PRETTY BRIGHT (23 page)

Treasure was hot as fish grease. She had not only found out that Bright had fucked Chrome, but Lil Boo had also fessed up about sleeping with her too. He not only admitted to sleeping with Bright the night of his party, but that he had also slept with her again a few months back when she came to his house to find out what he had told her when she confronted him about the situation.

That’s why that bitch was avoiding my question all that time when I asked her what happened that night,
Treasure thought. And though Lil Boo had only told her the truth because Bright had keyed up his car when he refused to give her money, she was still happy to finally know the truth. Lil Boo didn't owe her anything as far as she was concerned, but Bright did, and for her disloyal act of betrayal, Treasure planned on seeking revenge on her in the worst way. After making it inside of Bright's courtyard, Treasure climbed the stairs, then banged on her front door. When her mother answered with the Bible in her hand, Treasure's tone immediately changed. She wasn't used to her being home at this time of the day.

Giving her a strange look, Rosette asked her, “Is there a reason you’re knocking on my door like you’re the police?”

Treasure wanted to cuss Miss Rose out and spill the beans on her hoe ass daughter. However, because she had just recovered from a stroke, and Treasure respected her elders, she had to remind herself that Bright's mother had nothing to do with it. It was between her and Bright. “I'm sorry, Miss Rose, is Bright here?” she asked as humbly as she could in her frame of mind.

With a surprised look on her face, she said, “No baby, you didn't know? She had the babies earlier today. She's at the hospital, and will probably be there for the next three or four days,” she said with a happy smile on her face.

Noticing the tension in her face, Rosette asked her if everything was alright.
“Everything is alright now,” she smiled. “I'll stop by in the next couple of days or so,” she said, heading down the stairs.
“You’re not going to go see Queen Bee and the babies at the hospital?” Rosette asked, confused.
Treasure shook her head no, “I'm afraid that I won't be able to,” she said, and she left out of the gate.
“What has Bright gotten herself into?” Rosette said out loud to herself. Then she closed the door and finished having Bible study with her two youngest.

Terrence was pissed off that Bright hadn't accepted any of his calls, so he had his homeboy call her on a three way for him.

“Hello,” she answered in a sleepy tone.
“Where the fuck you at? And why the fuck you haven't been answering my calls, girl?” Terrence yelled through the phone, instantly frightening her.
Happy that Larry had stepped out of the room to grab snacks, she spoke. “You out yet?” she asked nervously. She had already spoken to her mother about moving, so she was praying that he stayed behind bars until they relocated.
“Hell naw, I ain't out yet, and it don't look like these muthafuckas is tryna let me out either!” he fumed. “So I’ma need you to start answering yo damn phone, before you have me fuck something up around here, you understand?” he said with authority.
Without further words Bright ended the call. All she wanted to know was whether or not he was in jail; she didn't care what he had going on, or what he was going through.
Like I really give a fuck!
She thought, then powered her phone off.

Larry was happy that he was the father of two healthy little princesses, Lari and Lori, and that they each had all ten fingers and toes. After catching Bright smoking and drinking wine that day at the hotel, he had become concerned about his babies’ health, because he figured if Bright was careless enough to indulge in weed and alcohol that day, that she had probably done it many more times before. “Look at all three of my sleeping babies,” Larry said sitting next to Bright's bedside, holding his two daughters in his arms.

Her eyes fluttered open, and she instantly smiled seeing Larry there with her. “I love you, Larry Lane,” she said, stretching and waking herself up.

“I love you too, Pretty Bright, and guess what, baby? I signed my deal, and as soon as you get out of here, we're going house shopping, you hear me, baby?” he said, then reached over and kissed her on her beautiful face.

“Yup, wherever and whatever house you want. I just wanna make you happy,” he smiled.
Bright smiled, then reached her hand out to his. “I must be the luckiest girl alive to have a man like you in my life, Daddy Lane. You make every risk or chance that I've taken, done or gone through worth it.” She paused. “Now I have no regrets,” she smiled, holding on tight to his hand. Her life was finally going into the direction that she had worked so hard for it be.

After coming out of the bathroom and climbing back into her hospital bed, Bright asked Larry if he could get her some King Taco. She hadn't really been eating, and now that everything was going perfectly, her appetite had finally come back and she was dying for some of the best tacos in town. Larry kissed his three angels on their foreheads then headed out of the room to grab Bright some tacos.

Wondering why Treasure and Suge hadn't stopped by or called her yet, she dialed Treasure up on her cell phone, but her number was disconnected so she called her house phone. When her grandmother answered, she told her that Treasure wasn't home, so she called Suge up.

Suge's foster mother said into the phone.
“Can I speak to Samantha, please?” Bright asked,
Suge told them whenever they called the house to ask for
her by her real name.
“Can I ask who’s speaking?” she asked.
“It's her friend, Bright Sheldon,” she said, feeling the
need to give her full name.
After a few moments of silence, she said, “She's busy
right now; can you call her back tomorrow evening?” Bright thought that was very odd that she told her to
call her back the next evening, instead of later on that
day, but she figured,
oh well maybe it’s just a Muslim thing,
then she hung up the phone.

At King Taco, Larry stood in line a few customers behind Bright's asshole uncle talking big shit about how upset he was at some chick. Larry was gonna step up and attempt to introduce himself for the second time, but he figured his day was going so well that he didn't want to let him spoil it for him. So he patiently waited in line and continued listening to him vent to his friend.

