They Don't Know || Chapter 4 Part 2
SPEACIAL THANKS AND SHOUT OUT TO THE WRITIER OF FAMOUS LOVE HURTS FOR HELPING ME EDIT AND FEEDBACK DURING THE WEEKS THAT I HAVE BEEN WRITING THIS STORY! READ HER TREY SONGZ LOVE STORY FEATURING THE BEAUTIFUL AND STYLISH KELLY ROWLAND AS HER LEADING LADY
Elle had always been the good kid.She had good grades in middle and high school. She went to church when she wasn’t on tour during big holidays. She dated good boys, very handsome boys. But this, this wasn’t like her at all. Elle didn’t date men who belonged to other women. She didn’t have huge Hollywood scandal. She was pretty low key, the spotlight wasn’t something that sh4 lived for. She just wanted to do everything in the name of her art. We got in her car after stepping off of the elevator.
“Draya I know you…” Elle started to say but I raised my hand cutting her of briefly.
“Shhh…” I said sitting back in my passenger seat closing my eyes. I didn’t know how I felt. Was I angry because my best friend kept the biggest secret in the world from me? Was I disappointed because she was sleeping with someone else’s husband? Happy because she had taken the biggest risk of her life or even sorry because I knew what being with Iman had done to her? She had beat herself up so much over him and how things didn’t work out for them. He had literally almost broke her spirit. I looked at her and started laughing in my own confusion.
“He’s why you’ve been so hesitant today isn’t he?” I asked and she nodded. I smiled and pulled her into a hug and then began to laugh again. “You have made yourself a bed that you are going to have to lie in one day, and I’ll be here.” I said and she took a deep breath before there was a knock on her side of the car. Elle rolled down the window to be greeted by Trey. That man was going to get my best friend in trouble that I knew I wouldn’t be able to get her out of. He took off his tinted aviator sunglasses and squinted in the summer sun. I shot him an ugly look before pulling the sun visor down and applying more lipstick but listening closely to their conversation.
“Are we still meeting at the studio this afternoon?” He said and I rolled my eyes.
“The studio? Oh right. Yeah at 7. I’ll be there. But I have to go. I’ll have my person call your people? How does that sound?” Elle said a little bit of bitterness in her voice. I chuckled at her and the both of them before biting my tongue forcing myself to stop.
“It was nice to meet you Draya.” Trey said and I rolled my eyes.
“Yeah, uh huh. You too.” I said still looking in the mirror. Nice to meet you too you lying cheating bastard. Trey waved and Elle pulled off without rolling her window back up.
“Don’t.” Elle warned as I smiled at her.
“Don’t what?” I asked innocently. “Don’t say anything. I know.” She said.
Even though I knew Draya was right I didn’t want to hear it from her. I basically already knew what she was thinking. Though I knew she was far from judging me I knew she wasn’t hesitant to judge him. She wasn’t good at keeping her opinions to herself. That was what I love from her but arty the moment, I didn’t think I could take it.
“Just be here for whatever.” I said to her and she smiled.
“Yeah I ain’t going anywhere, I’m in too deep with you girl.” She said. “But I’m proud of you, I guess.”
“Proud?” I asked puzzled. “You’re proud of me?”
“Well, I mean I never had a running affair with someone’s husband. Maybe slept with a few people that I shouldn’t have but look at you taking risks and shit. This has to be the most edgy thing you’ve ever done. Well apart from the time when you…” She started to say until I put my hand up cutting her off.
“We’re not going to talk about that.” I said and Draya zipped her lips.
“So are you going to see him after you drop me off? Is that going to the studio means?” Draya asked.
“The studio is more like his condo. Me and him have a lot of talking to do.” I said.
“So he brings you to the condo that he stays with his wife in? Elle maybe you-”
“No the condo is his and Tae stays in like a personalized hotel suite or or something. I have keys to his condo.”
“Girl you got keys that his wife ain’t even got. Super Head and Kat Stacks should be jealous.”
“He got this car too.” I mumbled and I could feel Draya burning holes in the side of my head.
“He got money!” She cried and I rolled my eyes. “Do you think he need… You know what, forget it.” She said dropping that subject when I looked at her as if I was going to literally bite her head off. We arrived at the front of her condo and I pulled the car to a stop unlocking the door on her side. She pulled me into another hug and I kissed her cheek.
“No more secrets okay?” She said looking at me and I nodded. Draya got out of the car and slammed the door behind her.
