Round 3
August 31st, 2019
Anthony sits passenger side as Gbenga drives. They're on their way to a boxing match... Toran's fight against Michael Hunter. Maybe he should let what happened yesterday stay where it was left, but something Abella said stuck with him.
He has an offer and then he'll be done with the situation...
When Anthony's phone starts ringing he looks to see it's his son's mother. He furrows his eyebrows wondering why she's calling. It's Anthony's time to have Joseph and he's at home with his mother, while he goes out. Ever since he got 50/50 the co-parenting relationship has been pretty okay.
It might have something to do with the fact Natalie moved in with her boyfriend. She needed somebody to help pay her bills since he doesn't have to anymore. She must be happy now.
"Yes?" Anthony asks after answering his phone.
"What are you doing?" Hearing her ask that makes his face screw up in confusion.
"Why'd you call, Natalie? I have JJ, so why are you calling me? If you want to talk to him, I'm not at home right now."
"I don't want to talk to JJ. I actually want to talk to Abella... Next time you're with her."
"What are you talking about?"
"Next time she's in London, I want to have a sit down conversation with her."
"About what?"
"She's your girlfriend, right? I want to speak to her about being around our son and set some ground rules."
"You didn't give me that courtesy with your boyfriend, so why should I make her do that?"
"I'm trying to be an adult here. I also want to apologize to her in person for what happened in June." Anthony looks over at Gbenga like he can hear this conversation. "If you insist on having her around our son, I need to talk to her."
"You make things way bigger than they are. She has barely been around Joseph. Meanwhile on the other hand... You wouldn't even need to talk to her if you didn't tell JJ she's my girlfriend. I was perfectly fine with him thinking she's another family friend."
"Stop making this about me. You want to lie and keep secrets from your son?"
"It's not lying if it was never questioned or a concern for a three going on four year old. All JJ knew about Abella is that he's heard her songs, she's his friend, and she likes his motor bikes. That's all he should care about."
"You're getting very defensive and it seems like you're not confident this relationship will last and that's why you didn't want him to know she's your girlfriend." Anthony can tell she's trying to be funny, so he blows air out of his nose.
"Or maybe I wanted to tell him on my own time when I've been with her longer. I'm not having this conversation with you. You mind your business and I'll mind mine."
"Fine. Still ask her and let me know so we can set something up."
"Okay," He says mostly because he wants to get off the phone with her. As soon as he hangs up he shakes his head. She can never just chill and let them have peace.
"Everything good?" Ben asks turning into the packed parking lot of York Hall.
"It's always something, but it doesn't matter."
After parking they walk into the building. Anthony shows the passes he was able to finesse by agreeing to commentate the fight for Sky Sports. As they walk towards the main event area Ben comments, "Cuz you know you fully choked this man the day before his fight? I'm surprised he ain't pull out or roll in here with a full neck brace."
"If he loses he's gonna be crying my neck, my back, and my neck," Anthony responds before they laugh. He knows he's being petty, but Toran deserves all this pettiness. You only have one time to cross him and disrespect him before he doesn't give a fuck.
The fight ends up going all twelve rounds and it was a neck and neck bout. Everyone stares at the ring waiting for them to announce the winner.
"All three scorecards go to the winner by unanimous decision... Toran 'The Problem' Reynolds," the announcer says into a mic before Toran's arm is lifted into the air.
Half the stadium was cheering and the other half was mad. Most people thought it was going to be a draw, but based on the judges scores they decided he won.
When Toran gets in front of the camera to speak you can clearly see slight bruise marks around his neck. That's also on top of the injuries he sustained during the fight including a swollen eye and a cut on his eyebrow.
The interviewer's asking Toran questions about the fight and to one of the questions he responds, "I'm rising in the ranks and I'm coming for the number one spot."
"Who do you think has that spot right now? Deontay Wilder, Tyson Fury, Andy Ruiz Jr., or Anthony Joshua?" The interviewer asks.
"It fasho ain't that bitch over there," he says pointing at Anthony in the audience.
How's he still talking shit? I probably made you lose a couple brain cells, Anthony thinks to himself. And it can't be that many cause he's already not that bright.
Some might think it would've been better to beat Toran's ass and that would shut him up. Throwing punches and fighting is easy for people who do it for a living. He wanted Toran to know that he's not strangling him to kill him, but he could kill him with his bare hands if he wanted.
"Apologies for the language. Who are you pointing at?" The interviewer asks looking around. Anthony's already out of his seat and walking towards the ring. He smiles dapping a guy who pats his shoulder with no worries.
He's glad Toran called him out because he has a proposition for him anyway. While walking he motions for Toran to come. Into a mic Toran says, "Anthony 'bitch made' Joshua. I want him next after he fights Ruiz."
Before Anthony even gets to the ring it's filled with a bunch of security to protect Toran. They had been instructed not to let Anthony into the ring after what happened yesterday. There's like 15 men dressed in black with earpieces ready to stop any signs of a physical altercation. They're not taking any chances.
They stop Anthony from coming in the ring, so he stands on the side outside of the ropes. Anthony motions for him to come closer instead of being half way across the ring in his protective bubble of security.
