Forever By Damage is the theme of the first part of this chapter. Hope you guys enjoy! 💜
- Denise 💋

(Before anybody asks, Shanice is Justin's sister)
Now onto the chapter ...

C H A P T E R
T W E N T Y - F O U R

Laying flat on her stomach flipping through channels on her bed, Shanice yawned lowly completely bored out of her mind. "Ain't shit on tv that I wanna watch," She groaned then turned on her back and stared up at the ceiling watching the fan spin.

Closing her eyes, she let out a sigh letting her mind run wild and as always she found herself thinking about her cheating ass husband. She just couldn't wrap her mind around this whole thing, she gave him the best six years of her life and out of the six he had been secretly cheating on her with the same woman he told her not to worry about for two years, then to top that as soon as she filed for a divorce and confessed that she was done with him and their marriage .. he made it public about his relationship with the woman and is now engaged to her.

To say she was hurt was beyond the feeling, she was crushed and broken inside. She gave him everything she had to offer but that clearly meant nothing to him since he didn't even try to fight for her when she filed or even after. And not once did he ever apologize, she knew she would bounce back from this but she also knew it was going to take some time.

Her trust with men now was fucked up, she didn't see how someone could love you one day then the next day hurt you like they never did.

Raising herself up, she looked at the time seeing it was about nine at night. Laying back down, she grabbed her phone and nearly jumped out her skin when she saw he had texted her.

Unlocking her phone she opened the message and read it over.

From: Bitch Ass Nigga🖕🏾
- I'm sorry to text so late, but I just wanted to let you know that I sold the house due to me moving to New York and I want to give you half of the earnings for all that I have put you through. I know money can't make up for what I have done but I hope it at least helps and also I wanted to let you know that you left a few of your things at the house, come by and get that along with the check whenever you can. I love you, hope all is well 💜
- Received at 9:36 pm

Rereading the text over and over, she tossed the phone and closed her eyes to stop the tears that were rushing to fall.

The house he sold, was the house he made many promises in. It was the house where they had planned their whole future in. A place for their future kids that they never got around to having to grow up in, she envisioned them growing old together and living their best life until the end of time but just like that it was snatched away and another woman was living the life he promised her.

Picking up her phone again, she hit the reply button.

To: Bitch Ass Nigga🖕🏾
- Just let me know when you're available to meet up there and I'll come and get the rest of my things.
- Sent at 9:48 pm

Before she could even sit her phone down, it immediately dinged and flashed and she saw it was him again.

From: Bitch Ass Nigga🖕🏾
- I'm actually at the house now packing up a few last things. I have a flight tomorrow and I won't be in town for a couple of weeks so if you want to come tonight .. you can.
- Recieved at 9:50 pm

Replying, "Okay," she quickly hit send then shot out of the bed to get dressed.

Going into her closet, she scanned through her clothes for what felt like forever until her eyes landed on the skin tight dress she wore the night they met and that she knew after all these years still turned him on from the way the dress hugged her in the all right places.

After taking a quick shower, and shaving her girl and making sure she was fresh. She slipped on a black lace lingerie set then slid the dress up her body and matched it with some heels that strapped at the ankle.

Examining herself in the mirror, she put on clear lip gloss to make her lips pop, fluffed out her wild curly hair then left out the room being sure to grab her car keys, wallet and purse.

Walking towards the door she saw Justin and Amir boo'd up on the couch watching The Other Woman. Turning their heads towards her they both smirked wondering where she was going for the night. "You look good, where are you off too Shanice?" Justin questioned.

"Just out for a few drinks with a friend, I'll be back."

Nodding his head, he smiled. "Okay, well be careful and enjoy yourself and text me the address to the place so I'll know where you are in case something happens."

"Will do, love you guys."

Saying they love her back, they turned back towards the tv once she left out the house. "At least she's finally getting out the house. I was actually starting to get worried, I thought she was never gonna leave that room." Justin confessed.

