I looked at Tasha as if she was crazy. “No, you’re not.”
“Yes, I am.”
“Okay, go with me and do what?”
“I don’t know. I just need to be there.”
“Why are you so threatened by this chick? Why are you allowing your jealousy of this chick to make you block me from taking care of my business? That is not a good look, Tasha.”
“She’s no longer a threat to me, Trae. I made sure of that.”
“She should have never been one in the first place. I still can’t figure that out.”
“Why can’t you? You sure lost your mind when Kyron came into the picture.”
“That’s different.”
“No, it’s not. You’re gonna sit here and tell me that you didn’t feel threatened? C’mon, Trae.”
“I’m not talking about me. I’m talking about you. You know that I belong to you and that I’ll always be yours. So why did you feel so threatened?”
“You want to know why?”
“Yeah, tell me.”
“You want to know why?” She jumped up off the bed, stomped over to her nightstand, pulled open the bottom drawer and took out some papers. “This is why! You allow the bitch to call my house, and then she sends me this!” She threw a stack of pages at me.
“What is this?” I turned on the lamp.
“The bitch sent me some of her diary pages!”
I snatched the pages up, and sure enough, there were copies of Charli’s handwritten diary pages titled 50 Shades of Trae. “So what is this supposed to prove, Tasha? I don’t care about this bullshit.”
“She talks about the several times that y’all fucked, Trae.”
“Bullshit. Anybody can write some shit down on some paper. Who are you going to believe, me or her? Tell me that you don’t know that bitch is delusional. Tell me, Tasha!”
“I told myself that. But she talks about shit that she just couldn’t make up.”
“Tasha—”
“Don’t Tasha me! What about the flowers you brought her? Or you going to her house? That may be delusional, yes. But what about that little trick she did on you? The trick that you taught me to do on your dick. She made that up, too? Is that delusional? Nigga, I don’t think so. I hope that bitch dies up there in that hospital room, and if she isn’t dead, I hope those dogs ate her beyond recognition.”
“Tasha, I told you time and time again, that was business, nothing personal. You are my wife, my world, and that will never change.”
“Translation, but I’ma fuck other bitches if the business calls for it? Fuck you, Trae!” She went into the bathroom and shut the door. Here we were back at square one.
“Tasha!” I called out to her, but she didn’t answer. I picked up the stapled pages. 50 Shades of Trae. That bitch was crazy. I began to read . . . page after page. I didn’t know if I should laugh or be scared of the bitch. She had shit in there that I never did. Ate her pussy? That shit never happened. Spent the night at her crib? Hell to the no! That ho was more than delusional. She was deranged.
• • •
Of course, the next two days, all I got was the silent treatment. I had been staying close to the house, keeping an eye on my crazy wife, but I finally got the call, and it was time for that meeting. I needed to know where I stood and if my family was in danger. Even though deep down inside, I knew there was no running and hiding. If Charlie Li wanted to get me, no matter where I was, I was got. Over the phone, I wouldn’t be able to know, but with a face-to-face, I didn’t care what came out of a man’s mouth. The eyes revealed it all.
“Trae, Marva and your parents are taking the kids to SeaWorld.” Tasha said interrupting my thoughts.
“When?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Nobody said—”
“Don’t even try it. We told you several times. Nana wants you to call her. She wants one of us to come with them. I nominated you.”
“You know I can’t go. I gotta make this meeting and don’t know how long I’ll be gone.”
“Okay, but I can’t, either. And I won’t be here when you get back.”
“What are you talking about?”
“For my cousin Stephon’s birthday, Trina and I are going to his favorite hotel in Vegas to celebrate him.”
“Vegas? When were you planning on telling me about this?”
Tasha was sitting at her vanity table, playing with her hair, looking at me in