Page 105 of I Heard It All Before

Chapter 37

Courtney was stressed and she was at the end of her rope. Her marriage was going from bad to worse and she was tired of trying to fix it. Alton had missed two of their counseling appointments, and Courtney had to threaten him with divorce to get him to go to the others. He was still stuck in the past and they couldn’t move forward until he let that go. He kept dwelling on that bullshit with Cam, and Courtney was over it. Cam had been locked up for almost two months and he wasn’t a threat to anyone. Nora was losing her mind and Demi was too. His grandfather was doing everything in his power to get him out, but the judge refused to set a bond. Cam’s previous arrests didn’t help and the judge was being an asshole. He said that Cam shouldn’t have been released all the other times and he wasn’t making the mistake of letting him out again. Aside from Kobe, Cam didn’t want anyone else to visit him. Courtney talked to him a few times when she went to Nora’s house, but that wasn’t too often. Cam still wasn’t talking to Demi and she hadn’t tried to go see him again. Nora visited Demi all the time because she was depressed about Cam being gone.

“You wanna go get something to eat?” Alton asked his wife, pulling her away from her thoughts.

“No, just bring me home,” Courtney replied, void of any emotion.

Alton wanted to say more, but he decided to leave her alone. He knew that his stubbornness was putting a strain on their marriage, but he was having a hard time getting over the past. He didn’t want to lose his wife, but that’s the direction that he felt like they were headed. As soon as they got home, Alton sat down in his recliner, as Courtney stormed down the hall to their bedroom. He flipped through channels, trying to find a movie to watch until the noise coming from their bedroom got his attention.

“What the hell are you doing?” Alton asked when he entered the room and saw Courtney pulling clothes from the closet.

“What the hell does it look like? I’m done Alton. Fuck counseling and everything else. I’m tired of trying to make this work all by myself,” Courtney said as tears clouded her vision.

Courtney didn’t have anywhere else to go, but she would live under a bridge before she stayed there and continued to be miserable. She was an only child and she didn’t have any living relatives that she knew of. Still, anything was better than where she was.

“Don’t do this Courtney, please. I’m sorry baby. I’ll try harder, I promise,” Alton begged.

“What do you mean you’ll try harder? You’ve never tried at all. I’m tired Alton and I can’t take no more. I cheated and I was wrong, but ask yourself why I did what I did,” Courtney replied.

“So, this is my fault?” Alton asked while pointing at himself.

“How much did you expect me to take Alton? I’m not even thirty years old and I feel like my life is already over. We don’t go anywhere or do anything. We used to have sex every day in the beginning, but you barely touch me now. We’re still supposed to be newlyweds, but all we do is argue,” Courtney cried.

“I wonder why Courtney. Maybe it’s because you fuck your ex every chance you get. Disappearing with that nigga like I’m too stupid to notice. You’re not the only one who’s fed up. I’m tired of being disrespected!” Alton yelled, bringing up the situation that happened at the club a while ago.

“Why did you marry me then, Alton? Everything that you mentioned happened before we got married, so why did you go through with it?” Courtney sniffled.

“Because I love you, that’s why. Baby, look, I can’t place all the blame on you. I got comfortable and stopped doing all the things that I did before. I don’t condone you messing around, but I know that my actions probably drove you to it. But, please, don’t give up on us Courtney. I admit that I wasn’t trying before, but I’m ready to give it my all,” Alton promised.

“I’m trying Alton, I’m really trying. I shouldn’t have done what I did, but I can’t take it back. Either we’re going to move forward or we need to go our separate ways,” Courtney replied.

“I want to move forward, but I want us to do it right. No more outside people in our marriage Courtney. If you can’t agree to that, then this won’t work,” Alton explained.

“I’ve already told you that I’m done with that Alton. I love you and I’m ready to move forward,” Courtney replied.

“You say that now, but you’re still being deceitful,” he pointed out.

“How am I being deceitful? I admitted to all my wrongdoings and I apologized,” Courtney said.

“Okay, so why were you with Cam a few weeks ago when you were supposed to be at work? I saw you pull up at IHOP and his truck was already there,” Alton informed her.

“Really Alton? So, you’re spying on me now?” Courtney asked.

“I’m not spying on you. I went to the bank that was right next door. That doesn’t change the fact that you lied to me though,” he noted.

“I didn’t lie to you, Alton, but you don’t trust me. I haven’t been with Cam sexually in months, but you never believe what I tell you. Cam has been my friend for years and you want me to give that up,” Courtney countered.

“That’s because you can’t keep your thongs on around that nigga. It’s sad that I trust you more because he’s in jail,” Alton snapped.

“Wow. You’re so against my friendship with him, but you should be grateful. It’s because of him that we’re not divorced,” Courtney admitted.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Alton questioned.

“It means that I was fed up long before now. I was done with this marriage, but it was Camden who suggested counseling. He was the one encouraging me to give my marriage another try and do all I could to make it work. The same person that you despise is the same one who was in your corner the entire time. Cam has moved on and he’s happy. I want us to do the same thing,” Courtney answered.

“Damn man,” Alton sighed as he ran his hand down the side of his face.

Guilt had been consuming him for weeks and Courtney’s admission about Cam intensified it. Alton was happy when Cam got locked up, but now he felt like shit. He was always intimidated by his friendship with Courtney because of the history that they had. Now, he was realizing that Cam wasn’t such a bad person after all. Alton was a good dude too, but good men often made bad decisions.

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