"Yeah me too, hopefully whoever this friend is shows her a good night. She deserves it."

Agreeing, Justin snuggled up against Amir more as he focused back in on the movie.

Across town, Shanice found herself parked in the driveway of her old home. Everything still looked the same, the front yard garden was still filled with purple flowers that she had planted and the apple tree she had planted had grown out and looked beautiful on the lawn.

Getting out her car, she pulled her dress down and made her way to the door listening to her heels click against the pavement.

Reaching the door she went to knock but jumped back when the door swung open and it revealed the world's sexiest but heartless man ever to live.

Taken back by her appearance, he cleared his throat a little to keep himself from looking at her body. He knew what she was doing, and sadly it was working but he did not invite her over for that so he had to remain strong.

Stepping to the side he let her in and when she passed him, his eyes found their way to her backside and he instantly cursed in his head noticing her ass has gotten fatter and soon the thought of maybe another man had helped her get thicker made him feel a certain way, but he quickly shook the thought off.

"Where are my things and the check? That's all I came over here for. I have places to be." She stated in an annoyed tone.

"Places like what?" He completely ignored the first part of her statement simply only curious as to where she was about to go dressed like that.

Turning around, she smirked. "Last I checked, we were going through a divorce so that clearly states that I am no longer your woman and that you no longer need to be concerned about what I am doing. Worry about what your fiancé is doing." She spat.

Looking away, he could hear the bitterness in her voice and he knew she had every right to feel the way she did. What he did was wrong, and if he could take it back he would but the damage was already done and it was no coming back from that.

"It was just a question, but uh anyways .. your things are upstairs in our old bedroom in a box with your name on it and your check is in the box as well."

Nodding her head, she sat her things down and walked up the stairs slowly taking in this moment. The last time she was here was when she found out about his cheating, she remembered that horrible night as if it happened yesterday. She remembered throwing whatever she could at him as she broke down in tears as she listened to the man she loved with everything in her spill the truth about his wrong doings.

Tracing the wall with her finger tips, she closed her eyes remembering the time they had sex there in that exact spot. Shaking her head, she sniffled lowly making her way down the hall right to their bedroom.

Stepping in, she walked over to the box with her name and sat down on the floor looking through everything. It had old high school year books, clothes, shoes and etc. But what caught her eyes was a photo album she created back in high school to pin point exciting moments that occured in her life.

Opening the book, she smiled at the picture of her at her high school graduation. Flipping it again, it showcased different trips around America that she went on with her bestfriend. But all she could focus on in the pictures was the happiness she saw within her eyes and smile.

Her eyes back then were so full of life, and now they were ice cold. Tracing the picture with her hand, she sniffled. "I gotta get back to this Shanice." She whispered.

Continuing to flip pages, she stopped on the picture of her and Bryson at their first date. Feeling a presence join her, she looked to the right of her to see Bryson sitting beside her staring down at the picture of them.

"We were so young here," He commented with a smile as wide as the sea on his face.

Shanice wanted to say something but decided against it and continued to flip through the pictures that held many memories. The two soon found themselves reminiscing on old times and laughing and talking like how they used too.

With both their backs against the wall, Shanice had her head laid on his shoulder as he talked about a memory the two experienced back in the day. "I personally felt you were out of my league. I mean when me and my boys saw you and your girls, all our eyes were on you and at that moment I knew I had to have you. And they all told me I could never have a girl like you and to be honest I felt the same way but when I approached you and asked for ya number .. I was the happiest nigga alive the moment you gave it to me." He said with a grin on his face, as he slid his hand down and intertwined their fingers.

Looking down at their hands, Shanice blinked away a few tears before looking up at him. "..What happened to that?"

Looking over at her, he frowned. "What happened to what?"

"That feeling of happiness you had being with me? W-what did I do to make you so unhappy or so unsatisfied to where you had to go else where to get it? What did I do wrong?" She asked with tears threatening to fall at her eyelids.

