Untameable (BWWM)

Chapter 17

The door slammed behind me as I entered through the kitchen and high tailed it to our en-suite. I removed the dish towel given to me by the hostess and started picking out the shards of glass still imbedded into the palm of my hand. It hurt like a son of a bitch but through self-discipline and perseverance, I was able to remove them all. I grabbed a bottle of rubbing alcohol from the mirror cabinet and braced myself as I poured a generous amount onto the cuts.

"Fuck," I swore through gritted teeth. Wrapping my hand in gauze we kept in a mini first aid kit, I was able to bandage myself up somewhat decently.

I was prepared to leave out the bathroom when I caught myself in the mirror. It was the first I'd really looked at myself in hours. My face had actually worsened since Z left, as I had expected it to with my eye having turned dark purple and my lip more swollen than I remembered.

I'm over here taking beatings for this woman while she's out with some other mother fucker.

What a fucking coincidence. This is exactly what Z had warned me about. He said if I wasn't careful, another man would swoop in and snatch Ruby Jean right from under me and he was damn sure right about that. It literally had only been a handful of hours since he made the comment.

I haven't been much of a hard drinker since my twenties but after seeing Ruby Jean with that other guy, I headed straight for the Remy Martin display my Dad gave me for my birthday earlier this year.

I sat down at our dining room table with the crystal decanter and an accompanying glass along with it. I poured myself a drink and thought long and hard if I actually wanted to drink it. I wanted —needed— to drown my misery. I was more irate and unstably angry than I have been in years. And if Ruby Jean arrived home with me in an even more unsound state of mind, no telling what I'd do.

But I was so fucking mad. I have never felt so low and abandoned. My stomach churned and I felt like I would puke at any given moment. I was almost too sick to drink and so disgusted by this level of betrayal. I wasn't sure how to handle it. I've never been in a relationship before, let alone, cheated on so this was all very new, as well as unwelcome territory.

I couldn't get over how happy she looked. That smile. The laughing that could be heard over the crowd of people. I haven't heard her laugh like that in weeks. Ruby Jean's been sullen and moody this whole time but tonight she was so cheery and carefree. She used to be that way with me and now she's seeking this contentment from someone other than myself.

"'An old friend from high school'," I mumbled to myself, using her exact words.

It had to be her ex-boyfriend. J'Marion, I recalled his name. She spoke of him off and on throughout the years but she never provided much info on the two of them other than that he was her first love and they shared a mutually respectful relationship and eventual breakup.

It was difficult to really access their encounter to begin with. As I mentioned before, they didn't appear to be romantic. They did look like friends but friends could become a whole lot more especially when they have been more.

Not to mention Ruby Jean's life long goal of obtaining a black husband and family. She hasn't spoken of it much since we've officiated our courtship but I know what's up. Ruby Jean may not be talking about it to me but I know she's thinking about how things could've been. With this ex of hers conveniently submarining while she and I are on less than ideal terms, who's to say she's not actually reconsidering her whole life with me?

My mind was starting to go all over the place just from watching them together in a public setting. I began to wonder what had they done in private. A kiss? Sex? Exactly, how far had this gone?