Shock was the only word that could register with Shemar, his anger muted by the feeling. Fumie was talking to him, huh. His bold, bitch "baby mama"
was talking to him with disrespect that he hadn't heard out of her mouth out of her mouth in awhile. Not since the night Koi's slut had
disrespected him in his own house and he had to get Fumie right because she thought she could too. But here it was again. Blatant disregard for
anything he'd fucking said during their entire conversation. No goddamn authority for the nigga that kept her dressed, eating and living. NONE. And
she stood there, calm as fuck while she dished it out.
I hate you...
"Really? Do you?" He muttered, nodding at her as she unloaded on him, telling him how she'd hated him for the longest time and she only really gave a
fuck because she wanted to do what "looked right". Like how Shemar had wanted to fucking do what "looked right" when he wanted to marry her...and his
father told him to count his losses, take care of the kid she had and let her go. But his fucking mother...his fucking "do what's right" mother. She
agreed with him. She pushed him to marry Fumie. And he was standing here, now, with the woman he went against his father for...and she hated
him. Well...that sound about the fuck right.
His eyes were unblinking as they bore into his wife of nearly twenty years. He listened to her words. More hate. More unhappiness. He heard that, she
hadn't been the only unhappy motherfucker in this shit. Shemar found his "happiness" in other places, in other beds. She found hers in spoiling the
shit out of their children. But he made it work. He provided for them, paid for their expensive as school, bought them whatever they fucking
needed...shit, wanted! He did his fucking part. But her? What had she done? Bitched about women that he ran to, even though it kept the peace between
them. Fought with him, pushed his anger when all she had to do was accept the man she married and move the fuck on. Caused strife between he and the
kids because she never, NEVER took his goddamn side! And now this?! A "Waiting to Exhale" moment in their living room because he put his foot down and
refused to side with another one of her pussy-ass, mother driven whims?
"Lemme tell you som-..." Shemar growled as he tried to interrupt her, her spill going on much longer than it should have considering his hand hadn't
reached around his equally disrespectful son, slapped the shit out of Fumie's reckless mouth and ended this fucking tirade. But she couldn't be
stopped, she was on a goddamn roll now. Especially as she got bold enough to move Koi out of the way and...
Now I want a divorce.
Shemar blinked...and blinked again as a silence fell over the room. He could literally hear Koi stop breathing. And to be honest, Shemar had too.
Because those words, he hadn't heard in a long damn time.
"You...what?" Shemar paused again, his eyes narrowing as he looked down at Fumie, her face looking right back into his like a child waiting to be
excused. Like she wanted his final words so she could get back to her goddamn life like she hadn't just asked her husband for a goddamned divorce.
But...she'd done this before. Yeah, last time with a lot more yelling and crying...and shit, emotion period. But this wasn't new...and just like the
other times...it wasn't fucking happening.
"This again? Really?" A forced chuckle left lips as he took a step closer to his wife, his smirk falling into place.
"You leaving me, Fumie?" His hands sunk into his pockets, his eyes staring into hers.
"Like you left the time before that? Oh yeah...and the time before that?" He smiled fully as he laughed in her face, his eyes roaming from her feet to
her face. Sizing her up. Challenging her.
You could have heard a pin drop onto the plush carpet of their living room as a thick silence settled between them. For the first time in...Fumie
didn't know how long, Shemar was speechless. He was shocked and it was all in response to four little words. I want a divorce. She let the
silence linger as Shemar tried to wrap his head around a phrase she had never thrown around lightly, but had obviously never amounted to much. She
could see the gears turning, trying to figure out how serious she was about all this. She would tell him if he asked.
And ask he did, his eyes narrowing as he finally spoke. You...what? was it any question why she would want a divorce from a man who had done
nothing but abuse and torture she and her children since he decided they meant nothing to him? Every time he spoke about his family it was to
complain. He should have been the one asking for this years ago if they made him so miserable. "I want a divorce, Shemar-," she couldn't help the
excitement in her tone. Or the smile she could not stop her lips from making. She wanted a divorce.
