Nothing to Lose (BWWM)

Nineteen

His laugh seemed to be loud enough for her to hear. She whisked round and ripped an earphone out, bending down and turning off the vacuum. When she stood up straight again, she scowled at him. 

"That was a good... show." He joked, her face hardening even more. Clearly she was still holding onto her anger at how he yelled at her. 

She gave him an impatient face as if to say 'what do you want?' 

His laughter died down quickly. "We need to talk."

She let out a quiet "Ha," reaching down to turn the vacuum cleaner on again.

"It's about my mother." He said, stopping her in mid-action.

"What happened? Is she okay?" She asked frantically, fearing the worst.

Her sudden worry surprised him. He wasn't expecting her to show such concern for LIly-Ann. "She's fine but she won't allow me to see her."

"Why?"

Vincent moved further into the living room. "Because whenever I go there, you're not accompanying me." She blinked, not understanding his point. He glanced down at his watch. "If you could get changed and ready within the next 20 minutes we'll be able to get there before she has her lunch."

Imani gripped the handle of the vacuum cleaner so tightly she thought it would break off. Her nostrils flared and her free hand curled into a fist.

"Did you hear what I said?" He repeated and she snapped.

As if a new wave of energy had consumed her, she pushed the hoover away and started pacing. "I can't deal with you!" She exclaimed, running a hand over her face as he watched her. "I can't. I just- do you ever listen to yourself sometimes?!" Imani questioned, finally boiling over the edge. She threw her index finger towards him. "You are controlling. You are rude and you-you-you're-." Letting out a scream, she ran a hand through her hair. 

"Imani-."

"No, don't! Don't you dare try and say my name and make me calm down. I've got a whole lot of shit to say. A hell of a lot! Since last week, all I've wanted to do is to wrap my hands around that throat of yours and throttle you."

His eyebrows furrowed and he rubbed his neck.

"You made me feel," she placed a small space between her thumb and her finger, "this small! You screamed in my face and yelled at me. In front of all of those people, Vincent." Imani stopped walking and turned to face him, her voice quietening. "It wasn't that I was pissed off - I mean I was and all but that wasn't the first thing I felt." She sighed as she looked straight at him. "I was hurt. Your accusations hurt me, Vincent."

Vincent's facial expression faltered slightly.

"I thought that you knew me well enough by now to know that I am a caring person. I would never put anyone in harm's way. Especially your mother. For you to say that I was putting her in danger? I would never ever do that." She let out a shaky breath. "And your words stung a bit more because..." She paused.

He had to admit that he wasn't enjoy seeing her in this state. He wanted to apologise and hug her but he knew she wouldn't be the most appreciative of any form of physical contact from him. 

"I know what it's like to take care of someone with cancer." Imani whispered brokenly. "I know what it's like to be cautious with them and knowing their limits. I was even more careful with Lily-Ann because of my experience and for you to try and make it seem as if I didn't know what I was doing, it just-." Without caring about whether she would accept it or not, he pulled her into a tight embrace.