"Tomorrow"
Ch. 2
Everyone was trying to have a good time for the newly engaged couple but their were several people with their minds elsewhere. The soft sounds of Jagged Edge's 'Promise' engulfed the house.
Talia was standing with her arms around Mario as he slowly moved them with the music. She couldn't relax, every time her eyes found Evone, she thought of Jarrell. Memories flooded her mind, she had remembered so many nights alone with him, so many days spent with him before all of it ended.
Mario tightened his grip on her as he whispered, "Are you OK?"
"Fine, just fine, oh Mario I'm so tired." Talia whispered closing her eyes, letting him hold her. It was so funny that the very moment she thought that love was possible for her again Jarrell appeared in her life, the person she had once thought was her only love.
"I know you are, wanna go home? You know Marq won't mind." He asked pulling back and looking into her eyes.
"Yea let me go tell Marq and Brittany bye." Talia smiled, kissing his cheek as she walked away from him.
Mario was watching her walk away when Danielle stood beside him, "So what's going on?"
"We're going home, she's tired, and she's thinking about Jarrell." Mario said turning back to his best friend. Danielle was 5'5, chocolate skinned, and shoulder length thick jet black hair. He had met her in high school and she had been his best friend ever since.
"So how do you feel about that?" She asked rubbing his arm, she knew about Jarrell and Talia because Talia had told her one night while Mario was having a late night at the office.
"Honestly, it bothers me that he stays with her like that, but I'm gonna do my best to be there for her." He sighed looking back at Talia who was hugging her brother.
Danielle liked Talia but she liked Mario more, "What if he worms his way back into her heart?"
Mario sighed looking down at his best friend, "I dunno I'll have to find my solace else where."
Danielle gave a half smile, "You know I'll be there for you."
Mario hugged her close, she closed her eyes and savored the moment, "Yeah I know, you always are."
Meanwhile outside Druex sat with Michelle, and Jerome with his two twin baby girls, Erica and Alexis. Jerome was like a big brother to Druex, the person who kept him in line, tried to teach him right from wrong, and was mostly who he came to for women advice. Jerome had gotten married about 2 years ago, and about 9 months ago his wife Sheena gave birth to twin girls. Jerome was holding Erica, and Michelle was holding Alexis, "So Druex when are you gonna settle with Evone?"
Druex looked at Jerome like he was crazy, "I dunno, I might not, I'm not ready to settle."
Michelle looked at Druex like he was talking from his ass, "Come on Druex, you aren't getting any younger! Omari talking about hitting 30 in less than 2 years, you are 26 you gotta do it sometime. And it might as well be with someone you do care about."
Jerome shifted Erica as she found interest in his earring, "We wouldn't be leading you astray Druex, it's just time to, we aren't saying you need to get married we are saying settle down. Let some of these females go, and you know who I'm talkin 'bout so don't look at me like that, you need to just live life happy with a woman you care about."
"And everybody here knows that, that female is Evone, has been Evone since Jarrell introduced you to her. So why not give up tricks like Kiara, who are just trying to get at yo' back account?" Michelle replied looking at him just as he looked over at Evone who had been talking to Omari.
"Look, I'll think about it." Druex replied standing up about to go over to Evone.
But Jerome stopped him looking him dead in his eye, "But on the real Druex, Evone ain't gon' stay wit you if she find out 'bout Kiara, I can promise you that. So get yo' priorities in check lil nigga; some fine ass female, or the woman you might wanna spend the rest of yo' life with."
All he did was shake his head, "Aiight."
---- Jarrell's House ----
He sat on his floor watching her sleep, Faith had went home earlier pissed he didn't want a second round, he meant to call her and tell her not to come back over but he would do that once this one left. This girl was Telisha, the first woman after Talia, been with her since two hours after they broke up. She was a beauty, inside and out, she brown skinned, about 5'5, her hair was constantly in a bob, at about 165 lbs she had curves that could only contest with Talia's.
Jarrell actually cared about this one, his other two girls were only with him for the sex and the money. He enjoyed pampering Telisha, while taking Jennifer and Faith out was more like pulling teeth. Jarrell often envisioned Telisha as Talia, and often called Telisha Talia after love making.
As he thought of that article and his dream he didn't hear her wake, "Mm, baby what's wrong?"
Jarrell looked up at her, he was on the floor at the foot of the bed and she was now laying at the edge covered merely by a sheet, "Nothin, just thinking."
Telisha never acted like she didn't know about him still being in love with Talia, she just always tried to see by it, "About Talia?"
"Yea, I can't get her off my mind." He said turning his back to her, she stretched her arms out and gently massaged his shoulders.
"I understand, maybe you ought to...try to...get her back." Telisha whispered hoping he'd disagree, she really deeply cared about him, but she wanted him happy too, "You never seem happy anymore?"