"I want to be free of you. I want my kids to be free of you. I want to move out of this nightmare ridden house and make a home somewhere
else. Somewhere away from you. And I want you to be just as happy as I am right now at the sheer thought of being away from you." She
was still smiling, her realization of freedom echoing in her words. She might have thought about how her words cut when she said them; how if Shemar
had a heart that this might hurt him...but he had proven long ago that he didn't so...why? They were at a point in their marriage where they could be
blunt with one another. The end.
Yes. This again. Really. Fumie nodded after his questions. Yes. She was leaving him. No. Not like any other time. It was her turn to chuckle
as he told her she wasn't leaving. Maybe he wasn't getting it, but they were no longer playing the roles they had been in this loveless marriage. She
was different today. New. And she was not asking for his permission. She would tell him simply.
"I am finished with you, Shemar."
I was a heavy heart to carry but, he never let me down.
When he held me in his arms my feet never touched the ground.
And if hearing it one time wasn't enough, Fumie had the nerve to repeat it again...as if he didn't comprehend her the first time. No, he heard her.
Shemar heard "I want a divorce" loud and fucking clear. The question really was "what the fuck did any of those words mean to him?", in which the
answer was pretty clear. Not a goddamned thing. Because he knew she was bluffing. Like she'd done time and time before, she was asking for
something that she didn't know the weight of. And like he'd done time and time before, he'd remind her ignorant ass of what it really meant to be
without him and they could move on with their fucking night. It got like that sometimes...when she started thinking she was better than what Shemar
was giving and she started catching amnesia. And suprisingly, Shemar was reasonably patient with her bullshit. Not because he gave a fuck about her
feelings...especially since the shits weren't valid. No, because it felt satisfying as hell to see her stop acting stupid and come back to Daddy.
Because nothing was better than Daddy...and she'd see that this time, just like she'd done the other hundred times she "swore" she was out.
Free of him? That got a valid laugh. The fuck did she think he was? Chlamydia? He was her husband. The father of her goddamn kids. She couldn't be
free of him...especially not when he was footing the bill on ninety percent of the shit she called her LIFE. The thought was hilarious, so much that
it didn't take Shemar nearly as much effort to laugh. How the hell did she think any of this went? She wanted her and the kids away from him? Fuck
that. He was legally obligated to those fuckers and he had the goddamned receipts to prove it. Not that he gave a fuck whether they stayed or
left...but if they did, they'd do it with his last name. And that made him fucking entitled. And leaving his house? And go where?!
"You really don't fucking get it do you, baby?" He spoke through his chuckle, batting off Koi's hand that was hovering closer to his shoulder.
"Free of me? How you gone be free of someone that owns you? I own you. The kids, the car, the little house you think you gone run off to when
you 'leave me'...yeah, that fly ass dress you got on RIGHT now! All of it. MINE!" He inhaled deeply and sighed, his finger stroking at her cheek as
she spoke again, stress still free from her voice. Her eyes still connecting with his...that annoying fucking smile on her face widening...
I am finished with you...
"Finished?" He asked, his voice quiet as silence fell between them again. His fingertips touched her skin, touching her jawline...tracing the side of
her neck.
"You..." He began, teeth clenching as his hand closed around her neck, tightening as he pulled her closer, thumb pressing against her windpipe...
"...will NEVER be finished with me. NEVER." He shook her roughly as her hands came to his, pulling at his tightening grip.
She wasn't the one that wasn't getting it. Just like there was nothing he could say or do about Koi going to prom, there was nothing he could say or
do about their impending divorce. She wasn't staying and regardless of what he thought, she would never come back to him. It was over and she could
feel it. She could taste the freedom Shemar was so sure he wouldn't give her...but again, she wasn't asking his permission. So she let him speak,
rambling on about how he owned her. He owned her and everything else his money had touched over the years. He was a little boy laying claim to all of
his toys, but Fumie and her kids weren't going to be his puppets any longer.
