What's up, folks?! I hope you guys are doing well because this Corona is making many people panic! Please remember to STAY INSIDE! It helps tremendously! #readtogether

Anyway...

That was all kinds of crazy, right?

Do you think Jana, Jess, Tiff, and Trent went to jail?

What do you think is going on with Carmon and Rena?

Do you think Raina should get her birthday party soon?

Well, we are back with another chapter for Screw Me Over! Rena's putting her caregiver skills to the test!

Anyway, please see the triggers that are in the summary of this book!

Alright, y'all! That's all I have! You may continue! 💜🤫
****

"Rena, I don't need you following me everywhere. I don't need any of you following me everywhere. I can do things on my own now," Carmon said as she bent over to grab something to drink from the fridge. The reason why I was following her around was because she likes to slip and do things she's not supposed to. Like grabbing an alcoholic beverage.

Luckily, I was there to stop her by shutting the fridge door on her. "RENA! What the hell?! Go away! Damn..." she hollered at me as she brushed her parted hair away from her face and looked up at me with an angered look. That let me know I was doing my job. That was good.

"Carmon, the nurse and Tiff said you can't have any alcohol. You can only have juice and water," I advised as she mocked me silently.

According to Trent's doctor, Carmon was going to be fine. As you can see, she's already on the right path to being herself again. She just needed more time to get back to herself again. Right now, she couldn't go out and party like she used to. Definitely no sex.

They stitched up her earlobe and gave her medicine for her headaches. Her scars have been healing nicely and she's been doing way better than I thought she'd be. While she's been stuck at home for the past several days, Carmon's been experimenting different hairstyles and she wanted to do the half-down half-up hairstyle.

"Now Rena, you don't have to always follow the rules. You know what it's like to break some of the rules. Live a little," she said as her fingers crawled up my arm and she bit her lip. Like that was going to change my mind about what she was doing.

"I certainly do know how it feels to break the rules and it's not a good feeling when you do it. Sit down and I'll get you a glass of orange juice, Horny," I said as I opened the refrigerator to get the orange juice.

"Rena, you need a life. Get your head out of those damn books and live a little. This is not a damn fairytale," she spoke as she rolled her eyes and slightly limped into the living room just to throw herself on the couch. I couldn't help but laugh at her sudden tantrum. She was such a kid sometimes and I found it cute.

As she continued to complain to herself about how I was caring for her, I thought about what could have happened to my poor cousin and friends. They haven't been back since the day they left out the door with Trent and this whole situation was spiraling out of control because of me.

All I tried to do was my job. As a child care provider, we are required to report any suspicions of abuse or neglect. If a child tells us that they were beaten by their father or something, I would have to report that. Any weird activities that are uncommon in a child I have to report or else I get fired or could possibly go to jail.

Heath's sister just so happened to say something so I reported it like I was supposed to and now, two of my friends and my cousin are gone while one of my friends lays across the couch hurt. Sometimes, I wonder what would have happened if I didn't say anything. I hoped they were all okay.

Raina asked me about her mom and the rest of the girls. I had to tell her that they were fine and they would be home soon. Somehow, Carmon's managed to dodge her own kid by staying in her room for a couple of days while Raina stayed in my room with Troy.

She loved this new little friend of hers and introduced me to him as her 'bestest friend'. She insisted that we do one of our popcorn parties with him so we did that. Maybe this whole situation was a sign for Carmon because she actually joined in on our little party and enjoyed spending time with him. Troy really liked her and told her that he wished she was his mom. Of course, that made Carmon cringe but she understood where he was coming from.

Although Carmon barely spent time with her daughter, Raina still loved Carmon and treated her like the greatest mom in the universe. She didn't even mind sharing her mom with Troy and Carmon didn't mind being that figure in his life. That's exactly what I wanted to see from her. I wanted her to connect with her child more and she has another child to connect with now. It made my heart smile.

"Brittany! Hey girl! I'm good! Thanks for calling... Girl, they're in here treating me like a damn child. Following me around, making sure I don't do shit I want to do, all of that bullshit. I'm over it honestly... I know, it's ridiculous... You are so right. We could bring the party here since it's my weekend to have the house to myself," Carmon said telling on herself and not even realizing it. Unfortunately, she was not going to have that party after she hears her actual plans for this weekend.

Like I wasn't standing there listening to every word she was saying. I even heard her insult me about having a life and being a nerd for reading. Can't lie though. Sometimes, I do feel that I have a small obsession with books and that's why they never invite me places. It's a habit that I just can't let go of. Sometimes, when they ask me what I'm doing, I can't even tell them because they'll make fun of me somehow. Even my own cousin.

Growing a little frustrated and taking her phone mid-conversation, I spoke into it with "Hey, Brittany! It's Rena... Yeah, I just wanted to tell you that Carmon's weekend is sadly filled already... I know. It's terrible, but Tiffany also said that you aren't allowed around our house so...That's something you need to talk to Tiff about. I'm sorry... Well, maybe you two can meet up after Carmon has healed... Okay, talk to you soon."

