Prima Donna (5 page)

“
Jamil!” she yelled, pushing his arm.

“
What?” He screwed up his face.

“
Wake up!” McKinley spat.

“
What the fuck are you yellin’ for?” Jamil turned over onto his side.

“
Get yo’ ass up!” McKinley yelled even louder.

“
Yo, on the real, McKinley. I ain’t in the mood for no bullshit tonight,” Jamil warned. “It’s four-thirty in the morning. What the fuck do you want?” he groaned.

“
Who the fuck is T?” McKinley held up his phone.

“
What?” He eyed her, confused.

“
Please.” McKinley put her hand up as if to say pause. “Let’s not play dumb. Just answer the fuckin’ question. Who is T?”

“
I don’t know.” He looked away.

“
Really? Well, apparently she knows you ’cause she just sent you a text message, asking where you were at?” McKinley threw his phone at him, almost hitting him in the head with it.

“
You out yo’ fuckin’ mind?” Jamil dodged the throw and sat up. “Don’t throw shit else at me, McKinley. ’Cause if I get to throwin’ shit you ain’t gon’ like it. And what the fuck you doing going through my phone?”

“
Just answer the fuckin’ question! Who is T?” McKinley shot sternly.
“A girl,” Jamil replied sarcastically.

“
I know she’s a girl, douche bag. Who is she?”

“
Since you’re so fuckin’ nosy. She’s one of my business pot’nahs.”

“Do I look that stupid to you?” McKinley placed her hand on her hip.

“
Honestly, you do ’cause you always jumpin’ to conclusions, assuming shit and you don’t know what the hell you’re talkin’ about.”

“
What kind of business partner calls you at four o’clock in the morning? Just admit it, Jamil. You’re cheating on me again, aren’t you?”

“
I ain’t gotta put up with this shit.” He flung his legs out of the bed and got up.

“
Where you think you going?” She eyed him in disbelief.

“
Where it look like I’m going? Home!” He shot over his shoulder.

“
Really, Jamil? So you just gon’ leave? You not gon’ even tell me the truth?” McKinley followed him down the stairs.

“
I have told you the truth. It’s up to you to believe it. And where the fuck are my clothes?” He searched the first floor.

“
In the kitchen.” McKinley folded her arms across her chest.

“
Why are my clothes in the kitchen?” Jamil barked.

“’
Cause I took’em in there. That’s why.”

“
So you just going through all of my shit, huh.” Jamil smirked, placing on his jeans.

“
Whatever,” McKinley rolled her eyes. “I don’t see shit funny.”

“
Yous a fuckin’ trip, you know that? You invade my privacy and got the nerve to have an attitude?”

“
You damn right, I got an attitude. You got bitches callin’ yo’ phone and then gon’ sit up here and lie to my face about it. Are you crazy?”

“
You can believe what you wanna believe. I ain’t gotta explain myself to you.” Jamil took his car keys from out of his pocket.

“
So you seriously gettin’ ready to leave?” McKinley said, distraught.

She couldn’t believe that he wouldn’t own up to the fact that he’d been caught. Instead, like always, he flipped the situation around and made her feel like the guilty party.

“
Yeah, I am,” he confirmed. “Until you can learn how to trust me, I don’t think we need to be wit’ each other.”

“
So not only are you leaving, but you’re breaking up with me?” McKinley said stunned.

“
I mean, what else you want me to do? You don’t trust me.”

“
And you’ve given me every reason under the sun not to. All you do is lie.”

“
Whatever, man. I’ll holla at you later.” Jamil placed his hand on the knob.

“
Are you serious right now?” McKinley began to cry.

She didn’t understand how he could be upset when he was the one who’d done wrong.

“
I’ll call you tomorrow or something.” He opened the door and left.

McKinley thought about running after him, but running after him would only make her feel stupid in the end. When Jamil was on his soapbox he wouldn’t come down until he had McKinley down on her knees or until he had no other choice but to confess. It was sad, but that was how he was. McKinley just had to figure out what her next move would be. She couldn’t let another day go by without knowing where she really stood with Jamil.

XoXo

McKinley knocked on Kristen’s door the following morning. “Code 10! Code 10! We got a man-down situation.”

“
What the hell is going on?” Kristen opened up the door and let McKinley in.

“
I’m sorry, were you asleep?” McKinley asked, noticing she had on a robe.

“
No, just gettin’ my bed rocked,” Kristen said out of the side of her mouth.

“
Oh, my bad, is Tony here?” McKinley whispered back.

“
Yeah, I am.” He came out of the back, pulling his T-shirt on over his head.

“
You gettin’ ready to leave?” Kristen asked disappointed.

“
Yeah, I’ma shake, but I’ll be back in a couple of hours.” He kissed her on the forehead. “I love you.”

“
I love you, too.” Kristen poked out her bottom lip.

“
Bye, Tony.” McKinley waved.

“
Stay up, McKinley.” He walked out of the door.

“
Now what the hell is the emergency, cockblocker?” Kristen tightened her robe.

“
You will not believe what happened last night.” McKinley barged into Kristen’s kitchen and started rummaging through her cabinets. “You got any saltines? I need something to settle my stomach.” McKinley looked over her shoulder.

