still go through with their plans.
"I feel bad for everybody. There's so many plans that were made for this week." she said.
"Aurora, stop it. I don't wanna hear that. You just went through something traumatic and everyone here understands that. No plans are more important than you." Angela sighed, sipping from her coffee.
"Mom, I know that but I can still feel bad. Is Dad okay?" she asked. Deon had been painfully quiet since he had found out and Aurora was scared to know what he was thinking. Deep down, she was terrified of anyone thinking she was to blame.
"He's distraught. He's sad for you. He doesn't know how to be there for you in the way that you probably need. I told him that he needed to do what he's always done and be by your side."
"I haven't talked to Jameer's parents yet. Do you know how they feel?" she asked, unknowingly leaning closer to Angela. Angela looked at her daughter with a concerned expression.
"Honey, why are you so concerned with what everyone else thinks or how they feel?" Angela questioned.
Aurora leaned back into the seat and looked away from her. Aurora was terrified. Angry. Sad. Grieving. Exhausted. She was so scared of going back home and somebody somehow finding out about this. She knew somehow, some way that someone would blame her. She was scared of what that would do to her mental health.
"I'm scared. I'm already starting to blame myself and if someone were to confirm that, I don't know how I'm going to react. I didn't even know I was pregnant and lost it. I could've done anything over the last two months to cause it." she breathed, starting to cry.
"Ro, there was nothing you could've done. I don't want to hear that again. A miscarriage is a tragic situation and there is no blame to be put on anyone. No one in your life would blame you for this. No one." Angela exclaimed.
Aurora silently cried as she listened to her mother. She wanted so badly to believe everything she was saying, everything Janet said, everything Jameer said. The voice in her head trying to convince her it was her fault was screaming at every moment now and she couldn't get it to stop.
"As your mother, I will do everything in my power to support you. I don't care how many times I have to say it to you or show it to you, you are never to blame. I love you. We all do. Always know that." Angela smiled, kissing her forehead.
After sitting in a period of sad silence, they both decided to head inside to see if anyone else was awake. To Ro's surprise, everyone was gathered in the kitchen. Her eyes immediately traveled to Jameer who was already staring at her. He softly smiled which she returned immediately.
"Goodmorning, sweetie. We all want to talk to you." Janine smiled. Aurora looked at all of them before refocusing on Janine who seemed eager to talk.
"We all know what you're going through and there's not enough words in the world to express how sorry we are that this happened to you and our son. Every single one of the Thompson's are here for you and support you. You've been so wonderful to my son and he truly sees no one but you. I am grateful he has you and I know, just as God does, that you guys will get through this. Together." she smiled.
Aurora could feel her heart beating against her chest as she tried to reel in the tears that so badly wanted to fall. Hearing his mother say this brought her some comfort in knowing they weren't mad at her nor did they feel that she was responsible.
"We know what this trip was supposed to be but that doesn't matter now. We want to spend today showing you how much love and support you have around you. We don't want to overwhelm you or bombard you while you're processing what happened so if that's not what you want, we are all okay with that." Deon spoke up, looking over his daughter.
"No, no. I'm okay with that. I woke up already feeling bad that everything we planned was now out of the window. I still want memories to be made for all of us. Good memories." Aurora spoke, feeling like her voice was so small in the wide kitchen.
"Also, Janet being pregnant still needs to be celebrated. I know what I'm going through but she's still bringing a life into this world. She's going to be a mommy and regardless, I'm happy for my future sister-in-law." Aurora smiled towards Janet.
Ro was very grateful for Janet speaking to her last night and quieting the voice in her head momentarily. No matter how heartbroken she was inside, she still felt joy for her becoming a mother. Growing a life is something Aurora had always seen as admirable and she wouldn't let what happened to her stop her from thinking that.
"If it's alright with you, we wanted to make you breakfast." Travis said.
"We all have to eat so it's not just for me, Mr. Thompson. I'll be happy to help-." she said but was immediately stopped when everyone in the room responded with a loud and enthusiastic 'no'.
"We won't have any of that. Go on with Jameer and we'll let you two know when everything is ready. Jackson, come help me." Janine instructed, turning to start her big breakfast.
