Melissa
"Because you know how he is with you. Over protective ass. Tell your boy, he's your man and not your daddy."
I smile as she dances seductively. I glance at Jason and see that he's still dancing with the same girl. His hands are on her hips and they are face to face. She's all smiles as she puts her arms around him.
Kerri nudges me, "Or is that your man?"
"It's okay, Kerri." I take a sip of what's in the red cup, studying Jason. I hope he knows a wink doesn't mean bed her ass! I taste the alcohol right away and take another sip. The drink does taste good. I drink everything in the red cup and keep my eyes on Jason and his new friend. Why does he have to be such a ladies man? I look at the girl as she rolls her hips and dances with him in such a seductive manner. Jason doesn't make things any better as he moves the way she is moving.
*****
I walk into my front door to find Cameron sitting on the living room couch with his head hung low, staring at his phone as though it's going to perform a trick. The moment that I walk inside the house, he looks up.
Originally, I was going to just go home, but then I realize that I had to talk to Cameron. We haven't talked to each other, since Jason got shot on Saturday at one in the morning. Just looking at Cameron, and knowing that his cousin is the one that did it . . . Is enough to make me want to stab him.
Neither of us say anything as we just stare at each other. I finally look away from him. This is way too painful to do. I know that Cameron didn't do anything . . . At least that's what Jasmine had said, but it still hurts. I somehow figured he could have prevented the whole thing.
I slide down the door to sit on the floor and just look at him. As much as I don't want to do this talk, we will have to do it. The facts are that I might be carrying his baby, so I might have to deal with him for the rest of my life.
"How is he?" His voice is quiet, as though he's afraid to talk to me.
"He's in a coma." I pull my knees up to my body and bite my bottom lip to keep from crying.
"I didn't do it. I swear that I wouldn't have done anything to him. I just wanted to talk with him about disrespecting you."
"Who asked you to do that? I didn't. And if it was just a talk, why did you feel the need to call your family?"
Cameron buries his face in his hands. He looks back at me with tears in his eyes. I have never saw this man cry before. I stare at him in complete awe that he is shedding tears.
"Look, I spoke to Jasmine and she told me everything that you said to her about faking with me and . . ." He shakes his head.
"Why did you call your family?"
I'm not going to talk about Jasmine and what we talked about. She could never keep her mouth closed. I already knew this, because if she did know how to keep her mouth closed, me and Jason would be in Atlanta together. I wouldn't have his random, trying to put me in check.
"I knew that his family and a lot of people he knew were at the beach. I wasn't going to ride solo. I didn't know what he was capable of doing."
"He wasn't capable of doing shit!" I scream at Cameron, defending Jason. "He would have just fought your ass with his hands. He doesn't own a fucking gun!" I put my face between my legs, resting my forehead on my knees. Thinking about everything frustrates me so much.
"So you hate me now?" He asks, weakly. "Is that why you came here? You want to pack your shit and leave me?"
I lift my face up with hot tears, running down my cheeks. He doesn't get it at all. My husband and best friend is sitting in the hospital, fighting for his life and all Cameron can think about is our relationship. This is not the shit that I want to hear. I want him to be supportive and tell me that he already went to the police. I want him to hold me and be there with me to visit Jason. I want him to do something other than care about us. Fuck an us.
"I can't do this with you right now." I stand up on my feet. I begin walking towards our bedroom. I turn around to look at him, sitting on the edge of the couch, staring down at his hands. "Why are you so fucking selfish?"
He looks up at me in confusion. "What?"
"With everything that is going on, you have the audacity to question me on our relationship? You didn't come to the hospital to check on him. You didn't go to the police . . ."
"You want me to put my cousin in jail?" He asks in amazement. He acts like I just ask him to jump in a lake full of sharks. I mean, unless I missed something, his cousin is the one who shot Jason.
"Yes!" I scream at him.
He shakes his head, looking down at his hands. "I'm not doing that."
"I will. Tomorrow morning, I'm going to the police station."
"He already left Chicago."
