SELFISH •L.B•

63

recap

"One day he's gonna hurt you real bad, and no one will help you. You know that right?"

Mari knew there was truth to what Jalen was saying, but she was too distracted by the movement going on in front of her. Kelly had spotted her and she put her finger to her lips, telling him not to make a sound.

Luckily he got the hint because he nodded and managed to drag the other males with him away.

Kelly- I think I saw something over there.

He pointed the opposite direction of where Mari was sitting and like dogs, the others went over.

Mariah- Oubre is a walking W, he just directed Melo and his meat munchers away.

She said once they were nowhere near her. Jalen looked at her in confusion, lost as to why she just changed the conversation.

Jalen- That's nice, now can we get back on topic?

Mariah- Yes I know no one's gonna help me but in my defense, I didn't ask for help to begin with. I was fine on my own.

Mari was over people telling her that if she kept acting the way she did, no one would help her.

Jalen- No you weren't. Cause I bet a thousand dollars that if you didn't go missing when you did, you would've been dead.

He was right. There was no telling what would've happened to her if she stayed in those handcuffs. Her life very much could've ended. Especially if she had no access to food or water.

Jalen- On top of that, you still haven't told me why you left Charlotte.

Mariah- I don't want to talk about it.

Mari wasn't ready to open up to anyone about what Melo did to her that night. Some nights she'd wake up terrified that everything was just a dream and she was still handcuffed to her bed, bleeding through the t-shirt wrapped around her abdomen. She hadn't even been back to that apartment out of fear that Melo would be there like he was last time.

Everytime Gelo left the house to go to practice, Mariah was terrified that Melo would somehow find her and hurt her again. After he found out she stayed with O, she began constantly worrying about if she'd be found. If he could find her there, he could find her anywhere, was her mentality.

Yeah, it was easy telling her to just leave him alone but it like always; better said than done. He was all she knew and she had a tendency to block out the bad so she could only focus on the good times, and that's where Melo's "I love you"'s came in.

Once he said those three words, all the bad just temporarily goes away. LaMelo knew this and it's how he's kept her under his control for so long.

But now that people knew about the abuse, it was getting harder and harder for him to get alone time with her. All he needed was an hour or two of him telling her what she needed to hear and she'd be his again.

Jalen- Can you at least tell me how long he's been hitting you?

The older girl almost jumped at his voice, she'd been lost in her own thoughts.

Mariah- Uhh, it started when I was sixteen.

On the other side of the phone Jalen's eyes widened. He couldn't believe no one knew about this until she was twenty.

Jalen- You're telling me this nigga's been beating yo ass for four entire years, and it's just NOW went public?!

Mariah- Technically it wasn't four years, because I moved away after I graduated. So more like two years and four months if you count the beginning of this year.

Jalen- Doesn't he have a girlfriend? Why's he hitting you if y'all aren't together?

Mariah- Funny you say that because most of the time I get hit it's when we aren't together.

Melo's logic made zero sense to Jalen. He knew he had to be on something, and it wasn't just weed. This had to be pure hardcore crack.

Jalen- Oh yeah, that nigga's crazy. What are you still doing in that city? You need to leave North Carolina asap.

Mariah- And go where, exactly?

Jalen- Texas. Come be with me in Houston. If he finds you I got a glock loaded and ready. I'll shoot his lil yellow ass.

The glock part made her laugh. Mariah couldn't imagine Jalen with a gun. The sight was too funny to be true.

Mariah- You ain't got no damn gun. Plus, I'm already staying with someone.

Jalen- I guarantee they don't have a gun.

Mariah- Nigga I don't even think you have one.

Jalen- Stop playing with me Kennedy. You know I'm strapped.

Mariah- Whatever you say, Romande.