He didn't say anything at his doorbell rang thinking it was Evone he stood up, Telisha right behind him only in the sheet headed for the kitchen, see still believing it was Evone he just opened the door. But who he saw when he opened it almost made him slam it right back, their stood a petite, Puerto Rican, with long brown hair.
"Jennifer go home." Jarrell whispered quickly, but she was quick and held the door open a little, just then the dog decided to start barking.
"Shh, Lulu be quiet!" Telisha whispered picking up the puppy she had named Lulu.
"What's wrong? You haven't seen me since Friday? You haven't called, paged, or anything what going on Jarrell?" Jennifer asked demandingly, her eyes were blood shot and her voice was angry.
"Jennifer, it's over go home!" He tried once again catching Telisha's attention, he looked over letting up on the door and Jennifer stormed in.
"Who is this Jarrell?" Jennifer yelled pointing at Telisha who looked over at Jarrell her eyes wide in shock.
"Actually Rell, I would like to know the same thing." Telisha replied turning her nose up at Jennifer.
Jarrell guiltily walked over to the two women and stood in between them looking over at Jennifer, "Jennifer this is my girlfriend Telisha, Lisha this is who I cheated on you with."
Both women gasped in surprise, Telisha yelled and stomped back into his bedroom, and Jennifer walked up to him and smacked him and walked out of his house, slamming the door. Jarrell quickly ran back into his room to find her dressing, mumbling something, "Lisha don't go."
"Don't go? Fuck you Jarrell, I've put up with a lot from you, and this I won't put up with. I stayed with you knowing you loved Talia the whole time, wishing I could fill her place, but now I know nobody but Talia can do that. You see this is why Talia left you Rell! You treated her like she was shit more than likely, and probably ran around on her! No woman want's that shit, I certainly don't." She screamed buttoning her shirt, looking for her heels.
He walked over to her, "Telisha please don't go, I need you here."
"Is that what you told Talia? Smart woman not to listen." She replied grabbing her purse and the puppy. And walking out of his apartment, he called her name endless times but she stepped on that elevator and he knew it was done.
He fell onto his couch and closed his eyes, and mind flew back to a moment much like this one.
"How could you, you sorry son of a bitch!" She yelled walking past him, his nose filled with sweet smell of Strawberry's.
Jarrell stood in front of her put his hand in front of the suitcase she was reaching for, "Talia I love you, I really do, if I didn't I wouldn't have made love to you."
Talia balled up her fist and hit him right in the nose, "Don't ever bring that up again! That was the biggest mistake I ever made, sex doesn't mean a thing to you!"
Jarrell screamed in pain as her fist made contact with his nose, "Shit girl! It did with you, that night was special, because it was your first and it was with me."
"No, no, no, no! Jarrell I refuse to believe that, you know why," She yelled as she threw her closes in the suitcase, "because you fuck anything with the right parts."
"Now come on that's not true Lia." He said trying to make her stop rushing around, still holding his nose.
Talia stopped in the bathroom, turned and looked at him, "Oh I'm sorry, only good lookin things with the right parts. I don't mean to offend you there Jarrell."
Jarrell fought to get straight sentences out his mouth as she walked out the door of their apartment and out his life, "Lia what am I going to do without you?"
"Exactly what you were doing while you were with me, it's not going to hurt you to lose me Rell, I know it won't." She said as the rain poured down heavily on her, she threw her bags in her trunk.
Jarrell ran to her car as she got in, "But it will hurt me Lia, if you don't know that then you don't know me."
Talia started up her car and looked up at him, "I don't think I ever did really know you."
Jarrell sighed loudly, turning over, reached into his coffee table drawer and pulled out a picture. A picture of the only woman in life that he really loved and actually showed it, that was until the day she passed, that's when Talia and his relationship began to fail. His mother was a good, sweet, Christian lady who loved her children more than anything. Before she died she had honestly thought that Talia and he would be married, he thought so too. Last time he spoke to his father, he had told Jarrell that she would be proud of his education and his job, but not the way he was behaving, Jarrell knew that was the truth.
'Sorry Ma.' Jarrell thought to himself and sat the picture on his stomach and closed his eyes.
---- Mario and Talia ----
Mario caressed a small part of her back as they laid side by side, Talia had her head on his chest, and he had his arms around her as she breathed lightly.
"Are you sleep?" She asked tracing the trail of hair on his stomach with her finger.
"Almost, what are you thinking about?" Mario asked twisting a piece of hair between his fingers.
Talia sighed and scooted closer to Mario, "Everything."
"Mmm, good subject. We haven't got a chance to really talk about Jarrell being back." He said laying on his back, leaving her head to lay on his arm.