Everyone started to move around the kitchen and Aurora softly smiled as she thought about her future and hoped it would resemble something just like this. She hadn't noticed Jameer walking up to her until he stood directly in front of her.
"Morning, baby." he whispered, leaning down to kiss her.
"Morning. You doing okay?" she asked, finding his hand to intertwine their fingers.
"Let's go outside."
Jameer led them through the backyard and out to the gazebo that Aurora felt came straight out of a movie. Jameer sat her down on his lap and wrapped his arm around her waist while pressing kisses to her cheek. Aurora closed her eyes and sighed deeply.
"You know I love you, right?" he spoke, pulling his head back.
"Always. I love you too. You doing okay?" she repeated her question.
"It hurts. It hurts a lot, honestly. We had no idea you were pregnant and couldn't even enjoy anything about it. I'm more worried about you." he said, rubbing her waist.
"Right now, I just feel so much. I was telling my mom earlier how scared I am that your family or other people might blame me. I'm just sad. I'm scared that... you might start resenting me because I couldn't give you your first child." she mumbled.
Jameer jerked his head back from her with an incredulous look. He didn't understand why she'd think that about him but he just couldn't understand how she felt right now.
"Ro, I could never resent you. You didn't do anything wrong. What my mom said in there, we all mean that. It wasn't our timing and that's okay. We'll have our child one day. It's no rush, Ro." he said, assertively.
"Meer, what if I can't? What if it happens again?" she sighed.
"Don't even think like that. We're not thinking that way. When it's our time, you're gonna be the best pregnant woman to ever live." he nodded, kissing her cheek.
"I love you." Aurora pouted, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"At least we know where that crazy sex drive came from." Jameer joked.
"I can't imagine if I get pregnant again and act like that. I felt so crazy. You're a good sport, though." she laughed.
Jameer sighed as he brought his arms up to rub her back in a much needed hug. Aurora closed her eyes as she felt him squeeze her in the hug. Feeling so calm and at ease with Jameer was something she'd want for the rest of her life. She felt her eyes become watery the longer they sat in the hug. She felt so loved by this man and could genuinely feel that everything would be okay as long as she had him.
"Meer, I really love you." she pouted, leaning her head on his shoulder.
"I know that, baby. You show me everyday. You tell me everyday. I would be crazy to ever take that for granted." he told her.
"You're so good to me. I feel like I don't show it enough but I appreciate you. More than I can put into words. You're one of the greatest people I've ever met and it makes me wanna be a great person too. You just make everything better when you're here and I want that forever." she spoke, giving him a heartfelt devotion.
"Are we doing our wedding vows now?" he joked. He had to let out a laugh or else he'd start crying. His hands came up to cradle her face and kiss her repeatedly.
"Thank you for seeing me, Ro. You get me more than I get myself. I feel your appreciation for me every single day that I'm with you and even when we're apart. You make me better. You make me happy." he smiled.
"You're gonna make me cry again." she frowned.
"I told myself when we were going through it that I would never make you cry tears of hurt again. I don't like the way it makes me feel, seeing you upset because of me. You got my word, baby."
~~~~~~~~
The two families were currently en route to lunch after ATV riding and Aurora was starting to feel the teeniest bit of regret that she pushed going out. She had been enjoying her day with being around her family and the Thompson's but she just couldn't do anything without the ache in her chest magnifying.
As soon as they were set to get on the ATVs, she felt a small cramp and it derailed her mood that everyone had brightened up. She was reminded all day of what happened to her and it just wouldn't let her enjoy this trip. If anybody asked her if she was ready to go back home, she'd say yes in a heartbeat.
"Bae?" Jameer whispered, sleepily. Aurora brought her eyes from her phone to Jameer who had his head leaning against the window.
"Hm?"
"Can you go in my bag and hand me my wrist brace? My shit killing me." he sighed.
Aurora reached between her legs to look inside his bag for the brace. She couldn't find it so she relayed that to him.
"Fuck, I thought I packed it. Pops, you got my wrist brace?" he asked, looking behind him at his parents.
"Yeah, it's in my bag. I knew you'd forget it on the kitchen counter." Travis laughed while shaking his head. He handed over the brace to Aurora who fastened it on his wrist.
"What's wrong?" she asked, rubbing his forearm.
