Chapter 33 - Continuation

*

The two of them immediately forgot what they were bickering about. Craig closed the door behind them and made sure to lock it. He turned to her and she was staring at the envelope given to her like it was a foreign object.

Adena was too stunned to speak.

"Adena, how about we sit down babe ok?" Craig encouraged her. She didn't hear him or move at all. He put his hands on her arms and squeezed them lightly. She looked at him. "Let's sit down ok?" he asked again, gently encouraging her to move from the spot she was stuck in.

Like a zombie, she turned around and walked back into the living room. She sat down and looked at the envelope in her hands. She just got served? With what? Wasn't that a movie? What the hell was going on and what did this even mean? She knew the answers were all in that envelope but she was too afraid to open it. She had a feeling she would be very disappointed. She didn't need any more of that. She's had her full.

Craig then walked over and placed a small glass of wine on a coaster on the coffee table in front of her. Yeah, wine would be good right now. She reached for it and picked it up and then paused. She couldn't drink. She hesitated and put it back down. "You probably need water instead," Craig said and went into the kitchen to get her some.

When he came back, she hadn't made any progress. She was still just staring at the envelope. He sat next to her. He put his hand on her right thigh and rubbed lightly.

"Hey what you thinking about?"

"I don't know what to think. I don't know what's going on right now. Do I want to know what this is?"

"Well if you're being served, it's about something important and it's urgent."

Adena nodded, "Rip the bandaid off?"

"Whatever you want to do."

Adena sighed, she was feeling nauseous again. She took a deep breath and then bent back the clasp that held the envelope shut. She paused. She felt worn out just from doing that. She handed it to Craig. "Can you do it?"

"You sure?" he asked her. "This might be something really personal-"

"It's fine. Go ahead. Please?"

He lifted the flap. She closed her eyes. Her hands clutched the seat of the couch. She heard papers being pulled out. She opened her eyes.

"Wait," she said as she took the papers from him, changing her mind. She should do this herself. All she had to do was flip the small stack over and it would cure their curiosity. She closed her eyes again, took a deep breath, and flipped the stack over. She took a few small, deep breaths, opened her eyes and looked down, and started to read. Craig looked through his phone, she may not want to show him what was going on and he understood. She then gasped though, he turned to her.

"What is it?"

"I—" was all she could muster. She read a few paragraphs over and over again. "It says I'm divorced?"

Craig's eyes widened and then he sighed with relief. He didn't know that they even started the process yet, maybe that's why she's been distant and detached lately. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "You alright?"

"Already? How could this happen?"

"I guess since you two weren't married for long that it was a quicker process. You don't have to split custody, no shared assets, who's going to get the beach house" he said to her calmly, trying to lighten the mood. But all she could do was stare at the papers like they were in another language. It was probably just hitting her now. Like a ton of bricks. It was really over between them. "I know this is hard. I can't even imagine what you are going through but whatever you need, I'm here ok? The hardest part is over though right? Now you can focus on you, your career, moving on, what makes you happy."

She stood up quickly and tossed the papers onto the coffee table. She ran her fingers through her scalp. "I can't believe this—"

"I know babe."

"How could he fucking do this? Hasn't he done enough already?" she said angrily with clenched fists as she paced back and forth.

Craig watched her. He didn't know what to expect, he didn't expect her to be angry but he understood completely why. "Yes and that's the last thing he'll do. You're free now. He can't hurt you."

Adena looked at him and he didn't expect to see so much emotion, so much confusion, anger, and sadness all at once. "You don't understand," she said with a shake of her head. She picked up the papers and handed them to him. "That's a final divorce decree, a divorce that I didn't know was happening."

"What are you talking about?"

"I still haven't spoken to him or even seen him since my birthday party. We haven't started the process yet...or at least I haven't. He divorced me. He got this divorce without me. He forged my signature!"

Craig looked at her in shock and then looked through the paperwork. What looked to be her signature was there. "Why the fuck would he do that? You agreed to the divorce months ago right?"

"Right! Why go behind my back!? What's the rush? He wanted to get rid of me that quickly?!" Adena said in disbelief. He sat there in silence as he looked through the paperwork and she paced silently trying to digest it all. She didn't know that this could happen. This couldn't be legal.

"Well don't hate me but...maybe this is a blessing in disguise." Adena looked at him with an arched eyebrow. "Look, you were dragging your feet about even going through this process. He took care of it, he did it for you. You weren't looking forward to seeing him, fighting with him. Now you don't have to. Yes, this was fucked up and illegal but you still got what you wanted; just not how you wanted."

"We can't divorce right now. Things are different. We haven't seen each other, we haven't talked about—"

"You can't divorce now? Talk? What is there to talk about?"