Talia sighed finding his hand and playing with his fingers, "What's more to discuss? He's back, it's driving me nuts, and I'm scared that I'll never really forget him."
"I don't think anyone is asking you too," Mario replied laying his free hand on his stomach, "I know I'm yo' boyfriend and all but I know Jarrell was like yo first love and all that. You can't forget that."
"I lied to him today, I told him I had forgave him, when I know I haven't." She replied still playing with his fingers.
Mario closed his eyes breathed deeply about to welcome sleep, "You may not, or maybe you need him your life to really truly forgive him."
"I don't want him in my life...but since I have no choice we'll see huh." Talia replied kissing his cheek as she heard him breath deeply again.
He kissed her back laying back and closing his eyes as sleep took over him, "Yea, love you T."
"Love you too Mario, night." She whispered closing her eyes, sleep to her over as she anticipated what the night would bring, what tomorrow would prove.
Her eyes searched around, and she knew where she was, the church hadn't changed since that day, and the people were the same and the casket was the same. But the man in front of the casket was different, he looked older, he looked sadder, he looked desperate.
She stepped slowly to him, looking down at her outfit, as people walked by her like she wasn't there. As she got closer to him she reached out to touch him and she could feel the material but he couldn't feel her. He was talking to the woman in the casket, so she stopped and listened.
"Mama I miss you, I miss her, I miss you." He sniffed as tears from his eyes, his hand found his mothers hand, she thought she saw a slight moment, but his mother was dead. Right?
Her brilliant brown eyes opened and she spoke slowly and softly like she had in life, "Son, life is only a problem if you don't do anything about your failures."
Talia screamed as the dead woman spoke to her son, and Jarrell saw nothing weird about it, she shut her eyes tightly, no one could hear her scream. And when she finally got herself back together and opened her eyes, she was somewhere else. She couldn't put her finger on it but she had been there before. It was a court room, she saw herself speaking to Mario as he prepared, she looked around noticing the three that sat in the back row. She saw Evone who had a pad of paper in her had with a tape recorder in her hand, and Druex was sitting beside her, next to Druex was a pretty brown skinned girl with her hair in a bob, and then there he was again sitting there staring at the back of her head. She looked back at her self and then at him, she hadn't know he was there that day.
Talia walked slowly over to the doors and stepped out of them and into a totally different room, and the first thing she saw was Jarrell and Evone eating, she looked across the restaurant to see her and Mario. As she was about to walk to the table with Mario and her, everything went black and ceiling went gray, and the ground kind of white. And the only person besides her in the room was Jarrell, he stepped to her and he took her in his arms, and they moved to music she didn't hear.
"So do you know what's going to happen?" Jarrell whispered pulling her closer, his strong, intoxicating cologne surrounding her.
"No, I never have Rell, you know that." Talia replied feeling like she was dancing on air, his arms griped her tighter with each moments passed.
"The life you live will all become a front, a fake, a lie Lia. It will all became part of the liars game." He said staring straight into her eyes, something about the way his eyes looked reminded her of the way his eyes had stared right through her at the office.
Talia shook her head, "No, no, only you life is the liars game Rell, I never much liked the game."
"I made love to you remember that?" Jarrell whispered as she tried to let go but his grip was unbreakable.
"No, no, shut up! It was one time, it was nothing!" Talia said as she tried her best to get away from him.
"If it wasn't real why is that every time you think about you get angry, and struggle to get away?" He asked not fighting not moving other than to that nonexistent music.
"Stop, Rell, please. Let me go!" Talia continued to struggle wanting to get away from him, thinking of the truth of his words.
Something somehow got her to stop struggling and he kissed her, something electric went through her body. "Run, run, go ahead Lia. Because no matter how far you go, or who you are with, you will always find your way back to me, so run Lia, run."
And he let go and she fell back on for him to catch her, she said nothing as the room only got darker and she couldn't see him anymore, but she could still feel his arms holding her up. Talia could still hear a whisper of his words, "Run...Run...Run...always...come...back...to...me...always."
"No!" She whispered as she woke up to see Mario laying quietly next to her, she stood up and went to her closet and pulled down an old torn up chest. Quietly opened it and found an old letter from Jarrell.
July 7, 1998
To Talia,
I need to write you to tell you how much I miss you and I do love you. Spending the summer with my family was a good idea, thank you for giving it to me. Mama took me to the Flea Market yesterday and I found something for you, I know you will love it. It's a breath of fresh air to get away from college, really it is. I was thinking, how about when I come back why don't you and I have a night just you and me, nothing more I promise...unless you want that....
Talia threw the letter back in the box with a shake of her head, she couldn't read anymore, it reminded her of the night that he come home. And she made a mistake, and she was not about to make another one by letting him get to her. Talia had been reminiscing on days gone by with Jarrell, it always for some reason made her ache for something.