Bernice

17

October 18
Bernice,
The doorbell woke me up from sleep. I checked the time on my phone. Who is here at two in the morning? I got out of bed and went to open the door but Trina already got to it. Kaylee and Trina are sitting in the living room.

"Kaylee, why are you crying?" I asked. I sat next to her. Kaylee continued to cry. "She has refused to talk." Trina said. I've never seen her in this type of mood before. Something could really be upsetting her or it's her pregnancy hormones. Kaylee is about five months pregnant.

I got up and got a cup of water for her to drink. She drank the water when I handed it to her. "Are you ok to talk?" I asked her. She nodded her head. "I got into a fight with Lonte." She said. She put the glass on the table.

"What happened?" I asked. "I'd rather not talk about it now. Can I spend the night here?" She questioned. "Yes. You can sleep in my room with the kids." I mentioned. Trina got up from where she was sitting and said she's going to bed.

"I'll sleep here on the couch. I wouldn't like to take over your bed." Kaylee refused. "I can't have you sleeping on the couch while you're pregnant. It can get very uncomfortable." I insisted. When she agreed, I took her to my room so she could sleep, then I went into Violet's room.
                                  ~~~~~~

I got up and saw that Violet was gone. She must've left for work. I went into my bathroom which is in my room. I brushed my teeth and did what I had to do. I left the bathroom and noticed that Ashley was up.

"Mommy." She realized. I picked her up. I don't want her waking up Aaron and Kaylee. "Hi mama." I smiled. I took her to the bathroom to change her diaper and brushed her teeth.

We went to the kitchen and saw Trina in the kitchen making breakfast. "Hey ash." Trina tickled her stomach and Ashley started laughing.  I saw that she has eggs on the stove with sausages.

"Kaylee's still sleeping?" She asked. "Yes with Aaron." I stated. "When I was out at the club last night I saw Lonte with some girl that was all over him. He was enjoying it." Trina told me.

Of course she did. All she does is stay home and go clubbing.  "This is why I can't stand most men. There's only a few good ones out there that don't cheat." I thought. "That's true. That's why I'm still single." She agreed.

I put Ashley down and she went to the living room to play with her toys. One thing I like about this house is that there is an open kitchen. It makes it easier to see the kids while cooking.

I warmed up Ashley's milk and gave it to her in a bottle. "Have you heard anything from August?" Trina asked. "No but Jaquan says he's fine. This is the second time he's up and left that I know of and I did that once but for way longer. We keep leaving each other so this should be a sign that there's no hope for us to be together anymore. It is what it is." I shrugged. I put baby shark on the tv for Ashley. That's all she likes to watch and I find it annoying now.

"That's how you feel about my brother and your relationship?" I heard Kaylee's voice. I turned around and saw her coming towards me. "Yeah." I said because I don't have anything else to say.

"August has always fucked things up but if there's one thing that I know for sure is that he has always loved you and always will." She proclaimed. He has funny ways of showing it. "That he definitely does but I do too." I hadn't realized that I said that out loud.
~~~~~~~~~~

"Damn. Lonte's been blowing up my phone." Kaylee turned her phone off. "What's he saying?" I asked. Aaron came and took a bite from the sandwich in my hand and ran back to what he was doing with Ashley. He can't stay in one place and eat.

"He keeps saying he's sorry and wondering where I am." She summarizes. I should tell her about what Trina saw. "What happened last night with you both?" I inquired. She sighed. "He came back home drunk and he called me all sorts of names and how I'm just a fuck up person like my brother." Kaylee responded.

I sat there and listened to all she had to say while rubbing her back. "Trina saw him last night." I started. Kaylee looked at me. "Where?" She asked. "A club." I answered. "What'd he do? What happened?" She inquired.

I sighed. "Men aren't shit. We can't just be letting them treat us like that." I remarked. "Bernice, stop beating around the bush." She raised her voice. I told her what Trina saw. "Fuck him and his whole family." She responded.

"I don't know what you want to do but maybe you should hear his side." I suggested. I went to the fridge to get water. "It won't be the first time he cheated." She mumbled.

Kaylee's got a big heart. Lonte has cheated on her multiple times and she still stayed. I don't think I could handle that. She's a strong person even after all the stuff she went through to be who she is today.