“
Yeah, in the cabinet on your left and please tell me you’re not pregnant.” Kristen followed her into the kitchen.

“
Hell no. I’ve been up drinkin’ and thinkin’.”

“
Why?” Kristen sat on top of the counter.

“
Some girl named T texted Jamil last night when we got home from the club.”

“
Get outta here.” Kristen crossed her legs.

“
Yes, and when I confronted him about it he gon’ lie and say she one of his ‘business pot’nahs’.” McKinley made air quotes with her fingers. “Then he got an attitude wit’ me.”

“
Ain’t that what they always do?” Kristen chuckled.

“
I know he lying though.”

“
Uh, duh.” Kristen rolled her neck. “Yeah, that nigga lyin’. You think he just gon’ come out and say, yeah I’m stickin’ my dick in her.”

“
Well, we gettin’ ready to find out for sure.” McKinley went into her back pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. “’Cause you gettin’ ready to call her.”

“You say what now?” Kristen cocked her head back.

“
Please, Kristen.” McKinley clasped her hands together. “I’m too emotional to talk to her, and plus, I might cuss her out if she say step outta line.”

“
And what the hell you think I’ma do?”

“
C’mon, Kristen. I would do it for you. Hell, I
have
done it for you.”

“
Give me the goddamn number.” Kristen snatched the piece of paper from McKinley’s hand.

“
Thank you,” McKinley smiled.

Kristen grabbed the cordless phone and dialed the girl’s number, but not before pressing *67, and putting the call on speakerphone.

“
Hello?”

“
Hi, may I speak to T?” Kristen asked sweetly.

“
Who is this?” the woman asked.

“
This is McKinley, Jamil’s girlfriend.”

“
Uh, huh?” the girl said unfazed.

“
Is this T?” Kristen asked again.

“
Yeah, this me,” T answered with an attitude.
“Listen, I’m not callin’ you to argue or anything like that. I just wanted to know if you and Jamil messing around.”

McKinley crossed her fingers and prayed to God that the girl’s answer would be no.

“
I think you need to ask Jamil that,” T remarked dryly.
“So I take that as a yes,” Kristen responded.

“
Like I said, you need to ask your man that question,” T replied before hanging up.

“
Bitch,” Kristen spat, hanging up as well. “Well, I guess you got your answer.” She gave McKinley a sad face.

Heartbroken, McKinley placed down the saltines and stood paralyzed. She felt so stupid for even giving Jamil the benefit of the doubt. He didn’t deserve it, just like he didn’t deserve her.

“
So what are you going to do?” Kristen asked.

“
I’ma fuck his ass up. That’s what I’ma do.” McKinley pulled out her cell phone and called him.

“
What’s up?” Jamil answered the phone with a smile.

He just knew that McKinley was calling him to apologize.

“
Come get your shit,” McKinley hissed.

“
What?” Jamil said, caught off guard.

“
You heard me. Come get your shit. I am done fuckin’ wit’ you. You’ve been cheating on me this whole time with that bitch.”

“You still on that? I told you I wasn’t doing nothin’,” Jamil replied mildly.

“
Just stop lying. I talked to the girl, Jamil.”

“
You did what?” His voice went up an octave.

“
Yeah, that’s right. I talked to her and she told me everything that I needed to know, so come get your shit ’cause I’m done.” McKinley pressed the
End
button.

As soon as she hung up Jamil called her right back, but she didn’t even bother to pick up.

“
You gon’ be okay, friend?” Kristen asked concerned.

“
I will be once I get his ass out of my life. Look, let me go back up to my apartment. I’m sure he’s on his way over there.”

“
Okay.” Kristen hopped down from the counter. “Call me if you need me.”

“
I will.” McKinley left out and boarded the elevator.

By the time she reached her apartment Jamil had called her over ten times. On a mission to rid herself of him, McKinley stormed into her place and began collecting all of his things. She’d successfully thrown his underwear and socks and half of his clothes down the stairs when he came walking through the door.

“
McKinley,” he called out for her.

“
I don’t wanna hear shit you got to say, Jamil. Just get your shit and go.” She threw one of his coats over the rail.

“
Have you lost yo’ mind? Stop throwing my shit,” he yelled from the first floor.
“Fuck you,” McKinley shouted back.

“
Yo, will you let me explain?” He dodged a boot that was being thrown at his head then ran up the steps.

“
Explain what? That you’re a fuckin’ lyin’ ass piece of shit? I can’t believe you’ve been cheating on me again. Here I was thinkin’ we were doing better, but no, you don’t give a fuck about me. You gon’ continue to do you.”

“
I’m tellin’ you I didn’t cheat on you.” Jamil got into her face and held her by the arms.

“
Let me go, Jamil.” McKinley closed her eyes.
“No. Not until you listen to me.”

“
I don’t wanna hear shit you got to say. All I wanna see is your back walking out the door, straight up.”

“
So you not gon’ let me tell you what happened?”

“
What about “I’m done fuckin’ wit you” don’t you understand? It’s over. Just get your shit and go.”