I wish I had time to exhale when my phone began to ring. I pulled away from the curb and put my phone on speaker.
"Hello?" I sang into the receiver and I heard a manish laugh.
"I wish I could sing and come up with a worthy response for that. Hello beautiful." Blake said I smiled dropping my phone in the cup holder.
"Blake what do I owe the pleasure of this call?" I said
"Well I just got in from playing some ball at Rucker and I was getting hungry so I was wondering if you wanted to get something to eat." he said and I sighed.
"I’ll be there in a few, I’m actually driving through Harlem now I just got out of Brooklyn. I had a fitting for my parties so should I meet you outside the park?" I asked
"Yeah, just meet me outside, I’m signing some autographs. You in your white car?" he asked.
"You mean my only car, yeah." I said chuckling.
"Alright, I’ll catch you in a few then alright?" He said
"Yeah, don’t keep me waiting boy." I said and hung up the phone. I continued to drive getting off of the expressway. Within a few moments I was across the street from Rucker park. I watched Blake as he signed autographs with a few other players. Girls in short shorts and crop tops flocked around them hoping just to get an ounce of attention as well as the boys aspiring to get out of the hood and become pro ballers just like them. Almost tempted to honk my horn to get their attention I waited patiently for Blake to walk over to my car. When he opened the door and placed his duffel bag in the back seat I was instantly reminded of the strong stench of sweat and deodorant that use to fill my apartment whenever Iman came over after a long work out.
"Damn niggas can’t shower? I forgot y’all be smelling this bad." I said in a nasally voice as I held my nose closed.
"Shower where? In the park?" Blake let out a hearty laugh and leaned closer to me. "Come on Elle, you know you want some loving. Give me a hug, you know you want to." He said and I squealed trying to get as far away from as possible, even though there wasn’t really anywhere to escape to in my little car. After he finally got what he wanted I didn’t hesitate to pull the roof of my car down to air everything out. Then we pulled off from the curb before any more attention could be grabbed by the superstar basketball player in the passenger seat of my car, the customized Mercedes Benz and myself.
"So what do you want to eat?" I asked and he shrugged his shoulders.
"Anything, it’s cool." he said and I looked at him.
"I have food at my place." I said and looked at me an eyebrow raised.
"Are you trying to get me back to your place? Elle Varner! I can’t believe you." he said gasping and I rolled my eyes driving straight up to the Upper East Side of Manhattan I pulled my car into the private parking lot and led him to the elevator and up to my floor.
"So how was your day?" Blake asked as he walked into the elevator and I put my key in the elevator to send us all the way up to one of the penthouse floors.
"Stressful especially when trying to work on two events at the same time. Do you know how difficult it is to see a stylist as a girl?" I said.
"That hard huh?" he asked.
"Son, it’s like not fun. Shopping is so much more fun and between you and me, Lashontae is kind of a handful, she’s a mess." I said and he nodded looking down at me.
"So am I going to get my invite for your parties?" he asked and I scrunched up my face.
"Do I even know you like that?" I teased. "No, of course you don’t get an invite."
"Wow, Elle!" he exclaimed as the elevator door opened and I walked off going to my front door when I was thrown over his shoulder.
"So are you going to keep me up here or are you going to let us in?" I asked unamused. I dug around in my purse and grabbed for my keys and they were immediately snatched out of my hands. I felt him fumble with the locks and keys and eventually he made his way into the apartment dropping me on the sofa.
"You literally dropped me from like seven feet in the air." I said looking up at him as he stood over me with his arms folded over his chest.
"Well, maybe it’s because you said that we weren’t friends and I couldn’t get an invite. And it’s only like 3 or 4 feet relax." he said and I burst into a fit of laughter at how such a large man could sound so immature. I held my stomach and shook my head sitting up.
"You’re such a kid." I said finally relaxing and he rolled his eyes his duffel bag slung across his shoulder.
"Where’s the bathroom?" he asked and I led the way to my apartment and grabbing a towel from the closet and hung it on the towel rack. I closed the door behind me and walked back into the living room.
Walking into the kitchen I looked through the cabinets and then in the fridge finding some leftover pasta that my mother had made me last time she was over for dinner and placed it in the oven. I started to close the cabinets until my phone rang.
"Hello?" I said cheerfully.
"Hello beautiful." Trey said and I leaned on the counter.
