COMPLICATED Read online

  COMPLICATED

  Written By:

  CHENELL PARKER

  Copyright © 2016 Chenell Parker

  Published by Writehouse Publishing

  Editor: Latarsha Banks

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without prior written consent of the publisher and the author, except brief quotes used in reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Any references or similarities to actual events, real people, living or dead, or to the real locals are intended to give the novel a sense of reality. Any similarity in other names, characters, places, and incidents are entirely coincidental.

  This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with.

  Acknowledgements

  As always, I am very thankful to God for the gift that he had blessed me with. Telling a story is not always easy, but I am so very thankful for the support both near and far. My family, as usual, are here with me every step of the way. My babies, Terrence and Kiara, my mother, Rhette Parker, brother and sisters, Earl, Racquel, Lynell and Trina Parker, Grandfather, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Nieces, Nephews, Great-Nephews and a host of other family member and friends, I am forever grateful to all of you for the love and support that you all have shown me throughout this journey. Of course, I thank my publisher, Torica Tymes, for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to tell my stories. I want to extend a special thanks to my girl Allison Smith, who listens to me vent for hours via telephone about nothing in particular. Thanks to my test reader Shantel Mosley Ashley, who I don’t talk to every day, but she’s always ready and available to read whenever I need her. A huge shout out of love to my reading group “Chenell’s Chatty Corner”. It’s too many of y’all to list, but just know that I love and appreciate each and every one of you. Y’all keep a smile on my face even when I don’t feel like smiling. Interacting with y’all never gets old, and I look forward to seeing what everybody has to say each and every day. The fun literally never stops. Thanks to my admins in the group, Dana McLeod, and Tamara Childs, who keeps it on and popping even in my absence. And last, but not least, a huge round of applause for my dear friend and group admin, Quo Vadis Sylve Hollins. We clash (very often), but at the end of the day, we get it right. From test reading to promoting, your work with me is never done, but it is greatly appreciated. You wear many hats, but you wear them well. I hope and pray that I didn’t forget anyone, but if I did, please charge it to my head and not my heart. I promise you that it was not intentional.

  Xoxo Chenell 2016

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Prologue

  Rylee sat at her desk silently willing the clock to switch from four fifteen to five o’clock. The rest of her week flew by, but this particular Friday was dragging on for no apparent reason. Maybe it was because she’d finished her filing earlier than usual, but she was bored out of her mind. Being a legal assistant/paralegal, Rylee stayed busy most of the time. Her boss had been in and out of court for most of the day, so she really didn’t have much to do. With the amount of business that the law firm had, she knew that it could be a matter of minutes before that changed. She would be so busy some days that she wouldn’t make it home until eight or sometimes later. Deciding that she would play a few games of solitaire to pass the time away, Rylee turned on her computer and waited for it to power up. Although it made her sad most of the time, she couldn’t help, but to stare at the photo collage of her family as it flashed across her computer screen. Rylee and her sister Baylee were the only two kids that their parents had. The pictures on her screen reminded her of the good times. She remembered the times that she and her family visited Hawaii or Jamaica for every summer vacation. The times when deciding what she wanted to wear to a party was the only thing that she had to worry about. A time when she had both her parents and her sister there to talk to whenever she needed to. A time before her oldest sister’s estranged husband shot her down in cold blood before turning the gun on himself. The pictures reminded her of how beautiful her mother was before cancer made her unrecognizable and eventually killed her. Her father’s smile was so genuine and not forced like it had been during the final months of his life. That was before a massive heart attack eventually killed him and left her all alone in the world. Although she was happily married to the love of her, Rylee still felt empty inside. At only twenty-one years old, she had seen more heart aches and heartbreak that most women twice her age. She was thankful for her paternal grandmother and her aunts and cousins on both sides of her family, but it just wasn’t the same. Rylee’s husband Mekhi had a huge family, but even they couldn’t fill the void of her deceased loved ones.

  “Anybody else scheduled to come in today Rylee?” Her boss, Mr. Campbell asked when he walked through the front doors of the office.

  Brian Campbell wasn’t just Rylee’s boss; he was also her father’s best friend up until the day he died. His son Brent and Rylee were also close before he moved away for college. Mr. Campbell and Rylee’s father Ryan graduated law school together and opened up the criminal law firm that she was now employed by. Mr. Campbell had an almost flawless record in criminal court, and his list of clients was extremely long. He has since moved his office from Lafayette, Louisiana and relocated to New Orleans. He now had a family, criminal, corporate and employment lawyers on his team as well. Rylee originally wanted to follow in her father and older sister’s footsteps and become a lawyer, but she gave up her dream after their deaths. She was making a pretty good salary as a paralegal, and she was okay with that.

  “I don’t think so, but let me double check just to be sure,” Rylee answered.

  “Okay, but if we don’t have any appointments you can call it a night and start your weekend early,” Mr. Campbell said making Rylee smile.