Not because he wants to do anything, he just wants him to call him a bitch again in his face like a man. But that will never happen because none of the heavyweights say anything to his face.
"Maybe you should stay out there, but you can reply," the interviewer says giving a microphone to one of the security near Anthony. They wouldn't even let him hold the mic himself. The guy holds onto it with the grip of death as Anthony holds it too. They want to be able to pull it away if they feel like he's saying too much.
"It's calm. We're going to talk like men. I'm glad Toran mentioned that because that's why I came here in the first place."
"You don't wanna fight me forreal," Toran says waving his hand off. "On my momma, I'd kill you in this ring. You don't want it wit a big dog. I'll have you singing like your bitch."
"Okay, okay," the interviewer says over Toran saying bitch. It's like these hosts don't realize this is boxing. It's a bloody, dirty sport. It's not golf or tennis. They're going to curse so bleep it.
Anthony laughs, but quickly gets serious again..
"Allow the badman act. Remember yesterday, brudda. Your life was in my hands. I let you live. You should be thanking God he put air back in your lungs to let you keep running that bruised windpipe of yours."
"I looked you up. I saw yo little record now you think you bout shit. Keep it real."
He looked him up too. It seems like Toran and his brother, Trouble, are stupid criminals because they've gotten caught so many times. Yeah, you're about what you claim to be, but you're also stupid.
"I'm still gonna whoop you."
"I ain't hard to find. Come to America and see what it's bout. Come to Atlanta and yo big dumb ass'll get smoked," Toran threatens like this isn't on camera.
Anthony turns up his lips..
"If you wanna fight in the ring we can fight." He pauses. "You know my next opponent. When I win December 7th against Ruiz come December 8th you need to be ready to receive a contract. I don't wanna hear no excuses of you saying contracts weren't sent or nothin'. It'll be your biggest career payday, so sign it and that's it. This one ain't about the belts. It's personal and you know that, so let's act like it when it's time for us to fight."
It might be confident to presume he's going to win against Ruiz, but he's been training hard and making adjustments. Everyone will think he's overlooking Ruiz again and that he's in denial about the loss. It works in his favor because most people think he'll lose again.
"I don't wanna fight you in a ring. I'm outside. I wanna see you in the streets."
"Now you don't wanna fight in the ring because I'm agreeing? A second ago you were chatting bare shit and calling me out. What–"
Before Anthony can even finish his statement Toran's saying, "I'm done." He drops his mic to the floor of the ring before climbing through the ropes and exiting it.
"Where are you going? Now you're running because I want to keep it in the ring? We're boxers innit." He shrugs as Toran keeps walking where a camera follows the whole time. "Now everybody can see I'm not the one runnin'," Anthony says into the mic directed to the audience before hopping down from the side of the ring.
He's ready to go himself, but he gets stopped by the Sky Sports commentators who want to do a live on-camera interview.
"How do you look back on your year?" The female interviewer asks first to ease into things.
"Calm. It is what it is. Looking forward never looking backwards when it comes to fighting." Not a smile crosses his face as he looks agitated.
"Are you serious about fighting Toran after Ruiz?"
"Toran's an idiot. I can whoop him any day, every time I see him for free. Now I'm saying let's fight in a space with rules where you can get paid millions because we all know he ain't seen that much in his life. If he had, his brother wouldn't have been stuck in jail not being able to make bail before sentencing. It's a joke ting."
"Do you think the fans would be interested? I'm sure they would rather you fight someone at the top of the ranks."
"Why not? I'm being quite respectful and giving this upcoming fighter a shot. I'm being nice and doing some charity, but he keeps disrespecting me and my family. Why can't I fight a journeyman to pad my record like the others?"
"Why fight Toran if you know you can beat him?"
"Why not make money bashing someone's head in? If Toran steps in the ring with me... Trust me, you best believe me- I keep my lid on because I don't wanna explode on none of them. I do that business in the ring and if he's serious he can come get this work as well. I don't wanna hear no talk when I whoop him and I knock him out that it's an easy fight."
Anthony respects everyone in this fight game, but no one respects him. He's clearly fed up of everyone calling him out or speaking on his name with disrespect. It's time to empty the clip.
"Obviously, you have your rematch against Ruiz. How's training camp going? What are your plans to get ready for this fight?"
"I'm thinking about whooping some of these heavyweights." He's on a one track mind right now, but also he's not stupid and going to tell his game plan for Ruiz.
"You sound frustrated, a bit annoyed..."
"I don't get how anybody can say I'm running and ducking anybody when we're sending contracts. Lucrative deals. Look at the numbers that have been put out there... Full on turning down contracts from me to fight for under 10 million. It makes no sense. Who turns down their biggest paycheck?"
"I think people feel like they should get a bigger percent. 50/50 maybe."
"They're mad."
Anthony doesn't like discussing numbers publicly, but they're really mad because he makes sure he gets good business deals every time. It's all about being smart during negotiations. When you're making 50 million+ each fight you learn to know your worth.
