“I feel my old friend Patron calling out to me, wanna join me for a glass?”
“Nah, you take the glass, brother, I’ll take the bottle,” I say, slapping his shoulder as we head inside the doors.
Bella
Every noise the house makes causes me to flinch and rush for the front window. My heart is racing to the point that I fear it may beat itself right out of my chest. The icemaker dropping ice cubes has me jumping, the house creaking has me looking for monsters in each corner. I know that I have security detail, but the fact that my nerves are frayed has me looking for an enemy every which way I turn. My mind knows that I’m safe here, but my emotions are screaming at me to run and find a safe place to hide.
Rogue has been known to hold a grudge for long periods of time. I just never thought that it’d be aimed directly at me. Though, if I’d stopped and thought it through, I’d have known that once this secret of mine came to life; I’d become the number one enemy in his mind. The two men who fill my world, heart and soul, won’t even look me in the eyes without hatred and disdain staring back at me.
I’ve made a mess of all of our lives. Grabbing a glass of wine, I settle into the couch and turn on the television. A movie begins to play and I find myself crying alongside the heroine. What feels like buckets of tears slide down my cheeks; landing on my chest, soaking my top. Movie after movie I sit here, drowning my sorrows in a bottle of Merlot and commiserate with the women.
Eventually, I find darkness overcoming me as I fall asleep sitting up on the couch.
Banging wakes me from slumberland. It takes a minute for my mind to remember the events that led me to sleep in the position that’s given me a crick in my neck. The banging begins to come in rapid successions. Now, not only is my neck aching, but my head is leaning toward that direction.
“I’m coming,” I call out as I stand and stretch before heading to the door.
“It’s fucking cold as hell out here, Auntie Bella, hurry the hell up, would ya?” Harmony hollers out, causing dread to sink into my chest. I knew this time for her and I to have a sit down would come, I had hoped I’d have more time to prepare for this confrontation.
Yanking the door open, I hold it wide and wave her in. The cold air hits me in the face and I shiver as the coldness rains down on me. “Wow, the temperatures drastically dropped overnight,” I issue as I wrap my arms around me in an attempt to conserve my body’s heat. Walking ahead of her, I head straight for the kitchen to make me a pot of coffee and her a mug of hot cocoa. I may be bribing her with the chocolate confection, but I’d do anything to put her in a good mood, even if only temporarily. When the cups are made just the way we like them, I add a scoop of whip cream to top hers and then go and join her where she sits on the couch awaiting me. “Made it just the way you like it,” I alert Harmony, as I extend her cup, handle first.
“Thanks,” she says as she blows the top in order to cool it down some. “I know my dad asked me to wait to speak with you, but I can’t, Auntie. I need to know.”
“Know what, sweetie?” I ask her, already knowing the answer in my mind, but my heart isn’t quite ready to accept.
“Why?” she simply asks. “Why did you keep my brother from me, from my dad? I thought you loved us?” This is exactly what I wasn’t prepared for but should’ve been. Her words break my heart further than it already was. Tears are swimming in her orbs, but my tough girl refuses to let them fall. I, on the other hand, have no such control and allow my own to freely slide down my face as they profusely empty from my tear ducts. Clearing my throat, I go on to share what I did with her father last night, only when I say the last word from my well planned out explanation, instead of running away like her father did, she stares at me as