"Shit been bothering me since the game. I thought it'd go away but it's getting worse. I hope it ain't nothing serious. I really ain't tryna miss no time this season." he sighed.
"Why you didn't tell me? We could've been icing it or went to see what's wrong with it." she spoke.
"I didn't think it was serious. When we get back to the Bay, I'll go see my physician. Don't worry yourself about it." he looked over at her.
"Meer, you sure you don't wanna get it looked at before then? That's not for another couple days and it could get a lot worse." she questioned.
Aurora knew how stubborn he was with anything regarding football and she knew if he had any type of injury that could possibly hinder him, he'd do anything to not address it.
"Nah, baby. I'm straight. It'll be fine. Gimme a kiss." he smirked, puckering his lips. Aurora sighed deeply before she pressed her lips to his and pulled away.
"Jameer, have you seen this?" Janet suddenly interrupted them. She leaned over to place her phone in Aurora's hand where they both saw a post from the ShadeRoom.
The post included a picture of the couple leaving the hospital along with Aurora's parents. Aurora was clearly distraught in the photos and you could see the hurt on Jameer. They were obviously not in any way shape or form wanting to be captured in a moment like that. But it wasn't the photo that made Aurora almost throw up her breakfast, it was the caption.
'Star athlete Jameer Thompson for the San Francisco 49ers and rumored girlfriend, Aurora Jenkins were seen leaving Medical City Dallas Hospital late last night. Our sources are telling us that the young couple were expecting a baby but experienced a miscarriage. We've reached out to his party for a statement-"
"Fuck!" Jameer shouted, silencing every conversation on the sprinter van.
"Jameer Thompson! Excuse me?!" his mom, Janine, gasped.
"Son, what's going on?" Travis questioned.
"They got me and my girl business on the Internet! Nobody needs to know what's going on! Who the fuck was watching us?!" he yelled, slamming his hand against the seat.
"Jameer, that's enough cursing!" Janine told him with a look.
"No, Ma. I'm not tryna hear that right now. Why is somebody running to the ShadeRoom and telling my business? I need to call Angie." he blew out a breath and took his phone out of his pocket.
Meanwhile, Aurora was still staring into the space where the phone was before Jameer snatched it out of her hand. Her heart was starting to pound against her chest, the longer she realized everyone now knew what happened yesterday. She wasn't even able to tell the people she loved back home that this happened before it got put on blast.
"Ro? Look at me. Aurora? Can you hear me?" Angela questioned, grabbing her daughter's hand.
Aurora had completely zoned out and could only hear the voice in her head screaming at her. She knew that her biggest fear about this was about to happen. People are going to start putting the blame on her. She's going to be the person who gets the blame for this happening.
She didn't come back to until she let out a loud gasp for breath and then started to hyperventilate. Her hands started to feel so clammy and her heart felt like it was beating directly against her chest as if she could feel every beat. The more she tried to catch her breath, the harder it was. Everyone started to try and get her to calm down but nothing was working.
"Hey, baby. Baby, look at me. Follow what I'm doing. Aurora, look at me!" Jameer said, hurriedly. He turned her head to face him and started to breath through his lips as if he was whistling.
Aurora found his frantic eyes and could feel his hands on her face. She latched her hands onto his forearms and began to follow what he was doing. It took close to 15 minutes before she finally caught her breath and finally felt like she was okay.
Jameer brought her into his side as she started to cry helplessly. Jameer was so full of anger and frustration but he knew that wouldn't help Aurora right now. Aurora sobbed loudly in the sprinter van while everyone else looked at the two with sorrow. They all felt that the last 24 hours for them had only gotten worse.
.
Aurora laid in the bed with her eyes open and her headphones on at full volume as Diary by Alicia Keys played. She had probably cried out every tear that was in her body and simply just had a pounding headache. She felt so helpless and empty from yesterday and today that she couldn't find any energy to do anything else.
Everyone just agreed to go back to the Thompson house for the day and they'd decide on anything when they felt that it was necessary. Everyone was just worried about Aurora who hadn't said a word since she got back to the house. She had silenced her phone because within minutes of them being aware of the post, she was being tagged, posted, texted, called, etc.
