Chapter 15 Heidi
HEIDI
Not once did I think I’d be in a situation where I’d have my hand in inmates’ business. Bentley Atkins was the most sought-after Atkins to this date. Many wanted his head while others just wanted to see him officially. Running into him wasn’t a coincidence. Mama Rose had her hands all over this.
The interaction I had with Enzo was fake as the day is long.
I spotted the fraud from a mile away; I just couldn’t put my finger on it.
The visit and talks with Bentley were drastically different.
The conversation wasn’t forced, and neither were the laughs.
I still felt the need to keep him at a distance but the comfortability between us was slowly forming.
“Everybody here cousin. You coming down?” Cedees asked pulling me out another daydream for the day.
I nodded while saying, “Yeah girl. I was just trying to find my cell. It’s around that time when Bentley calls, and I don’t want to miss it.”
She raised her brows as she leaned back with a shocking expression.
Mercedees was the first out the family to know I had direct communication with him.
I was starting to understand his frustration with Enzo.
Being set up by someone you made was more than hurtful.
That kind of act of betrayal would’ve made me lose my mind.
“Uhm, excuse me? What did you just say?” she asked followed by a slight giggle.
“When Royce and I flew to Miami to visit him, I gave him my number. In order for us to know what’s going on with him and vice versa, we needed direct contact. Don’t overreact,” I sassed rolling my eyes.
Finally finding my cell underneath my bed, I was ready to greet everyone. Royce and I called the family over for one specific reason, to expose Enzo and his treacherous ways.
“Oh, you bets believe you giving up details as soon as this lil’ meeting is over. I can’t wait to hear this shit,” she commented wearing a goofy ass smirk that made me shake my head. She was so nosy.
“Stop being in my business all the time Cedees.”
“You are my business now go on.” She shooed me out the door.
Walking downstairs, I strolled through the foyer to the family room.
All the Atkins were in attendance including the babies.
Lincoln and CJ were off to the side playing with their trucks while Essence, Porsche, and Maaz were having a good time in the playpen of balls.
The kids were content, the adults on the other hand were no longer about to be.
Making my way around the room, I offered hugs to everyone in attendance. Once I was done, I took a seat on the sectional with everybody following suit. We were comfortable with glasses of wine in tow. The alcohol was needed little did they know.
“What did you call us here for Heidi? Is something wrong?” Mama Iris was the first to speak up. Royce might’ve been the head of the family, but she was really the one with control.
Looking over at Royce, I eyed him for some kind of signal. He sipped on his drink ignoring the hell out of me. He was of no help.
“Okay. Well, recently I joined the Chats with Angels program again.” I couldn’t even get the sentence out good before I was hit with a swarm of questions.
“Heidi, I know you didn’t do that. Why would you open old wounds?” Mama Iris asked.
“Baby girl, why would you put yourself in harm’s way again? You got my grandson to think about,” Senior chimed.
“The hell you do that for?” Striker questioned.
“What the fuck is Chats with Angels?” Genesis inquired.
“Ain’t this the same program you got hurt in? The fuck you go back for?” Uncle Ryan asked confusingly. He was never around to begin with just like his daughter but all of a sudden, he wanted to show face tonight.
Throwing my hand up, I halted all twenty-one questions. Now wasn’t the time to jump down my throat and make me feel worse than I did when I first re-joined. They loved me and wanted to protect me. I knew why they were questioning me; I just didn’t want to deal with that at the moment.
“Look, I will go into detail later on why I rejoined the darn program. Can you guys just listen for once and watch your mouths? The kids are here too.” The entire room went quiet, and Royce’s glass had yet to come down from his lips.
He was really starting to piss me off. “I met someone with the screenname Bentendo94’.
We started chatting and everything is copasetic, right?
Well, one day he decides to send me an audio message through the chat.
Cool. Normal ish because it didn’t go against the guidelines.
However, what took me by surprise was this. ”
I went to scrolling and tapping on my phone until I was at the message from a few weeks ago. I saved the audio for this very moment. The family needed to hear what I heard and be thrown off the exact same way.
“…Atkins, wrap it up. It’s chow time. I ain’t hungry. Bentley Atkins, wrap it up, now!”
