04
Mahzianna Bennett woke up on the morning of her 18th birthday hearing her mother's absolute favorite song pulsate through a large speaker from somewhere in the studio she and Bryan called home.
"The beautiful reflection of His grace
See, I know that a gift so great
Is only one God could create
And I'm reminded everytime I see your face
That the joy of my world is in Zion..."
Mahzianna lifted herself up and stretched with a huge smile. "To Zion" was Angela's favorite song for as long as Mahzianna could remember. Every year on her birthday, Mahzianna's day began and ended with that song playing in the background while her mother sung it as if she was the one that wrote the song for Lauryn Hill.
She watched with joy as her mother sung with the blasting music and danced around in a black satin dress. Bryan sat at one of the stools in the small kitchen area, bobbing his head to the beat and eating whatever it was that Angela was cooking. Neither of them knew that Mahzianna was awake and watching, admiring them be themselves, the two people she had grown to love and trust the most.
"GoodMorninggg my love!" Angela greeted Mahzianna once she looked up. "Happy 18th, baby!"
"Thank you, Mama." Mahzianna responded, wrapping her mother into a tight hug.
"Ugh, I've waited for this for so long." Angela smiled, taking Mahzianna's hand to lead her to the stack of strawberry waffles she made.
"Happy birthday, baby." Brian smiled, kissing Mahzianna's cheek.
They all ate and talked, having a morning of peace as usual. Marvin stopped by and gifted Mahzianna a Chanel bag, something she had her eye on for a while. Angela gave her a Ruby necklace that had been passed down in their family for generations, plus 3 pairs of YSL heels.
"This day is bouta get so much better for you, baby." Bryan smiled. "I made all the appointments for you and Cedes to look y'all best tonight, plus I set you and your girls up at Amore for the night. Y'all got y'all own section and nobody age checking for liquor, I made sure of it. Even got y'all a room downtown."
"You're not coming?" Mahzianna asked.
"Of course I am." Bryan laughed. "Imma be at Amore and imma take you and Cedes out to eat before y'all go to the room and call it a night. I'm staying here cause I still got strings to pull and surprises to pull off." He winked.
"I can't wait." Mahzianna said, her eyes dancing with an excited fire in them.
"Shit, I forgot something." Marvin laughed, standing up abruptly. "Like I said, I like to give my girls only the best." He said, handing Mahzianna a sparkly pink keychain with a single key attached.
"Marvin, you didn't!" Mahzianna shrieked, hopping up and down. "You didn't! Noooo, no!"
"Follow me, Birdie." Marvin laughed, leading the family outside in the cool early morning air, as the sun made its first appearance of the day.
Outside was a glossy black jeep wrangler with hot pink accents. Mahzianna had been wanting this car since she was 15, Angela and Marvin always pretended to ignore her when she'd go on her long rants about how amazing the car was and how badly it was destined to belong to her.
"Marvin noooooo! No way!" Mahzianna screamed, jumping up and down. "This ain't real, you're lying."
"I swear it's all yours." Marvin laughed at Mahzianna's reaction.
"Mama, this is mine?!"
"Yes, girl unlock the doors." Angela laughed loudly, holding her stomach.
As instructed, Mahzianna pressed the unlock button on her key and squealed when she heard the locks pop.
"Stop ittttt!" She yelled.
"Get in, take your girl for a spin." Marvin instructed, swinging open the drivers side door so Mahzianna could climb inside.
"Why did you do this?" Mahzianna asked, on the verge of tears as she looked at the pink and black interior in her car.
"I told you, only the best, Birdie." Marvin shrugged.
"I love you." Mahzianna said, wrapping her arms around Marvin's neck.
"I love you." He responded, hugging her back. "I told you, us Taurus gotta show out by any means."
"Y'all coming?" Marvin asked Angela and Bryan.
"Nah, y'all go head." Bryan responded. "Gotta work on some stuff."
"Cool." Marvin nodded, closing Mahzianna's door and getting into the passenger seat.
"Windows tinted and everything." Mahzianna mumbled to herself, rubbing the steering wheel like it was made of silk.
"Turn it on." Marvin instructed as Mahzianna looked in amazement.
She did as she was told, turning the key and watching the car roar to life. With a smile, she peeled off from the curb and zoomed her way down the streets of Princetown.
"I gotta question, why'd you decide to help raise me?" Mahzianna asked, keeping her eyes glued to the open road in front of her. "Like you ain't my daddy, mama probably ain't expect you to act like you are, so why do it if you ain't gotta?"
"Because I'm not a lesser man, Birdie." Marvin said. "I was taught that when you love a woman, you gotta love everything that comes with her. You gotta love her kids, her attitude, her stinky morning breath." He laughed. "I love your mother, and I love you. What's different is that I don't love you just because I love her, I love you because you're who you are. Both of y'all are worth loving individually."