Who do they know who can make more money on the rematch fight after losing? And that's why they want to shut him out thinking it'll mess up his money.
"If you fight Toran can you take the personal aspect out of it?"
"If he doesn't disrespect me. But he starts piping up then when I get to the ring he calls for all the security and leaves the ring. Come and stand in front of me like a man if you're serious. It's all for cameras and I'm not bout that."
"Anything you wanna say to Toran before we leave?"
Anthony looks dead at the camera saying, "If you're not serious don't mention my name and don't disrespect me because I mean my business. I'm about my business. December 8th, contract, sign it. That's all."
Once the cameras cut he walks off finding Gbenga so they can leave. As they're walking out he ends up getting stopped by his promoter, Eddie. "What was that?" Eddie asks.
"Me turning something personal into business."
"You can't do things like that without talking to me, the person who arranges all your fights. What if after you win the belts back you have to fight a mandatory? You can't jump ahead and get people excited then not fight him. Focus on the fight at hand, Ruiz."
"I am focused. If I have to fight a mandatory then maybe we can make him the mandatory. I want to fight him."
"What's the point? He has no belts and he's less known."
"The point is don't disrespect my loved one. Toran and I are both signed to you and the same network. This should be an easy negotiation, so make it happen when it's time." He pats Eddie's shoulder
"Ow! I'm still sore from being dragged through you two's bullshit." Anthony looks over his shoulder slightly chuckling.
"Should've let go," he shrugs.
"You know what? I like this AJ. I love this. In fact it makes me fuckin' horny. It's good for boxing, mate!" He says raising his hands in the air. Anthony shakes his head with a laugh because Eddie's crazy.
After dropping off Gbenga, Anthony drives home. He sits in his driveway with his car still running deciding to call Abella first this time. After them talking yesterday it seems to be getting better. He at least wants to check on the woman carrying his child..
Once the Facetime connects he sees Abella's face with loud talking in the background. "Are you busy?" He asks seeing her surroundings change as she walks.
"No." He can hear a door shut now putting her in a quiet bedroom. "I'm at Tam's and my glam team's here, sorry," she explains. Once sitting down she says, "You know you're crazy, right?"
"Crazy about you," he shoots back giving a cheeky smile as she busts out laughing.
"Crazy in love head ass. No, but I saw the video of you and Toran going back and forth at that event yesterday then you at his fight tonight. You don't stop, do you? I tell you one little thing and you take it literal and run with it. I didn't mean it when I said fight Toran in the ring."
"Say what you mean and mean what you say," he replies with a chuckle. "Seems to me you're not so mad about me defending you like yesterday. You know you like it deep down."
"Now you know I like when you talk that big shit, Big Poppa," she says with a smirk. It feels like she hasn't called him that in forever. They end up laughing before she goes on, "You're still crazy. You Libra's all do that charming, sweet, life of the party, cool with everybody shit... But got some real deep hidden shit in y'all crazy soul."
"What are you? An Aquarian?" He jokes too. "Do you even have emotions? Seriously though.. You don't get tired of men lying on your name? About sleeping with you?"
"Men lie on their dick all the time especially if they're trying to get under the skin of another man. It is what it is. Some things aren't worth energy. Now that you've had some time to ponder do you wanna ask me if the baby's actually yours again?"
"Ah," he says scrunching up his face. "I didn't mean that. I do apologize for what I said. I didn't mean to cross the line like that questioning your integrity as a woman."
"I know. Also, I hope you know it's not hard for someone to google a celebrities tattoos," she says referring to the claim Toran made about her.
"I was expecting you to be more mad about what I said."
"Oh, I was mad. Then I had to remember everybody has triggers and fears. I'm not the only one scared, I know you are too. Maybe you got reminded about Natalie and past situations, so you reacted by projecting anger at me. I've done it too. The key is recognizing when you do it."
"Yeah, there's a lot going on. Some things he said got into my head, I can't lie. It was stupid."
"We both need rewiring and healing. We need to bring the defensiveness down a wholeee lotta notches. This is a safe space," she says in a whispery voice making them both chuckle.
"You're stupid. You gotta stop watching those inspirational talk videos."
"Never. I was highly offended you really thought I would sleep with Toran though. Do people think I'll give any dude over six foot who's lighter than me a chance? He's not my type. I'll take a reformed hood dude, but not a complete guttersnipe. He looks like a hammerhead shark, please," she playfully rolls her eyes.
He laughs. "That's what he looks like. Couldn't figure it out. You realize we were arguing over the stupidest shit yesterday. You were mad I put myself in harm's way and I was mad because I wanted to defend you. Basically who cares more..."
"I didn't think about it like that."
"We could have worse problems."
"We could," she agrees with a sigh.
Before he can respond he's interrupted by a female voice in the background of Abella. "You need to start getting ready." He can tell it's Tamara's voice.
"You have another award show tonight, right?" He asks once Abella tells Tam to give her a minute.
"Yup, the VMA's. Shoot me now. Oh, I know you'll probably be asleep when it comes on but maybe record it. Or I'll send you a link of the performance. This one's kinda for you. I had it planned before– All this... Just watch it, if you want. You don't have to though."