"Craig, I can't just stand by and let him get away with this. I don't know why he thought he could. What? Did he think I was never going to find out? Hell, he made sure I found out by sending that boy here. He's getting me back" she said, mostly to herself. "He got his revenge."

"Revenge? You didn't do anything wrong Adena. He wronged you. He cheated on you. This is the least he can do."

"I kind of embarrassed him about a month or so ago..."

"What do you mean?"

"I looked through Felicia's profile, after the party, and saw a lot of evidence that he's full of shit. The night before my party, he was with her, the night I left our apartment, he was with her, the night we...he was coming back home from seeing her. I don't know. I had to make him pay. I'm not this person. All I wanted to do was embarrass him. I hacked his account and posted some embarrassing photos of him."

"Forging your name on divorce papers seems pretty dramatic if all you did was post a few pictures."

"Well, I still wasn't satisfied which let me know I shouldn't have done it. Missy had more ideas. Fun ideas" she said and explained to him how they made everyone think he was the crazy ex following her around like paparazzi. "Now I didn't tell her to do this but when she went to get my things, she microwaved some fish, took my shit, and left. I pawned my wedding ring. Got a few thousand off of it and I got me this place."

Craig chuckled and shook his head, "Wow, that's cold."

"So maybe he was the laughingstock for a while there but I know the dust has settled since then."

"Apparently not, Thomas is now being a bitch and is still in his feelings about it. Why fight? I think that's what he wants you to do. Don't give in to it. Be the bigger person."

"It's the principle, Craig. He forged my name. It's illegal. He jumped the gun, there are some things regarding the divorce that's come up that complicates things. There are issues that we need to work out first."

Craig looked at her confused, "What kind of issues?"

"Money issues," Adena said, not looking at him.

"You don't need his money, you make more than him."

"Well it's also more than money, things have changed between us..."

Craig frowned, the nervousness that he felt when he first got there came back. He didn't like where this conversation was going and Adena wasn't telling the whole truth. Why would she need to hide something from him unless... "You still have feelings for him."

"Craig, we were together 5 years, that doesn't just go away—"

Craig scoffed, shook his head, and rubbed his palms together, not looking at her. "Let me guess. You thought about going back to him? I know you have. I can feel it lately. You've been off, we've been off."

"Craig it's complicated. We're complicated too. We aren't exclusive or anything. How can we be off, we were never on?"

"Ever since San Francisco, you haven't been the same. I thought you just weren't feeling well but maybe you're actually just sick because you still love him and now with these papers, you can't have him, and it's another reminder that he doesn't feel the same. You're lovesick."

"Craig, what the hell is lovesick?"

"You can die of a broken heart. It can fuck with your mental health. Make you do—"

"Craig, are you serious right now? What are you talking—"

"Weeks ago you literally said you wish you could snap your fingers and you'll be divorced. You got your wish but now you aren't ready. You're not ready to leave him. You still need him."

"Craig—"

"When were you going to tell me huh?" he asked her. "Were you ever? These papers have just fucked up the secret you've been keeping."

"Craig, stop. You have no idea what you're talking about."

"I don't? My intuition is usually spot on. I feed off energy, it's what I do for a living, I can read the room and I can read people better than they can read themselves sometimes. You just said yourself that things have changed between you two and it all makes sense now. The detachment, the distance, keeping shit from me..."

"You're paranoid. Or you're just upset that things on my end aren't going the way you want them to. Or as fast as you want it to. Well, I'm sorry I've inconvenienced you, Craig. You feel you're right? You know me? You know everything. You can read me? You've been reading me. You've been studying me? Why?"

"SOMETHING IS OFF AND IT HAS TO DO WITH YOUR EX," he said louder than he intended. He sighed. She turned away from him, crossed her arms and walked over to the window, and looked out at the view. "The least you can do is tell me. Be honest, with me, yourself. Why keep me around?"

"FINE, YOU WANNA KNOW? HERE GOES. I'M PREGNANT CRAIG. 8 WEEKS. SO YES THIS FAKE ASS FORGED ASS DIVORCE COULDN'T COME AT A WORSE TIME BECAUSE NOW WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT CUSTODY. CHILD SUPPORT. ARE WE GOING TO CO-PARENT, AM I DOING THIS BY MYSELF? SHOULD I EVEN DO THIS? HE DIDN'T HAVE THE DECENCY TO GIVE ME THE CHANCE TO TRY TO WORK THINGS OUT."

Now Craig was too stunned to speak. Adena was pregnant? 8 weeks? Adena is pregnant with Truman's child?? Now she wants to work things out with him??

It all made sense now. And he wished it didn't.

Adena softened, she regretted it as soon as it came out of her mouth. "Craig, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled. That's not how I wanted to tell you. I wasn't intentionally keeping it from you. I just don't know what to do—"

"I guess you got to figure that out then," he said coldly.