"Most men in your position would only love the lady he's supposed to be with, nevermind her bad ass kid." Mahzianna said. "I mean, I've heard about your...situation."
"My situation?" Marvin asked, cocking his head to the side in fake confusion.
"It doesn't matter I guess." Mahzianna said.
"Yea, I'll talk to you about my situation when you're a little older."
"Marvin I'm 18." Mahzianna laughed. "How much older do you want me to be?"
"Old enough so that your response isn't dramatic." He laughed. "You're not stupid, I know that. You probably have your suspicions about my situation, probably heard a thing or two about me, but you don't know for sure. Ain't no evidence of me ever being in a situation. Besides, I know how that can devastate people when they find out about it."
"You're a smart man." Mahzianna smiled. "And for the record, your situation would never make me feel any different than I feel now. You helped raise me so you got my respect forever. No matter what situation you find yourself in."
Marvin nodded in response, letting their ride around the block be engulfed in a comfortable silence.
The rest of the day was a whirlwind, Mahzianna barely noticed the time flying as she sat in the salon with Mercedes and Nubia. Old school jams played while Mahzianna and her friends got their hair and nails done at the same time.
"Bitch we gonna be late." Mahzianna laughed out loud, checking the time on her phone. "Should I tell him to cancel the reservation?"
"Might as well, we ain't gonna make it." Mercedes responded.
"Yea, I'll have my mama make something for us to eat tonight instead. It'll be easier to go to my house to eat and then go get fucked up." Nubia pointed out. "Besides, nothin in this world compares to my mama's food and we all know that."
"Girl, yo mama food better than sex." Mahzianna joked, earning a laugh from everyone.
"Is B3 coming tonight?" Nubia asked, referring to Bryan by his nickname given to him by the members of the Courtland High football team.
"That's what he said." Mahzianna responded. "He been busy with my mama all day though. I think they gonna try to pull some shit bigger than what Marvin did."
"Bigger than that pretty piece of metal outside?" Mercedes asked, "girl please. God herself couldn't outdo Marvin on her best day."
"Exactly." Nubia nodded. "One thing about Marvin, that man knows how to buy a fucking gift."
3 HOURS LATER
The freshly laid platinum blonde 32 inch body wave wig moved like it's own separate entity as Mahzianna danced, shaking and twisting her hips to the beat of the entrancingly loud music in Amore. Mercedes and Erica were at her side, hyping up Mahzianna's drunken performance. Angela stood b
Mahzianna wore a barely there black leather mini dress, that looked as if it was practically painted onto her body, with Dolce & Gabbana Keira Heel Square Toe Sandals, the heel had the DG initials in a shiny silver color, matching perfectly with the silver jewelry she wore.
The speakers pulsated sound waves through her body as she moved, working up a sweat. She couldn't even make out the words to the City Girls song that was booming through the speakers, her ears were trained on the beat, she was focused on moving with it, nevermind the lyrics. She could see flashes from people's cameras capturing her body twisting and shaking to the music, she felt hands patting her ass in support, the loud cheering and constant "ayeeeeeee" from those around her only encouraged her to keep moving.
Somewhere along the night, she ended up in the backseat of a car, Mercedes was laid out next to Mahzianna in the back, while Nubia was in the passenger seat. Nubia's boyfriend was the designated driver for the night. He shut his door and Nubia cut on some slow R&B music for the ride to the hotel.
"Shit, I left my bonnet and my makeup wipes!" Mahzianna exclaimed as her eyes went wide. "We gotta turn around, Nubia."
"What?" Nubia's boyfriend Tyrell asked, looking back quickly.
"Can you pleaseeeeeee take me to my apartment, Ty?" Mahzianna asked. "I need my shit. If I don't got my bonnet imma fuck up my hair and if I ain't got my wipes imma fuck up my face."
"Mahzianna we ain't got time for all that." Tyrell answered.
"C'mon Ty." Nubia muttered, trying to convince him. "We ain't far from it."
"Girl hush." Tyrell mumbled, trying not to listen.
"Pleaseeeee pleaseeee please, Ty?!" Mahzianna begged making puppy dog eyes. "It's my birthday, bro. Please."
"I can't, okay." Tyrell responded, gripping the wheel nervously. "I already gotta go get that opp bitch from the Brickyard."
"Just take her to get her shit, Ty. Stop being weird." Nubia said, rolling her eyes. "And Ruby ain't no opp, watch yo mouth."
"I'll literally just sober up and drive myself to the hotel if you don't wanna wait on me. Just please take me to get my shit, Ty." Mahzianna begged.
"Aight man, but...mannnn don't blame me." Tyrell mumbled, shaking his head as he crossed the Kingland Bridge.