That's why it felt even more satisfying to let him know that the way she'd "asked" for the divorce was a nicety. A pleasantry that she had tried to
allot him as a force of habit. Speak softly, don't rile him up. She'd misspoken. She was not requesting a divorce. She demanded it. She was finished
with him. And even with his finger stroking the skin of her face, she knew that the longer she gave that information to sink in for him, the angrier
he became. Especially as his fingers slipped to her throat, his grip taunt for the moment. You... There he was. The monster had come out to
play. This was usually when she backed down. Apologized for stepping out of place, for speaking out of turn. Usually.
"Koi don't-," she saw him move out of the corner of her eye and she wanted more than anything for him to leave them to this. She didn't want him
seeing what he'd only heard before...or seen the aftermath of. Shemar was yelling now and his grip had tightened, drawing her closer to him as he made
his point. You will NEVER be finished with me. She yelped a bit as he shook her and her hands reached for the one around her neck. Her eyes
began to water as he choked her she knew her words were as limited as her air supply.
"You can't...bully your way...this time...-," his grip only got tighter as she gave her all to finish. She wasn't backing down. She wasn't giving
in.
"Let go...or do it."
I was a heavy heart to carry but, he never let me down.
When he held me in his arms my feet never touched the ground.
It'd been a long time for Koi...a long time since he'd been the way he was as he watched his parents spar. He was stuck. Stuck and nearly
trembling as he stood there, not moving...even though his brain had told him to move the second he heard his father's voice growing colder, that sick
ass grin on his face...the one he wore before the screaming started. Before the fist started meeting skin. The voice that made his mother always send
them away when she heard it...send them away in just enough time to take the punches, to back down to the fucking asshole that his father became.
Shit, the asshole that he WAS. But this time? Tonight? She wasn't sending them away...and she wasn't backing down. She may not have known that Eri was
there, but she knew Koi was. She knew he was standing there, stuck to the fucking floor, his grab at his father's shoulder a stupid attempt to keep
the peace, to stop what he knew was starting between them from happening. But there was no stopping it. Not now. Not when his moms wasn't backing
down...
Koi's eyes widened, watching his father's hand touch his mother's skin. He couldn't help but flinch as he held his breath, waiting for what that
warning sign would bring, especially with the way his mother was talking. Saying things like "move out" and... "finished with you". Finished with
you.
"Mommy..." Koi whispered, his breath quickening. He didn't know what calling her was going to do. Warn her? For what? She knew what she was saying and
in truth, if Koi wasn't so fucking on alert, he would've been happy she said it. Because this wasn't like the other times. This wasn't like the times
she'd cried and swore and threatened and screamed. This wasn't the same thing. And if Koi knew it, he knew his father knew it. And if his father knew
it...
Shit. Koi heard the yelp that escaped from his mother's lips, her hand coming up as he moved without even knowing he had. Don't!? Don't
what?! Don't try to get his father's tightening hand from around his mother's neck? Don't wrestle her away from him as he shook her so fucking hard,
Koi was surprised she wasn't blacking out?!
"Pops! No!" Koi reached out for his father's shoulder again, firmer...more sure as he tried to reach around him and pull his hands away from his
mother's neck.
"Don't do this! C'mon Pops! NO!" He could barely hear his mother's protest now, maybe because his heart was pounding so loudly in his ears. Maybe
because his mother's voice was fading, the air in her lungs wasted on words that goaded his father's violence on instead of stopping it. Maybe because
the screams that were the loudest weren't his mother's...or Koi's....
"NO!!!! DADDY STOP! DADDY!" Koi turned in the direction of her voice, her tear streaked face coming into view as her hands pulled at their
father's, her curls a blur as she wrestled with their father's vicelike grip on their mother's neck, tears running down her face as she stared at
their mother gasping for air...
