They drove back to the apartment, mostly in silence. Marshall didnt know what to think about her and Royce. It was probably nothing, but if it was probably nothing, why was it bothering him so much? It was all he could focus his mind on, and as much as he tried to think of other things, like the music, or anything besides that, he couldnt seem to.

He glanced at Lataya, who looked like she was trying to keep her eyes open. She was staring out the window, her head turned so he only saw part of her face. She yawned and brang her hand to cover her mouth as she did it. She was just coming down off a caffeine hype and she was started to get tired. Her eyes were dropping and she just wanted to lay down and sleep right now. But she knew that they werent far from home, and that as soon as she fell asleep, Marshall would wake her up to tell her they were home.

She yawned again and shook her head, trying to rid the tiredness from her head. She felt Marshalls eyes on her, and she looked over at him slowly out of the corner of her eye. It must have been obvious she looked over at him becuase he fixed his eyes on the road immediatly and cleared his throat.

She had seen him looking at her, shit, he thought. He glanced back at her quickly. She wasnt watching him anymore. He looked back at the road and let thoughts swim through his mind. He didnt trust Lataya, as much as he wanted to. He loved her and he knew that she trusted him, but for some reason he couldnt seem to trust her. He didnt think that she was going around behind his back with people, he knew that she was being faithful to him. So what was his problem?

And what about tonight with Royce? She was grinding with him, right there in front of everyone. If she did have something going on the side with Royce, she wouldnt have done that. Right? She wouldnt be that obvious, and especially while Marshall was right there. And when he walked over to them, wouldnt she have gotten all defensive and she didnt. She barely mentioned it, so he didnt think them dancing was that big of a problem.

Or maybe that was what she wanted him to think. To trick him. Playing with his mind like that... It was a possibility, he supposed. But why would she want to cheat on him? He hadnt done anything wrong, he always took care of her, let her get what she wanted, gave himself to her completely and totally. So, why would she want someone else? Maybe she didnt love him, and she just didnt want to hurt him again, like she said after they got back together two months ago? But that wouldnt make any sense, if she didnt love him then she wouldnt care if she hurt him, right? But if she loved him, why would she cheat on him?

"Marshall, you missed our street hun. Where you going?" Lataya asked, watching their street fall further behind them as Marshall drove down the long main street.

"What?" He was jolted out of his thoughts and he didnt realize that he hadnt been paying attention to where he was going, and drove right past their street.

"You drove past the-" She was cut off as he swore under his breath and slammed on the breaks, causing her to fly forward in the seat, only to fall back against the seat again because of her seat belt. "Marshall!" She yelled, shaken up. She wasnt expecting that.

"Im sorry. I didnt wanna have to go turn around." He said. Luckily the usually busy street was empty, just because it was around midnight. He looked out the back window, putting an arm around the passenger side seat, one hand on the steering wheel, and backing up down the street.

"Holy shit. Are you fucking drunk!?" She asked, taking a deep breath.

"Yeah, but not to bad." He said, as they reached their street again, and he made a sharp turn onto their road.

"Well that explains it." She mumbled, under her breath so he didnt hear it. He drove calmly down the street, and pulled up into the parking lot of their building. He turned off the car and put his keys in his pocket, and opened his car door. Lataya opened her door too, and got out, walking up to the front of the building. Marshall was walking slower, so he was a few feet behind her.

He watched her open the door to their building, and hold it open for him, and they walked up the stairs together. Lataya wanted to go to bed and sleep, and sleep late tommorow. Marshall didnt realy care. He was upset. He wouldnt be able to sleep late tomorow like Lataya would, he had to get up at 5 to be at a photo shoot by 7 AM. Lataya had a class at 10, so she wouldnt get to sleep too late.

They got upstairs and the first place that Lataya went was into the livingroom, dropping her jacket on the back of a chair and falling down onto the couch and closing her eyes, resting her head on the armrest. Marshall went into the bathroom, and when he came out he found Lataya half asleep, laying on her stomach on the couch, one arm dangling off the side, the other resting on the pillow beside her head.