I just stand there with tears in my eyes. "I'm moving out. I really don't want to have shit to do with you, until this baby is born. If it's yours, just pay support and we can come up with some type of visitation. I don't want to be with someone like you."
I see the tears fall from his eyes as he nods his head. "You're making me choose between my family and you, ma."
"I'm making you choose between the right and wrong thing to do. He shot my fucking best friend."
Cameron jumps up. "Your fucking husband!"
"It doesn't matter! He shot someone important to me, and you're over here acting like that shit is cool!"
"This shit doesn't have to do with that. You're using that as an excuse as to why you don't want to be with me. Jasmine told me everything already! You want to be with his ass." Cameron flings his arms as though Jason is standing next to me.
"It didn't matter, because I treated you like my man. I was faithful to your ass."
"You never gave me your heart!" Cameron screams out in frustration, scaring the shit out of me. "You always treated me like I'm your second choice. I tried to give you everything inside of me. You think that I have to deal with this type of shit in a relationship?"
"I am not about to argue about us. I don't care about us." I say through clenched teeth.
Cameron stands a few feet in front of me with sadness in his eyes. "So what now? You're moving out?"
"Yes."
Cameron nods his head and walks away from me, heading towards the basement. I stand there for a couple more minutes, wishing that I would have just went to my house. I knew that we were going to argue. Honestly, when I came home, I didn't know what will happen between us. The thing that put me over this whole relationship, was him saying that he is not going to turn Marcus in. Anyone that could watch someone shoot someone and walk away, is someone that I don't want in my corner.
*****
I sit in the hospital chair, staring at Jason. I've only been back in his room for about an hour now. When I went home last night. I took a shower and wanted to lay down for an hour. Well, I end up sleeping for hours. As soon as I got up this morning at seven, I rushed out the door to get back to his side.
A knock at the door startles me, and I sit up in the chair. A couple men in suits walk into the room with stern looks on their faces. I immediately stand up and try to smile at them, but their presence is intimidating as hell. One holds his hand out for me to shake, and I grab it giving it a light shake.
"I'm detective Williams and you must be the victim's wife, Melissa Scott?"
"Um . . . Yes." I fall back in my seat, eyeing both of them. The other detective stands back, looking around the room.
"Are you able to tell me what happened July fifth around one in the morning?"
"My husband was shot." I say, nervously.
He nods his head and looks at his notepad. He peers at me and closes his small notepad. "Who are you to Cameron Jenkins?"
"Um . . ." I don't know. "My child's father." It feels weird, saying this out loud.
"Okay. Well, Mr. Jenkins believe that you can collaborate his story on the events of what happened that night. He came into the police station and gave us a name of the person he believed who did the shooting. We just want to know what you know."
Cameron turned his cousin in?
Truthfully, I don't know anything. I just know what Jasmine told me. That's enough for me though. "I was told, when I arrived at the beach that Marcus is the one who shot him." I quickly look at Jason as I speak to the officer. "I didn't see it. It's what I was told."
"Marcus Williams?"
"I don't know his last name."
The officer nods his head. "Who gave you his name?"
"Cameron and Jasmine Jenkins." I don't take my eyes off Jason. "Cameron witnessed everything and so did a couple other people.
"Well, thanks for your cooperation, Mrs. Scott. We have Marcus in custody in another state. He's on his way getting transported back to Illinois. We might need you to be a witness. I hope that won't be a problem."
I nod my head, not saying anything.
"Thanks for your time." The other detective finally speaks up. I watch them both walk out the door without closing it.
Tears well up in my eyes, thinking about what Cameron did for me. He went to the police station and gave his cousin up for me. The only other person who had shown me this kind of love is Jason. I wipe my tears as a lump form in my throat. I pick up my phone and call Cameron's number. The phone rings a couple times, before he answers the phone.
"Yeah?"
"Thank you." Is all that I manage to get out, before sobbing. He doesn't even know how much this means to me.
"You're welcome." Cameron sighs a little. "I know that you're hurt, baby, but I really want to be here for you through it all."