Koi was begging for her. He was doing what she usually did in these situations and he was trying to fix. His pleas fell on deaf ears though and Fumie
knew it was only a matter of time before she blacked out from a lack of air. As sure as she knew this would happen she could guarantee that when she
did that Shemar would lose interest and huff off like the runner up for homecoming queen. He would still get served with divorce papers and she would
still be leaving him. Koi just need to let this run its course. So she told him no. She knew her baby. She loved him and he loved her just the same
despite her shortcomings. Fumie knew as soon as he shifted what he was going to try to do, but he had to let it lie.
He wouldn't of course, but she had to try. She watched as Koi pulled at his father, a desperate and futile attempt to get him off of her. She wanted
to tell him again to stop, but she couldn't get the words out. Her vision was fading, her eyes drooping and all she could really hear was Koi's
yelling and the screams...screams far too high to be coming from...NO. Instantly a second wind took her and Fumie pulled as hard as she could
away from Shemar. It was Eri.
She shouldn't have been here. She wasn't supposed to see this! She tried again, hoping in vain that hearing his little girl would stop him from
traumatizing her any further than he already had. Of course not. His grip grew even tighter as he shook her again and Eri actually came into view.
Shemar, PLEASE! Her eyes were the only things that could do any talking at that point, but she knew he could see it. She gave. She was done.
She was willing to say whatever he wanted if he didn't do this in front of their daughter. And things only grew graver as Eri began pulling at her
father as best her tiny body could.
A sob gave way to a gasp as Fumie's thoughts became frantic. She could break his hold. Zori had taught her that and she would have been able to break
it, but Eri was in the way and would catch an elbow to the face if she tried it. She was fading too fast to think. She should have never started this
with Eri and Koi home. She should have MADE THEM leave.
Now it was too late.
I was a heavy heart to carry but, he never let me down.
When he held me in his arms my feet never touched the ground.
"Shut the fuck up!" Shemar's voice boomed over the screams in the room, a direct fucking order. All this fucking commotion. All the noise. And why?
Because Fumie didn't know when to quit! After weeks of not giving a fuck, she'd turned into the same mouthy, over confident bitch she'd let herself
turn into before Shemar got in that ass and quieted her back up. But no, here she was again...and like the confident bitch she thought she was, she
was being choked up like one, too. She wasn't going to put up a fight? Good. The quicker she gave up the fucking ghost, the quicker they could be done
with this shit. Because it never should've come to this in the first place!
"Back the fuck down Koi. This ain't your business so back the fuck DOWN!" He growled through his teeth, Koi's hands still pulling at his arms. But
Shemar's grip only got tighter, his elbow lashing out against another set of hands, a higher voice breaking through Koi's pleas for him to let Fumie
go, let her breathe...let her carry on with the fucking ridiculousness that got them where they were in the first place. Shemar's hand around her
throat, wrinkling one of his best Givenchy suits.
Fingernails pierced the skin of his hand as a sob escaped Fumie. Oh, now she fucking wanted to cry? All this shit was her fault and NOW she wanted to
feel bad about it? Fuck her tears.
"I just told you to...what the fuck!". His free hand flew back as new, intense pain seared through the wrist of the hand that held Fumie's neck. An
injured howl escaped him as his hand connected with skin.
"You fucking BIT ME!" He yelled, letting Fumie go and turning on his assailant. He stared down at her, his chest heaving as he looked from her tear
streaked face to where she'd broken the skin on his wrist. His nose flared and his fist clenched, eyes refusing to break their glare. It was
Eri. She was curled up against the wall, her hands holding her already swelling cheek from where he'd hit her. She trembled as she stared angrily
right back up at him.
So much was happening. It was the nightmare she'd had so many times before, only this time it was actually happening. She didn't want Koi to save her.
She most certainly didn't want Eri anywhere near this. But here they all were; fighting their tormenter as a family. And it was just as fucked up as
she'd always known it would be. She had to admit to herself that it had only ever been a matter of time. She knew with how volatile Shemar had always
been, it was only a matter of time before the shit hit the fan and her kids couldn't ignore the problem she'd allowed any longer. If she wasn't so
close to losing consciousness she might have blamed herself, but she couldn't.