"I'll watch it, Bell."
She does a slight smile. "I'll see you in a couple days though. I love you." He says it back then she rushes off the phone.
He sits there for a second before getting out of his car walking into the house. When he walks through the living room he sees his mother watching tv so he greets her. "Everything okay?" She asks out of habit.
"Yeah, yeah," he reassures his mother. "You okay?"
She nods her head. "JJ's already put to bed."
"Thank you for watching him.. for always watching him when I need you to." His mother gives him a nonchalant 'no problem' before he goes upstairs.
Before going to his room, he stops at Joseph's room. He opens the door letting the light from the hallway illuminate his son who's sleeping soundly in his bed.
Through all this Anthony did realize Abella was right about one thing. His initial want to have this baby with her was to repair some guilt he had towards Natalie's pregnancy.
He was an asshole in the beginning. He knows that. Once he got it to together he was trying though. Natalie seems like she'll never get over those couple of weeks when he didn't want the baby, so he thought he'd use this second chance to do the right thing.
Now that the shoe is on the other foot he knows how fucked up it can be for someone to even mention the word abortion.
Anthony does a short smile looking at his son before shutting the door and continuing down the hall.
In a van with her team that moves along the highway to Newark, New Jersey for the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards, Abella responds to e-mails. She already wears her long gown covered in crystals for the carpet that she's going to change out of later. Her hair and makeup is done; she's ready to get this over with.
"Ohh, shit," Tamara says from the row behind her. She extends her arm forward putting her phone in Abella's face saying, "Read this shit."
"What is it?" She grabs the phone seeing an article from a blog. When she reads the headline from Hollywood Unlocked she freezes.
Hollywood Unlocked Exclusive: Singer Béla pregnant by Boxer boyfriend, Anthony Joshua.
#HUBabyFever You heard it here first and we're breaking the story before anybody else. Looks like congratulations are in order for the American singer and British Boxer. Sources close to the pair say the new it couple got serious pretty fast and this adds to the seriousness as they're expecting their first child together. This will be Anthony Joshua's (29) second child and Béla's (25) first. This explains why the couple finally went public a couple weeks ago after being extremely private.
They also were recently seen taking a trip together in their country of descent, Nigeria. The trip was made to seem like a way for Anthony to get back to his roots after his loss against Andy Ruiz Jr. back in June, while Béla was attending her brother's wedding. In reality the couple traveled back to Béla's ancestral village where they met with important elders so Anthony can ask for her hand in marriage since her father's deceased. They say their was a bride price negotiation and all, so we might be seeing a wedding soon as well.
"What?" Abella says to herself furrowing her eyebrows. "They make anything up." She couldn't help but laugh because that adds icing to the story that'll make the impressionable believe it's 100% true. The laughing doesn't last long as the stress settles in and she wonders how they found out. She keeps reading...
Sources claim the singer and boxer are very much in love, but think it's too soon. Regardless, they want to do the right thing.
The couple's no stranger to drama as they've been the topic of tabloids since the rumor of them being together began earlier this year. From fights, altercations, baby mama drama, and now a baby. Regardless, congratulations to the parents to be.
Sources? She thinks. Who are these so-called 'close sources' these blogs always claim to have. She sighs handing the phone back to Tamara. "What do you want me to do?" Tam asks. "We can deny it or let it blow over."
"Cardi B denied it. Yung Miami denied it. Guess what? They were. Just ignore it. They don't have any proof."
Not even being able to help herself Abella found herself back on Instagram reading the comments on the post.
Welp, her 15 minutes of fame are up
She's really ruining her career over a dude. I thought better of sis
Whew, chile. College graduate, plays multiple instruments, super talented, smart... but becoming another baby mama. We were fooled #itwasallalie
At least she got pregnant by a multimillionaire🤷🏾♀️ She'll never have to sing another diddy bop in her life because that child support gonna look goodt. Unless he takes it away like his 1st bm.
She rolls her eyes exiting the app not wanting to deal with this right now. Almost like he read her mind, Anthony's Facetiming her. When she answers she sees him in his room in bed since it's like 11p.m. in London.
"Someone sent me some blog post. Have you seen it?" Abella nods her head at his question.
"Isn't Jason Lee like your friend or something? He's always in your comments on Instagram."
"Who?" He asks with confusion.
"The blogger, Jason Lee. Big, colorist, and Beyoncé avoided him."
Tamara can't help but laugh from behind her. Ever since Tamara went off on Jason for posting something crazy and false about Abella, she hasn't liked him. Shit, she doesn't like any of the gossip blogs to be honest.
She kinda likes Gossip in the City because when she's feeling nosy they have all the tea. But then when it's about you, you wish they weren't so accurate.
"I don't know who that is. I don't think I do. Maybe."
"Did you tell anybody?"
He scratches his head letting her know that's a yes. They agreed not to, but they both did. "Gbenga and KD. Did you tell anybody?"
"Tamara."
"You told your publicist? So we know how it got out."
"No, she wouldn't do that. She hates Jason and wouldn't give the story to him of all people if she did, so I know she didn't."
