Current legal issues surrounding you and your co-star.
Please return any show property such as wardrobe or other items that you have in your possession. The issuance of your final payment will be delayed if you delay or fail to do so. Thank you for your time and all you have done for the show. We wish you the best.
Regards,
Laura Straut
TV BTB
“What’s wrong, Mama?” Deuce asked, climbing into her lap. Marli, the boys, and Max were all sitting in his living room having a family game night. The last day and a half had been going great as far as the daily visits with Max were concerned. He was behaving like the perfect father, and the boys were enjoying every minute of it. It had been nice to see, and it made her feel sad that the boys didn’t have this family dynamic daily.
“Mama!” Marli didn’t purposely ignore her baby, but she was distraught. Her brain was trying to wrap itself around the email she’d just read. She was being fired from the show. She suspected that something strange was going on because when she showed up to set today, everyone was staring at her. They had no scenes for her to film and told her to come back tomorrow.
“Mama, it’s your turn,” Tres called from the floor. Marli looked down at the Chutes and Ladders board.
“Um, Mama has to go to the bathroom.” She stood from the sofa and walked off down the hallway and into the bathroom. As soon as she shut the door, Marli allowed the tears she was holding to flow freely down her face. Staring down at her phone, Marli read the email again. She was being fired from her job. The reality show made up half of her income.
“Marli, you good?” Max’s voice sounded from the other side of the door. Marli wiped her tears and flushed the empty toilet before opening the door.
“I’m okay. Just had to use the bathroom,” she lied.
“Why you crying then?” Max invaded her space.
“I… I…” Marli took a deep breath, allowing the words to leave her mouth. “I was fired,” she finally said.
“From the show?” Max was shocked. Marli nodded her head and held up her phone for Max to read. She really should have known this was coming after Max had been removed as a recurring guest. She had only been offered the show because she was Maximus’s baby mama.
“I’m sorry. This shit is all my fault.” He embraced her in a hug. Marli wrapped her arms around him and allowed her sobs to flow. She was vulnerable, and her judgment was cloudy. Being without a job was going to be an adjustment for her. Sure, she had her social media money, but that was sure to change, too, without her being on the show. Marli had enough savings to survive for a while, but she would have to budget better.
“Don’t trip, all right? I got y’all.” Max held her tighter. It felt strange; she and Max hadn’t had this type of interaction in years. Her hate and disdain for him seemed nonexistent at this moment. Maybe Tres’s accident had changed something in him. Maybe it was what Max needed, to grow up. Maybe they could move forward with a healthy co-parenting relationship.
“See, this why we need to keep me out of jail.” He pulled away from her, looking her in the face. “Peep this. My lawyer said if we hang out, post up family content and shit, the judge will probably lessen my charge. I could be looking at community service and a nice fine,” Max rambled off. Marli didn’t say anything. Her brain processed his words slowly. She had yet to figure out how she felt about Max going to jail. His negligence could have killed their son, but he was still the boys’ father. She wasn’t going to jump through hoops and pretend to be a big happy family to keep him from behind bars, though. He chose to leave a loaded gun out around their four-year-old boys; he needed to face the consequences of his actions. If that was jail, so be it.
“I was thinking we could post some family game night pics, and then tomorrow, we could go do something fun. If it’s cool with you, we can have the photographers come and catch some off guards.” Max had to be out of his mind. The more he talked, the more Marli cursed herself for bringing the boys to see him. Max had begged to see the boys. Now Marli was just realizing it was all a publicity stunt.
“You did all this so you won’t go to jail?” Marli asked, disgust settling on her face. “I pray they lock yo’ ass up!” She attempted to push past him.
“I’m just trying to—” Max went to speak, but a loud pounding on Max’s front door interrupted him.
“Who the…” Max exited the bathroom and stormed to the front door. Marli followed him. She wanted to get out of here. She was thinking about taking the boys to a hotel for the night and flying back home in the morning. Without work, and Max being on bullshit, she didn’t have a reason to be here. The loud knocking increased as they neared. Max swung the door open. Marli expected to see one of Max’s girls but was stunned when she saw Dru and two of the big bodyguards that sometimes accompanied him around.
“This little family night is over. Let’s go!” Dru’s eyes locked on Marli. He looked pissed and amused at the same time. Marli rubbed her eyes. Her vision had to be deceiving her.
“Dru? What… are you doing… here?” She stumbled over her words. Her mind immediately thought the worst. Did something happen to her sister? She stared at him, trying to gauge the urgency of the situation, but she couldn’t.
“Are you pregnant?” Dru blurted. Marli choked on her spit.
“Pregnant!” Max’s head made a one-eighty-degree turn in Marli’s direction. Marli stared at Dru. She knew after seeing the blogs that he would be curious about her pregnancy, but she never thought he would show up at Max’s house. This was not how she wanted to tell him, but she couldn’t lie now.
“Yes.” Marli dropped her head.
“You pregnant?” Max moved toward her, leaving the door wide open for Dru to step inside.
“Is it mine?” That was the next question out of Dru’s mouth. Marli dropped her head.
“Yes.” Her voice cracked a little.
“You pregnant by this nigga?” Max approached her, his voice thundering, causing her to jump. Everything was happening too fast. Within a second, Dru had Max by his collar, dangling him in the air.
“Marli, get your shit. It’s time to go.” Dru directed his statement to her while still staring Max in the face. Marli was so taken aback she didn’t know what to do.
“Dru… I… go where…? I—”
“Frankly, I don’t want to hear none of that stuttering shit. The moment you found out you were carrying my seed should have been the moment you told me, not come yo’ ass down here trying to play house with yo’ sorry ass baby daddy,” he interrupted her. Marli looked toward the living room where the boys were still playing. She hoped they didn’t run in here and see this.
“The boys are here.” She spoke softly, trying to reason with Dru to stop the shenanigans. The look he gave her let her know he was beyond reasoning at this point.
“Good, bring them too. They don’t need to be around this careless ass nigga anyway. It’s unsafe.” Dru was way past being reasoned with.
“Fuck that. You not taking my kids, Marli!” Max shouted at her. Dru brought him closer to his face.
“You not in the position to say shit to her. Aye, put this nigga up until we leave,” he called out to Jake as he threw Max to the ground. Jake wasted no time picking Max up and tossing him over his shoulder.
“Aye! Y’all got me fucked up!” Max wailed his arms wildly, landing punches on Jake’s back. Jake didn’t seem to be bothered by it though. He just carried Max down the hallway, opened the bathroom door, and threw him in.
“Let me handle this, baby mama. Go get your stuff.” Dru walked past her down the long hallway. He entered the bathroom, and the door shut behind him. Marli looked down the empty hallway mortified. She had never seen this side of Dru. There was commotion for a minute and then dead silence. The bathroom door opened, and Dru and Jake calmly walked down the hall and back to the foyer. What was happening? What had just happened?
“Dru, what the hell did you just do?”
