Page 5 of Pretend I’m Yours
He refused to see my point of view, and he never bothered hearing my side of any argument. It was all about him, all the time, and I’d quickly grown to be quite sick of it.
We were fighting constantly, but he refused to leave. It wasn’t until I found out about his corrupt practices on the force and he was fired that I forced him out of my home. He was pissed, but he knew he couldn’t stay. As a disgrace to the police force himself, he no longer had the support or praise of my parents.
They no longer wanted him in the house, and though I never took into consideration what they wanted when I made my life choices, I had to agree with them on that one. I wanted him gone long before that came to light, and now I had the means to get rid of him.
But even though he was out of the house, he was far from being out of my life. I swore the man had been stalking me for the past year. He always seemed to show up when I was out, no matter where I was, or who I was with.
He knew what I’d been up to, and he always seemed to know how things were going for me – both at work and at school. I would avoid him as much as possible, but there were times when I came face to face with him and there was no escape.
I tried to avoid yelling and making any sort of public scene, but there were times that was nearly impossible. The man would get in my face, degrade me, and threaten me in more ways than I could count.
I wanted to go to the police and get a restraining order, but he always managed to catch me off guard. There was no evidence of him harassing me, and he knew how to stay off the radar. It was his police training that was now giving him a new advantage over me, and I hated it.
I just wanted him to go away so I could focus on moving forward with my life. I had to pass the finals that were coming, and I had to get out of school this year. I was tired of the struggle, and I was more than ready to start helping the kids who were in the community.
But I knew that it was all going to come down to how well I did on the tests, and I had to make time to properly study and prepare for them.
My phone buzzed and I glanced up. Teisha, my best friend, was texting me again. She had been trying to pry me away from my books and my work for days now, eager to take me out to the club to have a good time. I knew that I had to be responsible if I was going to make it anywhere in life, but I did feel bad about not being there for her.
She had been my best friend through everything I’d gone through in my relationship, and I knew I had to be a good enough friend to return the favor. With a sigh, I picked up my phone and texted her back.
I’ll be free tomorrow night. The club shouldn’t be too bad on a Thursday, you think?
She answered almost immediately.
Yay! It’s about time you came out with us. I’m going to bring along Mel and Cami, too
I shook my head. If she was bringing along her other two best girlfriends, I knew it wasn’t going to be an early night. But I had already told her I would be free, and I intended to keep my word.
Sounds good. I’ll see you guys then
3
Drake
“Hey! It’s the man of the hour!” Brad clapped me on the back hard and I smiled. It wasn’t an enthusiastic smile by any means, but it was enough to cause a ruckus around the table. Several of my old friends had gotten wind of the fact I was in town, and they pushed and pushed until I finally agreed to go out to the club for a few drinks.
Pete, Brad, Trey, and Matt all had mugs of beer on the table in front of them, and they eagerly grabbed a fresh glass and pulled up a chair for me. There were a few cards scattered on the table. But, if I knew them, they were doing a lot more commenting on the women milling about the place than they were playing poker.
“You bring along your friend?” Pete asked. He was referring to Brody Jeffers, a man I’d met in the military and had quickly grown close to. He was the one listening ear I’d had when everything fell apart with Anna Marie, and he’d since decided he was going to join me in my move to Chicago.