"Sweet talking and I only saw you like a little more than a hour ago? Where are you? Still with Lashontae?" I asked crossing my arms.
"No, I left right after I spoke to you. I was thinking that I come over by your place tonight a little earlier than seven, I have to fly out of town around midnight." he said.
"How much earlier?" I asked twiddling my thumbs as I listened to the shower turn off.
"Maybe in an hour or two around five-ish?" he said. I watched Blake come out of the bathroom and down the hall shirtless in a clean pair of pants and his socks and his shoes. He fumbled around with his shirt as he attempted to put it on. God, his body was amazing.
"Five-ish? I guess." I asked.
"So what’s for lunch?" Blake asked.
"Who’s that?" Trey asked.
"I have to go, see you at five alright?" I said and hung up the phone.
"Who was that?" Blake asked and i placed the phone down on the counter.
"Umm, Annais. She’s coming at five to finish some final confirmations for the VH1 event." I wrung my hands together and slid my phone back into my back pocket. "So how does left over pasta sound?"
"Pasta? Sounds good to me." he said and I smiled.
"Good, because that’s literally all I have left." I laughed and he shook his head sitting at the breakfast bar that looked into the little kitchen.
"So did I get an invite to your birthday party and VH1 event?" Blake asked.
"You better have. I mean I made sure I sent them out, yesterday, but they’ve been sent out none the less. Why?" I said.
"Just curious." he said and I pulled the food out of the oven and placed the food on two plates.
"So would I be your date, just a friend, or what?" he asked as he started to eat his food.
"What do you want to be at the event?" I asked slowly.
"I mean I wouldn’t mind being your date." he said and I smiled.
"You like me." I sang before taking another bite of my food.
"Don’t get hype." he said and I wrinkled my nose causing him to laugh. "You alright, I just want to make sure I ain’t have to call like, Rita Ora you know, get a quick date for then."
"Rita Ora?" i said laughing.
"I heard from one of my boys that she may have a thing for me." he said shrugging and I laughed a little harder.
"I heard she may have a thing for… You know what, nevermind." I mused taking another bite of my food. We continued to eat in silence, well, at least Blake did. I finished long before he did because he had yet another helping.
"Yo, your mom can really throw down." he said.
"She’s black and super southern. I think it’d be a sin if she couldn’t." I laughed washing the dishes and put the remaining dishes in the fridge.
"So you gon’ cook for me like that one day?" he asked.
"One day? I don’t know." I shrugged my shoulders. "i don’t cook for just anybody."
"Yo, I know you cook for whoever you supposed to be meeting here at five." he said and I looked back at him as he handed me a his now empty plate.
"What? You mean Annais?" I said.
"I know you weren’t on the phone with her, but whatever, it ain’t my place to ask." he said and I turned off the water and quickly busied myself with wiping down the counter. "Why didn’t you ask whoever it was on the phone to accompany you for the events?"
"Umm, I didn’t want to." I lied. I wanted Trey more than anything to be my date for the events. But I was more than aware that there was no way that would happen. "I wanted to go with you." I placed the wet rag in the sink and had Blake follow me to the couch and cut on the television. I immediately flipped to Adventure Time that was on Cartoon Network.
"So do you sit in the house with him and watch cartoons?" he asked.
"Why are you so worried about him?" I asked pulling my knees up to my chest and rested my chin on my knees. Blake rested his long limbs comfortably. His arms spread on the back of the couch and one of his legs propped up on the couch.
"Just assessing the competition." he said and I shook my head.
"Well, we don’t need to talk about him. He’s not that important. You shouldn’t worry about him, you don’t have to… But no, we don’t." I mumbled.
"Then why are you so far?" he asked waving me closer. I let out a heavy sigh and slid across the couch as Blake pulled me in to him cuddling me close. "See this isn’t so bad, Elle." I rested my head on his shoulder and we sat quietly watching cartoons.
Here I was sitting with decent guy who I had just met who was interested in me and I couldn’t keep someone else’s man out of my head. Focusing on the cartoon was difficult. Jake and Finn had some how pulled themselves into some sort of adventure, just like ever episode. How could I be so selfish, wanting my cake and eating it too. Blake was nice, funny, cute, generally good from what I could tell. And I was playing him. We were just friends, but what would happen when he eventually wanted more.
"I should go." he mumbled as if he had fallen asleep. I looked at him and realized that my assumption was right. His eyes looked sleepy and I sat up.
"Why?" I asked and he sat up while I moved back.
