Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
Layloni
“These L.A. niggas where it’s at, I’m telling you, Lay Lay! I been making big bank out here!” Shadonna’s voice boomed through my office loudly.
I rolled my eyes quietly while finishing up the check I was writing her for the month. The pen scratched against the paper while she kept running her mouth, clearly proud of herself. I couldn’t even lie, her work around here had been solid.
Every time she showed up to the shop she came ready to work. She washed hair, laid beehives down neat, stayed professional, and the girls out on the floor actually liked her.
So, I had no real complaints. Apart of me secretly prayed she would stop stripping although it wasn’t my business.
As long as she was taking care of those kids and staying focused, I stayed out of it.
Lately she had been spending more time with them, going to counseling, and trying to get her life back on track.
Taking her medication for her bi-polar disorder was still a struggle for her though. I made it clear that she had to be on medication if she wanted to continue working in my shop. I wasn’t about to have her snapping on customers or flipping out on my staff.
Despite everything that happened between us… I still had love for Shadonna. I just kept my distance. My trust that I once had for her was gone, and I knew it would never come back the way it used to be.
I believed in forgiveness, not just for her but also for myself. You had to let some things go if you wanted your own blessings.
So that’s what I did, I forgiven her but I didn’t forget.
“I’m telling you, Lay,” Shadonna kept going excitedly, “once I clear this acne up and get my boobs done, I’m finna be the top bitch in L.A.! We should’ve moved out here years ago!”
I ripped the check from the book and slid it across the desk. Her eyes lit up when she grabbed it.
Meanwhile my mood was shitty as hell.
Ever since the situation with King, something inside me had been off. A part of me knew I probably should’ve heard him out that night… but my emotions were all over the place. When I exploded, I exploded. There was no stopping it.
“You need to focus on your kids,” I said calmly, leaning back in my chair. “And ain’t nothing wrong with your body. You are beautiful, Shadonna.”
Her head snapped up quick.
“Why you always bringing up my damn kids like I’m some horrible mother?” Her tone came out sharp, and I slowly lifted my eyes to meet hers.
Today really wasn’t the day for attitude.
“You was a bad mother once,” I said bluntly. “That’s why I keep reminding you to put them first, bitch.” The word slipped out before I could stop it.
For a second, we both froze.
I hardly ever called my friends that, even though they threw the word around like it was nothing. It just wasn’t my style. Lately, my hormones had my patience running thin and my attitude worsened.
That’s why I stayed locked in my office most days instead of out on the floor with my employees. I didn’t want my bad energy rubbing off on them when I was the same person always preaching about positivity.
Shadonna stared at me like I had just slapped her.
“Girl… fuck you,” she said slowly, anger rising in her voice. “You ain’t gotta remind me of shit. And if you don’t wanna be my friend, just say that.” Her face was turning red now.
“You ain’t my friend, Shadonna,” I replied coldly.
Her expression cracked.
“You just an employee.” A bitter laugh slipped from my mouth.
“You think I’d really call you my friend after you slept with my man and had babies by him?” My nose wrinkled.
Tears instantly filled her eyes.
“Well stop asking about my kids then!” she snapped, voice shaking. “And I don’t need this job either! I only work here because I wanna be around you… because I been trying to fix what I broke!” Her chest was rising and falling now.
“I love you, Layloni,” She croaked out. “I’m sorry for what I did. I was high, I was jealous, and my mind wasn’t right. I couldn’t see that you were the best thing that ever happened to me.” She wiped her face roughly.
“But if you can’t see that I’m sincere, then forget it. I ain’t begging nobody.” She spat.
My fists clenched tight against the edge of my desk.
“I’ll never trust you,” I snapped. “And part of me still hates you.” The second the words left my mouth, I felt the weight of them.
I wanted a drink so bad my chest hurt, but I couldn’t even have that because of the baby. My emotions were a complete mess. Shadonna just happened to be standing in front of me when it all spilled over.
“I don’t know where all this anger coming from,” she said quietly. “Because if you felt like this the whole time… then you fake as hell for hiring me, helping with my kids, getting me counseling… all that.” Her voice hardened.
“But it’s cool. I’m used to being alone anyway.” She balled the twelve-hundred-dollar check in her fist and threw it onto the floor.
