"What the hell is SHE doing here, Nat?" Hassan said, slamming his door. Natalie went to get out of her vehicle, when Layla grabbed her arm. "Don't...this is a big mistake. Hassan is not good for you. Don't mess up with Vaughn for this liar!" Layla pleaded. Natalie looked at her sister and said, "Lala...calm down. Just wait here." Natalie got out of the truck and asked, "What is the problem? She caught me as I was leaving to meet you. She's not going to say anything to anyone." Hassan said, "SHE is the problem...well BOTH of us are." Layla's heart was beating so fast. She could hear Hassan's words. She was beginning to shiver nervously at the thought of where this was all headed. She'd played this out in her head so many times over the past years since Natalie and Hassan had been broken up. She feared this day and relished it at the same time. She wanted to get out of the car, but fear had her planted in the front seat. Hassan looked at the truck and then at Natalie and said, "Make her get out of the truck, Nat...so we can face this shit now!" Natalie's heart did flips as her belly dipped at the ominous words Hassan spoke. "What do you mean, Hassan? What are you talking about? BOTH of you have been acting strange!" And as the words fell out of her mouth, she realized for the first time what it was that she didn't see before. "WAIT...hold up..." she said as tears stung the corners of her beautiful eyes.”...YOU TWO? You guys are seeing each other?" Now it was Natalie who was planted with no ability to move. She didn't even feel her feet underneath her anymore. She almost fainted, but she just sat against the back of her truck. "For how long? Since you've been back?" she asked him. Hassan went to speak and laid his hand upon her shoulder. With that touch, Natalie was propelled back into her sensibilities and she caught her strength. "GET THE FUCK OFF OF ME!" She walked around Hassan, to the front seat and snatched her car door open. She pulled Layla out by her hair and began wailing on her with no concern for blood ties. "NATALIE...STOP!" Hassan said as he pried her off her sibling. Layla was curled up in a ball with her face bleeding and her hands ineffectively sheltering her face. "Oh my God...are you ok, Layla?" He asked while holding Natalie in a bear hug. She was fighting to free herself which she finally did by biting and breaking the skin on his hand. Hassan wailed in agony. "AAAAAAAAAAAAH SHIT!!!" Natalie began kicking his car over and over. She then got in her own truck and drove off...leaving Layla on the ground for Hassan to pick up.
At the emergency room...Layla sat bleeding from her head, her mouth and her ear, while waiting to be seen. She'd been given a cold compress and a pillow. Hassan stayed with her until Natalie and Layla's mother showed up. Mrs. DaCosta was in disbelief as to Layla's condition. More so due to who had inflicted the punishment. "Thank you for calling Hassan...I never thought I'd see YOU again...and surely not like this." She was in tears and he understood why. He left the ER to go find Natalie. Of course...the park was his first place to look. When he got there, no one was around. He sat there for over a half hour hoping she'd come...she didn't. He finally decided it was time to go home and face Beryl. He had a lot to deal with at home and he had NO clue as to what he was going to say.
Vaughn had followed Natalie. He saw Layla jump into the truck. He saw them pull up next to Hassan's car...even the altercation. He never moved. He just seethed. His blood pressure shot up and he began white knuckling the steering wheel. The idea of Natalie with anyone else wasn't sitting well. He was in love with the beautiful Natalie DaCosta. He'd met her parents months ago. Her mother, Samantha who was Black and her Latino father, Jose DaCosta. He made a return trip to the DaCosta's home just a few weeks ago to formally ask them for Natalie's hand in marriage...and now his potential wife was POTENTIALLY fucking her ex. He didn't know what had gone down, but clearly Layla had betrayed her with Hassan considering how badly Natalie whooped on her ass. He'd have to figure that all out later...in the meantime...he'd followed Natalie to where she now sat…Inside her old apartment with Beryl.
Hassan pulled up to the apartment building where he'd lived with Natalie for 2 years. He now realized that he'd never fallen out of love with her. His need to be close to her was so deeply embedded in him, that he never thought of how it would make Beryl feel if she found out. To Hassan, finding out the SAME apartment that he shared with his young love was available...was simply fate. It was meant for him to return home...even if it wasn't a return to Natalie. Hassan parked the car in a conveniently open space right in front of 485 Roundtree Avenue. He didn't notice Natalie's truck parked right across the street. He clomped up the flight of stairs and rounded the right corner walking until he approached the 2nd door on the right...apartment 205. He put his key in the lock and let himself in...almost shitting himself at the sight. Natalie and Beryl sitting on the couch talking...waiting for him. "What the fuck? Natalie, what the hell are you doing?" Hassan said, slamming the door. Beryl stood to her feet and Natalie followed. Beryl said, "Hassan...how could you do this to us? To ME? To HER!" she said pointing to Natalie. Natalie in a rage had gone back to her old place and knocked on the door, only for Beryl to answer. She introduced herself and reluctantly Beryl invited her in:
"So, what do you want Natalie?" Beryl asked
"I don't know...I just came here out of anger and now I don't know why I'm here." Natalie replied
"Have a seat..."