"Laya? Baby?" He asked, leaning on the back of the couch and moving the hair away from her face. She blinked her eyes open slowly and looked up at him drowsily, eyes half open.

"Huh?" She asked, yawning.

"You comin to bed?" He asked softly.

"Yeah." She said, closing her eyes again.

"No, come to bed, c'mon." He said, nudging her shoulder with his hand lightly.

"What?" She murmered, rolling onto her back and curling up, bringing her knees to her chest.

"C'mon Laya, lets get you to bed ok?" He said, grabbing her arm and lifting her up off the couch. She sat up and took his hand, standing up and followed him into the bedroom, and laid down on the bed as soon as she got in there, not even bothering to undress or anything.

He sighed and fell onto the bed next to her, pulling the blankets over them. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her up against him, breathing in the scent of her pear shampoo in her hair. He loved how she smelled, always like pears. It was sexy.

Lataya woke up the next morning to the phone ringing. Marshall wasnt in bed next to her, she remembered that he had that photo shoot thing. It was almost 10 though, he would be home soon. Those things usually took all day but he just had to go in and pick out the pictures from the other day that he was there, and pick which ones he wanted them to keep for the portfolio.

She yawned and stretched her arms out, almost forgetting why she was awake right now. She was so tired. She remembered once she heard the phone ring. She jumped up out of bed and jogged towards the kitchen, reaching across the counter and picking up the cordless phone from the wall right in time before it stopped ringing.

"Hello?" She said, out of breath as she leaned against the counter in the kitchen, taking a deep breath.

"Hello...is Marshall there?" It was Kims voice. Lataya had never answered the phone to Kim before, except once. And Marshall was right there so he took it quickly so Kim didnt say anything bad to her, which Kim would do. Most of the time Kim called his cell phone.

"No, hes out." Lataya said, soft spokenly. "Can I take a message?"

"Is this Lataya?" Kim asked, ignoring Latayas question.

"Um, yeah." She cleared her throat.

"Do you know who this is?"

"Yeah. Its Kim..." She trailed off.

"Yup, it is me. Well, I havent talked to you in a long time. I was just calling my husband to see if he was picking up his daughter tonight or not." She sighed.

"Hes not your husband." Lataya stated, narrowing her eyes.

"The divorce papers havent gone through yet babe. Sorry to, open your eyes to that, but its true. And I have a feeling the divorce papers wont have to go through. He always comes back to me." Kim said smugly.

"Um, yeah I dont think he will this time. Its over, remember? You were the one that wanted it this way." She argued.

"Thats why I think he will come back." Kim smirked.

"What?"

"Think about it Lataya." She emphasized Latayas name. "I divorced him. Hes so desperate and broken right now that-"

"DESPERATE AND BROKEN?!" Lataya exclaimed, getting mad. How dare Kim talk about Marshall like that? He wasnt desperate, and he wasnt broken. He didnt even want Kim anymore, Kim didnt know what she was talking about.

"Yeah, now shut up. He is on the rebound. Thats what your for. The rebound girl. Thats all you ever were, and all you ever will be. So, as long as you know that, lets think, why does he want YOU?" Kim asked. "I dont see what he sees in you. I mean, look at you. Your a money grubbing scrub with no friends and a sucky life. Your insane and as far as Im concerned you should be locked up for good."

"Shut the fuck up Kim." Lataya said, tears welling in her eyes. "Im not the one that wants his money, thats you. 'Oh Marshall, dont cut my credit cards, I LOVE YOU' I dont think so. How dare you say that about me?"

"You know Lataya, I dont know what he sees in you. Your insane, and it must run in your family because look at your mother. Thats not a sign of someone thats alright in the head. She needed some serious help, and since your family was on WELFARE, she couldnt get it, so maybe its just as well that she died. And your father? Hes a fucking disgusting bastard." Kim said reproachfully. "I could almost feel really bad that he raped you as a kid, but I dont think it was rape. The sick person that you are, you probably enjoyed it, because you knew that no one else would want you. No one loves you."

"Thats not true." Lataya said shakily, shock over taking her. "How did you know that my father, raped me?"