  She hurriedly exited out of her game of cards and pulled up her calendar to make sure she was free to go. Rylee went through the list carefully and exhaled when she saw that she was free and clear for the remainder of the day. Just as she was about to exit out of her computer the front door chimed alerting her of an incoming visitor. Rylee immediately plastered a smile on her face when she saw a petite caramel colored woman with beautiful eyes walking towards her desk followed by two other men. Just by looking at the woman Rylee could tell that she had been crying. She was used to seeing distraught family members come in on a daily basis, so that was nothing new to her. She grabbed a few Kleenex from the box on her desk and handed them to one of her unknown visitors.

  “Thank you,” the woman smiled weakly while dabbing her eyes with the tissue.

  “You’re welcome. What can I do for you?” Rylee asked.

  “I know that y’all are about to close, but I really need help. I’m trying to hire a lawyer for my brother,” she spoke up through her tears.

  “Okay, do you have an appointment?” Rylee asked even though she knew that she didn’t. Her name would have been on her calendar if she did.

  “No, I don’t have an appointment, but I really do need to speak with a lawyer. My brother is going to court soon, and we had to fire his old attorney. He’s
being accused of shooting somebody, and they’re trying to charge him with attempted murder. His lawyer wasn’t fighting hard enough, so I need a better one. I don’t care how much it cost. I’m desperate at this point.”

  Usually, Rylee would have turned her around, but she heard the urgency in the woman’s voice. She still had her calendar up on her computer, so she decided to help her out.

  “What’s your name?” Rylee asked her.

  “My name is Zyra Henry, and my brother’s name is Zyrian, different last name, though,” she answered.

  “Ok Zyra, give me a minute to see what I can do,” Rylee said as she added her name to the calendar of appointments.

  Zyra stood at her desk as she got up and walked to Mr. Campbell’s office. It only took about three minutes, but he agreed to see her once he got off of the phone with another client. Rylee was relieved that he agreed to help, and so was Zyra. Before returning to her seat, Rylee hurried and locked the door before anyone else could walk in.

  “How long has your brother been in jail?” Rylee asked trying to make small talk.

  “He’s been in for a year now. I know you hear this a lot, but he really is innocent. He’s taking a charge for somebody else, and they’re trying to throw the book at him,” Zyra said looking over at one of the men who accompanied her there.

  Rylee never noticed before, but he looked scary. His appearance alone intimidated her, and she turned her head as soon as they made eye contact. Not only was he over six feet tall, but he was all muscle.

  “I understand. My daddy was a lawyer, and he always told me that just because a person’s in jail doesn’t mean that they’re guilty,” Rylee said repeating one of the many things that her father told her.

  “You damn right. My cousin ain’t never even been to jail before in his life. He ain’t no snitch, and that’s the only reason he’s locked up now,” the man bellowed making Rylee, even more, nervous.

  “This is my cousin Grim,” Zyra said laughing at how Rylee was looking at him.

  “Grim Reaper is more like it,” Rylee thought to herself.

  “Damn, you fine as hell. You got a man?” The other man asked flirtatiously.

  “Boy sit down!” Zyra yelled. “Don’t mind him. That’s my other cousin Buck.”

  “Yes Buck, I’m actually married,” Rylee said flashing her ring. “And by the way, my name is Rylee.”

  “What you mixed with Rylee?” Grim rudely asked causing Zyra to slap his arm.

  “Grim shut the hell up!” She whispered harshly before apologizing to Rylee.

  Rylee only smiled, but she wasn’t offended by the question. It wasn’t the first and probably wouldn’t be the last time she heard it. It was really bad whenever she hung out with her paternal grandmother, cousins, and aunts. People would look at her crazy, but she learned to live with it a long time ago. Even when she showed people pictures, they looked at her sideways like she was lying about something. Rylee’s father, Ryan, was white, but she never saw a color when she looked at him and her other family members. They were her family, nothing more, nothing less. Her mother was black, but that didn’t stop her from catching Rylee’s father’s attention. Her mother Leela was a part-time model who met her father while looking for an attorney to look over her modeling contract. From what she was told it was love at first sight and had been that way up until death parted the two of them. Rylee was a mixture of both of her parents right on down to her name, which was a combination of both of her parents’ names.

  Rylee and Zyra made small talk and got to know each other for over thirty minutes before Mr. Campbell came out of his office. Just like Rylee, Zyra was married with no kids, but both of her parents were still alive. Her brother Zyrian was her only living sibling, and Rylee could tell that they were close. Zyra informed her that her older brother was killed in a drive-by shooting a year prior, and Rylee felt her pain since she too had lost a sibling to gun violence. Rylee busied herself straightening up the office while Zyra and her cousins talked to Mr. Campbell. It was almost six o’clock when they finally emerged from the office, but Rylee wasn’t complaining.

  “I’ll see you Monday Rylee, and I’ll be calling you sometime next week once I’ve gone to see your brother Zyra,” Mr. Campbell said right before he left out of the office.

  “Judging by the smile on your face I’m guessing your meeting went well,” Rylee said to Zyra.

  “Hell yeah. Aggravated battery sounds a lot better than attempted murder. Since he’s never been to jail before he might not have to do that much time. If they didn’t have a witness he probably wouldn’t be doing any time at all,” Zyra replied.

