Don't Hide From Me

Thinkin' Bout You

Chresanto's P.O.V :

I sat down in the middle of the walk-in closet and started pulling out boxes.

It's was about 7:30 that evening. My girlfriend, Justice was out with her girls while I stayed at home with my son, Trey.

Most of the boxes were filled with unpacked clothes, but then I came across one huge box. It looked familiar, but I didn't remember it. I looked around it for tags and found "Old Memories" written in silver Sharpie. I paused for a moment, then tore the box open. Then it's like something jumped out in my face. I pulled out a picture of me and my ex-girlfriend Toni-Ann.

I haven't seen her in what, two years..?

I went through the entire box in under an hour, soaking in memories from our past. It's amazing how many pictures we had! But it all rounded up to that dreaded night two years ago...

__FLASHBACK__

The house was upside down... There was glass on the floors. One of the windows was shattered. And nearly every room in the house looked as if a earthquake came through. My shirt was ripped, my body was covered in scratches and bruises, and I had a black eye. Toni-Ann had a black eye as well, her hair was thrown out of the perfect bun, her dress hung off her shoulder, and blood streamed from her neck and arm. I stood on one side of the room and Toni-Ann stood on the other. She held a knife in her hand, however, I didn't have a nearby weapon.

"Why are we always going through this shit?!" I yelled at her.

She yelled back, just as loud, "Because you're a bastard that can't keep his fuckin' hands to himself!!"

I rolled my eyes, "Oh my fucking God, Toni!! I didn't do anything with Justice!"

She took a step towards me, "I never said her name.... But now, it's the fact that you keep lying to me!! I never lie to you, Chres! Not once have I ever lied to you! Even the things I didn't want you to know, I still told you!!"

"Oh, Please!" I mocked, "What about Raquan?! Huh?! You used to fall for the Phillipino nigga!"

"I told yo' black ass that I didn't like him!! Everyone told you!!" She screamed.

I paused.

We already settled that crap before.

Damn...

Toni-Ann threw the knife on the couch and looked at me. Her eyes were filled with tears and one rolled down her face. I was furious, but my heart still dropped.

"You lied to me, Chresanto," She said through her tears, "I caught you with that skanky hoe one too many times in this house. I looked through your phone and saw every single nude picture and nasty text you both sent to each other. I even found a few of her belongings around here... I couldn't take it! But I still stayed with you."

I spoke up, "If you couldn't take it, why did you stay?!"

She stared at me, "Why did I stay...? I stayed because I love you, Chresanto!! I stayed faithful to you because I thought you'd be faithful to me!! I stayed because I can't imagine not waking up to you in the morning... Or not even getting to see the face of the one I gave my all to... But I guess I wasted my time..."

Toni-Ann grabbed her phone and keys and walked to the front door. I walked after her, grabbing her arm. She snatched away from me and stared at me in anger.

"I'm not dealing with this anymore, Chres... I'm leaving."

"Where are you gonna go?" I asked her.

She smiled sarcastically, "Oh-ho!! Now you care about me?! Well wooptie-doo! Wooptie-fucking-doo!!"

I gave up and shook my head, "You know what. Fine... Just go."

Toni-Ann opened the door.

"Have a nice life! The next guy won't give you the freedom I gave you!" I called out to her.

She glared back at me, "I hope that the next girl will make your life a living hell... No one will love you like I did."

She stormed out the door and slammed it after her. I walked around the living room, scanning the place. Then, the rage built up inside me and I punched the wall, creating a hole and chipping the paint. I pulled my hand away and stared at it. It started to bleed. I dropped to the floor and buried my face in my lap.

__END OF FLASHBACK__

I snapped out of the flashback and looked around. All of the pictures were still surrounding me. I looked back in the box and found old clothes that me and Toni-Ann couldn't fit anymore. I separated Toni-Ann's clothes from mine and put them in a separate box. I put a few of the pictures in the same box, then put everything else away. Shortly, my three-year-old son walked into the closet, dragging his favorite blue blanket behind him.

"Hey, buddy!" I said to him, "Why are you up?"

Trey rubbed his eyes, "I can't sleep... Where's Mommy?"

"She's still out with friends." I told him.

I pulled him into my lap and cradled him in my arms. Trey looked around me and picked up a picture of me and Toni-Ann. We were at a family barbecue in the photo.

"Who's that?" Trey asked, looking at the picture.

I looked down at him, "That's me and my ex-girlfriend..."

"Ex-girlfriend?" He looked up at me.

"Yup!" I nodded, "I'll tell you more when you're older."

Trey nodded and laid his head on my chest, slowly falling back to sleep. I wrapped him up in his blanket and stood up. I walked over to the bed and laid him down between the huge pillows. Trey curled into a ball and snuggled against the pillow. I kissed his forehead and walked back into the closet. I closed the box and pushed it back in its original place. Then I picked up the box with Toni-Ann's stuff in it and set it on the top shelf of the closet. I looked at the clock.

8:02

I walked over to the bed and sat down, grabbing the home phone from its stand. I dialed a number and put the phone to my ear.

The phone rang a few times, then Toni-Ann's voicemail picked up. The sound of her voice sent chills down my spine.

I haven't heard it in so long...

"Hi, It's Toni-Ann Parker! Sorry I missed your call, but please leave your name, number, and the reason why you called. I will get back to you ASAP. Thanks! Peace!"

The voicemail ended. I started to smile, but I quickly straightened up and left a voicemail....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What did he say in the voicemail? Hmm.....