“This bitch don't even know that I'm out right now, but after the way she played me for the last few days I was locked up, on everything, I'm cool on that bitch. I'ma take care of my responsibilities with the twins and everything, but her gold digging ass ain't got shit coming from me!” he stressed.

His boy nodded his head in agreem ent. “That's why I be telling you, you gotta watch out for these hoe's, because a lot of 'em just be out for the money, homie,” he said seriously.

“I can't believe her ass, though,” he said, looking at the caller ID on his ringing cell phone. A devilish smirk appeared across Terrence face. “This bitch wanna return my calls now that she see a nigga out,” he sarcastically said.

Ice?” his friend asked, confused.
“Naw, I haven't, guess she peeped that shit cause I
called her from my cell phone earlier,” he said contemplating whether or not he should answer her call. “I
shouldn't answer this shit but I am, I need my engagement ring back. Nigga paid eleven-five for it, so I needs
that back like ASAP,” he said then answered his phone.
“The fuck you calling my phone for, Bright?” Terrence
said, stepping out of line and outside so he could cuss
her ass out.
Larry thought he was tripping when he heard
Bright's name, but it was all beginning to make sense to
him now. Dude wasn't her uncle, and that's why she
never introduced them, because she was fucking him all
along. Something was telling Larry that the story Bright had told him about dude being her mother's brother had seemed too suspicious to be true. He nodded his head in disgust. Bright had been playing him all this time, and was trying to put another man's babies on him. That explained why she was rushing him to take his deal. Angry, Larry stepped out the door and headed to his car. A few cars down, he heard Bright's so called-uncle continue to cuss her out on his cell phone. Larry stood there listening, hoping that maybe there was some sort of a misunderstanding and that Bright wasn't this horrible
person that he had just painted her to be in his mind. “Listen here, Bright, I ain't tryna hear that bullshit
you screaming!” Terrence yelled into the phone cutting
her off. “I told you that I'ma take care of the twins, but I
need that engagement ring back like today!” He
demanded.
Larry had heard enough; he was so heartbroken that
he couldn't control the shed of tears that fell from his
eyes.
I let that girl play me?
He said to himself. Then he
thanked the Lord for revealing the truth to him before he
wifed her up and ended up raising another man's
children. On the drive home, he decided to pack up
everything Bright had ever given to him and have it sent
to her house. Better yet, he'd drop it off himself. Then he
planned on taking the next flight out of state to
basketball camp and start training. He had to hurry up
and get away quickly before he ended up doing
something that he'd live to regret.

Bright had been waiting for Larry to come back with her food for over three hours. She had called him, texted him, called his house, and no answer from Larry. An hour later when she called her mother, she revealed to her that Larry had stopped by and left some boxes and a note inside her room. Bright was confused. She didn't know what was going on, or know what to think.
He was fine before he left here, now why isn't he answering my calls?
Bright thought.

Lost and confused, Bright called Treasure's house to see if she could use her mother’s car to pick her up from the hospital. The doctor wasn't releasing her until the next day, and her mother told her she wouldn't be picking her up until then. “You must follow the doctor's orders,” she told her. Again, Treasure was unavailable, and Bright still hadn't received a phone call or visit from either Treasure or Suge since her trip to the hospital, and now Larry was M.I.A. “Something is very wrong here,” Bright said to herself, and the gut feeling that she had in stomach was telling her the same thing.

fter Bright’s mother picked her up from the hospital, she asked her mother question after question: What did he say when he came? Did he

look mad? How many boxes did he drop off? Tired of answering her questions, Rosette told her that she could see for herself once they got home.

Maybe he just wants to surprise me,
Bright reasoned with herself.
Once Rosette parked her car, Bright climbed out and shot up the stairs to see what awaited her in her bedroom.
“Bright, you could at least help me get your babies out the car!” her mother yelled after her, nodding her head.
“Deja, help Ma with the babies for me,” Bright said, making her way down the hallway to her bedroom. Seeing the many boxes, she began to tear them open. Inside the boxes were items that she had purchased for him throughout their relationship. Confused, she said, “What the fuck?” Removing the note that was attached on another box, she quickly pulled it off then tore it open, desperate for answers. It read:
I know about your uncle, that really ain't your uncle at all, and how you been fucking him the whole time! And I also know that the twins are his babies not mine!!!! You lied to me Bright, I hate you for it, and I wish I never met you!! I don't ever want to see your face again...you’re dead to me now, so just stay the fuck away from me!!!!!
P.S You’re not so pretty at all Bright...You’re Pretty Poison!!!!!!

Bright cried so long and so hard that she had fallen to sleep, and when she woke back up, she’d cry herself back to sleep again. This cycle repeated throughout the remainder of the night. During her downtime, her mother took care of the twins for her and tried comforting her by reading scriptures from the Bible. Nothing helped, and all Bright wanted to do was crawl under a rock and die. Days later, Bright was so depressed that she tried to kill herself by overdosing on sleeping pills. When her mother found her in her room unconscious with a faint pulse, she called 911.

Confined to her bedroom for weeks, Bright couldn't eat or sleep and she barely moved when her babies cried. Not to mention she didn't feed, hold, or clothe them, nor did she care to. Bright had postpartum depression on top of heartache, and it was eating her up alive.

Treasure had stopped by on numerous occasions, but Bright wasn't accepting any visitors. She blamed everyone but herself for her problems, and felt everybody was out to get her. Looking as horrible as she felt, Bright had dropped fifteen pounds, her hair had fallen out, and nobody could get her out of the apartment for fresh air, let alone her bedroom.