  “They might not have a witness if I catch up with that nigga,” Grim responded seriously.

  “Don’t start with your bullshit Grim. You’ve caused enough trouble already,” Zyra fussed.

  “I knew you just couldn’t wait to throw that shit up in my face,” he replied angrily.

  “But anyway,” Zyra said rolling her eyes at her cousin. “I owe you big for this Rylee. I know that you had to talk up for me in order to be seen, and I appreciate that. What do you have planned for this weekend?”

  Usually, Rylee would chill with her husband at his sports bar on the weekends or hang with one of her cousins. Zyra seemed cool, so she didn’t mind switching up her routine to hang out with her.

  “I don’t have anything special planned. What did you have in mind?” Rylee asked.

  “Let’s do dinner and a movie, my treat. I really want to do something nice for you to show my appreciation,” Zyra answered.

  “That sounds good to me. Let me give you my number and get yours too,” Rylee suggested.

  She had no idea that from that day forward she and Zyra would be practically inseparable.

  Chapter 1

  4 years later…

  “Zyra calm down. Everything is already done, and the cake will be there in a few hours,” Rylee said trying to ease her friends’ nerves.

  After five years behind bars, Zyra’s brother, Zyrain, was finally being released from prison. He had gone to a halfway house a few months ago, but now he was coming home for good. Since it was early May, Zyra, and her family planned a huge picnic and seafood boil in City Park to welcome him home. Rylee helped her best friend as much as she could, but Zyra was still a nervous wreck. She wanted everything to be perfect for her little brothers’ homecoming. Although Zyrian was a grown man at almost twenty-seven years old, Zyra still considered him her baby. She was only two years older than him at twenty-nine, but that bit of information was irrelevant to her.

  “Okay, but are you still coming early like you promised?” Zyra asked.

  “Yes, Zyra. I’m looking through my closet now trying to find me something to wear.”

  “I don’t know why when you know Mekhi is going to beg you to wear something different. That nigga act like you’re a trophy or something,” Zyra replied.

  “Shut up Zyra,” Rylee laughed.

  “And please tell me that you booked us at MJ’s for his party weekend after next,” Zyra rambled on.

  She was so excited that Zyrian was being released two weeks before his twenty-seventh birthday. He’d spent the last five birthdays in prison, so Zyra wanted to do something special for him. Rylee offered to let her use MJ’s to throw him a party, free of charge. Zyra was sure that Mekhi didn’t know about that bit of info. He was all about his money, and he didn’t believe in doing anything for free.

  “Girl, how many times do I have to tell you that everything has been taken care of? I did that months ago when you found out that he was coming home. Stop stressing yourself out over nothing. I’ll see you in a little while,” Rylee said before disconnecting the call.

  “What’s wrong with her crazy, confused ass now?” Mekhi asked from his spot on the bed.

  “Shut up and stop calling my friend confused. You gon’ slip up and say that shit in front of her one day,” Rylee fussed.

  “But she is confused. She’ll be with a man
today and then swear she’s in love with another woman tomorrow. I don’t blame her husband for leaving her. He needs to sign the divorce papers and be done with her ass.”

  “It’s his fault that she’s the way she is in the first place,” Rylee yelled.

  “You always taking up for her crazy ass,” Mekhi said frowning at his wife.

  “You damn right I’m taking up for her. Best believe she would do the same thing for me,” Rylee snapped before walking out of the room.

  Mekhi just shook his head without bothering to reply. If he didn’t know anything else about his wife, he knew that she was loyal. That was one of the things that drew him to her in the first place. He and Rylee met when she was a junior in high school, and he was in his freshmen year of college at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette or ULL as they all called it. Somehow they ended up at the same party, and one of her girls tried to talk to his boy. Not only was she dismissed, but he and his boys went on to talk about what they disliked about her. Her friend was nowhere around to hear, but Rylee had her back. She heard every word that was spoken and it didn’t sit well with her. After cursing Mekhi and his friends out like the dogs they were, Rylee grabbed her girls and left. Usually, Mekhi would have slapped the shit out of a female for talking to him the way that she did, but something about her had him intrigued. He told his boys to wait for him while he chased after Rylee and her friends. Mekhi had never apologized to a woman before in his life, but that’s exactly what he ended up doing that night. Rylee’s friends didn’t even know what he was apologizing for. They were just happy to be in his presence. It was easy to make them smile, but Rylee was a different story. She sat in the car and mean mugged him the entire time without uttering one word. Thankfully he was able to convince one of her friends to give him some info on her, and it was on from there. Mekhi damn near stalked Rylee at school and everywhere else she went until she agreed to talk to him. He didn’t care about her lil white high school boyfriend that she had at the time. He wanted her, and he didn’t rest until he got her. They had lots of ups and downs throughout their relationship, but that still didn’t stop him from making her his wife as soon as he graduated from college. Rylee was only a nineteen-year-old sophomore in college, but she was more mature than women twice her age. She had been through so much in her young life, but she never let anything break her. She basically lost her entire immediate family in a span of three years, but she was still going stronger than ever.