"This doesn't change my feelings for you—"

"It does. You're having another man's child. The man you've always wanted a child with, might I add. You want a family. You wanted a family, at 24 no less, and now you have one. You've got everything you wanted."

"But Craig—"

"Adena, I can't right now. I gotta...I gotta process this."

"Process it here. Don't go."

Craig turned and got his coat. "I have to. Where do I fit in all of this? I don't. Not really. You have to figure out what you want."

"Craig, please...I'm sorry you had to find out this way. I have been worrying myself sick over how to tell you."

"I know. Don't worry about me. You have to take care of yourself. Don't stress over me. You have enough to deal with. I gotta take a step back. I can't be in yet another love triangle with this nigga Trent. I gotta go."

"Craig please," Adena said as she hurried over to him and hugged him close. "I need more time but you don't have to go."

"I have to go because you need this time, I'm just going to distract you. I'm sorry babe but you're right, this changes everything" he said sadly. He couldn't look at her sad, watery eyes, the pout, the tears rolling down her face. He may just start doing the same. He had to listen to his intuition. If he did with Felicia, he could have saved himself a lot of heartbreak. He couldn't afford to make that mistake again. He just wished it didn't involve Adena.

He always thought of her as perfect, and maybe she was, maybe she was too good to be true.

He kissed her forehead and then kissed her hands. "Take all the time you need babe. I'm doing this for you. For me. For us. You'll see. It's better this way."

Adena shook her head and then walked off into her bedroom and slammed the door. He sighed. He hesitated in leaving, maybe he shouldn't. But everything in him was screaming for him to run. He turned around, walked to the front door, and left, making sure to lock the door behind him as best as he could.

Unfortunately, it was better this way. He didn't see any other way.

*

There are 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac and they always appear in the same order: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig.

*

"Mmmhmm, because you a freak," Ron said to Missy, he bit down on his lip as he looked into her eyes, not breaking eye contact.

"Stop biting them lips, you know what that does to me," Missy said to him. Ron had her hoisted up on the kitchen counter, he was standing in between her legs, at this height they could look each other in the eye. Missy was a short one, standing at only 5'1". She picked up the bottle that was next to her and drank out of it. She blinked her eyes some and then she was back to normal. "You're still biting them lips."

"See? Now you know how it feels."

"I think they need to be kept busy," she said as she reached next to her on her left side and took a strawberry out of the plastic container it came in, and stuck it in his mouth. She smiled seductively as she watched his juicy lips take hold of the strawberry and bit down on it. He licked his lips. "I think you need one more thing," she said and reached for something else.

Whipped cream.

She squeezed the nozzle and the cream quickly filled his mouth. She put the bottle down and pulled his face towards hers and kissed him.

They were having a romantic night in. They went out to dinner and now they were having dessert. Ron was even off tomorrow, so she had him all to herself.

"Mmm you taste so sweet," Ron said into the kiss. Once all the whipped cream was licked and sucked off, they had a full make-out session. Tongues and lips working in overdrive.

Suddenly, the front door burst open, and they both jumped. The whole apartment was dark, save a few lit candles around the kitchen. The lights were turned on, Missy squinted trying to adjust to the sudden brightness and interruption. When her eyes adjusted, she saw Ron standing next to her with a butcher knife. Wait where did that come from?

Ron sighed, "Oh it's just you."

Missy looked toward the door and Craig was standing there. He closed it shut and burped. 

"Whoa, what's with the knife man?"

"You barged in here like you didn't own the place," Ron said as he put the butcher knife back in its drawer.

"Oops, well 'scuse me, my apologies," Craig said as he sauntered past the living room into the kitchen. Missy watched him, something seemed different.

"Oh wow, you drunk?" Ron asked him with a laugh. Craig reached inside his huge peacoat and pulled out a half-filled bottle of brown liquor. Missy smirked, never seeing Craig in this state.

"Yeah man, I get drunk. What's it to you?" Craig said with a shrug as he twisted the top off and drank out of the bottle. "Here," he said as he handed it to Ron. Ron shrugged, took it, and took a swig. He held it out to Missy and she shrugged and took a shot as well. "Hey don't hog it," Craig said as he held his hand out, beckoning her to give it back.

"Can't believe I'm saying this but maybe you've had enough" she said to him with a smirk. She's never seen Craig drunk, especially sloppy drunk.

"Pssshhtt" Ron and Craig both said and waved her off.

"You know how long I've been drinking?? Longer than you."

"You're maybe a couple of years older than I am" Missy teased.

"Man I had my first drink when I was 13 and it's been downhill from there," Craig said with a shrug as he leaned against the oven.

"Try 10."

"10? 10 drinks? I'm way past that Miss" Craig said with a laugh.

"No, I mean 10 years old. I had my first drink at 10 years old."

"Your mom should've whooped your ass," Craig said to her as he drank more out of the bottle.

