From His Partner to His Prey Read online

  She planned and cooked an elaborate snack buffet and added some cool decorations to the house before everyone arrived. It was a beautiful night and for Keisha and Tyler, it felt like a celebration of their new beginning. For the next few weeks, things seemed to get better and better. It was the home lift that Keisha had been waiting for. It was closer to the type of relationship she imagined they would have. When she spoke to her friends, they told her they could see a change and even asked Keisha what she did to get Tyler to change. What was funny to Keisha was that she couldn’t figure out exactly what she had done. Their relationship had done a complete 180 and although she was grateful, she could not understand what made Tyler change. Keisha didn’t have to wait for too long to find out the answer to her question. On Tyler’s next day off, Keisha started the conversation.

  “Hey Tyler, can I talk to you for a minute?” she asked.

  “What’s up Keisha?” he paused then turned towards her to answer.

  “I’m glad we’re in such a wonderful place in our relationship. I just wanted to ask you, what do I need to do to keep us here?” she looked up at Tyler with pure submission in her eyes.

  “I mean…you good. Ain’t nothing I can tell you to do.” he answered and walked away.

  In that moment, Keisha knew that what she saw was not reality. A week later, Tyler told Keisha he had made rank and his subordinates wanted to take him out to celebrate the upcoming weekend. Keisha was completely shocked! She had no idea Tyler was even testing to rank up. Nonetheless, she congratulated him and mentioned doing something to celebrate with him, but he declined. The weekend came and everyone showed up at Keisha and Tyler’s house to carpool for the night. Tyler introduced Keisha to everyone, and they left. Keisha did not typically wait up for Tyler when he went out and this time was no different.

  However, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t sleep. Before she knew it, it was 6 o’clock in the morning and she had been up all night. Around 6:40 in the morning, she finally dozed off. She was startled out of her sleep shortly after by Tyler opening the garage door and stumbling into the house. When she realized it was him, she went back to sleep. Tyler didn’t let that last long before he woke her up requesting breakfast and a shoulder massage. Keisha was absolutely appalled. She had no words, no energy, and no peace. Due to how she was feeling, she refused. Tyler couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t fill his request.

  “Come on Keish.” he asked as he undressed. Keisha still refused.

  “You were out all night, came home after 6 in the morning and you want me to hop up, cook you breakfast, and rub your shoulders? I’m out on that!” she explained.

  Tyler immediately reacted with anger and disgust. “What you mean, you out on that?!?” he questioned.

  “I’m not doing this Tyler.” Keisha sighed as she walked out the bedroom.

  In that moment, Tyler decided to let it go and just lay down. Keisha was so frustrated she couldn’t sleep so she got the kids up and started her day. By the time Keisha laid the kids down for a nap in the afternoon, she was able to take a nap as well. Tyler woke up before his family and made enough noise to make sure he wouldn’t be the only person up for much longer. To say that Keisha was annoyed was an understatement! She could not believe he asked her to do all of that after he stayed out all night with his friends then had the nerve to wake up the entire house! Keisha felt so disrespected and aggravated. She was angered by Tyler having any regard for them getting some rest. After she calmed the kids down, she fed them and went to talk to Tyler. As soon as she walked in the room, she saw Tyler on the phone.

  She couldn’t hear the full conversation, but she could hear Tyler’s responses. From what she could make out, it seemed like Tyler was dealing with a serious situation, so she calmed down and waited for him to get off the phone. When Tyler turned around and saw Keisha standing there, he changed his posture and started using a different language. Keisha got confused. Yet and still, she waited. Tyler kept talking as one of the kids came to get Keisha. She left to clean up after them and get them situated so she could go back and talk to Tyler. When she returned to the bedroom, he was off the phone standing at the dresser waiting for Keisha to come back.

  “What’s up?” he asked.

  “Is everything ok?” Keisha asked with concern.

  “Yeah. I had to deal with a situation involving one of my female troops. She was talking about killing herself cause her boyfriend broke up with her.” he explained.

  “So, what did you tell her?” Keisha asked.

  “I mean, I just told her not to worry about it and focus on herself.” Tyler answered quickly.

  “Which one of your troops is this?” Keisha asked.

  “Maria. You met her last night when everybody came over…before we went out.” he explained.

  Keisha just stood there and looked at him. Nothing made sense to her anymore. Keisha felt like she couldn’t believe anything Tyler was saying. One moment everything is going great and the next moment, there was an avalanche of crazy events. Tyler was going out more frequently and spending insane amounts of time on his phone. Keisha could feel the shift and she was slowly being drained of all she had left. A few weeks later, Tyler told Keisha she needed to go get an STD test. She agreed without question or hesitation. Tyler was infuriated.

  “What the fuck?! YOU DON’T EVEN CARE?!?” Tyler yelled.

  “What are you talking about Tyler?” she asked in a monotone voice.

  “You just don’t care at all that I said you need to get tested! You ain’t ask what happened or nothing!” He exclaimed.

  “Ok. What happened Tyler?” Keisha asked reluctantly.