“You can keep this shit. And your job.” She turned and walked straight out the office.
I sat there frozen, a huge part of me wanted to call her back.
But pride wouldn’t let me. Hurt people hurt people, that still wasn’t an excuse for how shitty I acted towards her.
Even though I still despised Shadonna for what she did…
I loved her too. She knew she messed up and I knew she regretted it.
I made a mental note to myself to reach out and apologize. I finished the rest of my paperwork quietly and ignored Monty calling my phone for the third time today.
After cleaning up my office, I said goodbye to the girls on the floor and headed out. All I wanted was a long hot bath.
A small cup of ginger tea and my pillow.
After soaking in the tub for almost an hour and sipping on a small cup of tea, my body finally started to relax. The heat had melted some of the tension out my muscles, but mentally I still felt like shit about how I came at Shadonna earlier.
I leaned back against the couch cushions and sighed.
I already knew I was going to reach out and apologize. No matter how complicated our past was, she was still a good asset to the shop. Half the women that came through the doors asked for her specifically just to wash and blow-dry their hair. Her hands had magic in them, and I couldn’t deny that.
Sitting here alone forced me to check myself along with my actions. Letting my emotions run the show was dangerous. It made me say reckless shit and would eventually have me making dumb decisions that I wouldn’t be able to take back.
Soon as I decided to get up, a firm knock echoed through the house. My stomach tightened instantly. For a split second I just knew it was King, a little excitement fluttered in my chest. I wanted him around me and hated that I was too stubborn to admit that shit.
I stood up slowly and looked down at myself. A silk nightgown hugged my body, I had on some fuzzy pink socks. My stomach hadn’t really started poking out yet, but the softness I used to have there had turned firm.
The baby was definitely making its presence known.
Taking a breath, I opened the door. Instead of King, Kyle stood there with two other bodyguards behind him.
For a second guilt hit me hard for not calling Rellianah sooner…
but the moment I saw her standing behind them I couldn’t even focus on that.
I was just happy she was here. Kyle stepped inside first, doing a full walk-through of my house like the serious, by-the-book man he was.
“I told you nobody here,” I muttered under my breath.
He ignored me completely and kept checking rooms. The other two guards stepped aside when Kyle was done and that’s when Rellianah appeared in the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest with her infamous crooked smile plastered on her face.
She rolled her eyes hard at her guards then snapped her fingers.
“Move,” she hissed out sharply.
They stepped aside as she walked in like she owned the place. She turned to the door and slammed it in their faces.
I burst out laughing. Her attitude was off the damn chain, I had missed her crazy ass bad. She tossed her thick curly hair over her shoulders and looked me up and down like she was inspecting me.
“I should beat your ass,” she said flatly. “But I’m too damn happy to finally be out the house.”
She stomped past me then dropped onto my couch, kicking off her Balenciaga sneakers.
“Bitch, don’t you ever disappear on me like that again,” she continued. “You know I was in the doghouse for coming to save you? I ain’t get no dick for two whole weeks!” She pointed in my direction.
Rellianah pulled a blunt out her purse, lit it, and took a deep pull before coughing slightly. Smoke floated through the room while her eyes scanned my new house.
“I’m sorry girl, you and King scared the shit out of me no lie. I need some space but planned on reaching out sooner.” I confessed honestly.
Rellianah waved her hand at me dismissively while taking another pull from her blunt. I didn’t even bother asking how she found my address. If she knew where I lived… I was sure King knew too.
“I would’ve popped up sooner,” she said, exhaling smoke slowly, “but I figured I’d give you some space.” Her tone shifted slightly.
“I know you still grieving your mom. And then you had to see me and King in a different light.” She leaned back into the couch.
“Killing people used to be normal for me,” she said casually. “I could kill somebody, eat dinner, then go to sleep like nothing happened. That shit gave me a rush.”
I stared at her blankly.
She shrugged.
“That’s just the life I came from. I changed it because it wasn’t healthy… but if somebody I love is in danger? I’ll do it again without blinking.” She took another slow hit from the blunt.
Her words had me sitting there stunned. I had never even imagined killing someone before. But then my hand instinctively moved to my stomach. Suddenly a thought hit me hard.