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“Man, stop screaming. All that ain’t even called for. You just working yourself up for nothing.”

“For nothing? Boy, your crazy ass is at my Granny’s house and I’ve never brought you here. I should call the fucking police on your stalking ass.”

“You can do that…but we gon’ still have to talk once I bond out. So you might as well kill the dramatic shit and come take a ride with me.”

“Ali, I’m not going no where with you. We can talk right out here,” she glanced back into the house as if she was making sure nobody was coming. Her paranoia was funny, but it was the least of my problems right then.

“What you called me?” I snarled.

“Your name,” she sassed, as she closed the door behind her.

“Alright,” I chuckled dryly.

“Talk. I don’t have all day.” She rolled her eyes while taking a seat at the small patio table that was on the decent sized porch. She sat down a plastic bag of to-go plates and her pink Louis Vuitton purse on the table. It was one of the many gifts I’d gotten her for her birthday.

“Nice bag.”

“You want it back?” She reached for it as if she was about to empty it out and hand it over.

In the beginning I felt stupid for doing the most and breaking so much bread on a woman who had played me. As time went by and I thought about it more, I realized that I didn’t regret anything. Everything I’d ever done for Lourdes came from a place of love and care. I also couldn’t pretend like she was some malicious gold digger who set out to bleed my pockets. She never asked me for anything and she barely wanted to take my money whenever I offered.

“Nah, ion want shit back because everything I did was real and genuine. I know you can’t relate.”

Her hard exterior melted and she gazed at me with regretful, puppy dog eyes. My heart pounded in a way it hadn’t pounded since June. That was a reminder of why I cut her off without looking back. If I entertained her calls, text messages, or saw her face to face I would’ve been forgiving her with ease and sweeping everything under the rug. I couldn’t go out sad like that when she violated in the manner that she had.

“I can relate, though, and you know that, Armias.”

“Now I’m Armias?” I chuckled. I was playing it cool but I loved the sound of my real name coming from her mouth. “I’m not finna let you pull the wool over my eyes again.”

“Look, I lied about my living situation but I never lied about how I felt about you. But I have no more energy to convince you otherwise, so believe what you want. It’s not like it matters anyway.”

“Why it don’t matter?” I stepped up on the porch. She set up and went for her purse.

“Man, what is you reaching for? Cause I ain’t finna do your ass nothing.”

“You’re walking towards me though.”

“To sit down….and I’m crazy,” I mumbled before sitting in the other chair. “Now tell me why it doesn't matter.”

“Ask the bitch that was answering your phone and talking crazy to me.”

“Mannn,” I took a deep breath. “I’m sorry about that, Lourdes. I wasn’t okay with that shit.”

“I couldn’t tell by the way you addressed me in her presence. To me that said a lot.”

“Well shit, enlighten me,” I replied sarcastically.

“It means that she’s your woman and that you wanted to take that opportunity to shit on me. Because when Kenny pulled up to my suite raising hell the only thing I was focused on was explaining myself to you. But you just let that girl talk to me crazy and then you did the same. Worst of all it was obvious that you told her all my business,” she crossed her arms and looked straight ahead. I could tell she was focused on not crying because her eyes were glassy and red. I didn’t like seeing her like that, but I couldn’t coddle her like she was the victim in this.

“You hear yourself though, Lourdes? What happened first?”

Her head snapped towards me in a millisecond. “You went to prom with that bitch! Your whole family knows her! Nigga, she lives with you! You didn’t share any of that shit with me because she was in jail! We were both lying and I think your lie was worse because I was actually single. You weren’t!”

I sat there silently while she relayed a bunch of untrue shit to me about my life.

“You done or you finished?”

“Fuck you.”