"Really babe?" Ron asked, turning to her.

"Don't judge me."

"I'm not."

"I am!" Craig said as he half raised his hand like he was in class.

"It was my cousin's wedding alright? They let us have champagne and then one of my older cousins stole a bottle from the bar and all of us little ones went somewhere to drink in secret" Missy said. "So actually, with your judgmental ass, I've got 3 years on you, and since you're maybe 2 years older than me...I've been drinking longer than you" Missy said as she stuck her tongue out at him teasingly.

"What I tell you about that tongue girl?" Ron asked as he turned back around and got back in his spot and kissed her.

"Drinking when you're a baby, that's nothing to brag about," Craig said with a laugh and a scoff. Missy flipped him off as she kissed Ron back, wrapping her legs around him. Then they heard some banging around, they pulled away from each other to see that Craig was now sitting on the counter across the kitchen from them, drinking out of the bottle, his heavy-ass Timbaland boots hitting the bottom cabinets because he was swinging his damn legs. "So what ya'll about to get into?"

"Foreplay," Missy said flatly, not looking at him, focusing on Ron. Ron laughed.

"What's up with the fucking candles?" Craig asked, not really hearing or listening to her.

"It's called atmosphere," Missy said. "The atmosphere being a romantic night ALONE."

"Awwww that's sweet," Craig said not paying attention. "I figured that since you have no fucking clothes on, you're not cold?"

"I have him warming me up," Missy said as she turned back to Ron. "The alcohol helps too, which you've had enough of."

"Well yeah, I just bar-hopped by myself. I went to this Irish pub spot, which was cool for a quick minute, and did some shots with a bachelor party...oh then I wandered over to this bar I haven't been to in a minute...that's where I met Adena actually. Why did I go there?" he asked more to himself as he gulped down some more whiskey.

"Right, where is Adena?" Ron and Missy asked him.

Craig scoffed. "Man that's a long story, I can't get into all that."

"You've seen her today? Talked to her?" Missy asked.

"Pfffft, oh we talked alright. Hell, that's why I'm drinking now. I saw her too. Hell, that's also why I'm drinking now."

"Uh oh," Ron asked. "Trouble in paradise?"

Craig chuckled, "Yeah something like that."

"Ya'll gotta make up. Stop fighting. I hate when Mom and Dad fight" Ron said playfully before he took a shot. "Hey, I wonder what would happen if we dipped these strawberries in this?"

"You guys will be fine right? Just sleep it off?" Missy asked pensively, she scanned the room for her phone but it was nowhere in sight. If they had a fight, she may be able to guess what it was about and she could probably guess how Adena was doing.

Craig hung his head and shook it. "How do you come back from something like that? You can't."

Missy and Ron looked at him, waiting for him to finish.

"Missy, how long have you known that your bestie was pregnant?" Craig asked her flat out. Ron's mouth hung open. Missy sighed, she knew this day would come. "And the baby isn't mine, oh no, it's that Tevin motherfucker's baby. You know the guy that cheated on her with my, well I thought, girlfriend. Yeah, it's his. That's why she's been sick and avoiding me. And you know what else? Some guy comes by her spot and serves her papers. Divorce papers. Divorce papers that had her forged signature on them from the same Tevin motherfucker who knocked her up and cheated on her too. For revenge, she says. I can't escape this dude man. I especially can't get away from him if she's around. She doesn't even know what she wants. She may go back to him. She still has feelings for him, where does that leave me? Drunk as fuck. I had to get out of there. She dropped bombs on me like I was Bin Laden or whoever. Now she's having Tevin Jr. I gotta deal with two people like him? No. I can't do it" Craig ranted as he got down from the counter and took another swig. "So it's over, it was fun while it lasted, it was too good to be true. So now I'm back to being drunk and fucked up, giving my number out to white chicks at an Irish pub, not thinking straight..."

Missy and Ron were too stunned to speak.

"BUT I GOTTA BE STRONG, DID ME WRONG, GIRL YOU DID ME WRONG, WHEN I THOUGHT THAT WE WERE REALLY DOWN" Craig started singing drunkenly at the top of his lungs as he kicked open his bedroom door.

Ron and Missy looked at each other. Well, there goes their romantic night. "Looks like we got 2 fires to put out," he said to her. She nodded. "Let me make sure he doesn't jump out the fucking window," he said as Craig started blasting music.

"SO YOU SAY YOU WANT ME WELL COME ON MAKE UP YOUR MIND CUZ I'M NOT GONNA BE HERE FOR LONG!"

"I'm calling Adena right now," Missy said as she hopped off the counter and went to find her phone.

Craig was right, how do you come back from this?

*

To add an extra dimension to your Chinese astrology, you can combine it with your Western zodiac sign.

*

https://youtu.be/cP4yAnbtDZE