Aurora watched as the door opened and Jameer came in with her food she had been asking for. Jameer hated that his girl was going through all of this in just a short amount of time. He hated that she was inside her head and hadn't been talking. They had such a good talk earlier in the morning and he just wanted to get her to open back up.
"Here, Ro. You haven't ate all day. Come on, sit up." Jameer told her, tapping her thigh. Aurora couldn't hear a word he was saying due to the loud volume of her music and she just didn't feel like eating or doing anything.
Jameer set the food on the bed before grabbing her headphones and sliding them from off her head. She finally looked over at him and he tilted his head with a bored expression.
"You need to eat. Everybody is worried about you. You're not talking to us." he sighed.
"Maybe I don't want to talk. Maybe I don't want to see anyone. Maybe I just wanna be left alone. Maybe.... I just don't wanna be here." she mumbled, grabbing her bag of Cane's.
"What?" he questioned, shocked.
Aurora didn't give him a response as she silently ate her food. She just wanted to be back in her apartment and under her heated blanket with her candles going. She was just infinitely drained and just wanted to rest for days.
"I just wanna go back home, Jameer. I just wanna feel safe in my own place, somewhere that I know no one will find me. I'm just tired."
"Ro, if that's what you want, we can go home. It won't be held against you. Anything I can do to make you comfortable right now, it's done." he told her, assertively.
Aurora glanced at him before going back to her food and instantly thinking about what people were saying. Her subconscious was screaming at her to talk to her bestfriend but she just couldn't get herself to look at her phone. She knew if she did, she would only focus on what people were saying.
"I need to talk to my parents." she mumbled after a couple minutes of silence.
Without bidding him goodbye, she grabbed her food and went downstairs to her parents room. Her two favorite people in the world were cuddling but sat up once she walked in.
"No, it's okay. Lay back down. I just wanted to talk to y'all." she said, sitting her food on the nightstand.
"Well, get comfortable right in between us. How are you, honey?" Angela smiled, patting the space she made for her.
Aurora sighed before going to lay in between her parents who both left a kiss on each side of her head. If she wasn't so depleted, she would've started to cry.
"I'm just tired. Tired of all of this. I feel like I can't even grieve properly because I don't know exactly what I'm feeling. I hate that it's not private anymore. I hate that I'm blaming myself. I hate how this is gonna affect me until God knows when. I just wanna disappear from everybody. I feel so empty." she sounded off.
"Aurora Marie, no one else in this world matters more than you right now. Your only focus should be on you and recovering. You need to be doing what's best for you right now, no one else." Deon spoke, firmly.
"I wanna go home but I'm not alone in grieving. Jameer is going through this just like me and I can't leave him alone." she sighed.
"We're not saying you have to, Ro. You should only be thinking about you and what you need. If you need to be alone, do that. If you need to be with Jameer, do that. What's best for you is the most important thing." Angela said.
"I wanna go home. I wanna go back to Cali." she whispered, feeling her eyes start to water.
She turned her head into Deon's chest and started to sob. Her parents looked at each other with solemn looks before looking down at their daughter. They felt so helpless and wanted to take all of the pain she was feeling away. They were starting to get worried about how her emotions were going to be when Hakeem's passing came around.
"Why did it have to happen to me? I didn't even know." she cried.
Angela fanned her eyes as she started to get emotional. She wanted her daughter to be okay but she just didn't know if that was going to be the case this time.
.
48 hours later, Aurora and Jameer were back in San Francisco and things had only gotten worse. For Jameer, the news of his relationship going public and the miscarriage sent the sports world into a frenzy on how this would affect his on the field play. Not to mention, his wrist injury was confirmed to be a grade 2 sprain. Once he notified the team and Kyle, he was scheduled to be out three weeks.
For Aurora, she thought her home would be the safest and where she could be vulnerable. It just wasn't that. She knew Jameer was the top receiver in the league and just an athletic magnet but she didn't think it would turn into this. It felt like the magnitude of everything was being amplified as the hours went by. She felt horrible for Jameer because he had been staying with her since they got back and had been on so many calls.
Currently, the two were leaving his personal doctor's office to get him a splint for his wrist. It was better than the one he had previously and would reduce the swelling significantly faster. Aurora pushed her sunglasses back over her eyes as they left the office, not wanting to be seen. Since the news broke, they had been getting pictures taken of them and they both were tired of it.