She could feel her pull at his hands weakening as she nodded. She tried to open her eyes again to no avail. She couldn't do this, not now. Not when
she didn't know what Shemar would do to Eri. To Koi. She couldn't go...free? The air seemed to burn as it entered her lungs after Shemar released the
death grip he'd had on her throat. She hadn't known it, but he had been the only thing holding her upright. Fumie collapsed, coughing as she tried to
breathe again and figure out what just happened; why he'd let go. She needed to focus. She couldn't tell if things had gone eerily quiet or if her
mind was too busy receiving air again to process anything else. Where were Koi and Eri?
Fumie blinked, trying to bring things back into focus as she peeled herself off the ground. She looked for Eri first, her eyes searching for her
baby's mess of curls in all of this chaos and it didn't take too long to find her against a nearby wall. She was crying, her eyes staring defiantly
back at the man who'd had a hand in making her. It only took Fumie a matter of seconds to register what really mattered. Eri was hurt.
YOU MOTHER FUCKING LITTLE RETARD... No. Fumie scrambled toward Eri, Shemar's words doing enough to fuel her to stand again as she took Eri
easily into her arms and out of the living room. She swept into the kitchen, her feet padding across the cool linoleum of the floor before she stopped
placing Eri down at the base of the stairs. Fumie knew she needed to get back fast as the last thing she heard before leaving the living room had been
the unmistakable smack of a fist hitting bare skin and the only person left in the living room with that monster was her son.
"Eri, baby look at me. Look-," She tried to calm herself for Eri. She was trying to comfort her in the little ways she could in this mess of a
situation. A hand smoothed over her daughter's curls as she got Eri to focus. "Go upstairs and call for help, then hide. Okay? I have to go back and
get your brother. Call for help and hide."
She couldn't wait to see if Eri comprehended or even moved as she turned to go back to battle with the man who had thrown her 10 year old against a
wall and was doing God knew what to her son. Her hand took a butcher knife from the knife block on the counter and she ran back to her son. She
stopped in the entryway, shocked as she watched Shemar raise a fist to her son and actually hit him.
"SHEMAR STOP!" She knew that wasn't enough. Why was she yelling at him? Fumie entered the living room picking up a nearby vase and hurled it at the
wall. She would have given anything to throw it at Shemar, but she couldn't risk it hitting Koi. The shattering glass seemed to get Shemar's
attention.
"You-," she pointed at him with the tip of the knife she was holding. A silent promise to do what was necessary if he chose incorrectly. "Need to get
the FUCK away from my son and get the fuck out of this house!"
I was a heavy heart to carry but, he never let me down.
When he held me in his arms my feet never touched the ground.
Koi froze. He felt his father snatch away from his grasp and recoil in pain. He heard his father's words, the anger and venom in his voice as he
cradled his injured hand and realized that he'd been bitten. He even heard his mother's body thud to the floor as his dad released the choking hold he
had on her from the shock. But the only thing Koi could see was his sister. His fucking kid sister. He saw her body hit the floor. He saw the pain and
fear in her eyes as she backed herself against the wall, her face already swelling where the nigga who was supposed to protect her from hat shit had
hit her. Their fucking father. The fucking dad hit her. He fucking...HIT her. It felt like Koi's thoughts weren't processing correctly.
Because there was no way that his father, the man who had never lived up to his title, but had never touched (much less paid any real attention to)
his only daughter, had laid his goddamn hands on her. He couldn't have...
But he had. He'd terrorized her, ignored her, and denied her the only FUCKING thing she'd ever wanted...her daddy. A father who loved and
doted on his daughter like any normal goddamn father would've, but Shemar Kidd was anything but normal. He was fucked up. He was toxic and he was the
fucking monster that put his GODDAMNED hands on Koi's little sister. His baby...his heart.
Eri... Koi barely registered his mother moving towards Eri, grabbing her and pulling her into the kitchen. Hell, he barely registered that he
was on his feet and moving towards his father, his fists clenched. His jaw tight. His cheeks burning with anger, boiling with fury.