Bryson knew this day would come to where they would have this talk and honestly he never looked forward to it. He loved Shanice, hell he still loved her and he knew no matter what explaination he would come up with to explain why he did what he did would be enough to justify his actions. Because in reality it wasn't.

"I was never unhappy or unsatisfied with you Shanice, I just took you and what all you had to offer for granted. I didn't appreciate you as a person or a wife and that was my biggest mistake. I failed you as a husband by letting someone come between us and you didn't deserve that. I know I never apologized before and I was wrong for that as well. So please know that I'm so sorry for all the pain I caused you and the trust I broke within' you. I know your trust with me will always be fucked up, and I know you will always hold a little hate and resentment towards me in your heart but please forgive me one day."

Wiping her eyes, she looked away. "No matter how much I dislike you, I could never hate you. I love you too much that the word hate and your name in the same sentence can't even leave my mouth." She admitted letting go of his hand.

And that was the truth, Shanice may have felt as if she hated Bryson before but she knew deep down she didn't. She was more so disappointed than anything.

Standing to her feet, she walked over to her box of things while wiping away her tears. "I'm gonna get going though, its getting late but um thanks for the check."

Standing up as well, he took the box from her. "I'll carry it down for you."

Letting him do so, she left out of the room with him right behind her. "My car is already unlocked, I just have to grab my wallet and keys from the living room." She told him.

Going separate ways, she grabbed what she needed and made sure nothing else in the house belonged to her before making her way towards the door where she bumped into Bryson. "I'm sorry, I didn't expect you to come back so fast."

"Nah nah, you good. I should have been looking."

"Yeah, well um .. I guess I'll get going. Again thank you." Walking towards him, she gave him a tight goodbye hug but when his arms snaked around her waist she pulled back a little but he held onto her as they locked eyes for a second.

Everything in Shanice's mind was telling her to pull way and leave out that door. But everything in her heart was telling to her stay right in his arms where she felt all warm and loved again.

Leaning closer to each other their lips touched slightly before he pulled her in closer and devoured her lips into a lustful kiss. Dropping her keys and wallet she wrapped her arms around his neck kissing back just as rough, missing this exact feeling he always gave her whenever they touched.

Lifting her up by her thick thighs, he carried her to the couch and laid her down on her back as he rose up some to strip out of his clothes. Doing the same she slid out of her dress exposing the lingerie she wore that made him hornier and want her even more.

He mentally cursed in his head as he stared down at the beauty before him hating that he ruined a good thing. Taking off her bra and panties she went to take off the heels but he stopped her. "Keep em on,"

Not going up for a debate she laid back and mentally prepared herself for what was about to happened, she was ready to feel him all inside her working her body the only way he knew how. Due to sexual tension and how bad they were craving each other at the moment Bryson wasted no time getting down to business. He spreaded her legs as wide as they could go and stroked her long and hard missing the feeling of being connected this way with her.

Shanice moaned out his name and clawed and scratched at his back the deeper and slower he went. He knew she loved when he fucked her like this, and for a moment to her it felt like the very first time they ever made love.

He was gentle yet rough, but he wasn't just fucking her. He was making love to her one last time, and she was enjoying every second of it.

Bryson knew Shanice's body like the back of his hand, he knew all her favorite positions and what spot to hit to make her cum. He knew how to please her body in a way that a new man might not ever be able too. The sex between the two was always good and always left them wanting more, but even the thought of him fucking that woman this good and this hard hurt her.

Just knowing another woman had him in this way period hurts her and no matter what she would never understand why he did it.

Grabbing one leg, he placed it on his shoulder as he stroked faster in and out her tight hole. Biting her lip, she closed her eyes at the feeling of her climax reaching.

It had been a minute, three months to be exact since she had sex so in a way her body was craving this so when she came all over his dick and the couch she wasn't surprised at how fast it happened.