"Thank you."
Natalie fidgeted with her shirt and ran her fingers through her hair. She cupped her forehead in her palms and then made eye contact with Hassan's fiancée.
Natalie said, "I think I made a mistake...this is wrong for me to be here. I need to go home to my man and let this die."
She moved to get up but Beryl said, "No...sit. Please? I am confused and I need for you to clear some things up for me before I pack my shit and leave...and since you're the only one here...you'll do."
Natalie sat back down and said, "Ok, what do you need to know?"
Beryl explained the events of the evening to Natalie, watching her face go from placid to confused to angry. Beryl told Natalie of the woman who seemed enraged with jealousy and obsession who had confronted her earlier with Hassan...Natalie had deduced it was her sister. Beryl asked Natalie to tell her why she and Hassan broke up and if they'd made contact before the past few days. Just as they were ending the story of how Natalie and Hassan broke up in the first place...Hassan entered. Not knowing what had been discussed...a nervous Hassan launched into explanations unasked of him.
"Look B...we slept together ONCE last week. It was the FIRST time since we broke up. I hadn't seen her or contacted her before then...we didn't even TRY to hook up. We literally bumped into each other twice. I'm sorry that I..." SLAP!!! That's the next thing to be heard ringing through the still undecorated and somewhat empty apartment. He held his face and Natalie covered her mouth in shock. "YOU FUCKED HER? SO THAT’S WHY YOUR ASS BEEN IN THE CLOUDS? IM HERE TRYING TO MAKE A HOME FOR US...IN YOURS AND HER FORMER APARTMENT...DON'T KNOW NO FUCKING BODY...PICKED UP FROM MY HOME TO COME HERE TO MEET YOUR FAMILY AND BECOME YOUR WIFE...AND YOUR ASS IS FUCKING AROUND ON ME WITH THE WOMAN WHO DUMPED YOUR STUPID ASS?" Beryl was yelling and tears were streaming. It hurt Hassan to see her beautiful gray eyes filled with tears he caused. He wanted to reach for her but he was afraid to. She turned around and looked at Natalie. She said, "You can have him...I'm going back home." Beryl went into the room and began packing. Natalie said, "Wow...you need to go in there after her." Hassan said, "No...she belongs home...with her family. She's right. You have my head fucked up, Nat...I'm still in love with you." Natalie began crying and said, "Oh, no...not the same muhfucka who fucked my sister? No, not him..." She moved to the door and he reached for her. She tugged away and said, "Not now. Go talk to her. I'm leaving." As she flung the door open, there stood Vaughn. Vaughn was a shade lighter than Natalie...who was considered a "redbone" so that made him damn near see through. He was beet red and if there were animated effects to exaggerate his mood it would have been steam shooting out of nostrils and ears and he'd be revving his right foot. He wanted to charge but Natalie placed her hands on his chest and said, "NO VAUGHN!! DON'T!" He looked at her with a tear falling slowly and said, "How could you do this shit to me? How could you fuck him? I knew it when you ran to the shower before kissing me or even LOOKING at me." Natalie wanted to keep things from escalating. She said, "Baby...lets go home..." he smacked her hands down and said, "GET THE FUCK OFF ME...WE don't have a home! I do...and when I get home you better have your shit gone or it'll be in the dumpster behind the building!" Before turning to leave he said to Hassan, "You got that pahtnah..." looking Natalie up and down with disgust. Hassan said, "Natalie, don't beg that nigga..." and before Hassan could finish or Vaughn could leave he charged at Hassan like he originally wanted to. Natalie screamed and Beryl came running from the back room. The two fairly large men went slamming into the wood coffee table, turning it into kindling. They wrestled until Vaughn got the best of Hassan and punched him in the jaw. Both women were yelling, "GET OFF OF HIM!!" and only Natalie had the right mind to call 911. She knew that Vaughn did bouncer and security work and could wring the life out of a man. Hassan wasn't down for the count. He got from under Vaughn and managed to get him into a choke hold. He began slamming Vaughn's head against the floor! Vaughn's adrenalin was pumping so fiercely...it was like he didn't even feel it. His nose and mouth were bleeding as was Hassan's. Finally, after making the call...Natalie attempted to break it up while Beryl stood in shock. She tried to pull Hassan off of Vaughn but not before Vaughn used his weight to get out of Hassan's hold. They were all on their feet and as the petite Natalie threw herself between the two men, they both were so bullishly locked on one another, they ignored the feminine frame between them. Somehow she got caught in between them and when Vaughn went to throw Hassan against the wall, it was Natalie who got flung through the living room window and onto the fire escape. Beryl began to cry and ran to her rescue, while the two men finally realizing their "prize" was near death...stopped long enough to look out onto the escape to see her bleeding and unconscious...
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