"Then who did?"
Abella thinks for a second then remembers Rejoice in the bathroom when she was throwing up at the wedding. Then what she said outside about Abella getting what's coming to her.
"Rejoice. She came into the bathroom at the wedding when I was feeling sick. She said I was, but I denied it. This is before I knew. She knows Jason Lee and probably sold him the story."
Anthony smacks his lips. "I'm so sick of her." Abella definitely feels the same way. They hang up and Abella immediately goes to unblock Rejoice's number and calls her.
Once she answers she goes right into why she's calling. "I know you sold that false ass rumor to the blogs that I'm pregnant." Of course she isn't going to let Rejoice know it's true. That would be stupid.
"Excuse you? I don't know what you're talking about."
"You're the one with connections to Jason Lee, L.A., and mess. I know it was you bitch."
"Girl, don't nobody give a fuck about you, your weak ass boyfriend, or this accident ass baby."
"You know what? I'm sick of your shit and the drama you've been bringing. Why don't you just go back to California."
"I will when I get my son back. Once I get primary custody. You can speed that process up by speaking to your best frennnn and telling him to tell the judge he can't handle having main custody. You do that and I'm gone."
"You're an evil bitch. You know that? You gotta lot of mouth for a bitch who's a deadbeat."
Rejoice laughs into the phone. "Is that supposed to be an insult to me? Girl, bye!" At the same time they both hang up. Abella sits there festering for a few seconds before calling Errol next.
"Wassup, sis?"
"I hope you're alone and not on speaker phone."
"I can be. Why? Wassup?"
"What do you and my cousin have going on?"
When Errol starts stuttering Abella rolls her eyes knowing he's about to lie. He used to do that shit all the time when they were trying to lie to their parents about stuff blowing their cover. "What you talkin' about? Aside from trying to get our son out of Foster Care, nothing."
"I overheard you and Rejoice talking at Odera's wedding. I wish I didn't but I heard something about a kiss."
"You probably heard wrong. It was loud from all the music. That fasho ain't what you heard."
"Look, I don't know what you and Rejoice got going on. I try to stay out of people's relationship business, but whatever you're doing behind Valore's back needs to stop especially if it's with that devil."
"I don't have time for this."
"Errol, listen to me!" She says so he won't hang up on her. "What ever you're doing will bite you in the ass when you're dealing with a venomous snake. She's shown her fangs, so don't be stupid. Valore or Rejoice?"
"That's not even a question right now, so I don't know why you're asking that."
"For your sake, I hope it's not. If it is handle it or Rejoice will find a way to ruin your life if that means getting Royce for herself." She ends the call right as they pull up to the Prudential Center where the awards is being held.
Dismissing all the drama Abella walks onto the red carpet. She stops in front of a backdrop where a million photographers are yelling at her to turn certain directions and do specific poses. The flashes of the cameras nearly blind her as she puts on a smile hearing her name called by so many people.
It's almost like everything starts moving in slow motion and all the loudness surrounding her becomes muffled. In that moment she starts to question if she really wants to be in the industry anymore...
Mostly in the forefront. Before Abella was even signed she always said she would put out a certain number of albums then venture into something else.
She wanted to go more behind the scenes. She wants to write and produce music for other artists, get into voice acting, do scores for movies, write books and scripts since she has an English degree, philanthropy, and activism.
She sees more and more everyday why people like Lauryn Hill, Andre 3000, or Dave Chapelle just stepped away to live their life. This music industry is a wicked place that you can get trapped in.
It can ruin your happiness if you let it. Look at how many female artists never get married or have kids because their career runs their life. Obviously not every woman wants that, but she does.
But would she be happy with what she's done? Two mixtapes, one EP, two albums, and features ranging from Kendrick Lamar to Femi Kuti. The answer's no.
Once she's done taking pictures she continues down the carpet where they're doing interviews. "We're only doing one interview because there's no telling what they'll ask about," Tam informs her.
She's right because the one she chose immediately goes into her personal life asking, "Now you're in a relationship with Boxer, Anthony Joshua. What first attracted you to him?"
"Um, initially? The way he carries himself. Very confident, calm, genuinely nice. You don't meet a lot guys like that in the industry. A lot of them are clowns. Even if they can hide it they eventually reveal that bozo behavior, especially when they get rejected."
"Oop!" The interviewer exclaims at the clear shade. "Do you plan on marrying Anthony Joshua? Are there wedding bells in your future?"
"Do people not think it's rude to ask women that? Are you married?" She shoots back at the woman.
"No."
"Do you know when you're getting married?" The interviewer shakes her head. "Exactly, so how the hell I'ma know? I can't tell the future," she says jokingly but really meaning it.
"What about babies? Do you possibly see yourself having children anytime soon?" Abella raises her eyebrows at the woman. Clearly she's trying to confirm the rumor.
"It's also rude to be all up in women's uterus. Damn, what happened to manners?" She stares right into the camera saying, "To everybody listening... Stop asking women when they're getting married or having kids. It ain't yo damn business because you're not paying for it or taking care of the child. Thank you, I'm out," she says giving nice-nasty smile and wave.
