Me or Basketball?[A Josh Christopher Story]

Chapter 17

I woke up to an empty bed and yelling coming from downstairs. I got up quickly and ran down the stairs to see Ms. Jennifer yelling on the phone. She looked over at me and hung up the phone.

"Do you know where Monica is? I went into her room and only saw you" she asked worried

"I have no clue, where did she go last night?" I asked

"She went to the corner store and I'm not sure if she came back" she said worried. I walked over and hugged her.

"Don't worry we'll find her. I'll be right back" I ran upstairs and looked for her suitcase. It was gone. I looked over at my phone and saw a piece of paper on it. I grabbed it and read it

Joshy,
I love you so much. You bring light to my life that no other man can but as much light as you bring to my life, I feel as if I can't bring that much to yours. I've decided to leave early so I could give you some space and give me some time to become a better me. I thought maybe me leaving without you noticing would pain you a little less instead of you having to watch me leave. I will you see you soon

Love, Mo

I finished reading the letter and instantly felt tears rolling down my face. My heart hurts even more. I hated that she had to leave but the fact she left without a goodbye really broke my heart. I grabbed my stuff and walked downstairs. I gave Ms. Jennifer the note and walked out the door. I got in my car and drove to my house. Once I was at my house, I went straight to the bathroom to take a shower. I stood there and cried while the water ran all over my body. I cleaned myself up and walked to my room and got dressed. I laid down and stared up at the ceiling.

There was one thing I didn't want to do while laying in this bed and that was call her. I was afraid that if I did and she didn't pick up, it would break me even more. My mind was telling me don't do it but no matter how bad my heart was hurting, it was the one thing pushing my hands to pick up my phone and dial her number. So I did just that.

It rung and rung and rung until I heard her voice

"Hello"
"Monica"
"Hi Josh"
"Hi"
"I'm sor-I don't wanna hear it. Just tell me you made it to London okay?" I asked
"Yea I did" she said
"Okay, bye" I said and hung up.

I tossed my phone somewhere on my bed and closed my eyes. My phone started ringing again and I already knew who it was. I wasn't going to answer though. I just couldn't. It's not fair to me that if I pick up my phone, that I would basically be giving her the benefit of the doubt and it would make everything seem okay when it's not.

I decided to put my phone on do not disturb and take a nap. My head was pounding and I just wanted to stop thinking for a little bit.

...

After my nap, I decided to go to the gym and get the real work in. My heart was hurting but I needed to focus on what my future life would look like and that was basketball. Basketball is my life. This is something I wouldn't give up for the world. This is how I'm feeding my family and giving them a better life. Not one person is going to stop me from getting to where I want and need to be.

My phone started ringing and saw it was Caleb face timing me. I picked up and propped the phone on the bleacher.

"Joshua" he said sternly

"Caleb" I said weirdly

"Why did your girl call me talkin bout you ignoring her calls?" He asked

"We not on the best terms right now like I don't even want to talk about her in this moment" I said rolling my eyes

"What happened baby bro?" He asked with a change of tone

"She's be having her way too much in this relationship and I feel like I just need to separate myself from it as of right now" I said

"What you mean bro? Y'all were just fine" he asked sadly

"Caleb, what are you not getting?! She wants to do her own thing without having my feelings involved so I'm letting her be free" I yelled. I looked away and then looked back at him.

"I'm sorry woo" I said shaking my head

"It's cool, I'll talk to you later" he said and hung up. I groaned and threw my phone

"WHAT THE FUCKKKKK!!!" I screamed.

"Josh?" Someone said. I looked over and saw Me'Arah

"Ummm what's up?" I said trying to calm down

"You good bestie? And don't say you are cause I know your not" she asked looking at me sternly

"Don't worry about it Meezy, I'm good" I said getting up. She grabbed my hand and pulled me which made me look at her.

"You can talk to me you know?" She asked. I nodded and pulled away. I grabbed a ball and continued what I started.

...

I left the gym earlier than usual because Me'Arah wouldn't stop asking me if I was okay. Obviously she couldn't see that I didn't want to be bothered so I just had to head out. I got home and nobody was here which was how I liked it. I walked to my room and opened my door to see Monica sitting by my window. I looked at her shocked. What the hell was she doing here?

"What- why- I don't understand" I said shaking my head

"I had to come see you and tell you that it's over. I can't do this anymore. Goodbye Josh" she said walking out of the room. I ran after her but it was too late, she was gone.

I jumped out of my dream breathing heavy as if I just literally ran for her. I looked around and saw my mom and brother around me with worried faces.

"Oh baby your up" my mom said hugging me. I hugged her back and looked at Caleb. He wasn't looking at me much and I understood why.

"Wait what happened?" I asked sitting up

"Me'Arah said you were going really hard and you passed out. You hit your head pretty hard and they said you have a slight concussion so you need to relax for the next week or so" my mom said rubbing my head.

"Can I talk to Caleb alone please?" I asked everyone that wasn't Caleb. They all left the room and me and him sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Caleb, I'm sorry bro. You already know I'm not like that and I would never yell at you" I said

"I know Gup, you was just mad and I get that but I think you and Mo need to- don't fucking say it" I said angrily

"Look, there you go getting mad again. This relationship is making you toxic as fuck and I don't want no parts of it" he said walking out and slamming the door. I grabbed a pillow and put it over my face and screamed.

...
Later that night, I was laying in bed and thought about what woo said. Maybe he was right. Maybe I should just end it with her. This relationship brings too much stress to me and makes me angry. I picked up my phone and dialed her number.

"Hello?"
"We need to talk but you need to listen first" I said sternly
"Go ahead"
"You know I love you and I would do anything for you but I can't do this right now. My heart has been hurting for the past two days knowing that you had to leave and then you just leaving without anyone knowing. I can't keep doing this, so at least for right now we need to break up" I said holding back tears

All she did was sniffle and sigh

"I don't blame you for leaving me. It's my fault that this relationship has turned into shits. Just know I never meant to hurt you Joshua. You know I love you and that will never change. Take care of yourself"

"You too Monica"