"Oh it was all over school. Your little ex boyfriend there knew about it, and dont think that boy can keep a secret. Everyone knew, EVERYONE."

Lataya frowned. Not DeShaun, or Marshall had told her that people knew, and who was she talking about? Her ex boyfriend? It couldnt possibly be Marshall, but then again he was the only person that knew besides DeShaun... But he wouldnt do that. She didnt wanna talk to Kim anymore. She felt sick. The things Kim said was true. Her father raped her, but she didnt, under any circumstances enjoy it as Kim thought. She hated it, it broke her childhood. And her mom had killed herself, they had no money to get her help, and Lataya had followed right in her moms footsteps, but she hadnt succeeded.

"Think about it girl. How could anyone love you? Marshall dont love you, your nothing but a booty call to him. Another bitch that he can take out in public and make him look good. What do you think he does while hes on tour? Didnt he go to europe just last month? Yeah, for like a few weeks. He cant possibly have been faithful to you over that time."

"I went with him." Lataya grumbled, knowing Kim was talking some shit. Marshall wouldnt cheat on her.

"Oh thats right. Well. He still doesnt love you. I mean, how could he? Your so fucking fat and gross and ugly. No one likes you. Your so fucking disgusting."

"I weigh 103 pounds." Lataya said, near tears. Lataya wasnt fat at all. She was sickly underweight, and no matter how much she ate, she couldnt seem to gain weight. But even though Kims words were shit, they still hurt. They hit too close to home.

"Fine, so your thin and sickly underweight. You should really go to a doctor, and while your at it, have your head checked. You know, its to bad that you didnt go throw with it and kill yourself. Everyone would be so much better off without you. Just remember that, and that Marshall hates you."

Lataya couldnt take listening to her anymore. She slammed the phone down on the hook and and bit her bottom lip, holding back tears. A second later, she heard the front door open and slam. Marshall was home.

She felt excited, glad that he was home. She just wanted to run up to him and hug him, tell him everything that Kim said to her, and have him tell her that it isnt true, and that he loved her and hated Kim. She took a deep breath, wiped her eyes quickly, just incase there were still some tears left there, and walked out of the kitchen, watching Marshall throw his jacket at the back of a chair.

She grinned, feeling so happy to see him that she just wanted to burst into tears right now.

"What are you looking at?" He asked, obviously in a bad mood. Lataya still grinned at him, her happiness not fading. She didnt even think anything of his nasty remark.

"Hey Marsh!" She said, looking at him like he was god. He cleared his throat and looked at her.

"You know what? Dont suck up to me." He shook his head. He had alot of time to think about things today, and he did. And he had come to the conclusion, that the only way to be sure that Lataya wasnt cheating on him, was to ask her right here, right now.

"What?" She asked, wanting to cry. Why was he acting like this? She was so glad to see him but...

"I know all about this shit Lataya." He leaned his arm on the counter and put his other hand on his forehead, sighing. "I know about you, doing this...shit behind my back."

"What shit?" She asked, not knowing what he was talking about.

"You know, I bet you got something there with Royce, prolly someone else too. What the fuck Lataya?" He sighed.

"What are you talking about?" She asked incrediously.

"Your cheating on me." He glared at her.

"WHAT?!" She asked, shaking her head and looking down, wanting to cry. She wasnt cheating on him, she wouldnt do that to him, she loved him too much.

"You fucking BITCH." He said, giving her a cold look.

"Marshall, I dont understand-Im not cheating on you, I love you, I wouldnt do that to you." She said, a few tears escaping her eyes. She couldnt help it. First the thing with Kim, and now Marshall was acting funny.

"Yeah right." He smirked. "You cant fucking be trusted, I knew this was a bad idea."

"What? Why cant you trust me? I wouldnt cheat on you!" She said, taking a deep breath.

"Well, look how we started out. Hm I wonder why I wouldnt trust you..." He said sarcastically.

"Oh my GOD! Your throwing that in my face?!" She yelled, the tears starting to pour from her eyes.

Marshall hesitated. She was crying, maybe he was wrong. Maybe she wasnt cheating on him, and he had made a big mistake. He shook the thought. She was probably crying because he caught her. Thats all.