As soon as I hung up, my eyes landed on an angrily shocked Carmon with her eyebrows furrowed and her mouth dropped to the floor. "No you didn't just take my phone..."

"Yes, I did," I said throwing her phone back at her. Now she knows how I felt about her little comment earlier.

"Bitch, why the hell would you do that?! That's it, Rena! It's like you guys are trying to ruin my life and benefiting from this stupid injury.  I'm fine, okay! Damn it!" Carmon shouted as she stood up and walked up on me.

One thing that Jess taught me was the "six feet" rule. If someone was frustrated or acting unruly, they needed to give me six feet. I signaled for Carmon to give me six feet by putting my arm out and biting on my bottom lip.

Another thing that these girls have barely seen is my attitude. This melanin woman was born with an attitude in a half. If someone tried to talk to me while they were angry, I'd get even more angry. "Back the hell up, Carmon. I'm not Jana. I'll go Jess on you and you don't want to see that."

As she turned on her heel in anger, she attempted to call Brittany back and I didn't understand why she was doing that. "Carmon, Brittany can't be here. Tiffany demanded for-"

"FUCK! HER! Fuck what she says. It's not just her apartment! We all pay rent here and I'm a grown ass woman. I will not waste my days just sitting in this tiny ass apartment because you all want me to or because I'm 'hurt'. I'm doing something this weekend whether you guys want me to or not," Carmon said as she put the phone to her ear to get back to Brittany. There goes that stubborn Carmon again.

Sighing at her stubbornness, I watched as she growled at the phone. Brittany didn't answer her phone call so I took the chance to say "Carmon, she can't be here because Trent is coming to stay over this weekend."

Whoops...that was not supposed to come from my lips. But since it did, let me explain.

Trent had a surprise for her and he wanted to stick around to make sure she was okay. She wouldn't listen to me if I just kept saying Brittany couldn't come over to the house. Carmon doesn't care what Tiffany has to say about her little hoe of a friend, but Tiff is trying to protect her sister from Brittany. I don't blame Tiff for doing what she's doing. How do you think Carmon met that greedy predator? Damn Heath.

Anyway, Tiff allowed for Trent to stay over this weekend to care for Carmon and spend time with her and the kids. Carmon, as always when this man's name is mentioned, widened her eyes at me and shook her head. She wasn't liking this idea at all.

"Are you serious, Rena?! Why would you guys let her invite my boss to my house?! Oh my goodness! This is not happening. Rena, you can't let this happen. He's not coming over here. I refuse," she freaked out as she paced around at the thought of him coming over. Why does she not like this man so much?

"Why not?" I didn't see it a problem for him to come over seeing that he saved Carmon from a dangerous alley, but she made this guy seem like he was the dangerous one. She didn't look comfortable at all. Why would she be uncomfortable though?

"Because...he just can't, Rena. He's not staying here. We have to stop him from coming over here and you have to help me. Brittany's a way better option. I'll feel better with her here."

Sighing at her request, I shook my head to say "Carmon, I really don't-"

"How about we not have the party? She'll just be here to stay the weekend and it'll be like a little slumber party between two girls. No alcohol or anything. You can just lock it up. Rena, come on. I'm not letting Trent stay over here," she begged as I thought about her promises.

What was interesting to me was how she freaked out every time this guy's name was brought up. I wanted to know what he did that was so wrong to her. She never freaked out this much about Heath and he almost killed her...

So why was this guy a problem?

"Fine. Since you're not so comfortable with the whole idea of Trent even existing and since we barely know the man, I'll make sure he doesn't come over this weekend. However, you have to keep your promises. No party, no alcohol, and definitely no weed. I mean it, Carmon."

Giving into her compromise, I folded my arms as she smiled at me and said "Rena, you've done weed before and realized it wasn't that bad. But I'll keep my promise. Did you know you were the best?"

"Something like that. Just don't tell the girls I told you about Trent, please?" I said as she kissed me on the cheek in excitement. I couldn't help but roll my eyes because I knew she'd do the opposite I said. There was going to be a party going on here. There was no denying that.

"Now, Rena...ye of little faith. Why doubt your best friend?" she said as she rested her hand on my cheek and walked around me just to text on her phone with a smile on her face.

In my mind, I wanted to believe her. However, in my heart, I felt that she was going to go behind my back. What's that song by D.H.T.? Listen to Your Heart?

****

It was around eight in the evening and the rest of the girls had come home maybe two hours before that. Apparently, they were locked up for a while until the police heard their side of the situation and they were free to go.

Now, all of that made me even more worried because my mom had been in the system before. What if they were put back in there under false pretenses like my mom was? This made me wish I had never said anything again.

Anyway, Trent never came to get Troy due to some business affairs so Troy stayed with Raina and they ate in my room while the girls and I ate in the living room. Raina didn't mind because she had her best friend to eat with and they watched cartoons the rest of the evening.

"Can you BELIEVE that they had us in that tiny and nasty cell for five days straight?! All four of us plus like three other people were stuck in there! Do you know how many gross people have been in that shithole? Rena, my anxiety is rearing its ugly head again," Tiff cried as her hands ran through her wet blonde hair and sniffled...being dramatic like she usually is.

