Obsessed

| Seventeen

  I slipped out of bed as the sun peeked through the curtains of the bedroom. I grabbed a pair of sweats and a shirt before going into one of the guest bathrooms and brushing my teeth. I headed downstairs to get breakfast going before Mr. Yeldon pulls up to the house. I called Jaylin back in the process. 

  I’m still heated about it, I’m sorry. 

  You and me both. I didn’t get a lick of sleep last night. 

  Same here. Jaylin agreed. How did Ms. Danielle take it? 

  Girl, you shoulda’ seen those buff ass men wrestling with that lady. We both chuckled. But she understood. They sent me messages this morning, asking if everything was okay. 

  I saw Mr. Yeldon walk into the kitchen. I nodded as he grabbed a plate, fixing some food. I decided to let him enjoy his meal before we get into the conversation. 

  It will be. My poor babies goin’ through it. 

  I’ll be fine, it’s Vinny I’m most worried about, but I invited Mr. Yeldon over. 

  You don’t think Vinny will be upset? 

  I gotta’ do what’s best for us. He’s not gonna’ say anything, especially the way he looked last night. He was waitin’ for me to leave him, Jaylin. It was the saddest thing I ever saw. Like a child without a parent. 

  God, I don’t wanna’ talk about it. I done already said my prayer, cleansed my space, and I wanna’ keep it that way. 

  That makes two. I love you girl. 

  I love you more, I will see you later. 

  I hung up the phone, walking into the front room where Mr. Yeldon sat. Quietly. Just him and his plate. 

  “ I guess everything was good? “ I chuckled at the emptiness of the dish. 

  “ Oh yes, very. “ he nodded. “ Thank you. “ 

  “ Anytime. “ I sat down on the couch, adjusting to the awkward silence. “ So where do we start? “ 

  “ We’ll start from the beginning. “ he sat back on the couch, letting me know this would take a while. “ I noticed the change in Carmen, but I didn’t say anything. She was comin’ home late at night, slept most the day, and just repeated that same cycle. Our marriage was already testy, and I didn’t want to test it anymore. I was tired of the arguing and the crying. That s**t got old. “ he shook his head. “ I finally got us a good job, but it required long hours. Carmen convinced me to take it and told me she would look after Vinny while I worked. I thought ‘maybe she was coming around and wanting to do right by our son’, so I naively trusted her. “ 

  “ Mr. Yeldon, you didn’t see the way he looked that night. He mentally checked out in a crowd of a thousand people. It was uncomfortable. “ 

  “ It was about two weeks after I started working. He would come to me complainin’ ‘bout Carmen sending him to bed hungry. He told me ‘bout the names she called him. b***h. p***y. Sissy. I was stressing out already from the long hours and the restless days, so I thought it would be easier to brush it off and tell him it was in his head. Then it got worse. The longer the shifts got, the worse his punishment got. It went from sending him to bed hungry to him missing school multiple days a week, not feeding him at all, and even throwing him in a closet for hours and hours. “ 

  “ Jesus. “ I rubbed my eyes, asking myself did I really need to hear this. 

  “ This went on for two years, David. “ his voice broke. “ Unchecked. “ 

  “ It’s okay, Mr. Yeldon. “ 

  “ It’s not. I had to come home one day to find my son bleedin’ to death in a closet. I had to deal with rebuilding his self-esteem from the ground up, and tough ain’t the word to describe it. But I did it. I turned him around, and now look at em’. “ he inhaled deeply. “How did she even get inside? “ 

  “ You and I been wondering the same thing. “ I sucked my teeth. “ What do I do? “ 

  “ Just be there for ‘em. Be patient with him. This time may be easier than the first, but I can’t promise you that. “ 

  I sat there, taking everything in. I was not ready for this, but I realized it’s what I would have to do. I wouldn’t have even known Vinny suffered through any of this, he truly covers it well, and why wouldn’t he? If everything Mr. Yeldon said is true, I wouldn’t want to relive those moments either. 

  “ I’m glad you called me. He would never tell you ‘bout this, no matter how much he loves you, and it’s best you don’t bring it up. Trust me. “ he looked into my eyes, assuring me with every word. He stood up walking to the front door as I followed him. I watched him to his car, waving as he drove away from the house. 

