A Mother's Bond

11

"Do you need us to come up there?" Mama asked, concerned.

I shook my head. "No, I don't think that would help. I need some time to sort things out, but thank you for offering, Mama."

Solange grabbed the phone. "Don't bother thanking her. We'll be at your house by 6:00 pm. I already booked our flight. Nonrefundable. One way."

My jaw dropped. "SOLO. NO. DO NOT COME HERE."

"Go get packed, Mama. I'll have to talk to Alan, but he can take care of Julez until we get back."

I sat up. "ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME? YOU ARE NOT INVITED. DO YOU HEAR ME? NOT. INVITED."

"Invited? What is that? We family. Talkin bout 'invited'." She cackled. "See you in a bit, Bey. Kiss my babies for me. MWAH." And with that, she hung up the phone.

I stared at my phone in disbelief. I sat back on the couch, head in my hands, and groaned in frustration. I already felt like I was hanging on by a thread and now this. August was going to blame me for this, I just knew it.

I decided to make her a sandwich. Maybe food would make her more forgiving. That always worked with me when I was younger...and now honestly. I walked slowly to her room, plate in hand. I paused, steadying myself before knocking firmly. Something told me she respected confidence.

"Who is it?" She called out.

I considered lying but realized how stupid that would be. "It's Bey."

I waited for her to invite me in. When no response came, I continued.

"Can I come in?" I asked.

I heard a sigh. "It's your house."

I took a deep breath and opened the door. She was sitting on her bed, playing a game on her phone. I decided to be bold and try sitting on her bed. I sat down and noticed a scrap of paper on the floor. I bent down to pick it up, inspecting it curiously. It looked like a small piece of a ripped photo.

"Where'd this come from?" I mumbled, turning it over in my hand.

August looked up. She patted her pockets, a confused expression on her face and then lunged for the scrap, snatching it out of my hand.

"Don't touch that." She snapped, carefully putting it in her pocket.

"Okaaaaay," I whispered. She went back to playing on her phone. This wasn't going well already.

"I brought you some food," I said, offering her the plate. "I figured you'd be hungry."

She looked at it skeptically before accepting it. "I am. Thank you."

She placed it on the nightstand and looked back at her phone. A paranoid part of me wondered if she was refusing to eat because she didn't want to give me the satisfaction of seeing her enjoy the food I'd made. I shook the thought away, nervously wiping my palms on my jeans.

"Anyway, I know it's been a VERY rough day for you, and you probably want to be left alone, but later on your aunty Solange and your grandma will be here to see you," I informed her, finishing in a rush.

She looked up at me in disgust and rolled her eyes, looking away again. She carefully set her phone down beside her and folded her hands in her lap. She looked back at me.

"Are you serious? Are you for real right now?" She paused. "Let me get this straight. You acknowledge that this has been the worst 24 hours of my life, and that I need time alone. Yet you still thought it would be a good idea to invite strangers over to be all up in my space. How does that make sense?"

I chuckled, running a hand through my hair. This was the cherry on top of the world's shittiest cake. I took a deep breath, trying to clear my frustrations away.

"Trust me. I did not invite them. I actively tried to keep them from coming, but there's nothing I could do. Solange isn't big on boundaries as you will soon see."

She narrowed her eyes. "Nothing you could do? It's your house. If you don't want them here, don't let them come. Simple as that."

I shook my head, feeling my irritation rise. "That's not how Solange sees it. Like I said, no boundaries. I say 'no', she hears 'yes'."

She looked me up and down before chuckling, sitting back. I frowned at her, and she shook her head.

"I don't even know why I'm surprised you're letting this happen." She picked up her phone and started scrolling. "My mama would NEVER."

My nostrils flared. I clenched and unclenched my fists, completely losing my temper.

"That BITCH is not your mama."

She leapt out of bed in one swift motion. "Don't you dare call her that. You don't even know her. She raised me for 11 years. Taught me how to spell my name–"

"THAT'S NOT EVEN YOUR NAME, AUGUST!" I screamed, jumping off the bed.

"HOW TO ROLLERSKATE." She continued yelling, easily brushing off my comment. "HOW TO USE A FREAKING TAMPON. SHE TAUGHT ME EVERYTHING. DON'T YOU EVER DISRESPECT HER."

We glared at each other in a tense silence, daring the other to break eye contact. August broke first, wiping away tears I hadn't noticed. I softened for a second.

"I don't want to fight with you," she admitted, her voice surprisingly soft. "But you have to understand. For 11 years you've only thought of her as the monster that took your child, but to me she was just my mama. Can you understand that? She's the only mother I know. She loved me, fed me, took care of me. That's all I remember." She cried, voice cracking.

I stiffened. I strode over to her and grabbed her face.

"Listen to me and listen to me good." I growled, ignoring her glare. "For 11 years she nurtured you, told you what you wanted to hear and brainwashed you. She never loved you. I LOVED YOU. Remember that."

She pushed me away from her. "Get out," she hissed.

I stormed out, slamming the door behind me.

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Hello friends. Hi. It is I, the writer. Surprise! So sorry for the entirety of this book, because it's gonna be a trip. I feel like I'm gonna frustrate you beyond belief, for that I'm sorry. But I have to do what feels right. If you stick with me, I'll try to make it worth it. The character development is slow, but...it's happening. I promise. I have a very specific, in-depth plan for this book. I really want you guys to believe in me like I believe in me 😭😭😭 but at the same time, I'm gonna write this my way🤷🏽‍♀️ Thanks for the comments and votes, I really appreciate your appreciation. Ok byeeee.