Catch Hell (AC)

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Catchin Hell

            Mac involuntarily began to stir out of his sleep he put his pillow over his head to drown out the loud knocks on his bedroom door.

“Cletus” Cletus” boy you better open this damn door”, his mother yelled on the other side, as she continued to bang on the door with all her might. 

            Mac let out a loud sigh as he got up from his bed with an attitude he walked across the blue plush carpet, kicking random items of clothing out of his way. 

            “Momma” how many times I gotta tell you I don’t go by Cletus anymore it’s Mac” he said as he swung the door open facing his mother. Mac hated his name he was named after his late father he was a police officer, who met his tragic end on the job.

            Ava Clemson turned around briefly to look over her shoulder, she didn’t know who her son was talking to but it couldn’t have been her.  When seen no else behind her she turned back around to face her son.

            “Cletus McArthur Clemson”, I’m not one of your friends, and if I recall I’m the one” she said pointing to her chest “who went through two days of labor to bring your trifling ass into the world.”

           

Mac rolled his eyes up towards the ceiling he knew were this was going it was only eight o’clock in the morning and already he was catchin hell from his momma. He stepped back to let her inside the room as she began to ramble on, he folded his arms across his chest as he sat down in the chair at his desk.  He loved his momma but sometimes she still treated him like he was seven, yeah he knew he fell on hard times but he was trying to make things work in his fucked up world, but his mother didn’t make it easy, she was always comparing him to his father or his brother he wasn’t like them nor did he want to be.  He was his own man. 

“You hear me talking to you” Ava said lowering her 5’7 frame to be on eye level with her son. Ava loved her son she just wished he would get it together, she was getting to old to have to deal with all his problems and hers it was time for him to grow up.

“Yes Momma” Mac replied sulking. 

“Good now go take that trash out like I asked you to, and clean up this room, Mrs Ava said walking in a circle observing her son’s junkie room.  Boy, you got junk everywhere, that’s why Kenya don’t take you seriously now because you don’t take yourself seriously if you wanna win her back your gonna have to do better than this Cletus.”

“Momma how many times do I have to tell you, it’s Mac now he whined.

Ava just shook her head, “You mean to tell me all of that I just said to you and the only thing you heard was Cletus.”

Ava pointed her finger in her son’s face “Chile you got a lot to learn, you should be proud to have that name, that man was a hard working man, everything you have is because of him, you remember that.”  Ava turned to walk out the door.

“Momma it’s embarrassing” Mac huffed

Ava stopped in her tracks to face her son, with a frown ceased upon her forehead.

“Embarrassing,” she said slowly placed her hands on her hips, she stared at her son as if he had lost his mind.

“Oh so I embarrass you by calling you by your name huh, what’s embarrassing is having to hear from my neighbor that she saw my son running down the street naked, all while trying to evade having a cap busted in his ass.”

Mac stood up from his chair he did not want to relive that faithful day he got caught with Mr. Paco wife, he was a Mexican man that lived down the street, Mrs. Paco had made several passes at him while he was cutting her lawn, he ended up in her bedroom than being chased down the street trying to escape Mr. Paco shot gun.  He  shook his head at the memory it was the first day of his lawn service business but unfortunately it would be his last.  Mac couldn’t deny his mother had a point about that one but he would never admit it.

“Look Momma, I’m a grown man now I don’t need you coming in here every five minutes trying to tell me what to do” he said glaring at his mother.

Ava rolled her eyes at her oldest son “When you start acting like a man I will treat you like one, and so will Kenya.” Ava walked out the room leaving her son standing in the middle of his bedroom floor looking dumbfounded.

Mac quickly closed the door to his bedroom, he went over to his nightstand and grabbed his cell phone, he had several missed calls from his baby momma Kenya.  He dialed her number back, she answered on the first ring.

“Where the hell have you been Mac I have been calling you since last night.” Kenya yelled over the phone.

“I told you I had to work last night and needed to you to watch Mackenzie.

Mac’s eyes got big as saucer’s he had forgot all about it, “Im sorry Kenya” he said trying to stall for time to think of a quick lie, he couldn’t tell her he was out with Monique last night that would only make things worse. But Kenya was already hip to the game.

“Mac don’t bother even fixing your mouth to tell another lie, my cousin told me she saw you last night at the club with that psycho bitch Monique. 

Mac bit down on his bottom lip hard, the line went silent for a few moments he was debating on if he should tell her a lie, or just simply tell the truth.

“Kenya I was not at the club last night I fell asleep I had a rough day yesterday” which was an half truth. 

“Oh really well what happened to your mother’s car” Kenya replied

“Huh” Mac asked confused

Before he could get another word out he heard his mother

“CLETUS” she yelled at the top of her lungs “GET YOUR BLACK ASS OUT HERE NOW”

Mac gripped his phone tightly as he ran out into the kitchen to find his mother he didn’t see her anywhere so he made his way out into the living room, where the front door stood wide open.  He stepped outside to see what his mother so angry about.  Mac stood in shock as he stared at his mother’s car in the drive way on four flat tires not only had it been covered in garbage, someone had also scratched IT’S A THIN LINE BETWEEN LOVE AND HATE on the side of her car.  “Damn” Mac mumbled under his breath, as he walked closer to the car. 

“WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO MY CAR?” Ava asked her oldest son as she stared on in horror at her Benz, by now some of her nosey neighbors had begun to come outside to see what all the commotion was about. 

“Mo…mma I don’t know, Mac said although he already knew who was the guilty culprit.

 It was Monique they started kicking it about a year ago after he and Kenya had a brief break up, but once him and Kenya got back together, he was still seeing her on the side, one of the reason’s why Kenya left him again two months ago. 

Ava turned to face her son, glaring at him menacingly she placed her hand on her hip while pointing another finger in his face.

“Boy you better learn how to control your little girlfriends, and you tell her if I see her I’m gonna thin a line on her ass with my foot” she said angrily.   

“Cletus I want you out by the end of the month, you say you a grown man, now it’s time you start acting like it” she turned and walked away from her eldest child she done had all she could take she tried to help him, but there was no way she was going to allow her son’s lifestyle to ruin her own.

Mac couldn’t believe his momma was gonna do this it wasn’t’ his fault he didn’t know Monique was gonna take things this far. “But Momma this isn’t my fault, how you gonna blame what she did on me?” he asked with an hint of attitude.

Ava stopped in her tracks she balled her hand up into a fist and squeezed it tight, until she felt her nails piercing her skin. 

“Humph but you call yourself a man, yet you can’t see how bad your shit is smellin right now” she said with her back still turned to him, she didn’t understand what was wrong with that boy, she did the best she could by both of them but it seemed as if her oldest was gonna have to learn the hard way.  She began to pray as she made her way back into the house to call the police “Please lord let my chile see the error of his ways.” A lone tear fell down her face as she made her way back into the house.

Mac was upset his Saturday morning had not started off so great, not only was his mother mad at him, so was Kenya and now he has a real live fatal attraction on his hands. He couldn’t believe all the hell he was catching this morning, and now he had to find a job and a place to live.  He looked down at his cell phone he had forgotten all about Kenya on the line. “Hello”

“I’m here” a voice replied on the phone but sounded closer. 

“Hi Daddy” he heard a little girls voice call out to him.

Mac turned around to see Kenya and McKenzie standing behind him.  Mac focused on his daughter unable to look Kenya in the eyes.

“Hey baby” he said picking her up. “How is Daddy little girl.”

“Good” said the curly haired little girl smiling happily, than her smile turned into a frown. “Wha happen to mom-mom car?”

“McKenzie” why don’t you go inside and say hi to mom-mom” Kenya said before McKenzie could ask anymore question giving Mac the out he needed. 

“Okay mommy” McKenzie replied, Mac put McKenzie down and watched her as she ran into the house.

“So um, I guess you did have a late night” Kenya said with her arms folded over her chest.

Mac turned to face Kenya, he couldn’t help but to take in how beautiful she was, her long hair was styled in a shoulder length bob, her eyes the color of emeralds, her caramel skin was smooth as silk, with the body any woman would die for.  He couldn’t believe he had been so lucky as to have her in his life, he would give anything to have her back not because of her looks that was a plus but her personality, she was strong, independent, and didn’t take nothing from nobody.  She held him down over the years she was the reason why he graduated high school, and received his first job, but he manage to screw it all up. 

“Don’t stand there just starring at me Mac, say something” Kenya said with an attitude snapping Mac out of his thoughts.

Mac was at an lost for words, he knew he had fucked up again, here she was working to support her and his daughter the least he could have done was watch his child he wasn’t doing much to help.

“Kenya I’m sorry” was all he could say, he diverted his eyes to the ground, it was then he realized he was standing outside in his Scooby doo pajama pants bottom and no shirt. He grabbed Kenya by her elbow “Kenya let’s go inside and talk” he replied looking around to see some of the neighbors looking at him with disapproving looks.

Kenya snatched away “No Mac we can talk right here, this won’t take long anyway.”  She began tapping her left foot slightly on the grass, she slowly shook her head from side to side.  “Mac I’m sorry but I’m done with you, there is not chance that we will ever get back together, I decided that I’m moving on, it appears from the looks of things” she said pointing at his mother’s car “that you already have.”  A tear threatened to fall from her eyes but she fought the urge, she was tired of Cletus and his mess, she was young but she knew what she wanted, and she wasn’t about to wait around for Mac to find out what he wanted. 

Mac hands began to shake uncontrollably he couldn’t fathom the thought of Kenya being with somebody else, he blinked real hard, and hoped when he opened his he eyes would wake up from this terrible nightmare.  But when he opened his eyes and looked into Kenya green eyes, he knew this was real.

“Kenya please give me one more chance, I promise I will do better this time.” But Kenya wasn’t buying it, she had heard it all before, she removed the engagement ring she wore on her finger since McKenzie had been born, she grabbed his right hand and place the 5karat gold ring back in his hand.

“Look I have to go to work I’m leaving McKenzie here with you that’s if you have the time.” She said quickly changing the subject she didn’t want to hear anymore of his lies her heart just couldn’t take it anymore. 

Mac just nodded his head, he watched her walk away taking his heart with him, the two most important women in his life was now turning his back on him, not only did he catch hell this morning he felt as if he was living in it.

                            TO BE CONTINUED