"I have one more question." Abella waves the woman off continuing to walk.
Tamara chuckles as they walk down the carpet passing all the other people. "You didn't have to do her like that now."
"I don't care anymore. I should've kept the relationship private and kept letting them guess."
Once the award show starts, Abella can't lie she's bored out of her mind. Maybe she's out of touch, but she doesn't even know who the host is. She's ready to perform, so she can go because she's not staying for the whole thing. All she knows is she performs after the Jonas Brothers and before Lil Nas X.
One thing Abella noticed is the fact their are a lot of Black female artists here who didn't show up to Black Girl's Rock. It's in the same city so there's no excuse why they couldn't go last night. It makes her realize how happy we are to attend these award shows that mostly focus on White artists with those few token Black artists as a consolation.
During Lizzo's performance she leaves her seat going backstage to change out of her carpet dress into what she's performing in. After changing into a short dress, Abella slips her feet into Steve Madden Crystal Jeweled Pointed Toe Pumps.
She walks around the dressing room in the 4 inch heels getting used to them before sitting down. She's not the least bit nervous because she can do this performance in her sleep.
She's more anxious to get it out of the way, so she can finally enjoy a break. Holding the pendant of the silver chain Anthony gave her she warms up her voice. She moves it left and right on the necklace now beginning to breathe in and out.
Her fingers brush against the letters 'AJ' on the pendant. She remembers asking why he didn't put her own initials on them like he does for everyone else. Wearing that smirk he always does he responded, Those are your initials. They will be. They can be.
"You gotta take that off. It doesn't match the outfit," her stylist tells her. Bianca didn't even notice when she put it on a few minutes ago.
"No, I wanna wear it." She holds her hands up letting her have it.
Leaving the dressing room Abella goes towards the stage. She stands in this dark mirrored room they're using for the intro of her performance that has cameras in the walls so it can be put on the screens in the venue.
She almost feels trapped in here, but she uses the minute to say a prayer to herself. After being introduced by Megan Thee Stallion the song starts.
She's performing the song she made for Anthony, Heavyweight. It's to promote the song since it came out yesterday. It's what would be considered a promotional single. It's solely going to be used to promote the Anthony Joshua v. Andy Ruiz Jr. II.
She starts off by singing the orchestra version she performed in Venice, Italy for the intro. While she's in this room there's an orchestra and dancers are on the stage.
While singing realizations are coming to her. Lately, it's like she forgot everything she thought and felt about Anthony. Instead she let the fear from what's happening and men in her past take over.
At this moment the lyrics aren't only meant for him, but them as a team..
We may tremble
But we never fall
She leans before stepping as if she's catching herself for the dance routine. Abella wrote the song for him for a reason. Not only because he asked her to, but because she believes the words she said. Why doubt it now?
If life's walking on the wire
always keep your balance
So talk trash, if you want to
the challenge is accepted
always keep your balance
It's a heavy weight to lift
but we must persist
We fall but we rise
We move, and still
It's all about your will
it's a heavy weight to lift
The beat transitions from slow to picking up pace into the marching band style of the original version to make a medley. The version she made the first time they hung out in New York City. The doors slide open and she walks out of the mirrored room.
She's now rapping the verse from the original version walking onto the stage...
It honestly feels weird rapping on stage again. She hasn't done it in years. Only her true, die hard fans would even know she started off rapping. A drum-line comes from both the left and right joining the stage merging with the orchestra's sound. The mix of string instruments, horns, and snare drums is a triumphant one..
5 point general, 5 point perspective
Everything around me is clear, retrospective
10 point program, I been self defended
Really was chosen, came up from nothing
Made it out council estates, HMP, and house arrest
Stay humble, stay hungry, been on that shit
And now they like, "How AJ made millions so quick?"
Money don't make you real
Don't give a fuck if it's a hundred mil
Niggas be popping that shit like they with it
When niggas was bout it all you did was talk shit, you pussy
She already knows they're going to be doing a lot of bleeping when it airs on tv because she doesn't feeling censoring herself. With every line that she raps she remembers every conversation she had with Anthony that night in the studio in order to make this song...
I advise you not to tug the tail of a lion
Dragged through mud, sharpened the iron
Gave them blood, drop for drop
From the beginning been taking spots and shots
Twenty fights in, went straight to the top
That's why you really mad, pussy
When the electric guitar solo comes in Abella stops rapping to do a solo dance routine. Each movement's precise and filled with a sassy attitude. You wouldn't think she learned the number in less than an hour.
The only thing that plays through her mind is the day she made this song. She remembers trying to teach Anthony how to play the drums. She remembers him twirling her braid while she wrote and he listened to a preview of her album. She remembers him walking her back to her hotel. They were comfortable with one another from the beginning. It felt like she knew him for a lifetime. There was a natural connection.
Abella whines her hips doing a subtle pussy pat before dropping into a squat. She begins rapping the next verse feeling like Lil Kim for a moment.
