You Had Me at Hello Read online

  I could see a fresh set of tears streaming down her face, and I hated that I was hurting her, but the truth was the truth, and I couldn’t deny it anymore.

  “So that’s it? Just forget about us and everything we had?”

  “We’ve been done, Ma. I haven’t seen you since you left to North Carolina, and that was over a year ago. You can’t tell me that you haven’t talked to or fucked with another dude while you were out there. Even since we’ve been broken up.”

  She diverted her eyes away from me, giving me all the answers that I needed. It stung to know she had given herself to somebody else, but I couldn’t be mad because just like a man, a woman had needs too. Besides, I had been fucking Breionna for months.

  “You don’t even have to tell me,” I continued. “Your eyes give it away. It’s alright because life goes on. I don’t hate you, and I never could. We just outgrew each other.”

  She threw herself back on the bed and covered her eyes with her hands and cried harder. Her sobs were breaking my heart. I hated to see a woman cry, and I hated it even more when I was the cause of it. I sighed and stood up from where I was sitting and walked over to the bed. I grabbed Miranda’s arms and pulled her up. I sat on the bed and held her as she cried.

  “I’m sorry, Ziyon. Whatever I did to make you stop loving me, I’m so sorry.”

  She continued to sob, and I held her without saying anything. I leaned back against the headboard as she began to calm down. I rubbed her arm as she eventually became silent. I couldn’t lie, it felt like old times. Back before Miranda became the nag I couldn’t stand. It felt like the times when all I needed was her, and all she needed was me. I could no longer fight the battle to stay awake and fell asleep right there in the hotel room with Miranda.

  ***

  I shifted in my sleep in attempt to get comfortable. I tried to move but felt something on my legs. Peeking out of my eye, I looked down at my lap and found Miranda sleeping peaceful. My eyes instantly bucked, and I jumped out of the bed, causing her to wake up.

  “Fuck,” I shouted as looked around for my phone.

  I couldn’t find it anywhere. It wasn’t in my pockets, and it wasn’t anywhere in sight in this room.

  “What?” Miranda sat up rubbing her eyes.

  “Did you see my phone?”

  She leaned over to the nightstand next to the bed, opening the drawer and tossed my phone on the bed.

  “It kept vibrating in your pocket. You looked peaceful, so I just silenced it and put it away,” she replied nonchalantly.

  If looks could kill, Miranda would have died right there on that bed. I quickly grabbed my phone and illuminated the screen. I had nine missed calls from Bre, three from Kyshawn and two from Daymeon. I also had several texts all from Bre, Ky, Day and even my mother asking me if I was okay.

  “Shit,” I swore under my breath. “Look Ma, I hope you’re feeling better, and I’m sorry we got to the point where we are today, but we’re through. Don’t call my phone anymore unless it’s life or death. I got a shortie that I’m rocking with, and I expect you to respect it just as much as I would you if you moved on. I can’t do this back and forth with you. Shortie don’t deserve it. Be easy. Ma.”

  I turned and walked out the door quickly. I didn’t bother to return any of the calls as I jumped in my car and headed home. If Breionna was there, I knew she was going to lay into my ass something terrible, and I knew if she wasn’t, I had a lot of making up to do. Either way, I was fucked.

  Chapter Nine

  “Take A Bow” Rihanna

  Breionna

  Ziyon got me fucked up. Not only did he leave in the middle of the night, but also his ass didn’t come back. I finished brushing my teeth, went back to the room and packed my bag. It was obvious he wasn’t ready for a relationship. If this was the shit he did with his ex, I can see why they ended. I chuckled to myself as I zipped my bag closed.

  “Bre,” I heard him yell.

  I ignored him and buckled my belt. I had nothing to say to him.

  “Breionna!”

  I wrapped my charger up, grabbed my bag and excited his bedroom. We ended up meeting in the kitchen. I tried to walk around him, but he wouldn’t move.

  “Move Ziyon,” I said while rolling my eyes.