"And what the fuck are you look-" His father's words were cut short as Koi's balled fist struck him, his head jerking violently to the side. Before he
could get another word out, Koi's fist struck again, catching his cheek, making him stumble backwards. Shemar hadn't reacted yet, probably because he
was too shocked that his lip was bleeding. He moved out of the way quickly, missing Koi's next punch by an inch.
"YOU FUCKING, CRAZY..." Without further hesitation, Shemar lunched forward, his body ramming Koi's as another punch caught his midsection. They
tussled, Koi's hands punching out as Shemar tried to keep them from connecting with their targets.
"So you want to hit a nigga, huh?" Shemar spat as he held Koi's arms down with one hand. "You wanna be a grown ass motherfucker and hit a nigga?"
Shemar's first punch hit hard, jerking Koi's head backwards. The two that followed were just like the first. Koi's ears rang as he braced for the next
punch, his brain telling him that maybe, just maybe he deserved this. Maybe if it wasn't for the goddamned prom and the fucking mess he'd made at
school...and the fucked up shit he did to Devyn...maybe, none of this would be happening. Eri wouldn't be hurt. His mother wouldn't have had to defend
him...none of it would've happened.
Shattering glass brought Koi back. Not another punch to the face. But a shattered vase. And his mother's voice...
"GET OUT!" Fumie was done with the drama and the chaos that had left both of her children hurt and this family in even more shambles if that was
possible. She was done talking to him. She was done trying to convince him of anything. For the umteenth time that night Fumie found herself thinking
how done she was with her ex-husband, but this was the first time she couldn't smile about it. She was prepared to kill him if that was what it took,
but he was leaving this house. Hell, she was actually resisting the urge to gut him like a fucking fish on GP alone.
All Fumie could think about were her children. Eri was surely going to need more therapy than any 10 year old should and Koi...Koi was already so
lost. And she knew how hard he felt his emotions. This insanity was enough to break him and she'd never meant to bring him to that point. All she
could pray was that they'd be able to get through this together. He would obviously be furious with her now. With what she'd started here and with
what happened to Eri as a result. She hated herself for it so it was easy to believe he hated her too.
But that was neither here nor there as her threat lingered in the air between she and Shemar. The murder in her eyes was mirrored in his as he did
what she assumed was weighing his options. Part of her hoped he came at her so she had a defense for running this blade through his throat. The other
half of her didn't want to fight. She wanted to go to Koi and make sure he was okay...whatever that meant. She waited, the adrenaline in her making
her feel as if she could have held this stalemate for years to come. Shemar was leaving.
She would not yield.
I was a heavy heart to carry but, he never let me down.
When he held me in his arms my feet never touched the ground.
Shemar spat blood. His lip was definitely busted. His jaw was bruised and other shit on him that had already taken a battering from his years on the
court screamed out in pain as he stood, leaving where he'd been hovering over Koi...punching the living shit out of him. Shards of glass were still
tinkering to the floor from where Fumie's crazy ass had thrown their expensive Lalique vase at the wall. Thankfully, she didn't have the aim or the
arm strength to hit him! Because that would've been a whole 'notha...
Did this bitch have a knife?
...need to get the fuck away from my son and get the FUCK out of this house!"
Why the FUCK was she so worked up? And he could get out of where? This house? HIS house? The house HIS NBA career paid for? The house HIS money paid
the bills in? Oh, no. He wouldn't be leaving HIS house anytime soon. She, on the other hand, could take HER ass out of the home that he LET her live
in. Gladly. Especially the way she was holding that knife...and her son and daughter had just attacked him. Hell, she could take them too.
"Oh...this house?" He said smartly, rolling the shoulder that he'd used to knock Koi to the floor. "Now why the hell...would I leave MY OWN home?"
"Yeah..." Shemar adjusted his tie, righting it from the short "ass beat" he'd just given to his son. One he was DEFINITELY due for...and he knew it,
his stupid ass barely able to get up off the damn floor.