Nobody wanna step in that ring
still the king watch that uppercut swing
Even when I lose I'm still winnin'
You ain't been in the positions I been in
Isn't it iconic? Isn't it symphonic?
Young, black, gifted; you the one
Don't ever doubt, that's God's son
I need you to listen to the vision,
you're witnessing a mutha fuckin' icon
It's a steep hill, climbing Mount Zion
Leader of the faithful, leader of the tribes, Joshua
Too sacred to be spoken, he's salvation, Yahweh
Never been defeated, always gon' find a way
Even when it rains the sun gon' always shine
She bounces in the squat before slowly picking it back up. The beat slows down again for e breakdown. She takes a couple steps to her left before taking in a deep breath to prepare for a faster flow of the outro..
They fear it as soon as they get near it
Mind state of a winner
Never been defeated, no never given up
This dream can't be disrupted
Don't be rude bitch don't interrupt
This shit right here on the real, can't get enough
Ain't saying names, but y'all not the same
Y'all not cut from the same cloth
An awakened man and you're a fraud
Only need one witness and that's God
The choir sings the chorus as she stands in the middle of the stage and pyrotechnics go off. She spins around making her back face the crowd. She whips her head to look over her shoulder making her ponytail swing as she poses. She smiles to herself seeing people to their feet clapping.
"Us versus the world. Quit playin'!" She says into the mic cockily before throwing her hand up. As the drum line keeps playing every step she takes to leave the stage matches the beat.
As soon as she can't be seen on stage she exhales a deep breath like she's been holding it in. When her team rushes towards her shouting praises she laughs as they hug her. She holds onto the two people closest to her as her eyes start to get watery.
It's not even that she's upset about anything, she's just emotional about everything. A tear rolls down her face and she wipes it letting out a nervous laugh.
"Why did you tear the stage down like that? Biiitch! You were giving confidence, fuck you, I'm that bitch attitude and I'm liiiiving!" Indira says excitedly shaking Abella's shoulders.
"These other girls aren't the chalk, the board, the lesson plan, nor the syllabus, honey!" Naima adds to the energy snapping her finger repeatedly. "My bitch can rap, sing, dance, write, compose, and eat these bitches up!"
"Stiff where?" Bianca asks getting closer to Naima's face like the viral video.
"No stiff, bitch. Noo, none of dat!" Bianca adds a shoulder shake before going on, "Not like these other mediocre hoes they got on that stage winning all the awards," she says referring to the non-Black artists.
All Abella can do is laugh because she loves them even if they're crazy. "You did kill it," Tamara agrees as a VMA employee takes her mic and earpiece.
"We'll have someone escort you back to your seat," the woman says after getting it unhooked from Abella's back.
"No need, I'm leaving. Thank you though."
Abella doesn't care. She's tired and it's boring. Plus, she knows she's not going to win any of the awards she's nominated for. That's how it is. These type of award shows only give a few to the token Black artists of the year and she's not one of them. She's surprised they asked her to perform in the first place.
She was nominated for 6 awards tonight: Best Dance, Video For Good, Best Direction, Best Choreography, Best Cinematography, and Song of the Summer. That's nothing compared to Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift, or Billie Eilesh.
Abella made music videos for almost every song on this album and even a short film that had three of the songs in it. Each video was different with effort and a budget put into them, but hey... That doesn't matter to them. There's not even a genre category for her very African album.
She doesn't want to miss some of her inspirations like Missy Elliot and Queen Latifah perform, but she can't do it. She's exhausted. Seeing them standing and bobbing their heads to her performance was enough.
While walking through the backstage hallway Abella sips on a straw in a water bottle. When she hears her name called out she turns to see it's Megan. They meet halfway hugging one another tightly since they haven't seen each other since Paris in July.
"I've been calling you, girl. Where the hell you been? You've been ignoring me," Megan says putting a hand on her hip.
"I have not. We've been playing phone tag. When I call, you don't answer. You call, I don't answer."
"Well, what are you doing tonight? You should come out with me and my people to the after parties.."
Abella lets out a disappointed sigh. "I can't. I'm actually leaving right now." Can't be in the club and parties when you're pregnant anyway..
"Really? Damn. Why though?"
"If I stay any longer I'm going to fall asleep through this shit. I can't."
Megan laughs. "It is not that boring."
"Yes, it is. How long are you in New Jersey?"
"I leave tomorrow morning."
"Damn, that's too bad. I have so much to tell you. I'l text you. We'll talk later," she says before they go their separate ways. And that's how it is lately. You're so busy that every time you talk to someone you're spending the whole time catching up.
September 5th, 2019
Abella sits in a dark hotel room patiently waiting. She looks at her Apple Watch checking the time. He should've landed, she thinks to herself. A couple more minutes pass when she hears the handle of the door being jiggled. She gets up from the bed looking around trying to find somewhere to hide.
Panicking she ends up standing behind the wall. She hears the door open and the room lights up from Anthony turning it on. She hears footsteps and at the perfect time she pops out scaring him half to death.
When she jumps from behind the wall, Anthony flinches and drops his bags. "If I would've swung on you," he says looking at her like she's crazy.