  “Me and Johnson went to the strip club a couple nights ago. He got me a dance and then the dancer took me to a V.I.P room.” he told Keisha.

  “Ok. I actually already took a test. I’m good so….” she replied.

  “Why don’t you care Keisha? Like, you just cool with it?” Tyler asked, full of confusion.

  “No. You are a grown ass man making decisions. I can’t control what you do and I’m not about to waste time getting mad about YOUR choices.” she explained.

  They went back and forth for about twenty minutes and then Tyler reveals to Keisha some heavy truth.

  “Well, I ain’t changing. This is me and this is who I am. If you don’t like it, you can leave! I’m gone be me and that’s just that!”

  Keisha simply responded, “Ok” and walked away.

  Six

  Pay for It

  The next week was crazy for Tyler and Keisha. They barely spoke to one another, and the tension was heavy. It was like they were “just” roommates. The communication only existed when it came to business and financial matters. Keisha knew she couldn’t continue in the relationship the way it was. She thought things would change and stay good after the last time they reconciled. Keisha was hopeful for the success of their marriage. She gave all she had and still found herself in a tense situation. It was a hard pill to swallow but she had no choice. Keisha and Tyler could not recover this time. His STD scare was the final straw. Too much damage had been done and now there was no turning back.

  Keisha and Tyler were finally able to speak without arguing and they both decided that the marriage was over. Since there was no chance that they would reconcile, they needed to split amicably for the sake of the children. Tyler seemed relieved…Keisha seemed numb to it all but was still going through the motions. Once they agreed to split, they discussed exactly that that would look like.

  “Well, my homeboy got a room at his house that I can rent so I’m just gone move over there while we get everything worked out.” Tyler told Keisha.

  “Alright, that’s cool. When are you moving?” she asked.

  “I’ll be leaving in a few days.” Tyler responded.

  Before Tyler moved out, he told Keisha to look into the divorce process and find out what they needed to do. She did just that and gave Tyler the information she found. They proceeded to move f
orward without legal counsel per Tyler’s request. The two of them went to the local bank and notarized the documents for their Pro Se divorce. By the time correspondence came back from the court, Tyler was living with his friend. He came by the house a few times to check on Keisha and to follow up on the response from the court. Keisha waited to tell Tyler that the court rejected their paperwork until she found a lawyer.

  When Tyler learned about the rejection, he was upset. He wanted it to be done the way he wanted it done and not how the court said it needed to happen. He was pissed off that they rejected the application and required them to complete a child support affidavit. Keisha agreed to exclude it from the original application at Tyler’s demand. The court required a child support worksheet along with some other specifics, so they suggested that Tyler and Keisha proceed with counsel. Tyler found someone and told Keisha they would get it set back up to be processed. Keisha acknowledged it and moved on. During the process of waiting, Keisha decided to have a garage sale to clean out some of the stuff in the house they didn’t need anymore.

  Everything she planned to sell belonged to her and the kids and she wanted to use the money to cover a few things around the house since Tyler wasn’t contributing financially. She planned out the garage sale and asked one of her friends to help her set it up and advertise it. Before Keisha could have the garage sale, the court responded to their second application and scheduled a hearing. They went to the hearing and learned more about the process of separation and divorce. They were still speaking to one another, and Tyler would still stop by the house. It seemed to be going smooth until one day when Tyler came over to see Keisha and he got upset with her because she didn’t want to participate in his pity party.

  Instead of calming down and leaving, Tyler pushed Keisha onto the floor and told her, “That’s why you were raped! You’re weak! Look at you! You got what you deserved! You probably liked it! Stupid whore!”

  Keisha was in shock…she could not believe what was happening.

  “Leave Tyler.” is all she could find the strength to say as she pulled herself up off the floor.

  Tyler kept taunting her until he was satisfied then he left. Keisha checked on her children and it seemed like they were oblivious to what happened. She got them all cleaned up and ready for bed. They said their prayers and she tucked them in for the night. Keisha went to her room, closed the door, and turned on the shower. She got in and slid down the wall until her body couldn’t slide anymore. She just sat there mixing tears and water. She didn’t know what to do from there. She felt so broken and destroyed. She felt isolated and dismissed. She didn’t know who to talk to about what was going on or if she should even try to talk to anyone about it. She was afraid for herself and her children.

  Keisha was an unemployed student who would soon have to add ‘single mom’ to her list of titles. It was draining all the life from her. She felt like Tyler was going to continue this type of behavior. She was unsure of what he would do next and felt like she always had to be on guard. It became nearly impossible to stay focused on course work. Keisha didn’t want to take the kids out much because Tyler took the vehicle with working A/C and the leather seats in his car with no A/C was not a good mix in the middle of summer. She felt trapped in the house while waiting for Tyler to come back and react to something else.