"...you already know that's not happening...unless you got some way of removing me, wifey."
He spoke, taunting her by calling this God-forsaken place a home and asking why he should leave. Fumie wondered if he really didn't see her reason for
him telling her to go. She knew his past, she'd met his father, but surely he could understand how putting his hands on her children would get him put
out. He'd known the rules from the beginning. She was willing to take whatever he threw at her. The tantrums, the early mornings, the irregular mood
swings that usually turned to violence. She could handle that. She'd been dealing with Shemar for almost 20 years and she'd almost come to terms with
this being her life. All she had ever asked of their situation was not to involve her children.
Well that was obviously done and so was she. She wasn't talking to him anymore. He needed to leave and none of his goading was going to change that.
Tonight Shemar was meeting his match...and maybe even his maker if he didn't drop the bullshit. Nobody wanted him here. Wasn't it obvious? All that
he'd done tonight was UNFORGIVABLE and there was nothing left for him here. Still, somehow, he wasn't understanding that his options did not include
staying or going. They had made it to him walking out or being put into a bag and carried.
She stepped further into the living room, her grip tight on the knife as her eyes locked with his in silent challenge. She stopped just short of his
reach. He would go. And he would figure that shit out for himself soon enough. Fumie was finished with words.
I was a heavy heart to carry but, he never let me down.
When he held me in his arms my feet never touched the ground.
"Did you hear what the fuck I just said?" The smirk on Shemar's face faded into an intimidating sneer, his eyes shifting from Fumie's face to the
kitchen knife in her clenched fist. Her expression was unreadable, her eyes unblinking as her stare refused to waiver. What the hell did she think she
was really going to do? Stab him? Right. Fumie? Stab him? She'd have to have the balls for that. And despite the show she was putting on, she didn't
have them. She never had. That was the reason why it was easier to keep the bitch. She didn't fight back. And now, all of a sudden...she did? Shemar
didn't believe it and he wasn't convinced.
"And what the hell do you think you're gonna do with that knife?" He shook his head, chuckling as he watched her shift on her feet.
"Because I know you're not thinking of cutting me...because you won't." Shemar couldn't help but roll his eyes at the show she thought she was putting
on. This little dramatic bit. The fuck did she think she was? Wonder Woman? With her Knife of Truth or some shit? Fuck her. She was just Fumie
Hamada-Kidd, the stupid that was smart enough to trap him into this pointless marriage and stayed put for almost twenty years because even in her
stupidity, she fucking knew better. Shemar liked that Fumie better...
"You're not that kind of woman, baby" He laughed again, rubbing his beard as he continued to stare at her.
"You're not a fighter. You're not brave...you ain't shit, wifey. And that's why you..." His words stopped as Fumie moved, stepping further into the
living room, his eyes following her as she walked towards him, her grip tighter on the knife. He felt himself take a step back before he could catch
himself, his eyes narrowing at Fumie...something flashing in her eyes that he was sure he'd never seen there before.
"And you can back the fuck up...because you ain't about that fucking life, Fumie."
Shemar knew everything didn't he? There was a time when she genuinely thought that. Where she believed whatever he said and was sure he shit gold. He
had been perfect for her once. Never flawless but perfectly flawed just for her. He was impulsive and passionate and hilariously inappropriate in a
way that her 16 year old self couldn't get enough of. He hadn't changed. In 20 years he hadn't changed...but she had. She grew up. She wasn't a little
girl anymore, awestruck by his wit and charm. She was a grown woman, disgusted by him as a whole. She wouldn't do it anymore.
...because you won't. He had no idea what she would or wouldn't do. He didn't know her anymore. Shemar was living in the past by himself and
all of this chaos he'd created was a result of learning that. He was all by himself. Alone. Especially now as the son they'd made together in love so
long ago laid on the floor battered and bloody at the hands of his father. Fumie didn't break eye contact as he laughed at her, telling her what kind
of woman she was. He had no idea what kind of woman she was. He didn't know her anymore.