"You hungry, Ro?" he asked, as he opened the door for her.
"Not really. We can stop for something if you are." she kissed his cheek before sitting down in the car.
Once he got into the driver's side, he smoothly left the parking lot and headed to their favorite place, Shake Shack. His hand found her thigh to massage it which brought her great relief, no matter how small the gesture was.
Aurora unlocked her phone to respond to the groupchat with Ximena and Darius. She sent a very long message yesterday morning to them about what happened and how she felt and what was going to happen moving forward. She'd be lying if she said their responses didn't pick up the pieces of her heart and put them back together. She wanted them most right now but she felt that she'd be such a burden on them with everything they had going on.
Darebear 💙
you sure you don't want me to come out there?
Bestie 💚✨
we don't want you to be alone. when jameer goes back to work, you don't have anyone else out there
I'm gonna be okay y'all, i promise 🫶🏾 i'll just be blowing yall phones up everyday, don't worry
Aurora sighed as she closed her eyes and leaned her seat back. She was thankful that even with everything happening to her, there wasn't anything else she had to worry about. Tedric still hadn't been found so Aurora put that on the back burner. Rod had been doing everything he could to find him which everyone appreciated because they knew how busy he was. Aurora hated to think like this but she hoped that he had just succumbed to his wounds.
She looked over at Jameer who drove with such a strained expression that she had to reach over and caress his cheek. She felt that he had been shouldering so much in the last 3 days and she just felt incredibly useless.
"Meer, I know what you're gonna say but I'm sorry all of this is happening. I hate how much you're having to go through. Can I do anything for you?" she asked, rubbing his beard.
"Just having you by me is enough. I don't want you doing too much, anyway." he said, glancing over at her.
"I feel like you're so stressed and I hate it. This is your bye week and you haven't had a good day yet." she pouted.
"Tomorrow, we'll just stay in all day. It's all I want to do anyway. You, me, my bed and my TV." he smiled.
Aurora reached over to kiss his cheek before resting back in the seat and before she knew it, she fell into a slumber which only lasted 30 minutes. They were at her place so she could pack clothes and her essentials while she stayed at his place for the next few days.
They were in and out of her place in 45 minutes and now were headed to Jameer's house which she missed greatly. She couldn't wait to get in his bed and fall asleep under him.
"Finally." Jameer sighed as he pulled into his garage.
The couple walked into his house that looked exactly the way he left it and made a beeline straight to his bedroom. They both were exhausted and had no energy left in them. They'd been up since 6am and were just now getting back home at 4pm.
After their shower, Aurora stood in front of his mirror in one of his long sleeve shirts and lace panties. She looked over herself with a pout and lifted the shirt to look over her stomach. It made her feel incredibly sad to know that she could've possibly been looking at the life she was growing. So many things went through her head during the day but she consistently felt sad.
Jameer came back into his room from the kitchen to see the bed empty and the bathroom light on. He set down their snacks before going to stand at the door. He saw Aurora rubbing her stomach with a pout but quickly dropped the shirt when she realized he was standing at the door.
"Don't do that." he spoke, coming to stand behind her and connecting his hands on her stomach.
"I just keep thinking about the what-if's. I don't know what makes me sadder; the fact that we didn't know or the fact that it happened before we could even enjoy it." she sighed, leaning her head against his shirtless chest.
"You wanna know what I see when I look at you right now?" he whispered, kissing her cheek.
"What is it?" she asked.
"The most beautiful, selfless, kind hearted and caring woman that I get to love. She doesn't know how appreciated she is but I plan on showing her. I see a woman who's strong and doesn't need me to protect her every second of the day but she knows I will. I see the most beautiful woman that I get to wake up to and fall asleep with everyday. I see my girlfriend who makes me happier than she will ever know. I see you." he smiled, kissing her cheek repeatedly.
Aurora caught his eyes in the mirror and let the tears fall. She was so tired of crying and it just felt so unlike her but the way she'd been feeling since it happened, she needed to hear those words.
"I just want you to know that I'm here. I'm behind you no matter what. It's me and you. Like we always say." he said, bringing his movable hand to wipe her tears.