But even though she had got her nut, he wasn't done with her just yet.

Even though she knew sleeping with Bryson right now had to be the dumbest thing to ever do she couldn't help it. She was still in love with this man, he had her whole heart and even though he took her heart and crushed it, she couldn't help but still be weak behind his touch and looks.

The rest of the night the two sexed like never before all over that house just like old times. They let out all their built up emotions through the strokes, moans and screams. Tears literally fell from both their eyes during their time together mainly from reality setting in that this would probably be their last time ever doing this and that what they had was really over and done.

Laid out on the floor with a sheet covering their nude bodies, they both laid their lost in their own thoughts as they came down from their high.

Shanice turned on her side to face him, and smiled small once he locked eyes with her. Leaning over she kissed him on the lips once then pulled back and flipped the sheet off her body as she stood up.

Watching her every move, he watched her get back dress and although he knew she was leaving apart of him didn't want her too.

Trying to fix her completely messed up hair, she turned to face him. "Well um I guess this is goodbye."

"Goodbye? You're just gonna leave like that?" He asked with a frown. He knew she was gonna go, but he thought she would at least stay a little longer especially after what they just did.

"Yes, what did you expect me to do? Stay and cuddle and talk about the good ole' days?"

"Nah, but I thought maybe this was your way of giving me a second chance or something. I know how it may look on social media but baby I'm miserable as hell without you in my life. I don't love her the way I love you and I never will. Yeah we had a weak moment but I don't regret it, making love to you is something that I have been missing for so long. I miss you Shanice and I'm so sorry for everything, just please think about giving me another chance. I promise you, I will do better as a husband." He pleaded.

Looking away, she sighed. "I love you Bry, I really do and I probably always will but this relationship would never be the same if we tried to give it another go. I'm too damaged and hurt inside and my trust towards you is nonexistence. What we had was good but I guess it just wasn't meant to be for us. We probably shouldn't have had sex but hey we're grown and we had a weak moment like you said and it was enjoyable. I'm thankful for everything you have done and shown me over the years, and I want you to know that I forgive you and thanks for my long overdue apology. But I can't risk getting hurt by you again, I just can't."

"I understand, I made the bed guess I gotta lay in it."

Nodding her head, she smiled. "Take care Bry,"

Walking over she leaned down and kissed him on the cheek before leaving out the door with a whole new attitude. Yes, she was still hurt but after what just happened something in her was just screaming at her that everything was going to be alright and that she was going to bounce back from this heart break.

Getting in her car, she pulled out of the driveway with a lot on her mind but the main thing being was her changing and working on healing and bettering herself as a person to become old self again and to find that love within' who she was first and let her true love find her.

Derek across from Travis with his pen and pad ready for him to speak and vent about whatever was on his mind. "It's been three months since the incident, how do yo feel today? Do you feel better than you did before?"

Travis slouched on the couch with a dead expression. "I don't know, I still get flashbacks here and there. And although I know he was a trash ass person .. I never wanted to kill someone. I don't see how people can walk around and live carefree knowing they killed someone. I personally feel I will never get over this." He admitted.

Within' the three months Travis was a total mess, he had nightmares of that night almost every night and just recently did the dreams come less but he was having a hard time coping with this. He killed his own brother and although Tristian wasn't really much of a brother to him, he could only think about how his parents would have felt if they were here today with them.

His grandparents weren't pleased with what went down but they understood Travis had to do what he felt was right and they loved him the same as they did before.

Derek nodded, "I can't say I relate or know what you're feeling because I have never been in your position but what I can say is that its gonna take some time to get over. You're human I didn't expect you to be okay within' a few days. But at this point you just have to accept what happened and move forward. Don't let this situation change who you are, always remember you are not a killer, killing isn't what you do for fun .. what you did was an act of bravery and you saved lives. Just keep looking at the bright side of things and you'll be okay."