In no time, Ty parked in front of the building, letting Mahzianna exit. She shut the door and waved goodbye to Nubia as the car sped off to go pick up Ruby from in front of Courtland.
Mahzianna threw herself up the stairs, gripping the railing to keep her balance. She softly bumped the door, putting her key in and opening it. She could hear Speechless by Beyoncé blasting through the speakers.
"Goin' out my head I think I'm losin' all my mind
Drive me crazy burning candles, makin' love all night
Feels so strange, it feels so crazy to be in your world
In your arms lost for words..."
"You got me,
You got meeeee,
Youuuu got meeeeeeee
You got me
Speechless!" Mahzianna sung along, pushing open the door to their studio apartment.
Without a care in the world, she danced blindly in the dark over to where the bed was. She stopped dead in her tracks when she opened her eyes to see a betrayal like no other.
Bryan and Angela were tangled together, thrusting their bodies, colliding into each other to the rhythm of the music.
In a rage, she picked up the Amazon Alexa and stomped it under her heel, making the sound go out.
"What the FUCK are y'all doing?!" She shrieked, lunging at her mother.
"Mahzianna, baby she's drunk!" Bryan cried, intercepting her.
"You're BOTH naked!" Mahzianna screamed as tears ran down her face causing her mascara to spill over onto her cheeks in long black streaks. "You BITCH!" She lunged at her drunken mother again.
"Mahzianna, get out for real!" Her mother slurred drunkenly, sending a slap to Mahzianna's left cheek.
The sound of the loud slap echoed and bounced off the high ceilings of their apartment.
"Imma hurt you! You snake ass bitch!" Mahzianna threatened.
"What's gon happen bitch? You ain't got a damn daddy, what the Fuck could you possibly ever make happen to me? You might be a bad bitch, but you'll never be that bitch!" Angela screamed back. "Bitch you nothing without me! I'm the mothafucking blueprint bitch I made you what you are!"
Hearing those words only heated up the fire inside of Mahzianna. Within a split second she pushed past Bryan and went straight for her mother, yanking at her long thick hair and kicking wherever her foot decided to land. Angela pulled Mahzianna's leg, causing her to fall to the ground and they both rolled each other around like to angry cats, kicking, screaming, and punching every which way. Bryan, still very much naked and tired, was trying his hardest to break up the fight but to no avail.
After a few minutes of tussling, Mahzianna gave her mother a swift kick in the face, causing blood to spill out of Angela's nose as she yelled in pain. Mahzianna swung around to leave but Bryan hooked onto her arm to stop her.
"Mahzianna, baby—"
"And YOU, bitch we're done!" Mahzianna yelled, pointing a bloody finger at Bryan. "You just a dirty as her!" She said, snatching her arm back from Bryan.
The outside air hit Mahzianna, sobering her up as she slammed the door. She hopped in her car, turning the key quickly and pulled off from the curb. She twisted the cap off the half full water bottle in the cup holder of her car and downed it quickly to help her focus as she drove downtown to the hotel where her friends were waiting.
In the parking lot, Mahzianna parked her car as close as possible to the entrance of the hotel building. She snatched the key out of the ignition angrily. Allowing herself to sit in silence, the events of the day flashed through her mind. She had no choice but to breakdown. She sobbed heavily, screaming and slapping the steering wheel. After 5 minutes, Mahzianna pulled down the mirror and wiped her face and fixed her hair do that it was evident that something had happened.
Sending a quick text to Nubia, Mahzianna took a deep breath before putting on her performance.
"My loveeeeee!" Nubia smiled, embracing Mahzianna as she opened the door.
"The entry fee is 2 shots of patron, bitch!" Mercedes smiled, pushing two tiny shot glasses Mahzianna's way. Mahzianna opened her mouth, allowing Mercedes to pour the shots into her mouth.
Mahzianna immediately smiled and skipped her way into the room. The first thing she could think to do was grab a bottle and dance it all away.
"It's tiiiiiiime!" Nubia screamed, jumping and clapping as she rushed to light the candles on Mahzianna's cake. They had a ritual, where they wouldn't sing happy birthday until the person's time of birth. It was finally 11:11 p.m., time for Mahzianna's festivities to start.
"HAAAAAPPYYYYYYY BIIIIIRTHDAYYYYYYY TOOOOO YOUUUUU!"
Nubia and Mercedes drunkenly sung, as Mahzianna stared down at the eighteen silver candles on the cake. The flames danced on top of the candles, the light flickering, bouncing off the smiling faces of Mercedes, Ruby and Nubia. Mahzianna continued listening to their serenading until it was finally time to make her wish and blow the candles out.
"Protection." Mahzianna whispered, before she swiftly blew out her birthday candles.
🥀.
Happy new year my loves!💗
What y'all think of this chapter?👀
Angela & Bryan chileeeee???