Senior was on his feet before anyone and approaching me. He grabbed the phone out my hand and replayed the message directly to his ear. His face was of nothing less than puzzled… much like everyone else’s in the room.
“Hold up cuz. What the hell going on?” Genesis sat up with dipped brows and a turned up lip.
“We dealing with a fake. Our kin is in Miami Dade-County Federal Correctional Institution. Heidi, you got some shit to make a charcuterie with? I want some cheese and crackers,” Royce chimed standing to his feet and heading for the kitchen.
He dropped bombs like Mama Rose. I see why she was his favorite.
“Royce, if you’re going to be a headache, you can just go!” I shouted at his back.
“Am I missing something? Who’s a fake? Who’s in Miami? And seriously, what’s Chats with Angels?” Cheyonne inquired.
Her clueless self didn’t know what was going on.
I kept a lot of things from folk, but it had been quite some time since I had to talk about my past. The Atkins knew already.
However, this was fairly new to Klarity, Cheyonne, and Genesis.
It was best to just explain everything now than deal with the constant questioning later.
Deeply sighing, I clasped my hands together placing them on my knee.
“Okay, so years ago I joined a pen pal group with the church called Chats with Angels. It’s a program that allows inmates to speak with someone on the outside world platonically.
I got paired with a man named Michael Pines.
We wrote letters back and forth for quite some time.
He never let me know when he was getting released.
He shows up unannounced, forces his way inside, takes my womanhood—”
Royce walked in carrying a tray of food interrupting in pure Royce fashion. “And ended up scattered ‘cross the muthalovin’ seven seas after. Hurry up and get to the point Heidi before I get mad all over again.”
“Anyway, after the incident, I threw myself into my religion even harder. I quit the program and started attending a women’s retreat in Florida.
It’s called Empathy Emporium. I never told anyone how it truly affected me because I didn’t want the sympathy or fragile treatment.
I sought help on my own and got it. Cedees, if you’re ever wondering who convinced me to box, it was Dr. Wright.
She’s also been advising me through this journey again with the program.
Nevertheless, if I hadn’t joined again, I wouldn’t have run into the real Bentley, and we wouldn’t have known Enzo was trying to snake us.
Royce, Mercedees, Bentley, and I all believe he’s here for the inheritance money,” I explained.
The room had grown silent, even the babies had stopped their loudness.
The spotlight was on me, and I truly didn’t mind this time.
I’d grown and accepted my past. I was a mother of a very loving and caring little boy, I had a successful business, and my self-esteem was back where I needed it to be. Michael no longer had control over me.
Joining Chats with Angels again was solely to ease me back into a world where I didn’t isolate myself from men. Giving them that kind of power wasn’t flying anymore.
I appreciated Bentley’s conversation and how easy it was talking with him.
It helped a little that he was an Atkins.
I knew the kind of standup men they were.
He was very flirtatious, but his flirting wasn’t cringy for some reason.
I actually enjoyed how soft he was for me.
He was snappy with Royce at his visit but very calm and collected with me. I noticed that immediately.
“Aye, I can get Twenty-One to wipe fake ass out by tonight,” Genesis spoke up. “I ain’t never thought he was worth a fuck.”
“Baby, watch your mouth. Maaz might be used to it, but the other kids aren’t,” Cheyonne voiced touching his arm.
I was quite envious of all the couples here tonight.
Yes, they were family, but they also created their own.
I loved every single one of them tremendously but none of them had to experience loneliness the way I did.
Royce bullied his way into Klarity’s life and ended up with a marriage that was unbreakable.
Genesis kidnapped Cheyonne and that heffa ended up falling for him, pushing out the handsomest baby boy, then marrying him.
Mama Iris and Senior had been through the most and he still made sure Mama Iris knew she was the only woman for him.
I was happy for each couple here. I just hated that love was taking so long to find me.
“Nope. I actually wanted Mama Iris to invite him to dinner tonight. We keep the facade as if we don’t know, grill him with questions just to see if he knows what’s really up.
Yonnis is working on getting Bentley out so Enzo, the snake’s name by the way, is on limited time already.
He asked us not to touch him and that he’d handle him when he was free. ”