I lifted my hand to examine my nails. “Dammit! I chipped one. I should go back out there and whup her ass for that shit.”
Euri wiped his hand down his face before it fell forward. He mumbled, “The fuck!” He squinted. “I don’t know whether I should be mad or just take the shit for what it is.”
Before we could continue our conversation, Torren, the gym manager, came into the hallway. He wore a sympathetic expression. “Bruqlyn, I am so sorry. Our gym has a no violence policy. We’re going to have to revoke your membership.”
I was about to speak, but Euri raised his hands. “That’s fine. I’d like to cancel mine as well. I don’t think I want to be a member at a gym that allows its members to videotape other members in the bathroom and post it on social media. How can we get the refund process started for the remaining months that I paid for and will not use?”
Torren’s facial color was in competition with Santa Claus’s suit. “What do you mean, we allow our members to tape other members in the bathroom? That is completely against our policy to have cameras in the bathroom area.”
While Euri pulled out his cell phone, I decided to respond to Torren’s inquiry. “That’s why I beat her ass. She videotaped me changing in the bathroom. She wanted to expose my skin disorder.”
“This bitch is stupid as hell,” Euri mumbled. He snickered, then turned his attention to me. “Her stupid ass commented under the post with her real page. She must have thought she was under the fake page.” He handed his phone to Torren. “Take a look at that, my man.”
Torren watched the footage, horrified. Euri pointed out the comment from Cece that was from her real page. Someone made a comment that said they couldn’t believe someone would tape a woman in the bathroom. Cece’s silly as responded,“and I did.”
“Bruqlyn, I apologize that this happened. It will be dealt with. Her membership will be revoked as well. Unfortunately, we still have to revoke your membership for the violence,” Torren said.
I understood that and was fine with it. There were plenty of gyms in Charlotte. I loved Leota Fitness and Fight, and I understood that they had to uphold their policies. All I hoped was that they would give my baby his refund, since his only reason for joining the gym was because of me.
Chapter 7
Euri
AShort Time Later…
“Bro, that shit was crazy. That bitch really filed charges on your girl,” Derrick said. “I knew Cece was a weak bitch, but damn. She should have taken thatLand went about her business.”
Our father laughed. “Y’all young ones are different. My woman wouldn’t have had the chance to even attack that girl, because that bitch would have already been fighting the devil in hell.”
We were all chilling at my dad’s house. He called earlier and told us that he wanted all his kids over. We all read through the lines to understand that he was cooking. Karla had came and went.
“Damn, you would murk the girl?” I asked with a titter. “That’s wild. You know that, right?”
My father sat forward in his seat. “Behind your mama? You’re fuckin’ right, I’ll lay a bitch, a nigga, a dog, a roach, or anything that threatens her down.”
Aaron chortled. “You’d do all that, Pops, but couldn’t lay ya dick down? Out here with bitches claiming you’re the pappi.”
Ah shit!My father’s genes were strong as hell. My brothers and I were his twins in looks and personality. With that being said, I knew the fire that was about to come from him would be nothing nice.
“Nigga, who the fuck are you talking to like your existence didn’t come from the tip of my dick? A bitch can claim what she wants to. I can account for every fertilized sperm that came out of this dick tip. As far as lying my shit down, yeah, I was young and foolish,” he admitted. “I’ve been trying to make that shit up to her mean ass ever since. Don’t worry, though. Marsha ass is gonna be where she’s supposed to be soon enough.”
All of us shook our heads. He was dead ass serious. If my mama called him right then and said she wanted to be with him, he’d drop everything and everyone to be with her. Based on the shit over the past few months that I had paid attention, my mama did want to be with him. For whatever reason, her ass was playing hard to forgive. The gag was, I already knew she forgave him a long time ago.
My father and my mama, for that matter, knew about Bruqlyn, but they had yet to meet her. I told them that I wanted to wait until I knew for sure that she was my one. I could confidently say that Bruqlyn was my one. That decision came after a deep conversation after she was released from jail. The day she was arrested, I found out there were layers to my baby that I didn’t know about.
The Week After Gym Fight…
“The fuck do you mean, they came and arrested my baby?” Grant was on my line to tell me that Bruqlyn called him fromjail. They went to her job and picked her up for that bullshit ass fight with Cece.
Grant huffed. “They picked her up about two hours ago. It took a minute for them to process her in. She didn’t want me to call you, but I let her know that it was time for her to let you take care of her. At some point, you have to get to know who she really is.”
What does he mean by that?There was an underlying meaning to his statement. I wasn’t sure exactly what it was, but something told me I would find out.
“Alright, I’m on my way to get her. I told her ass to not jump on anyone, but her feisty ass can’t listen for shit,” I complained. When Bruq ran around me, it took me a minute to fall back into the reality of what the hell was happening. I would admit that I didn’t react immediately because Cece deserved that beat down.
“Good. Text me or Norma when you’re with her so we can fuss some more at her troublesome ass. I’m just happy her ass didn’t have her gun on her.” We both chuckled. Bruqlyn was hell. “Euri, when you get up there, you need to ask for Brooke Jones not Bruqlyn Sampson.”
Creases formed in my forehead. “Who the hell is Brooke Jones, Grant? Why am I asking for her and not Bruqlyn?”