  I wasn’t in the mood to deal with his bullshit.

  “Not until you listen to me.”

  I looked at him with a screw face.

  “Listen to you? There’s nothing to listen to! You leave at two-thirty in the morning, and here it is damn near nine in the morning, and you’re just now walking back through the door. You tell me what’s wrong with that picture?”

  I dropped my bag at my feet and crossed my arms across my chest. Ziyon stood there looking at me. He wasn’t even trying to come up with an excuse or a reason.

  I shook my head and chuckled.

  “You ain’t ready for this. You wanna live like you’re single. Newsflash, you asked for this. Act like you’re ready for it.” I picked up my bag again and slung it over my shoulder. “By the way, tell your ex that she didn’t have to answer the phone to let me know you were with a bitch. I just wasn’t expecting it to be her. Get your shit together, Ziyon.”

  I walked by him as he stood there stuck. I’m sure he didn’t know Miranda answered his phone, but his ass shouldn’t have been with her period. I jumped in my car and took off. Everything in me wanted to beat Miranda’s ass, but I truthfully couldn’t blame her. Ziyon was to blame. He shouldn’t still be entertaining her.

  My phone began vibrating in the cup holder. I glanced down and saw Ziyon’s number come across the screen. I rolled my eyes as I pulled into my driveway. I allowed the call to roll over to voicemail. Just as I climbed out of the car, both of my parents were walking out of the house.

  “Good morning,” I called out as I activated my car alarm.

  “Good morning. You’re home early,” my mother said. “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah, we’ll talk later. I gotta work from noon ‘til seven, so I’ll be home about seven-thirty.”

  “Alright,” my mom said.

  “We’ll see you later, baby girl,” Dad followed.

  I hugged them both and headed towards the house.

  “Hey Ziyon,” I heard my mother say.

  I snapped my head in her direction. She had to be mistaken. Sadly, she wasn’t. There was Ziyon hugging her and staring at me. He then shook hands with my dad. I rolled my eyes and attempted to hurry into the house. It was to no avail because before I could close the door, Ziyon was standing right there.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Damn, I needed a reason to come to my girl’s house,” he asked, closing the door behind him and following me over to my bedroom.

  “Oh, now I’m your girl? I wasn’t your girl when you decided to leave in the middle of the night to go do who knows what with your ex bitch that you claim you’re over.”

  “If you would’ve listened to me instead of being so damn quick to run out of the door, you would know that I didn’t do anything with Miranda,” he explained.

  “Your ass shouldn’t have even gone. If roles were reversed, you wouldn’t want to hear what I have to say either. You would believe what was right in front of you.”

  “Do I say anything about your relationship with that nigga, Jamon.”

  Here he goes; I thought to myself.

  “You can’t! Jamon and I are just friends. That’s it.”

  I was tired of arguing with this fool already. It was obvious that he wasn’t going to see where he was wrong.

  “Man, to hell with all that bullshit. You know, just like I know, that there was and is more to that friendship you’re spitting about you and ole boy. But I’ll tell you what, if I find out that you’ve been telling him shit about our relationship, we’re going to have a problem, understood?”

  Listening to Ziyon’s tone and watching how he stood his ground was turning me on. My pussy jumped, and I pressed my legs together tighte
r. I unconsciously bit my bottom lip as I stood in my bedroom staring at Ziyon in the doorway. His mouth was moving, but I wasn’t hearing anything coming out of it.

  “You a’ight?” I heard him ask.

  “Huh? Uh, yeah, I’m good.”

  I turned and looked away from him. I looked at the digital cable box. I had another hour and a half before I had to start getting ready for work. I figured I could squeeze a nap in.

  “Did you hear anything I said?”

  “Honestly? No, and no I don’t want you to repeat it. I just want to lay down and take a nap before I go to work.”

  I pulled my blanket back and prepared to climb in. A part of me wanted Ziyon to stay, but another part didn’t want him anywhere near me.

  “What time are you going in?”