  A week went by and there was no Tyler. It was a stressful week because Keisha stayed on edge. She couldn’t relax, sleep, or eat. She was miserable. Every day Keisha would continue to gather things for the garage sale and prepared for her and the kids to get their own place soon. When they went to the first divorce hearing, the judge ordered Tyler to start contributing to Keisha and the kids. Since they were still living in the marital house, she wasn’t receiving a lot of financial assistance from Tyler because he paid the bills. Since Keisha was so uncomfortable in the house, she started looking for places to move as soon as the judge ordered Tyler to help. A second week passed with no visit from Tyler. Although Keisha was extremely grateful, she was growing more and more afraid with every week that passed without a visit.

  As she was cleaning out her stuff, she was reminded of the good times. She smiled thinking about the fun they had. She was so happy when she reminisced on the good times in their marriage. Those moments made her feel like she did the right thing. Those moments made her feel like she didn’t fail. She cried as each memory faded and she drifted back into reality. As she wiped away her tears, she thought to herself, ‘It was fun while it lasted’. She slowly started to see that she had been alone in the marriage for quite some time. All the fond memories she thought about came with a plethora of tumultuous moments and a river of tears. The fun she was trying to hold on to was replaced by the truth…she was realizing how the good times and funny memories are nothing more than tainted truths. In that moment Keisha understood that she was just a pawn in Tyler’s game of chess.

  Another week passed without a visit from Tyler but at this point, Keisha was cool. She was used to how their life had been with no contact from Tyler. The kids didn’t seem to even notice that Tyler had not been around. It was becoming the new normal and Keisha was starting to get comfortable with the peace. A few days later, Tyler called.

  “Hey…how you doin’?” He asked.

  “Hi. I’m good.” Keisha responded.

  “How the kids doing?” Tyler questioned.

  “They are good. You can come see them whenever you want.” She told him.

  “Yeah. I’m probably gone come by there later. Is that ok?” He inquired.

  “That’s fine Tyler.” Keisha said.

  As they ended the call, Keisha thought it was strange that he asked for her permission to do anything because that was very unlike him. His behavior was a little off-putting for Keisha. In her experience, when Tyler was nice, it was simply the calm before the storm. Yet and still, she went with it and waited for Tyler to stop by. She tried to avoid leaving the house so she wouldn’t miss him. By the time Keisha finished dinner, Tyler still had not arrived. She proceeded with her nightly ritual with the kids and then put them down for bed. Just before she was about to take her shower, she heard the garage door open. A few seconds later, she saw Tyler appear in the kitchen walkway.

  “Hey,” he said when he saw Keisha walking out of the bedroom.

  “Hey Tyler.” She responded with an attitude.

  “Where the kids at? How they doin’?” Tyler asks looking around.

  “They are asleep Tyler. It’s after 9 o’clock. I thought you were gonna come over earlier, while they were still up.” Keisha explained.

  “I was, but something came up. I’m here now though!” He said.

  “But the kids are asleep.” She repeated.

  Tyler walked towards her and said “I’ll see them next time. I wanted to see you.”

  Keisha could not believe what she was hearing. “Tyler,” she interrupted, “I’m not doing this with you.”

  “What you mean?” He asked seeming confused.

  “You said you were coming to see the kids. You told me you were coming earlier to see them, but you get here after they are in bed.” She explained.

  “Ok Keisha. I’ll come see them one day next week then. Is that what you want?” He replied.

  “Whatever Tyler.” Keisha sighed.

  Shortly after, Tyler left. The following week, he did the same thing. He waited until the kids were in bed before he came to visit. Keisha was extremely annoyed by this because it was evident to her that he had no intentions on actually visiting the kids.

  “Why don’t you come by during the day when they are awake and running around? I know they would love to see you.” Keisha asked.

  “I’m trying Keisha but it’s not that easy.” He tried to explain.

  “How is it not that easy Tyler? You choose when to visit and I am not impeding on your vision.” She told him.

  “It’s just hard right now.” He said with animosity in every word.

  “They haven’t see
n you in weeks Tyler. They miss you. They want to see you.” She attempted to explain.

  “I’ll talk to you later Keisha.” Tyler said as he walked out the door.

  Minutes later, Keisha heard the garage door open and close. She went in her room and cried. She couldn’t believe that Tyler didn’t want to see their kids. She could not understand why he was avoiding them. They were growing up and changing so fast. She couldn’t imagine not being around them, which is why it was hard for her to understand how Tyler could go so long without being around them. Keisha realized then, in that moment, she was now a single parent. Since Tyler was already avoiding them, it seemed like this would be their new normal and she would be alone raising the kids. From what she was already experiencing, she also knew this was going to be very hard. Keisha knew things would be even harder for the kids. Nevertheless, she kept going through the motions to get them to their next checkpoint. The garage sale was a week away.

  Seven

  Let the Games Begin

  On the day of the sale, Keisha and her friend set up and sold the items they had available. Once they were done, they cleaned up and Keisha’s friend left. About an hour later, Tyler came over to the house. He walked in and demanded that Keisha give him half of her earnings from the garage sale. She refused but he insisted. He even made the claim that half of the money was his anyway since they are still married, and Keisha sold stuff he bought for her. She refused again and told him he wasn’t entitled to anything. She explained to him that what she sold was not anything he purchased for her, and she all of the money she made was hers. He continued to argue and tell her that half of the money was his.