"I'm so tired of crying." Aurora laughed, turning around in his hold.
"Thank you, Meer. Just.... thank you for every single thing you do." she smiled, kissing him.
Jameer pulled away to kiss her forehead and he led them to the bed where they immediately cuddled under the other. Aurora laughed at the fact that they both wanted to be in each other's skin.
"Did you see what they were saying on First Take?" Jameer asked once they found a show to watch on HBOMax.
"Absolutely not and you shouldn't be looking at it either." she scolded him.
"It was on my feed, Ro. Apparently, I'm faking my injury so I don't have to play against our division rivals. They say I'm trying to have a comeback game against the Eagles." he scoffed.
"A bunch of idiots. Just worry about your wrist and do everything Ryan told you to do." she said, putting extra emphasis on everything.
"You act like I don't listen to him." he mumbled.
"When he told you to exercise your hamstring, you laid in bed all day. When I told you to do it, you still didn't do it. Hardheaded." she joked.
"Watch out." he mugged, flicking her forehead.
"See how you got all your favorite snacks and not mine?" she scoffed, opening his bag of Sour Patch.
"Because I knew you would only eat off mine if I did." he laughed.
As they turned their attention to their show, Aurora started to think about how to bring up taking him to go see her brother. She was at a place where she was beyond comfortable in taking him to meet Hakeem and she hoped he would agree to it.
"Meer, I wanna talk to you about something." she spoke up, pausing the show. Jameer looked over at her and saw the serious expression on his face and put his candy down.
"What's going on?"
"So, next week is my brother's passing anniversary. It's gonna be 5 years and this is the first time I've ever felt safe with someone to share him with them. I want to take you with me to visit him. I want you to meet him." she breathed. It felt like her heart was about to beat out of her chest.
Jameer widened his eyes at her request before he responded with a soft smile. He felt honored at just the request of him doing something that big with her. He would always drop anything he was doing when it came to Aurora needing him when she missed her brother.
"Ro, thank you for trusting me with this. I know how much your brother means to you and I'm really grateful you want to include me. I would be more than happy to meet your brother." he smiled, kissing the side of her head.
Aurora smiled before cuddling back next to him and starting the show again. For the first time this week, she felt happy.
~~~~~~~~
Somewhere in Miami
"I can't believe my nigga gone. This shit ain't right." one of the longest friends of Tedric spoke, blowing smoke from his mouth.
"That nigga up in Orlando the reason any of this shit happened." another man spoke, adjusting his pants as he stood up.
The small crew were all sat in Tedric's Miami home that was supposed to be used when he got out the game or finished whatever it was that he had planned. They couldn't believe they had lost Tedric when he was the one who was taking care of them. He was the breadwinner and they knew it. They didn't know what to do now.
All heads turned to the door when it opened to reveal Kimberly, the one they all hated. Since she had gotten with Tedric two years ago, they all had assumptions that she was sneaky and wanted to take all the money for herself. Now, with Tedric gone, they knew they didn't have to fake care for her.
"Fuck you doing back here?" the man harshly asked. Kimberly laughed before taking off her sunglasses and setting her Chanel purse on the table they all sat around.
"Just coming to check on you low-lives. Everybody just stopped working around here?" she asked, looking around at their long faces.
"Bitch, you lucky I don't get yo ass killed. You ain't been shit since you came around. Now, what the fuck you doing over here?" he repeated himself, passing the blunt to the next man.
"Someone's angry. While y'all were crying and moping around, I went and found the nigga who ordered the drug bust. You're welcome." she grinned, rolling her eyes.
"Fuck that's gon do for us? T dead, Kimberly." he scoffed.
"I assumed you would use your last two working brain cells to get information out of him and go after who's really behind this but never mind. I see Tedric was surrounded by dogs with their tails tucked. Good luck surviving without me." she shrugged before grabbing her purse.
Before she could reach the door, Omar had her pinned against the wall with his hand around her throat. He was sick and tired of her and with grieving his longest friend, he was bound to do anything to release that hurt and aggression. Kimberly stared at him unfazed as she lifted her sunglasses.