  “Noon.”

  “A’ight. I’m about to go pick up my moms and take her out to breakfast. Call me before you go to work.”

  “Okay.”

  He walked over and planted a kiss on my forehead.

  “Love you beautiful.”

  “Love you too handsome.”

  I followed Ziy to the door and locked it behind him. I damn near ran to my bed and climbed in. This would probably serve to be the best one-hour nap ever.

  ***

  After pressing snooze a few times when the alarm went off, I finally got up with forty-five minutes to spare to get to work. I quickly took a shower and got dressed in the bland uniform and headed out the door. I dialed Ziy’s number as I backed out of the driveway. He didn’t answer, so I left a message and hung up. I pulled up to my job five minutes before I had to clock in. Hopefully the store would be busy today so that the shift would fly by. I checked my phone to see if Ziy had returned my call, and he hadn’t. I double-checked and made sure my phone was on vibrate and went into work.

  Chapter Ten

  “Make It Last” Livewire Ft. Antwididda

  Ziyon

  “Hey Ziy,” I heard my brother Kyle say to me as he walked through the door from playing outside.

  I hadn’t realized I fell asleep on the couch, but that iHop had a nigga tired.

  “What’s up Ky?”

  I sat up on the couch and allowed myself a few seconds to wake up fully.

  “Where’s Breionna?”

  “She’s at work.”

  I quickly grabbed my phone to see if she had called and was upset to notice that I had missed her call. I knew by now that she was on the floor and that if I called, she wouldn’t be able to answer. I shot her a text instead.

  Me: (12:38pm) – Hey Ma, sorry I missed your call; I just woke up. Call me on your break; have a good day.

  Just as I sent the message, another came through. I instantly became pissed when I seen Miranda’s name. For some reason, her ass wouldn’t get it through her head that we are done. Before I could respond, my mother entered the living room.

  “You alright, son?” she asked, as she dried her hands off on a dish towel.

  I sighed deeply.

  “I just have this bad feeling that shit’s gonna get ugly and quick.”

  “In regards to what?”

  My mother sat on the arm of the couch that was across from me. I thought about the situation with Miranda and the situation with Breionna. I wanted to be with Breionna, and that went without question, but I couldn’t help but feel bad about leaving Miranda. I still loved her, but I wasn’t in love with her.

  “As you know, I’m with Breionna, but Miranda won’t just leave well enough alone. I’ve told her several times that we were done and over with, but it’s like she’s holding onto hope for whatever reason. She text me last night asking to see me…”

  “Don’t tell me you went,” my mother cut me off.

  “Yeah, but I swear on everything, nothing happened. I did end up falling asleep while with her though, and Breionna flipped. Bre called my phone, and Miranda’s sneaky ass answered it. I seen Bre this morning, but I’m not sure how she’s feeling because it was a quick visit.”

  My mother shook her head.

  “You do have a problem here. You have two women who are in love with you and both want you. The question is, what does Ziyon want?”

  “I want Breionna, Ma. But you know I can’t stand to see a woman hurt. Miranda’s a mess.”

  “So what, are you gonna live your life trying to please both women? That won’t do anything but leave you miserable and unhappy. From the few times that I’ve met Breionna, she seems like a no nonsense type of female. She isn’t going to let you just walk over her and do whatever you want.”

  I sighed deeply and put my head in my hands.

  “I know. I still love Miranda. I can’t lie. I spent my teenage years with that woman, but I’m not in love with her. I want to be with Breionna. Breionna is my present and hopefully my future.”

  I watched a smile spread across my mother’s face. She always hinted how much she liked Breionna and wanted us to work out.

  “Then you have to start acting like it. You asked her to be with you, not the other way around. You have to show her that you want her and only her. Any female can have any male that they want. The same way you’re turning down Miranda for Breionna, Breionna can turn you down for the next. Don’t let your foolishness get in the way of what your heart wants. Do what’s right, Ziy.”

