Masina
I watched as they covered my good friend with a sheet and wheeled her out of our family home.
In the blink of an eye, death had claimed her life, and there wasn’t a damn thing any of us could do to stop it.
One minute she was laughing with us in the kitchen, fussing at Kade and teasing Ysis about all that hot sauce she insisted on putting on everything.
The next, she was gone just like that. The house she’d helped turn into a home suddenly felt cold, and the silence she’d left behind was louder than any scream could’ve ever been.
With Yuki and Marius still lurking somewhere in the shadows, there was no telling who had sent those flowers or who the intended target truly was.
The more I replayed everything in my head, the more my stomach twisted.
Were they meant for me? For Ysis? For Kade?
Or had Aretha been the target all along?
None of it made sense, but one thing was certain.
Whoever orchestrated this knew exactly what they were doing.
They didn’t just take a life. They struck at the heart of our family, and judging by the murderous look that settled over Kade’s face the moment Aretha stopped breathing, I knew my son was fixing to unleash a hell unlike anything we’d ever seen before.
He loved that woman like she was his second mother, and I’d seen that look in his eyes before.
It was the same look he got whenever somebody threatened the people he loved.
The only difference this time was that the threat had already collected it's debt.
While I wanted to say something so evil had Marius written all over it, I couldn’t put nothing past that crafty bitch Yuki either.
The longer this war dragged on, the less I trusted anybody.
When the detectives interviewed us, we kept our mouths shut because the truth was we didn’t know who had sent the flowers or why they had been delivered to our home in the first place.
Kade barely tolerated them being here. I watched him and Cassian eye both detectives from across the room before I realized they were the very same officers who’d shown up after Marius escaped custody.
They asked their questions, wrote in their little notebooks, handed us their business cards, and promised they’d be in touch before Kade all but escorted them out the front door.
The moment they pulled away, the house somehow felt even emptier than it had a few minutes before.
Once everybody scattered, the silence settled over the house in waves.
Ysis decided to attend an emergency therapy session, something I silently thanked God she’d agreed to do, because no pregnant woman needed to carry around this kind of grief.
Kade and Cassian left together without saying much of anything, and judging by the look on both of their faces, I knew wherever they were headed, it wasn’t somewhere anybody should follow.
That left me alone with my thoughts, something I’d been trying to avoid all afternoon because every time my mind slowed down, all I could see was Aretha smiling before those flowers touched her face.
Needing to hear a familiar voice, I picked up my phone and called the one person who had somehow become such a comfort to me these past few weeks. He answered on the very first ring.
“How are you?” There was a long pause on the other end before he finally answered.
“I’m fucked up, Masina.” His voice sounded heavier than I’d ever heard it. “The shit I said to my daughter...” He trailed off, taking a moment to gather himself before continuing. “She had so much life to live, and I’m sorry.”
The pain in his voice reached through the phone.
Finding out the tragic way his daughter died had stirred something inside of me that I hadn’t expected.
Cassian was taking it hard too, and while I knew his grief came from a different place, a parent burying a child was a hurt I couldn’t even begin to imagine.
No matter what had happened between them, no matter the mistakes either of them made, that was still his baby.
“So much is going on I don’t even know what to do,” he continued.
“My wife is blaming me for her death when she’s the one who picked at that girl every chance she got.
I mean, I know we both disowned her, but I was just angry...
and honestly ashamed. I guess that’s my karma because ever since then shit just keeps going downhill. ”
He spent the next several minutes telling me everything that had been happening inside his home.
Apparently after Sera left, he and his wife had done nothing but argue.
He blamed her for constantly belittling their daughter while she blamed him for babying her instead of putting his foot down when everything first started spiraling.
According to him, every conversation somehow found its way back to Sera until neither one of them could stand to be in the same room together.
While I didn’t know his wife personally, I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of woman found it so easy to tear down her own child.
There had to be more to that story. There always was.
Life had taught me long ago that everybody carried pieces of the truth, and if you stayed still long enough, those pieces eventually found each other.
Listening to him, my heart broke all over again for that young lady.
It was no wonder she fought so many demons and latched onto Cassian the way she did.
She wasn’t getting the love, patience, and reassurance she needed from the people who should’ve given it to her first. Sometimes children grew up starving in houses full of food because what they needed wasn’t sitting on the dinner table.
They needed compassion. Grace. Somebody willing to see them beyond their mistakes.
“Trust me,” I said, letting out a weary sigh. “I know the feeling. I just watched a good friend of mine pass away, and I feel like I’m on the verge of losing my mind.” He was quiet for a moment before speaking again.
“Well...how about we find solace in each other? I’m staying at the Peabody. If you’d like to join me for a drink...maybe some dinner. Let me make lunch up to you, this time away from prying eyes.”
“Honey, with sons like mine they’ll find us faster than you can blink.” I shook my head even though he couldn’t see me. “But sure. How about I meet you there in the next hour?”
“That sounds like a plan. I’ll see you soon.”
“I’ll see you then.” A small smile found its way onto my face before I ended the call. The burden in my chest lifting just enough for me to take a full breath. Emory was a gentleman through and through.
As I moved about getting ready, I couldn’t help but think about what might’ve happened if I’d paid a little more attention to him back then.
He had always been sweet, respectful, and charming in that quiet kind of way that didn’t demand attention.
Even in college, when just about every other man was trying to see how fast they could get a woman into bed, Emory never pushed the issue beyond friendship.
He was content sitting beside me in class, walking me to my car after late lectures, or buying me lunch without expecting anything in return.
Somewhere along the way life sent us in different directions, and before either of us knew it, we’d grown into adults with children, marriages, heartbreak, and enough shared history to fill a lifetime.
Now fate had a funny way of forcing us back into each other’s orbit, and for the first time in years, I found myself slowing down long enough to really see the man my old college friend had grown into.
Walking over to my closet, I decided on a cream blouse paired with a tailored navy pantsuit.
It was elegant without trying too hard, exactly the kind of outfit Aretha would’ve approved of before telling me to add a little more jewelry.
Thinking about her nearly brought the tears back, but I swallowed them down and continued getting dressed.
After fastening my earrings, I reached up and removed the pins from my hair, allowing my thick curls to tumble freely down my back.
A light spritz of perfume finished everything off before I grabbed the designer handbag Kade had surprised me with for Mother’s Day and called my driver to let him know I was ready.
The ride across the city should’ve been peaceful, but my mind refused to cooperate.
Every traffic light, every familiar street, every passing neighborhood somehow brought me back to Aretha.
I kept seeing her smile. Hearing her laugh.
Watching her carry those flowers through the front door.
Two people had lost their lives within twenty-four hours of each other, and while I knew exactly who stood behind one of those tragedies, I couldn’t place the other no matter how hard I tried.
My spirit wouldn’t let it rest. The intuition inside me screamed that this wasn’t over.
Whatever storm had rolled into our lives hadn’t reached its worst yet, and that feeling settled in my chest heavier with every mile we drove.
By the time we pulled beneath the entrance of the Peabody, I had almost talked myself out of coming altogether.
The valet opened my door and I thanked him before smoothing out the wrinkles in my blouse and making my way inside.
The hotel buzzed with quiet conversations, polished marble floors reflecting the warm light overhead while guests moved through the lobby carrying expensive luggage and wearing smiles that made life seem so much simpler than mine felt at that moment.
Taking a slow breath, I followed the signs leading toward the bar, restaurant and lounge, hoping that for just a little while I could forget about death, secrets, and the war that seemed determined to swallow every person I loved.
“Will you be dining with us this evening, Madam?”
“Yes. I’m here to meet a friend.”