"Look hea', I tolerated yo ass cause T was my dawg. You the reason that nigga head was so fucked up and you comin' in here talkin' like you run shit. Tedric made yo cracked out ass what you are and it'd be smart if you recognize that. Don't get yo dumbass fucked up out here, Kim." he sneered, tightening his grip.
Kimberly smirked as she stared directly into his eyes and watched as he curled his lips at her before removing his hand. She readjusted her sundress before placing her glasses atop her freshly installed wig.
"If there's one thing I want you to remember about me, I am the reason you're sitting in this house. I am the reason Tedric got this house in the first place. I am the reason he had money to get your broke ass out of your mama's crib. You'll come crawling back and when you do, you better pray to God I don't kill you where you stand." she threatened.
"And let me ask yo smart ass how you got the power to do any of that. By doing what you've been doing since you were 15. Fucking and sucking any man that walks past you. Get the fuck out this house before I drag you out, bitch." Omar spit, pushing her towards the door.
Once she got into her AMG, she blew out a breath before throwing her glasses into the passenger seat. She tried her hardest to stop them from falling but sure enough, the tears started to pour.
Kimberly missed Tedric. He had only been gone three days but she missed everything about him. No matter how she came across to other people, Tedric was her first love. She knew he loved her just as much as she did and to have that ripped away so unexpectedly, she couldn't process it. Tedric meant everything in the world to her and she felt lost without him.
Kimberly thought that she was going to be with him forever and wanted that fairytale of hers to come to fruition. What she didn't understand was that her life was never supposed to be that way. Being a crack addict all of her teen years and early twenties didn't set her up to have the life she dreamed of as a kid. For a long time, she hated herself and her parents for what happened to her and a part of her still does but she can't change it.
"Why did you leave me here, T?" she mumbled, slapping the steering wheel.
All she could think about was the last moment she had with Tedric and how it probably would never leave her as long as she lived. Even then, she didn't think she had that much longer left here anyway. Without Tedric, she truly had no one in this world.
Three Days Ago
Kimberly sat in the back of the bullet riddled car, holding a barely conscious Tedric while angry tears streamed down her face. Her entire outfit had been drenched in blood for the last two hours and she had blood all over her face and it pained her that it all came from the man she loved.
"Please don't leave me, T. Please don't go. We can still make it to a hospital." she begged, holding his face.
Tedric slowly brought his eyes over to his woman and moved his lips to form a small smile but only ended up coughing up more blood. Just the movement of coughing made his body feel even weaker and he knew time was running out.
"D-don't. I told you what to do, Kimmy. You know where everything is and where to move it. I prepared you for this." he spoke, weakly.
Kimberly looked away from him as the tears started to fall harder. In the moment, she hated herself. She hated that this was the lifestyle she got in and everything that came with it. She hated how much was about to be taken away from her and she couldn't do anything about it.
"It doesn't fucking matter, T. You can't leave me." she begged, wiping her tears.
"You knew how our story ended when we met, Kim. I want you to take the money and get out of here. Don't fight me on this." he told her.
Tedric brought a hand up to hold her face and Kimberly could only lean into it. She felt so defeated. She didn't want him to leave her in this world alone. He was all she had.
"I love you, Tedric. I always have and forever will. I love you so damn much." she cried.
"I love you, Kimmy." he told her.
Kimberly leaned down to kiss his forehead and eventually his blood soaked lips. She held his face to her chest as she sobbed loudly into the car. Once she felt his hand holding her arm go limp, she let out a scream that could only come from her soul. Her love was gone.
He was dead.
Kimberly came back to from revisiting the memory and felt that same emptiness she felt in that car. Since that day, she'd been contemplating on following through with what he wanted but she couldn't let something go.
She started her car and headed to the house she shared with Tedric where she had left the man who killed her first love. Once she arrived, she entered the dark house and didn't bother turning on any light. She knew exactly where she was headed.
"What was your name again?" she asked, flicking the light on.
"Like I said the last twenty times, it's fuck you." the man spat.
Kimberly glanced at him briefly before shaking her head and grabbing his badge and radio. The name seemed familiar but she couldn't figure out where she knew him from.
"Rodney Johnson. Orange County." she read, raising an eyebrow.
"It's Rod, dumbass." he scoffed.