"Oh goodness! It was the funniest thing we've ever seen. She used her heel to slide it along the bars while whining and crying for her one free phone call. As soon as we got back here, she showered three times in the matter of the two hours we've been here. She was freaking the hell out," Jana giggled as she took a bite of her food while Jessica looked at her with an angered look.

That caught my attention even more because she didn't sit there quietly that long. Her tanned arms were folded and she was giving her fiancée a small snarl. She looked scary and when my cousin was upset like that, it bothered me.

"Shut up, you toe sucker! This wouldn't have happened had you not did the shit you did! This was all your fault from the start! If I get anything on my record, I'm killing you...literally," Tiffany said as she stabbed her steamed vegetables with force.

Jess was nice enough to whip up a little something for us this evening but she wasn't talking much due to something between her and Jana.

"Overdramatic. Like always," Carmon spoke as she took a sip of her juice.

"Oh really? Well, glad to see you're feeling better, Lazy. What are your plans for this weekend?" Tiff finally asked making me nervous for Carmon's answer. Reminded of what I told Carmon, I tried to take myself out of the equation and studied Jess' posture. Her food went untouched as she continued to study an entertained Jana. It was like Jana wasn't paying attention to Jess at all.

"Me? I'll be spending time with Raina at Nikki's house." Lie. She smiled down at her food and continued eating like she didn't just lie in Tiffany's face. If she just lied to Tiffany, I'm sure she was lying about not having a party here. Oh...if she did...

"Well then. Good for you. This means that Jana could stick around while Rena, Jess, and I go out for this long weekend," Tiff mentioned as Jess and I looked at each other in surprise. Jana did a spit take while Carmon's food feel out of her opened mouth. Jess and I had no idea we were going with Tiff.

"Absolutely not! You're not taking Jess anywhere unless I'm going too. Where are you guys going anyway?" Jana demanded as a smirk managed to pull itself across Jess' face. Jana must have messed up bad.

"Plus, if we can't go, it wouldn't be fair. All of you are also still underage. Are you crazy?" Carmon said as she rolled her eyes. There she went downplaying me again. Like I wasn't old enough. Treating me like a baby. Just because I work with babies and children doesn't mean I needed to be treated like one.

"Uh, excuse me. I just turned 21 and you said nothing about us drinking underage during the New Year's party and plenty of other times before that. You pick and choose when you want to bring up the underage drinking crap. That's what's not fair," I argued back unexpectedly.

"You wouldn't even go if your life depended on it, Rena. Now, as I've said before, Jess is not going. That's final. Can we talk about something else?" Jana said in frustration as she looked over at an amused Jess.

"I love how you two bitches think you can tell us what to do like we're not over the age of 18. That's funny. I'm down to go, Tiff," Jess simply said as she started eating again. That's my girl.

Jana looked at her with an astonished look and that gave me the courage to say "Yeah, I'm going as well. This is going to be fun."

Carmon and Jana stayed putting the rest of us down because we weren't over 21 and maybe this was a chance for us to show them that we could have fun too. Especially Tiff and I. We were always the ones left out of doing fun things because they thought we were party poopers.

I may not be a party starter, but I can still have fun if I'm around the right people. When I get to dancing and feel comfortable with the people around me, I can participate. We weren't crazy party people, but we could have a good time if we were given the chance and not always going to a club all the time.

"See? I even got Rena to go out. That's it. We're definitely going," Tiff said proudly.

"Well, we're going too. I don't know what makes you think that you guys are going by yourselves," Jana spoke while Carmon agreed with what she said.

"Aht aht aht! Carmon can't go anywhere per doctor's orders and you most definitely can't go anywhere since you sight-cheated on Jess. You're in the doghouse, Missy. You're on punishment for my sister being hurt as well? Yeah, you have no room to talk. And don't try to sneak out because your left foot might itch, remember?" Tiff smiled as she sipped on her tea and eyed Jess and I. We fell out laughing at her words because they weren't too much further from the truth.

Not to mention, the apartment owner got a new doorbell installed for our apartment and there's a camera on it so we could see if someone was coming in our apartment. Shit. That means Brittany really can't come over now. Damn it.

"If anyone comes over that we don't approve of, you guys have to babysit Raina for an extra weekend-"

"Oh that's easy. We can do that," Jana interrupted as Carmon nodded along with her.

"But you didn't let me finish. Since she didn't have a proper birthday party, she could have a cute little slumber party for the whole weekend. You know her list of friends is endless so guess how many little girls will be running around this small apartment? Oh, I can buy her princess-themed pajamas and party stuff. Rena, you can invite-"

"OKAY! Damn, no people at the house. We promise. I can't take 20 little girls destroying our apartment," Jana said as she threw her fork on her plate and sat back and folded her arms in a pout.

"Actually...she has about 40 friends...and about 30 of them agreed to come to the party so..."

"RENA! Don't add salt to our wound. Have your damn fun. Happy?" Carmon spoke annoyed as she rolled her eyes and continued eating. This was going to be a blast.