"Well it’s almost like 5 and I don’t want to know who this guy trying to make some moves with you." he said laughing and I rolled my eyes standing up straightening out my top. He walked over to his duffel and picked it up placing it over his shoulder and I walked him out and to the elevator.
"Adventure Time was delightful." he said and I wrinkled my nose once more at his choice of words.
"You fell asleep. I would have thought that you could hang with Finn and Jake." I teased shoving my hands in my front pocket of my jeans he rolled his eyes as the door opened for the elevator.
"Nah, maybe next time." he said kissing my forehead and stepping into the elevator and the doors closed slowly behind him. I hurried back into the apartment and straightened out the pillows that sat on the couch and felt my phone vibrate in my back pocket.
"Im in your garage, should I wait for you to come down to meet me?" Trey asked on the other line.
"Yeah, I’ll come down now. Meet me at the elevator." I said and hung up the phone and back out of the elevator and took it down to the garage right where Trey was waiting for me. He approached me in the corner of the elevator and pressed his lips softly against mine. I placed my hand on his chest pushing him away as I pressed my button for my floor.
"You handled this afternoon pretty well." Trey said and i looked at him narrowing my eyes at him.
"Were we at the same meeting, or nah?" I asked stepping out of the elevator as we went straight up to the elevator.
"You did. You didn’t snap, or cause a scene. You have all your hair. I think this afternoon went pretty well." he said and i looked at him nervous.
"All of my hair? Are you saying that you’ve been in this situation before?" I crossed my arms over my chest tapping my foot.
"With Tae? Yeah, she’s grabbed a few girls by the hair a few times at clubs before she was Lashontae. But with you, she hesitated. I don’t know why, but she did." He walked into the living room sitting where Blake once did and I sat comfortably on his lap.
"You two are certainly something else." I mumbled.
"We used to be something else." he looked me in the eye. "Now we’re just like everyone else."
"Life, as cliche as that sounds. Fame changes people. It’s as simple as that."
"So is that what happened? "
"Fame and a broken heart." he said shrugging his shoulder.
I punched her in the face, wrapped her hair around my hand and just punched her. I was sick of seeing her in Trey's face, the bubble gum pink lipstick and the prosthetic tits and ass to match the Yaki weave in her hair. Who the fuck even wore Yaki weave? Trey looked at me stunned from the top of the loft as I let go of the girl. I hadn't even given her time to step off of the last step before acting the way that I did. Trey had told me time and time again that I just couldn't respond like that. Especially not now. This wasn't Georgia and he couldn't sweet talk paparazzi the way that he once was able to with our teachers as children.
I looked at Trey rush down the steps and I fled from the building and hopped right in my car. I glanced in my rear view mirror and say him pushing his way out of the door trying to get to me but I was already gone.
How the fuck dare he? Did he really think that I wouldn't catch him lip locking with that Store brand looking version of me? He lucky he wasn't the one to come down those stairs because it would have been him with the broken nose instead of her. I was fucking livid. I felt the tears falling freely from my eyes and when I stopped at my little walk up apartment in Harlem I was finally able to take a deep breath and wipe my eyes.
Walking all the way to the fifth floor I took off my Gucci shoes that he got me last week and threw them across the room knocking over a picture frame as they landed next to my bedroom door.
I wiped a tear off my cheek. Sick and fucking tired. Nothing was good enough. Nothing that I ever did was ever good enough. Not for him, not for work, not for school. I was the one who wanted to take him and his boys out tonight to celebrate his second number one single off of is debut album. It wasn't big like I was sure they were used to at this point, but it wasn't a reason to completely treat me like I didn't exist all night. I was fucking Lashontae Heckard soon to be Neverson goddamnit and I damn sure deserved better than that. I was the next biggest thing according to Anna. Anna as in Anna Wintour that is.
Maybe i should just pack up and go home. My father always told me that I should. “Forget about that boy and come back home to Atlanta. Following him around while he’s trying to become all that he wants isn’t going to get you very far Tae. I know you got that little spread in that big magazine but maybe the big city life ain't for you baby.” he constantly scolded over the phone. I knew he was right to an extent. But I knew that there was no way that I could ever go back to Atlanta. Not to sit at home and do the same thing that everyone else was doing. I didn’t want to stay a cashier at 7-11 for the rest of my life. That would be ridiculous.