Kimberly smirked before dropping his things and going to kneel right in front of him. All the blood on his face from the cuts and bruises seemed endless but she didn't care. He was lucky to still be alive.
"You know why I'm doing this, don't you?" she asked.
"I don't give a fuck. That sorry ass nigga dead and it's what he deserved. Just wait til I get out of here, bitch. You're gonna wish you killed me." he spit, jumping at her.
Rod had been in this house for the last two days and he just knew his people were coming for him. It was hard enough that he disappeared off the radar but his phone wasn't too far from here. He already knew what he was going to do when he got out of here. The ropes around his wrists were too damn hard to get out of or cut through so he was waiting on the perfect moment while she was gone.
"Wait, Rod as in the guy who was friends of the guy he killed back then? What was his name? Ha-"
"I am warning you right now. I will kill you with my bare hands." Rod threatened, glaring at her. Kimberly smirked as she realized she struck a nerve.
"Hakeem Jenkins. Wasn't that a good friend of yours?"
Rod kept silent as she talked. He could feel his body almost shaking with the anger running through his body at her taunting him with Hakeem.
"And he's got that pretty lil sister out in California." she smirked. Rod brought his head up to look at her and tilted his head as he watched her.
One thing he took notice of while he had been here was that this woman had a weird interest in Aurora. She kept bringing Aurora up every single time she talked to him and she would always speak with such animosity that it made him curious. He was sure Aurora didn't have a clue who this woman was.
"Why are you so obsessed with her?" he cut her rambling off to ask. Kimberly cut her eyes over to him and laughed loudly.
"Obsessed?"
"Yes, stupid. You haven't gone a day without bringing her up. You don't even know her." he scoffed.
"Nobody's obsessed with that bitch. I've heard enough about her from Tedric to know she's pathetic. She thinks she's better than every other woman when she never was. Bitch had the audacity to threaten me when she saw me out with Tedric. She's gonna get what's coming to her."
A few moments of silence passed before Rod burst into laughter. Her entire setup, her monologues, her dumb plan of torturing him was all hilarious to him but the Aurora nonsense was the cherry on top. This woman was so incredibly jealous of Aurora and could only disguise it as misguided anger.
"You're jealous of her. Jealous of somebody who could give two fucks about you!" he laughed, shaking his head in amusement.
Kimberly watched him in disgust as he cackled at the truth she had been running away from. From the moment Tedric told her about Aurora, she hated her. She hated her for the simple reason of having a life she wished she had. Supportive parents. Siblings. A chance at education. A good upbringing. Kimberly wanted that all for herself and the fact that she never would only made her hatred for Aurora grow.
"You were born in Miami to two drug addicts who never gave a fuck about you. Your mom died when you were 6 and your dad died when you were 21. You never had a chance at shit in this life. You thought you hit the jackpot with Tedric, huh? Look where he's at now. Dead. Nobody ever gave a fuck about you to stay around. You have nobody left to take care of your sorry ass and you're taking it out on me." he sneered, watching her crumble.
Kimberly felt an unbearable sense of rage and pain as she looked across the room at him. She wanted to kill him where he sat and never look back at this ugly life but she knew that's not what Tedric would've wanted. Tedric wanted her to go to the Bahamas and live her life like they planned.
"You know, this whole time I had the plan of killing you and leaving this life behind. Leaving your body in this house and finally doing what Tedric wanted me to do. There's nothing more that I want in this world than to kill you and that piece of shit Darius. But I just decided that I'd rather play a game with you." she spoke.
Kimberly left out of the room to grab a butcher's knife and promptly re-entered the room. She set the knife onto the table situated next to him and grabbed her purse with her sunglasses.
"I decided that it'd be much more entertaining to watch you and all of your friends suffer like I have since you killed T. Help yourself to getting out of those ropes. It's been fun. You'll see me soon." she smirked, opening the door and walking out.
Rod looked after her in confusion and shock at what just happened. What the fuck did any of that mean and what was going to happen now?
~~~~~~~~~~
heyyy yall. last chapter of the year! just wanna say i'm beyond grateful for everybody reading and voting. I really never thought anyone would read this book.
hope yall enjoy this chapter and stick with me for the rest! Happy New Years!