  “ There he is. “ I looked back to Vinny making his way down the steps. He smiled, opening his arms and embracing me tightly. He kissed my forehead. “ How about some breakfast? “ 

  “ I already cooked. “ I chuckled. “ It’s all in the oven. “ 

  He hummed as he walked into the kitchen, reaching into the oven and pulling out the food. I sat on the stool, watching him. He seemed back to his normal self. I would normally be able to detect when something was off, but that’s how I knew he went back to hiding it. Running from it. I didn’t blame him one bit. 

  “ You not gone eat? “ 

  “ I’m not hungry. “ 

  “ Come on, ‘lil daddy. “ he pleaded with his eyes, causing me to smile. 

  “ Okay, just a bit. “ 

  He fixed the plates, sitting them down on the counter before going into the fridge and pouring some orange juice. 

  “ Simply Orange, Simply Orange. “ he sang lightly. “ Here you go. “ 

  “ Thanks. “ 

  “ Everything okay? “ he walked around the counter to sit on the stool next to me. “ You seem dry this mornin’. “ 

  “ I’m fine, just tired. “ 

  “ That’s what I’m talkin’ ‘bout. What’s on your mind? “ 

  I hesitated a bit before I finally spoke. “ Do you remember anything from last night? “ 

  “ Yeah. We went to the Gala, had a good time, then you came home and put it down so good I knocked right out. “ he winked at me, scratching at his beard and biting down on his lip, just like his father. Maybe I should just leave it alone. If he seems fine, I’m fine, but there was something that wouldn’t allow me to be okay with that. 

  “ Okay, well what’s the plan for today? “ 

  “ I wanted to take my baby shoppin’. It’s been a minute since we both bought new clothes. “ 

  “ Yes, that is true. “ 

  We finished our breakfast and then headed upstairs to get ready for our day out. I dressed in a cream sweater, some blue jeans, and my wheat-colored Jordan’s. He dressed in just about the same thing, he just opted for a white sweater instead. We left the house and headed towards Lenox Square. We made it there in no time, getting out of the car and heading inside the mall. 

  “ Whatever you want is on me. “ I grabbed his hand, interlocking our fingers. 

  “ Naw, it’s all on me, ‘lil daddy. “ he looked down at me with the cutest smile. “ Don’t it feel good to spoil each other? “ 

  “ It does. “ I nodded. He stopped once we got to the Rolex boutique. We walked inside, looking in the glass case. I saw that he wouldn’t stop looking at one set that was there. It was gold plated, glistening diamonds around the bezel with a red dial. I was waiting for him to ask the lady to grab it, but he never did. “ How ‘bout this gold one right here? “ 

  He pointed to the one that had me written all over it. I scoffed, letting the lady fit it around my wrist before ringing it up and wrapping it before placing it in the white bag. 

  “ Thank you, babe. “ 

  “ Anything for you. “ he kissed my cheek. “ Don’t scrunch yo’ face up. “ he chuckled as we walked past the Armani store. I truly hated it and don’t know why. 

  “ You go ‘head, I gotta’ pee. “ I pointed to the sign directly on the adjacent side of the floor. 

  “ Aight, I’ll be inside. “ 

  He watched me walk over to the bathroom until I had walked inside and behind the wall. I waited for a few seconds, peeking back around to see if he was still looking. I prayed that he wasn’t so that I could go and grab this watch for him. 

  “ Yes. “ 

  I stealthily moved along the wall, hiding behind the tall plants that stood until I reached the Rolex store. I dramatically rushed inside, looking at the woman and pointing to the watch Vinny was looking at. 

  “ Sir, you do know that’s our most expensive watch? “ 

  “ With all due respect, I don’t give a damn, just ring it up. “ I handed her my card as she rushed with the transaction. She waited for me to flinch once I saw the total, but I continued to give her an impatient look. Come to think of money, I hadn’t even cashed, better yet looked at the check from Ms. Daniel for the event or the one from Mrs. Marie. “ Thank you. “ I snatched the bag from her, rushing back down to Armani and making it just in time. “ What’d you get? “ 

  “ Underwear mostly. “ 

  “ I love when you wear those. “ I looked at his ass and he blushed. 

  “ Stop playin’, ‘lil daddy. “ he stiffly walked away. 

  “ Don’t run from me, baby. “ 

  We stopped by a few more stores before we both decided we were finished. The last store we did our shopping for was Burberry. Vinny was laughing at me because I had almost tripped and fell. 

