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Denali
March
Denali’s leg shook as she looked around the crowded room. Blaze said he wanted to have a small get together with his family that weekend. Somehow, a small get together turned into her house being filled with not just his family but so-called friends that she’d never met before. The women outnumbered the men, and as hospitable as she was trying to be, Denali’s anxiety was getting the best of her.
Blaze had been introducing her to every woman that entered the house, but not this particular woman. This particular woman he talked to at the door and at the kitchen, passing Denali twice before finally walking by her a third time.
Her eyes stayed on Blaze as he led the woman upstairs. Her mind told her he was probably showing her to the bathroom, but she was so on edge, Denali couldn’t help but almost yell, “Who is that?”
All eyes were on Denali, but hers were on Blaze.
“Whitney,” Blaze replied, as if she was supposed to know who that was.
“Where y’all going?”
Blaze chuckled. “To the bathroom. Is that okay with you?”
“It’s a bathroom downstairs.”
“Denali…”
She lifted her hand, trying to shut the situation down.
Releasing a shaky breath, Denali nodded. She guzzled the sweet wine Blaze’s mother had brought for their consumption since Tasha didn’t drink the hard liquor Blaze often offered.
When he came back down, Blaze asked, “What you tripping for?”
“I’m tripping? You just passed me with her three times and didn’t say shit before taking her upstairs where the bedroom is.”
“You would know who everybody was if you came around my people more.”
Denali scoffed, turning in her seat to face him. At that point, the music and conversations in the background were drowned out by her beating heart. All day Blaze had been showing out in front of his family, and he’d really been on one since his friends arrived. Denali had been trying her hardest not to take his jokes to make others laugh personally, but it was difficult to do that when it was at her expense.
So far, he’d used a song about not spoiling a woman as a reference to her, mentioned using her money to go to the strip club, and insinuated because he was the man of the house, he could do whatever the hell he wanted. His mother, aunt, and sister found it to be so entertaining, and all Denali could do was stuff the ill feelings down in an attempt to not have her mood ruined so early in the evening. His last joke caused her to go in the kitchen to try to compose herself, and Blaze met her in there… offering a shot and bullshit apology. He said he was just trying to make the women laugh—as if that made the shit alright.
Denali let it ride, but her nerves were starting to get the best of her. She never liked to be in large crowds, especially strangers. There were so many unknown people in her home heading in several directions, and she felt like she was about to explode. The calm, laid-back Denali that his family knew was unraveling right before her man’s very eyes, and Blaze was so out of tune with her that he didn’t even realize it.
“Your people?” she repeated. “Half of these names I’ve never heard you mention a day in my life. Even if I did, you don’t invite me to hang with your friends, so how am I supposed to know them?”
“Okay, it’s cool,” Tasha said. “We’re not worried about it, baby.”
Denali’s top lip twisted as she looked at his mother. Tasha knew good and damn well if her new husband, Blaze’s stepfather, had upwards of ten unknown women in her home, she’d have a fucking fit. Granted, Tasha would have probably asked him about it privately, but at that point, Denali didn’t give a fuck. It looked suspect as hell for all of those women to be there, and Denali’s intuition was going off like crazy.
“Alright,” was all she said, trying to keep the peace.
“She said alright, so let it go, Blaze,” his aunt, Verinda, added.
“I don’t have to let shit go,” he replied, puffing out his chest. “This my house and these my folks. If Denali don’t like it, she can go in the room or get the fuck out.”
“Your house?” she repeated as she stood, unable to keep her laugh in. “Nigga, this is my house. My name is on this lease and I’m the one that pays these bills. You can try to act tough or like you that nigga in front of your folks, but you know what’s really good with me.”
He chuckled. “Oh, so you proud of that shit? Be proud of that shit then, Ms. Independent Woman. Let everybody in this bitch know you taking care of me like I’m a muhfucking king.”
“A king? Blaze…”
Denali’s head shook as Verinda muttered. “Time to go.”
“I take care of you like you’re my son,” Denali repeated.
“The fuck you just say to me?” he asked through gritted teeth, getting directly in front of her.
“Okay, that’s enough,” his brother-in-law, Chris, said, trying to step between them.
“We’re about to head out,” his mother announced. “Are you coming with us, Blaze?”
“Nah. I got some shit I need to handle.”
“Okay, but walk me out,” Tasha insisted, and Denali was grateful for the distraction.
As everyone in the house began to leave, she went upstairs to the master bathroom and splashed water on her face as her hands shook and heart palpitated. She’d spent so long making her home her place of peace, and in seconds, it felt like that was ruined. There was no telling what she’d have to do to restore the security she felt before Blaze’s get together.
Something told her not to let him even have the party, but she didn’t want to hear his mouth. That had never been Denali’s wave. She didn’t like having her home invaded by multiple energies at once… especially ones she didn’t know. Had she known Blaze was going to disregard that boundary, she would have left before people started arriving so he could enjoy himself while she was away.
She was unsure how much time had passed while Blaze was outside, but it was enough time for her to grab a CBD joint and light it before sitting in the black recliner by her side of the bed. Relaxing in the seat, Denali took in deep pulls of the CBD in an attempt to calm down quickly.