"You can't try to get rid of him, Cameron. He is my best friend and my husband. I have known this boy since we were in kindergarten." I wipe the tears off my face with the back of my hand, thinking about it. Jason isn't going anywhere. "To you, he's just a husband. To me, he is so much more than that. If you want to be with me, you have to accept him being a part of my life."
There's complete silence on Cameron's line for a few seconds. "I accept everything you're saying, but you need to remember that we're in a relationship."
"I have never forgotten."
"It feels like it." There's more silence on his end. "Baby, I love you. I just want to see you happy. I know that I can't replace him, but I'm not trying to. I want to show you what I'm offering. I just want to protect you and ours. That's all."
"I know."
"Are you spending the night at the hospital tonight, or are you coming home?"
I shift my gaze to Jason. I really want to be here with Jason every single second of the day, but I also don't want to neglect Cameron. He just put his cousin in jail for me. What is a girl to do?
"I'll be home after ten."
"Okay. I love you."
"I love you too." I kiss the phone, lightly. "Thank you, baby." I end the call and set my phone down. I get up from my chair and walk up to Jason with a smile on my face. "Marcus will be going to jail for what he did to you. And we have Cameron to thank for that, sweetie. Now you have to pull through to thank him."
*****
Jason has been in a coma for a total of ten days now. It's really hard to believe that he is still in a coma. Every second my heart hurts at the thought of him never opening his eyes. Talking to him and praying for him doesn't seem to be working at all. Kerri is sitting down in a chair against the wall, staring at Jason. I'm curled up in a chair next to his bed. I'm all up in his personal space, and I don't care.
"Do you think that he knows that we're here?" Kerri asks, quietly. "Do you think that he feels it?"
I nod my head, not taking my eyes off Jason's face. He knows that we're here for him.
"This hurts." She whispers.
I glance over my shoulder at her. She has curled up in her seat and tears are running down her cheeks.
"You never know how much you love someone, huh?" She asks me.
I turn away from her and put my attention back on Jason. I hate when her or Terrance come to visit Jason, while I'm here, because they make it sound like it's the end. Terrance actually broke down crying a few days ago, talking about how Jason is his only brother. They make it difficult for me to keep my composure together, when they talk about pain and cry. I'm trying to remain strong, because I don't need to think negatively.
"He'll pull through." It's like I have to steady remind everyone of this. Jason is a strong individual. My baby is a fighter.
"I know, but waiting for him to pull through is torture."
This I have to agree with. I sigh deeply and shift my gaze to the clock on the wall. It's ten minutes before ten. I should start heading home to Cameron. I grab my bag off the table next to me, standing to my feet.
"Kerri, baby, I have to get home." She doesn't say anything, but nods. "Is Terrance coming up here later?"
"I think. I don't know. Lately, he hasn't been himself. You know that he wants to take out Cameron and his whole family. The only reason he hasn't is because you're with Cameron."
This is an awkward conversation. I already knew how everyone felt about me still being with Cameron. What do people expect me to do? This might be his child.
"The only reason Terrance has any good inside of him is because of Jason. Now that Jason is laying in a hospital, hooked up to these machines, Terrance is really having a hard time not doing anything stupid."
"Remind him that if he does anything to Cameron that he can end up in jail. Cameron didn't do this. The boy who did this will go to jail."
Kerri rolls her eyes. "Sounds like you're team Cameron."
"I'm not. I just think it's enough that Jason is in the hospital. I don't need something to happen to Cameron."
"I'll call him in an hour or so. My concern isn't Cameron, but his. I don't want him going to jail." Kerri states
This is good enough for me. I bend down and kiss Jason's forehead. "I love you more, and I will see you tomorrow. Kerri will be here for you and later Terrance is going to show up. You're in good hands, Jay baby." I turn away from him and look at Kerri. She is just staring at him with tears in her eyes. I walk up to her and give her a loose hug, but she doesn't hug me back. That's fine. I know that she's just upset with me right now.