Sidney Berry had her life planned out: after high school go to culinary school, become a world-renowned chef and marry her childhood sweetheart, Aiden. But after a tragic incident that shakes her world at the end of her senior year, her plans derail...
"You look exhausted. Why don't you get some sleep?" Whitney was frightened by Sid's silence just the same. She must have sensed the fire in her tired eyes. Hoped that sleeping it off would make it dissipate. Large blue numbers glowed from the clock on the nightstand and ticked toward two in the morning. Her body was sluggish and exhaustion pulled on her limbs. She knew sleep would probably do her a world of good but she still felt too much energy coursing through her. Nevertheless, and mostly to appease Whitney who was already sliding under the covers, Sid changed into a large t-shirt and sleep shorts from Whitney's dresser. After plugging her phone into a charger, she crawled into bed next to her sister who's breathing let her know that she was already slipping into a deep sleep.
Sid tried fitfully to get to sleep for about twenty minutes before sneaking out of bed and back to her mother's room. She could see that the little soiree was still going on outside but the group had whittled down to only one other couple besides her mother and Regis. The closet doors were still open and in no time she located the chest that held her father's things. She pulled out one of his shirts and crept back to Whitney's room where she kept it curled against her body and breathed in his faint scent until she too was deep asleep.
***
Morning arrived before Sidney was ready for it. The golden streaks of sunlight that broke through the room seemed mocking. The first thought that her conscious brain had was of the bloated mottled mess that was Phil's face the night before. She laid there beneath the comforter, her hands still clutching her father's shirt pretending that she didn't have to get up and face the world. The one where she owed several grand to a murderer who was holding someone she cared about hostage. But when she heard Whitney moving around the room she forced herself to pull herself up into a sitting position.
She ran a tongue around her dry mouth and rubbed her face, rough and marked with salty trails. She'd done enough crying to soothe any and all future hurts. After squinting through the intruding sunlight she spotted her sister across the room. Headphones hung from her neck and she wore an over-sized hoodie and cut off denim shorts. For a moment her sister looked like she fifteen again and Sid longed for them to be squished into their tiny room in Fort Greene again trying to make Vine videos that they were sure would make them famous. Sid looked around the large room. Things sure could change more quickly than should be allowed. She tossed the heavy duvet off her legs.
"Hey, how are you feeling?" Whitney spun around with worried eyes.
A short grunt was all that Sid could give.
"Fair. Hungry?" Whitney asked. Sid glance at the clock and saw that it was nearly noon. Her stomach rolled and she nodded.
"I ordered French Toast and Sausage from this place in town. Didn't eat most of it. I'll heat it and bring it up." Typical Whitney, slight and barely ate like their mother. Sid knew that within a few moments of the food arriving upstairs it would be taking the journey to fill her empty stomach.
Sid grabbed her phone from the charger and checked to see if Phil had reached out. The phone held no message from Phil but three calls from Tomi. She felt like a terrible friend for not calling Tomi to let her know what was going on. She was probably worried absolutely sick wondering where she was all night. Sid hoped that AJ wasn't giving her hell on top of it all. She quickly called Tomi back.
"Sid." She answered on the first ring.
"Yeah, I'm so sorry, Tome. I have so much shit to tell you. I'm at my mom's but I'm just going to eat something and head straight to you." Sid crossed the warm wood floor—heated floors?, Sid thought-- into the en suite bathroom and put the phone on speaker as she eased her shorts down and rested her bottom on the toilet which was also warm. Heated toilet seats? Is that a thing?
"Sid, listen. I've been trying to call you."
"I know, I'm sorry. My phone died and then I fell asleep after everything."
"No, no. It's fine but Sid...um...Aiden took AJ."
"What? It's not his wee—" Sid stopped as she recalled her conversation with Aiden yesterday before work. He wanted full custody of AJ. They were supposed to meet this morning to talk things out and she completely missed it in the mess of Kru and Phil. Sid felt herself bolting up from the toilet before a stream could even escape her. Her empty stomach curled inside and she felt her legs go numb. Whitney appeared in the doorway holding a carton of food and juice. She eyed her sister's swaying body, sat the food on the nearby dresser, and immediately went to her.
"He can't. Not without talking to me."
"He can, Sid. He's AJ's Dad. He left some court papers here. Said you would be formally served later this week." Tomi's voice echoed from the phone and bounced off the walls of the bathroom. Whitney's hand shot to her mouth.
"Tomi...Tomi...he can't. He can't take my baby."
"I tried to talk to him. I swear. I tried but he was just so fucking...ugh. Sid, I'm sorry." Whitney grabbed the phone. Sid saw her lips moving but no sound was reaching her ears. There could not be any way that everything was falling apart this way. She leaned against the counter for support and closed her eyes.
Daddy, please. Please help me. I swear I can't do this anymore. I don't know why this is happening but I need you. Please.
She had never been a prayerful person. The Berry's had never attended church. She believed for a long time that whatever God may have existed left her the moment he took her father away. But she believed in her father. She believed in his spirit and if she wanted to believe in the supernatural power of anything she was going to put her bets on him. She was done falling apart. She was done mourning loss. Everything that could be taken away from her had been. Now she just hoped for strength instead. Because asking for the bad things to stop happening hadn't worked.
When she opened her eyes, she walked out of the bathroom, leaving Whitney cursing on the phone. She walked back into the room and sat on the bed. She spread her hands out on either side of her and let her fingers run over the soft sheets, soothing her somehow until her fingers tips touched a rougher cotton fabric. She looked over to see her father's shirt peeking out from the bundle of bed linen. She grabbed hold of it again and closed her eyes. Maybe she had gone crazy but if someone asked she would swear that she heard the tenor of her father's voice. She held on tighter to the shirt, straining the fabric in her fists.
"Sis...sis...it's going to be okay." Whitney settled by her side rubbing circles on her back but Sid didn't respond. She was listening to what that voice was telling her. Once it was done speaking she opened her eyes. Her sister's worried face floated in her peripheral. Sid nodded in agreement with Whitney's words.
"It will be. I'm going to make sure of it."
"Okay." Whitney seemed cautious. Like Sid was a ticking time bomb. But Sid was calm. She was in control, harnessing whatever power her dad used to guide him through life with such force and conviction.
"Can you come with me?" Sid asked as she started off of the bed and began collecting her clothes from yesterday.
"Where?" Whit's eyes balked as Sid closed the door to the bathroom.
"To Aiden's." The sound of the latch catching as the door closed echoed between them.
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