You're not a fighter. You're not brave...you ain't shit. He was right; but that was the old Fumie. The new Fumie was stepping into the living
room, rage still in her eyes and knife still in her hand. Fuck him. He thought he knew how this would go? He thought he was still calling the shots?
He thought she wouldn't do it?
"Try me."
I was a heavy heart to carry but, he never let me down.
When he held me in his arms my feet never touched the ground.
A challenge? Really? And she thought Shemar wasn't about to answer that with action? Oh, Fumie was on one. She was completely on one. And for what?
The fact that Shemar had just handled the family that he should've been putting in place a long time ago? But for her bullshit, he never had. All her
protecting and coddling led to this. Shemar having to take the reins and guide shit to "right". Her stupid decisions led to them being right where
they were. She couldn't blame anyone but herself. Oh, but she did. She blamed Shemar. He could see it in that crazy fucking look in her eyes that she
did. No, being a better mother and wife, knowing when to shut the hell up and do what the fuck your husband was telling you and knowing how to
discipline your bad ass kids was ALL her.
None of this shit was funny and honestly? Shemar was tired of playing games with her. What she was going to do was put the knife down, let Shemar
remind her what happens to a loud ass wifey that gets too big for her La Perla panties, and let him go on with his fucking night.
"Try you? Fuck...gladly." Shemar moved to step closer to where Fumie stood, her hand still at the ready, a menacing smile plastered on his
face...until Fumie's hand welding the knife whipped out, slicing the fabric of the thigh of his pants.
"You fucking CRAZY BITCH!" He stumbled back, further than he'd been before, his face stricken as he looked at the clean rip in his suit pants.
"You FUCKING...what the fuck!" His fingers roamed the opening in his pants, checking to see if the knife had gone deeper than just a cut to his pants.
She knew he would do it. Fumie knew that if she challenged him Shemar would accept and he would try her. She was supposed to be ending this. She was
supposed to be telling him to go and not come back. So why was she adding fuel to an already raging fire, allowing her pettiness to override her
rationality. She wanted to hurt him. The way he'd hurt Eri, how he'd hurt Koi. She was dying to drive the knife in her hand through his chest to hilt
then pull it out and start again. She shouldn't have tested him, but it was out now and she didn't regret it. Especially not as he stepped forward,
the look on his face telling her follow through was not an option. That was just fine with her.
Without even thinking Fumie lashed out, tightening her grip and slicing just a bit more than the air in front of her. She could feel her chest rise
and fall as he stumbled back, her breath coming quickly in the excitement of the moment. She watched as Shemar examined himself, making sure she
hadn't cut more that the pants of his precious suit. He could be sure if he stayed that Fumie was prepared to go full Lorena Bobbitt on his ass. But
she shouldn't...
Her head cocked slowly to the side, an eyebrow raising in a silent question. Did he really want to see crazy?
"Go."
I was a heavy heart to carry but, he never let me down.
When he held me in his arms my feet never touched the ground.
There was no blood, no reall injury...but it wasn't taking Captain Fucking Obvious to tell Shemar what he needed to do. Hell, he didn't even need to
words from Fumie's mouth, simple and oddly calm as she stared at him, her head tilted to the side as if to say "I did it once, I'll do it again".
Crazy bitch.
Go. Gladly. She honestly didn't have to tell him twice. Because from what Shemar had seen, there was no talking to her anyway. She was
fucking gone. His wifey that knew her place and knew when to back the fuck down had fled the building and in her place was the crazy bitch welding the
knife that looked like it wanted to take another "stab" at ending Shemar's life. Something told him that that first swipe was a "warning" and the rest
wouldn't be. He didn't really want to test that theory.
"Fuck you, Fumie." He muttered, grabbing his shades from the side table where he'd placed them.
"And don't fucking think that this is a 'win' for you, bitch." With that, he skirted around her, grabbed his keys off of the side table near the front
door, lowkey praying that she didn't see the quickening in his step as he left.
![[*]](images/davis/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