  “ It’s not funny. “ 

  “ If it isn’t the foreign b***h. “ his voice irritated my brain. I groaned, turning around to see him still looking tacky and worn out. 

  “ Come on, ‘lil daddy. “ 

  “ Yo’ man tryna’ save yo’ life. “ he walked towards me. 

  “ Baby boy, I ain’t at work, I ain’t got s**t to lose sweeping this floor withchu’. “ I started to walk closer to him, but Vinny came to stand in front of me. I looked up at him and he looked down at me. He flared his nostrils, giving me focused eyes. He looked so damn sexy. 

  “ Yeah, you betta’ let him know who the f**k I am. “ the boy snapped as he clicked his tongue. 

  “ Gone. “ he commanded me and nodded towards the door. 

  “ Fine. “ I smirked, turning around and twisting away. 

  “ This ain’t the last you seen of me. “ 

  “ Who the..... “ 

  “ David. “ he only called me by my name when he was dead ass serious. I rushed out of the mall and into the cool air. I grabbed the bags from Vinny’s hands as he fished for the keys to the car. 

  “ Why you won’t let me fight? “ 

  “ And risk goin’ to jail? “ he unlocked the doors of the car. 

  “ I ain’t got no record, “ I sassed. 

  “ You want one? “ I stopped talking for the moment. “ Exactly, now getcho’ ass in this car. “ 

  “ Don’t be cursin’ at me. “ I flopped down in the seat, folding my arms and pouting childishly. 

  “ Aw, did I hurt the babies feelins’? “ he leaned over like he was about to kiss me. I stuck my lips out only for him to make a scratching sound and reach in the glove compartment. 

  “ You butthole. “ I reached for the seat belt and pulled it across my body. 

  Before we headed to the house, we stopped to get something to eat from Varasano’s Pizzeria. He ordered two Margherita pizzas, bringing them back to the car and handing them to me. I held the warm boxes in my lap until we pulled up to the house. We made our way inside, getting comfortable on the couch. 

  “ Hurry up, boy. “ I held the remote in my hand. I was waiting to press play on White Chicks. 

  “ You been talking real reckless lately. “ he chuckled as he walked from the kitchen with the two large bottles of water. 

  “ Cause you been tryin’ me. “ I joked. 

  “ You just want some d**k, that’s all. “ he flopped down next to me. 

  “ You know me so well. “ I kissed his cheek. He reached across me to get the remote to press play. “ See, that’s what I’m talkin’ ‘bout. “ 

  “ Shh. “ he reached for his box of pizza and focused on the TV. 

  “ Alright, I gotchu’. “ I sucked the tomato sauce from my fingers. 

  “ Okay, ‘lil daddy, I’m sorry. “ 

  “ Naw, ain’t no booty for you buddy. “ I scooted away from him. 

  “ B..... “ 

  “ Aht! “ I held my hand up. “ Gone and watch yo’ movie. “ 

  We watched the movie, repeating the parts we knew and laughing at jokes we’ve heard a thousand times. 

  “ Triple T, K, A. Time to totally kick ass. “ we both repeated, following up with a laugh. 

  “ Thank you for today, I really needed it. “ he told me. 

  “ I’m glad you said that. “ I smiled at him. “ I got one more trick up my sleeve. “ 

  “ Mhm. “ he stretched his arms across the back of the couch, sliding his butt to the edge. 

  “ Oh, you thought I was playin’ when I said you lost yo’ privileges? “ I pushed up from the couch as he whined. I walked over to the shopping bags sitting by the staircase. I pulled open the two cases to make sure I got the right one. I walked back over to him, holding out the white box. 

  “ That’s yours, babe. “ he brushed me off. 

  “ Open the damn box. “ 

  He hesitantly grabbed it from me. He sat up, opening it slightly before closing it back. He smiled widely and that made me smile. 

  “ There’s a reason I ain’t get this. “ 

  “ ‘Cause you cheap. “ I chuckled. “ I saw the way you was lookin’ at it. “ 

  He opened it completely, exhaling at the sight of the diamonds. He pulled it out, wrapping it around his wrist and fastening it. Perfect fit. 

  “ You the fuckin’ best. “ he smiled. “ Too bad I lost my privileges. Now I gotta’ find another way to thank you. “ 

  “ Who said all that? “