"Yeah that's what Ahmad told me to do as well. I didn't know he killed his aunt .. but it does kinda make me feel better that someone I know and that I'm close with went through something similiar and I can kinda look up to him for guidance as on what to do to better myself mentally."

"And that's good, so you still been training for football?"

"Yeah, I use that as my release. Try outs is tomorrow, its March so spring football is about to start and I'm honestly nervous but I feel more confident than I did before. Ahmad is really a great mentor and coach."

Sitting his pad down, Derek reached over and grabbed his coffee taking a few sips before placing it back down on the table. "That's great, I have confidence that you will do just fine. Just try not to over think anything they are saying and just focus and you should do great."

"I will,"

"Good, now how are you and Winter?"

Smiling at the mention of her name, he looked away. "We good.. I guess."

"You guess? What that mean?"

Laughing, he sat up more. "I mean we good, we date now."

Raising his eyebrow, Derek smirked. "Oh wow, since when did this happen?"

Blushing, he shook his head. "Like two weeks ago, I asked her to be my girl after school one day. And its been cool, ain't nothing really changed except we kiss and show affection at school towards each other now."

"That's good, I'm happy for you. Does she know about all of this that you're going through?"

He nodded, "Yep, I slipped up and told her but surprisingly she didn't judge me .. instead she just hugged me and ever since has been giving me encouraging words and just making sure I'm always good."

"Aw that's sweet of her,"

"Yeah but I have a question .. but I'm sorta nervous and embarrassed to ask you."

"What is it about?"

Looking down, he briefly looked up at him and mumbled out, "Sex,"

"Sex? Are you thinking about having sex with her or what?"

Letting out a heavy sigh, he shrugged. "I don't know, we've talked about it and we discovered we're both virgins .. and I don't know anything about sex or what to even do and if it were to happen .. I want to be prepared so can you help by teaching me about sex?"

Derek looked stunned for a second, but soon let out a laugh before nodding. "Yeah, well what all do you want to know first?"

Stepping inside his house, Derek loosened his tie and let out a low yawn as he made his way towards the kitchen where his dinner plate sat on the counter wrapped up for him.

Throwing it in the microwave, he sat at the dinner table taking off his shoes getting comfortable. Looking around the house, he smiled at how clean the house was.

One thing he really appreciated about Hazel was how she kept the house in order especially since he always got off at times to where he was never able to come home on time to where he could help but she never complained and he was grateful for that.

Getting up once the timer went off on the microwave, he grabbed his plate and began grabbing a spoon and fork but paused when saw their house phone had three voicemails.

Hitting the play button, he leaned over the counter and began eating his food as he waited for the messages to play.

"Hey Haze, its Egypt. I was just calling to see if you were still coming to Nahla's birthday party tomorrow and if so could you bring the ice cream. I'll pay you back for it. Call me back and let me know, love you sis."

Smiling small, he saved that voice message and went to the next one.

"Hello, this is Sarah Dudley calling from iCare quality health insurance—" He cut it off knowing it was just an ad and that it was something he wasn't interested in. They had health insurance they didn't need another plan.

Pressing play for the other one, he hoped it was something important. "Hello, this Dr. Gayle calling for Ms. Hazel Love to schedule an appointment to check back on your body to make sure the abortion didn't affect anything and to make sure your body healed correctly. We've been trying to contact you by Cell phone but we saw this was your alternative number, so please when you get the chance give us a call back at 1-800-327-9845 or call my office phone at 832-657-2392. Thank you, have a lovely day."

Dropping his fork, he scratched the back of his head before hitting replay trying to make sure he heard correctly. And when he heard the word, "Abortion," roll off that man's tongue he closed his eyes knowing Hazel did not get one behind his back without his consent.

-

Hey guys, sorry for the wait once again! I've been lacking but slowly the inspiration for this story is coming back, btw these are just filler chapters so bare with me!

But as always, thanks for the love & support
- Denise 💋