  My mother stood up and walked away. I sat back and thought about what my mother said. She was right, I had to end this shit with Miranda once and for all. I know I told her I was all set with her, but it was obvious that she didn’t get it or else she wouldn’t continue to call. I shot her a text telling her to meet me at the carousel in Roger Williams Park. Hopefully, this would be the last time I see her.

  “Ma, I’ll be back,” I shouted, as I grabbed my keys and headed out the door.

  As I backed out of the driveway, the lyrics to the song playing caught my attention.

  You ain’t gotta worry ‘bout these other hoes

  They can never ever come between you and me

  So I don’t wanna hear nothing about

  This groupie or that groupie ‘cause it’s you and me

  And they wouldn’t stick around and fight

  Through the pain and remain together like you and me

  I listened to the words that Antwididda spit and couldn’t help but think about my situation with Breionna. I know she probably felt as though she was possibly competing for my love with Miranda, but she was in a league of her own. Miranda was the past and as hard as it was, she was going to stay there. En route to the park, my phone rang.

  “Yo.”

  “Why am I meeting you at the park?” Miranda asked, as I turned into the Roger Williams Park entrance.

  I took the necessary roads to find the carousal.

  “We gotta talk.”

  “About what?”

  “You’ll see. Are you there yet?” I asked her.

  “Yeah, just pulled in.”

  “Alright, I’ll be there in thirty seconds.”

  “Okay.”

  I ended the call as I pulled into the parking lot. It probably wasn’t smart to do this in an open area like this, but I couldn’t chance being somewhere in private and Miranda try and start some shit.

  I pulled up next to her car. She was standing against it with her arms crossed over her chest. I couldn’t even lie, Miranda looked good. I left my car running as I got out to join her.

  “What’s up?”

  “You tell me.”

  I pushed my hands into my jeans pockets as I leaned back against my own car.

  “What’s this I’m hearing that you answered my phone? Since when did we do that shit?”

  I watched as she rolled her eyes.

  “So she couldn’t wait to tell you that shit, huh? I swear, I don’t know how you went from a grown ass woman to a little ass girl.”

  “Correction,” I interrupted her. “I went from a little ass girl to a grown ass woman. Only little girls do that shit you did, Miranda. The entire time we were t
ogether, I ain’t never did that shit to you, so what the hell makes you think that you can do it to me, and we ain’t even together?” I caught my voice elevating and checked my surroundings to make sure that nobody was around.

  “It was never a problem for me to answer your phone before, so what’s the issue now?”

  I twisted my face and looked at her like she had sprouted a second head.

  “What’s the issue now? The issue is we aren’t together. I didn’t care if you answered before because you were my girl, and I had nothing to hide. You ain’t my girl anymore, Miranda, so that shit you did was overboard. But I’m really not tryna stand here and discuss why we ain’t together or none of that shit. I hope you didn’t take me staying with you last night as a possibility that we would work.”

  I watched as a wave of disappointment washed her face.

  “Damn, so I really mean nothing to you huh?” She asked as her voice began cracking.

  “It ain’t that you don’t mean anything to me, I just moved on.” I caught myself before I continued explaining the same shit I said the night before. “Man listen, I’m not about to go through this whole conversation again. Just do me a favor; lose my number.”

  “Where did this asshole version of you come from? You was never like this.”

  A lone tear slid down her cheek. I shook my head, jumped back in my car and threw it in reverse.

  “I’m not an asshole, I’m just doing what’s right. Take care.”

  It felt as though a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders as I pulled away from Miranda. Hopefully she would understand this time, but something in me was telling me it wasn’t going to be that easy.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Can’t Do This” K Michelle

  Breionna

  Seven rolled around faster than I thought, but I wasn’t complaining. I finished counting my drawer and locking it up before dashing out of the door. I was seriously considering a job change. A guy had came through my line and told me he thinks I would make a good bartender. I had my bartending license, but I never used it before. I figured I would run it by Ziyon first. Dude had given me his business card for when, and if, I became interested.