Chapter 5

Erika woke up dreaming of Nick. She got up out of bed and went to her closet. She was off work from her job as a CNA at a nursing facility, but had a lot of errands and appointments to go to. She dressed in her best purple mini-skirt, lavender camisole, and jacket. Then she found some matching beads to put on. After she got dressed, she went into her bathroom and wash her face and styled her long brown hair into a french braid and feathered her bangs. After she had fixed herself up, she went downstairs and made some coffee and put some toast in the toaster for her quick breakfast. Then she did the dishes that she had left from the night before because she had stayed up late chatting with Nick.

After she ate her toast with peanut butter and drank her coffee with extra sugar and cream, she was just about to walk out the door when she got a text on her cell. It was from Nick:

“Babe, come online. We need to chat. NOW!”

OMG! What did he want? She was already running late, Erika thought to herself.

Instead of going online, she figured out she could chat through SMS on her phone. She sent a message on messenger via SMS:

“What baby?”

“I sent email to u. I need u to pick fund n send to person I sent u in email.”

“Babe, I'm late n on my way out door to do errands.” Erika typed.

“They can wait! I need this fund wired so I can get to u. N the $500 u promised to send me.”

“But I'm late for a dr. appt.”

“Reschedule d****t! I need u 2 do this 4 me now.”

Erika was upset. She didn't understand why she had to do it now? She typed back instead:

“Okay baby, I'll get it done. For u”

“That's my sexy baby. When u send this, I can make flight to come 2 u. Thank u sweetheart. U R a good woman.”

Now Erika was going to miss her doctor appointment she had scheduled a month before. She will have to reschedule and probably wait another month to see the doctor. Erika turned around and headed to the store to pick up Nick's fund so she could resend to his receiver.

“Love u Nick.” Erika typed back to Nick.

“See, I knew u'd say it back.” Nick typed back. “Love u so much baby.”

Did she really love Nick? She had to admit, she was falling hard for him. After a failed five-year marriage to a man who used her and controlled her emotionally, Erika wondered if she just using Nick and playing with his heart, like she did Tommy's? No one even knew she was married for five years, not even Tommy. Even he assumed she'd never married, when they reconnected a year after Erika moved back to her hometown.