"I cant believe this, Im not cheating on you Marshall!" She cried. "What would even make you think that?!"

"Well, last night! When you were grinding with Royce!" He shouted, trying to hide the fact that he felt bad for accusing her of something she obviously wasnt doing. He wanted to believe her, he really did, but for some reason there was still doubt in his mind.

"Ok first of all, let me see what your saying." She had stopped crying so much now. "You think Im cheating on you with Royce? Ok so lets say that I am, which Ill have you know that Im not... I got to a party to meet up with him. A party that your gonna be at, a party that like, hundreds of people are goind to be at, and dance with him? Yeah, so that rumors can start? I dont think so. Im not that stupid, and Im not cheating on you. I danced with him there tonight because Im not cheating on you and I dont care if rumors start, because they arent true. I know it, and Royce knows it, and I thought that you would know it too. But since you dont TRUST ME..."

"Yeah, right." He smirked. "Thats probably what you wnt me to think! Playing these fuckin mind games!"

"Oh my god." She said, walking away from him to the livingroom and sitting down on the couch. She felt kind of faint suddenly, and really sick. He followed her, this was all too much for her to deal with right now. She might be able to make sense of everything and stay calm if Kim hadnt upset her just 5 minutes ago. "Why would I cheat on you with your friend Marsh?"

"DeShaun." He said, reminding her of that night a few months back.

"Are you ever going to forget that?!" She yelled, tears forming in her eyes.

"How the fuck can I?!" He asked, sighing. He started getting mad. "Why should I forget it!? YOU did it!"

"Marshall, I was drunk-" She started.

"Oh? So, when your drunk you turn into a fucking whore?" He asked. When he saw the look in her eyes as he said whore, he immediatly felt horrible. He stood in front of her, pretending as if he didnt care about how much he had hurt her, though.

"A whore?" She asked. Her voice was shaky with her unshed tears. Marshall just called her a whore. That thought hadnt fully sunk in yet. That was like the first time he ever called her a whore. She knew people say things they didnt mean when they were mad, but people also said things that were true, that they never wanted to say before. If this was anyone else, she wouldnt care what they called her.

But the fact that this was Marshall, and she cared about him so much, and she knew that no matter what horrible things he said to her, he did care. Just that fact made it hurt so much more than if anyone else said it. And although she knew she shouldnt pay any attention to him right now, she couldnt help it. Because Marshall had called her a whore.

At that moment it had totally sunk into her mind and she didnt know if she was more mad or upset or hurt.

"Is that all I am to you Marshall? Am I just your whore?" She asked, tears rolling down her cheeks.

He scowled. He wasnt going to break. He was going to stand firm, show her that her tears meant nothing to him, although they meant everything to him. "Apparently." He said flatly.

Her eyes widened and she stood up, bringing her hand back and slapping him as hard as she could, across the face, for the first ever time, as he winced in pain.

He didnt know what he was doing, it was like a reflex. One hand grabbed his cheek, rubbing the sensitive flesh where soon there would be a red mark. The other hand reached back and slapped her back, hitting half of her cheek and part of the bottom of her eye, because she was slightly shorter than him.

She just stood there. She couldnt believe that Marshall had just slapped her. He hit her, on purpose, hard. Of course, she hit him first, but it couldnt possibly have hurt him as much as he had just hurt her. She wasnt that strong.

She brang both hands to the right side of her face, and looked up at him, scared of him for the first time ever.

"Shit." He said as the realization of what he just did, hit him full force. He watched her start crying, and the look in her eyes made him sick. He really hurt her. It was an accident right? But not really, it was on purpose. It was like a reflex, if someone hit him, he would hit them back. He just couldnt believe that someone, was Lataya.

He moved forward towards her, outstretching a hand slowly to try and hug her, tell her he was sorry, but she backed away from him.

"No." She whimpered, shaking her head.

"No?" He asked, moving forward still. For every step he took forward, she took one step backwards.

"No Marshall." She said, taking deep breaths.

"Lataya..." He said, walking faster and putting a hand on her shoulder.