“What the fuck was that about?” Blaze asked, standing by the door.
Slowly opening her eyes, Denali licked her lips. She released an irritated sigh as she put the joint out. There was no point in her trying to smoke it if he still wanted to argue… which was another thing he knew she couldn’t stand. All that back-and-forth shit had never been her style. If she got mad enough, she was liable to pop him in his mouth. Blaze knew that; that was why whenever they had issues, they put space between them so they both could calm down.
“Blaze, leave me alone.”
“Nah. You had a lot of shit to say while my folks was here. Now you wanna be quiet?”
Her head shook as she looked his tall, medium build over.
“You’ve disrespected and made me uncomfortable all day… in my own home. When I finally snapped, you got real slick at the mouth. I think it’s best if we don’t speak to each other right now.”
“How did I disrespect you, Denali?”
“All the jokes you were telling!” she yelled, pounding her fist against her open palm as she sat up. “You made me look like I’m weak as fuck in front of the women in your family for a few giggles. Then you know I don’t like having a lot of people in my home. You told me it would just be your folks, but you had damn near fifteen people coming in and out of the house, most of which were women! Do you know how that made me look in front of your mama? Every time a woman came in here, she just shook her head!”
“I’on give a fuck what she think, but I do care how she feel, and she said your outburst made her uncomfortable.”
Chuckling, Denali stood. “So… Me asking you who the woman was that you were taking upstairs, where our bedroom is, made your mother uncomfortable… Not the actions that led to it or the way you talked to me in front of a room full of people?”
Sucking his teeth, Blaze dismissively waved his hand in her direction. “I’on have time to babysit your ass, Denali. I wasn’t fucking with none of them females for you to feel insecure.”
“I wasn’t insecure. Not when it pertains to a lack of confidence. But yes, I was not feeling secure and safe in my home. I did not feel protected. You walked up on me like you was about to put your hands on me, Blaze. Is that okay with you?”
“Look, you pissed me off with that bullshit. You disrespected me in front of my people…”
“Fuck your people!” she roared, tears finally falling. “I’m standing here telling you I did not feel safe with you or respected by you, and all you care about is your people?” When he didn’t reply, Denali nodded with a smile. “Wow. Well, since you’re so concerned with your people, why don’t you go stay with one of them?”
“That’s what we doing now?”
“Get your shit and get the fuck out. If you don’t care about my boundaries in my home and respecting me in my home, you don’t need to be here.”
Clenching his jaw, Blaze stepped directly in front of her. “If you want me out, you gon’ have to put me out.”
“Fine.”
Walking over to the recliner, Denali grabbed her phone to call her father, but Blaze grabbed her phone and threw it across the room.
“I said you. Don’t call no-fucking-body and put them in our business.”
“We don’t have any more business, Blaze. Unless it concerns our kids, I don’t have anything else to say to you. Now get the fuck out!”
“You lucky my sister ain’t still here, or I would let her beat yo’ ass,” he grumbled, pushing past her and heading to the bathroom.
“Yeah, okay,” was all Denali said, going to get her phone.
Still trying to diffuse the situation, she went outside to the garage and got in her car. Calling her best friend, Ladia, Denali released a clipped scream. She couldn’t believe how things had played out, but she was honestly glad. Things had been off between her and Blaze since his release from prison, and they weren’t getting any better just because he had a job. He still wasn’t giving her enough money to cover any of the bills, and that was probably what was irritating Denali most.
She’d spent over three hundred dollars on food and liquor for his family, only for him to invite people that she didn’t even know who showed up empty handed yet were going back for two and three plates. Over the shit, Denali was wondering why in the hell she was even with his ass. And now, it didn’t even matter.
“Hello?” Ladia answered, and Denali smiled at the sound of her four-year-old daughter singing in the background.
“Girl, I’m ’bout to beat the fuck out of this nigga if he don’t leave me alone. I’m sitting in the car waiting for his ass to go.”
“What! Who?”
“Blaze!” she yelled, hitting the steering wheel. “I just put his ass out and he’s really fucking trying me.”
“Okay, I’ma need you to start from the beginning. Do I need to come over there?”
Denali’s head shook as she watched Blaze storm out of the door with a duffle bag on his shoulder. Hitting the lock button, she told Ladia, “Nah. Just pray he leaves in peace.”
“Who the fuck you talking to?” Blaze asked, beating on the window. “I told you don’t put nobody in our business!”
As he tried to unlock the door, Denali shook her head as her eyes watered.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” she asked, lowering her cracked phone. “Why are you handling me this way? You act like I don’t mean shit to you!”
Their eyes remained locked for a few seconds before Blaze walked away. Ladia could be heard yelling her name, but all Denali did was watch as Blaze got into his Mustang. Even if the love faded, Denali felt they would always care about and show each other respect. Today had shown her that was no longer true, and she couldn’t help but wonder what caused this change in the father of her children… or if he’d always been this way and just hid that version of himself from her.
I do not own the images or music included in this video.