She laughs so hard she bends over holding her knees. "I'm sorry. I was trying to surprise you."
"You know I don't like surprises. How did you get in my room anyway?" He asks calming down.
"Told the lady at the front desk I'm your wife. I don't think she believed me because she knew who I was, but she gave it to me anyway. I'm sure you wanna take a shower, so go ahead. We can talk when you're done."
They definitely need to talk...
"You sure?" He asks taking his backpack off receiving a head nod from her.
While Anthony's in the bathroom she goes into her Fendi tote bag pulling out her Macbook and journal. She turns to the right page then tears out the page placing it on top of the laptop.
She knows he's going to be awhile in the bathroom and she doesn't want to be here when he reads the letter she wrote him. She grabs her purse and the room key deciding to go down to the cafe in the lobby in the meantime.
While she's eating, Anthony's walking out of the bathroom after 20 minutes. When he doesn't see Abella he furrows his eyebrows. "Where did she go?" He mumbles. Seeing something laying on the bed he walks over to it.
He grabs the piece of paper where her neat and girly handwriting fills the page from top to bottom. He sits down beginning to read it.
For some reason one particular paragraph sticks out for him...
Femi, what if we built a home between our eyes? That way we can't look into it and judge. No throwing rocks in a glass house. No keeping up with the Jones'. Only a small space that feels safe and full of love. Beyond our being and bodies we're making a home to bridge our two worlds. Our connection will live forever...
Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Tomorrow morning, Sept. 6th, 9.a.m.
*Open my Macbook and play video...*
He does what it says and when he does it's a video of everything she was recording when they were together during her tour.
It starts off when they were at the hotel room in Venice, Italy, and he decided to record. He laughs at the conversation where he talks about little Maddie. They looked happy with no worries. That was only a few weeks ago.
He can tell she had someone professionally edit the video the way there's soft music in the background and smooth cuts to transition each scene. There were a lot of moments he didn't even realize Abella was recording him as if she was simply admiring Anthony.
At the next scene cut there's no one in view of the camera as rummaging sounds can be heard. Once Abella has the camera set up she comes into view sitting down with her acoustic guitar in her arms.
"Hi," she waves and smiles at the camera. "It's currently August 1st and I'm in Frankfurt, Germany. You're in London probably working. I wrote this song in Amsterdam... after we argued," she says with a light chuckle. "I'll probably never record it. Might not even let you hear it, I don't know. If I do, I want you to know that you're rare. My rare happy place."
She flashes a smile before fixing the position of her guitar. She mumbles a countdown then begins playing before singing. Anthony couldn't even help that smile that spreads across his face.
After the video's over he closes the laptop looking at the letter again. Among the words he got his answer of what she wants to do...
He grabs his phone calling her. When she answers he asks, "Where'd you go?"
"I'm at the cafe in the lobby. Do you want me to bring you anything?" She asks as regular as possible.
"No, I'm good."
"Okay, I'll be back up there in a minute." A few minutes pass by and Abella's walking through the door. She looks a bit apprehensive as she sits her purse and drink on a table. "Did you read it?" He nods his head. "Do you understand my viewpoint?"
"Yeah, I always did."
"Okay, I'm glad," she says giving a small smile. "I don't wanna stay in your space. I only came to give you that. I'm gonna go back to Tamara's and let you get some rest. I know that flight was long and you have a long day of press tomorrow." He can tell she's rambling out of nervousness.
"No, I want you to stay."
"You do?" She asks in surprise.
"I don't like being distant with you. That's if you want to stay. I don't know if you brought extra clothes."
She shakes her head. "I didn't. I can have my assistant bring me some though."
"Yeah, do that." There's a pause of slight awkwardness. "I saw your VMA performance too. You always hold it down. My G." They slap one another's hand before tapping fists.
"Lock it," she says as they both turn them and chuckle. "Always solid. Ride or die. No matter what."
"No matter what," he says under his breath watching her text her assistant. When she's done she looks down at him as he still sits on the bed. He grabs her hands kissing the top of each hand making her smile.
Anthony stands up and because she's wearing flat shoes the 9 inches between them feels like a mile. When he puts his hands in her curly hair letting his thumb caress her cheek she closes her eyes. She feels his lips press to her forehead and that feeling of calmness he always gives her washes over her body.
His lips move lower before he pecks her lips. He started with a gentle kiss before letting it ease into something longer and more passionate. After long and dreadful days apart they missed each other, especially with all the miscommunications. They're glad to be on the same page now.
Like always Abella stays the night with Anthony who acts like he can't sleep without her. In the middle of the night Abella randomly wakes up. The room's pitch black as Anthony sleeps right under her with his arm wrapped tightly around her. With his hand placed on her stomach it would seem as if he thought someone could come snatch what's his at any moment. They could...
Abella's tired eyes flutter for a few seconds before they're closing again. Tomorrow morning can't come fast enough, so she no longer has to worry.
_________
I like when AJ talks his shit lol. Idky y'all act like he wouldn't say certain stuff bc he has & will. He's not always nice😂
Last performance in this book for awhile & I'm glad. They all served a purpose though.
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