"No Marshall!" She screamed, almost afraid he would hit her again. She shrugged his hand away from her, and moved away quickly.

"Shit, Im sorry, Lataya." He said quickly. He stopped, hoping she would also, but she didnt. She continued backing away from him, until she reached the back door.

"No your not." She said, turning the doorknob, one hand on her face.

His eyes widened. "Where you going?" He asked, starting towards her again. "Lataya?" He said again, when she didnt answer.

"Out." She replied, staring him in the eyes. She opened the door and hurried outside it when he started after her. "Stop!" She screamed and slammed the door behind herself.

He ran up to the door, and opened it, seeing her out on the porch. He didnt want to hurt her like she thought, he just wanted her to know he was sorry. He opened the screen door and stepped out on the porch after her.

She saw him, and starting to feel afraid, and hurt, she took off towards the back stairs.

"Lataya, what are you-" He sighed and decided not to chase her anymore. He watched her run down the stairs to the parkinglot below, and step out onto the broken pavement. He leaned over the balcony railing, 3 stories in the air, and looked down at her. "Lataya! C'mon baby, Im not gonna hurt you! Im sorry!" He yelled down to her.

"No!" She cried. She didnt want to go near him right now. He scared her.

"Im not gonna come down there after you!" He said, praying that she wasnt going to leave.

"Good! Dont waste your time. Im just your whore! See if I care about that Marshall Mathers!" She yelled, stomping angrily towards her car. She pulled the car door open and turned around as he called her name out.

"Lataya! C'mon wait! Where are you going?" He asked, starting to get nervous. What if she didnt come back? What if this was over between them?

"Anywhere but near you!" She yelled back.

He felt angry and hurt now. Fine. If she wanted to leave, let her! He can do just fine without her, better even. He pretended not to car, refusing to let her win. "Yeah, fine then. I bet your going to Royces house! Bitch!" He screamed down at her. With that he turned and went back into the house.

"But Im not-!" She yelled after him, and stopped as the door slammed. "Cheating on you." She whispered, staring at the closed apartment back door.

She bit her bottom lip and got into the car, still crying. She closed the car door and realized that she didnt have the keys. She cried, as hard as she could, and leaned back against the seat, closing her eyes and covering her face with her hands, sobbing uncontrollably.

She didnt want to leave, but she was scared. She never thought he would hit her, but she was wrong. She was so completely wrong. She didnt know now, if she could go back to him, what if hit her again? She didnt think he would hit her, but then again she wasnt expecting this either. She didnt know what hurt more, the physical pain, or the emotional pain. She just sat back against the soft seat and cried, letting all her stress and everything out of her in her tears.

Marshall slammed the door and walked into the livingroom, standing in front of the huge entertainment system in the wall. He had screwed up. He always screwed up. All the important relationships in his life seemed to end, and not in a good way either.

He couldnt believe that he had really hit her, he felt so horrible about it that he couldnt even describe how he felt. He wanted to hold her and make everything okay like he always did. But for some reason, this time he felt like he couldnt. Maybe there were some times that he couldnt fix by holding her. Times like this.

He sighed and wanted to put music on. He loved listening to much when he was upset. It managed to get his mind off things. It got rid of the silence, made him feel not so alone in his life. He looked at the huge stereo behind him, and reached up, turning on the CD player. He knew what CD was in there. It was Tupac, because that was the last thing that he had listened to last night.

He pressed play and changed the song immediatly to number 6. He was just in the mood to hear this song. He walked over to the couch and laid down, closing his eyes as the music started.

Although, as he realized, this wasnt Tupac. He listened for a second, and realized this was Latayas Craig David CD. He didnt change it to Tupac though, he just relaxed and listened to the music.

By the end of the song, he had fallen asleep. Craig Davids voice was so soothing and since he was upset, he just slipped out of his thoughts and forgot his troubles, sinking deeper and deeper into a deep sleep. The lyrics to the song seemed to fit everything in his mind perfectly, and before he drifted off to sleep, he wondered if Lataya would come back to him. He knew some girls wouldnt go back to their man if he hit them. And he was worried. But in a way, he felt like he deserved it.