Trey and I always had plans. He was best friend, my lover and hopefully one day the man that I married. If only he wasn’t so hesitant. He was going to be a huge musician that would sing world wide and I would be a world renowned stylist. That’s all I ever wanted. To dress people as beautifully as they felt. People like Beyonce and Elle Varner and Paris Hilton would have to come to me because there would be no one who could do my job better.
But now, Trey lived his dream. He had his album and parties all over the country and he wasn’t slowing down. He wouldn’t slow down, not for a small town girl who he knew would stick by his side. Not for a girl he knew would stand by him no matter what. I knew he often told himself after finishing with they gilded beauties of the hip hop industry “She’ll be home when I get there.” But what if I wasn’t?
I walked into my bedroom as my sleepy Pomsky puppy, Koko, perked up when she saw me and ran around my legs. Packing a small duffel bag I stuffed it with some clothes and make up and the doggy bag prying her into it. I couldn’t stay here anymore. I couldn’t waste my life waiting for a boy who wasn’t going to slow down, not even for love.
I pulled my hair up into a messy bun and put a pair of sweatpants over my mini dress and threw on a jean jacket with the duffel bag thrown over my shoulder. I crouched down in front of Kiko and heard a door slam. Kiko let out one of her high pitched barks and jumped out of the the bag and out of the room. I stood up and saw Trey crouched down to rub her head in front of the door. When he saw my barefeet in front of him he looked at me and stood up.
"Where are you going?" he asked me as I watched the floor and slid on my Keds.. He was drunk but he certainly wasn’t fucked up. I’m sure he had someones driver drop him off or something. There was was pink lipstick on his shirt and I couldn’t help but let out a slightly nervous laugh.
"I’m leaving Trey. I’m gone." I said trying to push my way past him but he stood in the doorway like a brick wall.
"Leaving? Without talking about what the fuck happened back there? Where you going?"
"I said I’m leaving. I’m out. I saved up some money, maybe buy a ticket back home, but I don’t think I can stay here with you. So I’m leaving." I shrugged my shoulders. He took a step back and looked at me
"Tae you can’t leave. I need you. Come on lets talk about this." he said trying to grab my hand but I pulled my hand away from him.
"There ain't a damn thing to talk about Trey. Tonight was it. I can't do this with you. I can relinquish all my power to you and get treated the way that I do. It ain't fair."
"You know what ain't fair? That girl's broken nose ain't fair." He said and I laughed.
"She got in the way. It was going to be your nose if you would have came downstairs first." I said.
"I did it once when we were thirteen and I damn sure wouldn't hesitate to break it again thirteen years later. Explain that injury to Perez Hilton nosy ass." I crossed my arms over my chest and looked at him. He clenched his jaw and looked down at the ground.
"You ain't have to punch her." he said.
"You ain't have to put this expensive ass ring on my finger if you ain't mean it." I said/
"If I ain't mean it? I wouldn't have put it on your finger if I ain't mean it, Tae! You can't act like that Lashontae. You just can't lash out in public like that as if people ain't watching." he said
"You don’t need me. Tremaine, you have everything you need right here. Your music, your bitches and your friends. You don’t need me." I said.
"You aren’t going anywhere, okay? What’s wrong with you?" I turned my face away from him and he turned my face to look at him. "What’s wrong?"
"Ask the Krasdale knock off looking girl with polyester hair, bitch who got pink lipstick all over you! Ask her! She probably knows! Or the bitch that called your phone 2 weeks ago. Maybe they all know what’s wrong and maybe you should talk to them about what could be fucking wrong!" I yelled
"Tae!" he yelled at me and I dropped my bag on the floor.
"What Tremaine! What the fuck do you want from me. I’m done. I can’t do this anymore."He looked down at the pink lipstick on his shirt then back up at me.
"I... I..." he started to say.
"What could you possibly say, right now."
"I'm sorry." He said rubbing the back of his head and I dropped my duffel bag on the ground.
"No you aren't. Tomorrow is going to be the same thing and do will the next day and the day after that." I hadn't realized that tears were consistently falling from my eyes until Trey wiped my tears and pulled me in to him holding me tight.
"You can't leave Tae. I need you..." he mumbled his face buried in the crook of my neck. I sighed taking a deep breath and wrapped my arms around his body. "Don't..." he mumbled and i nodded becoming choked up. I nodded my head, my tear stained cheek against his chest.
"I'm not going anywhere... Okay? I'll always be at home waiting. Trey, I love you."
