Chapter 18
MYA
Christian had been quiet since last night. I knew everything that happened had taken a toll on him. However, when he came and sat next to me after talking to Jakari, there was a real shift in him. He still made passionate love to me last night, but he wasn’t as vocal as he normally was. The sex was way more tender than it had been, but I loved every moment of it. I felt like I needed it that way too.
Yesterday was a lot. Just as I figured, that bitch had shown up and showed her entire narrow ass. Had I not been pregnant, I would have hopped right in the middle of that and took that bitch down, especially after she hit Christian. I could tell Mister Mayor approved of the shit Christian did, though, because he was the only one that didn’t hop into action. He calmly watched the shit, only making a move to calm the police officer down.
From what Mrs. Chrissy said, Christian was the most like Mayor Storm out of the three of them and had the worst temper. I couldn’t imagine Rylan even yelling, let alone fighting. She also informed me that having a temper was a Henderson trait that somehow hopped over her. Her sweet spirit had calmed me significantly, but I could tell it hadn’t done the same for Christian.
I wondered what his dad did that was so bad to where he couldn’t forgive him and move on. What Jakari had said to him seemed to only make things a little worse, putting Christian more on edge, and there was no telling what he said to him in private.
“You hungry, baby?”
“Yeah. A lil bit.”
He exited the highway in Crosby. “You know what you want? There’s McDonald’s, Popeyes, Subway, and I think Taco Bell.”
“I’ll probably pay for it later, but Popeyes, please.”
He gave me a slight smile as I grabbed his hand. “Christian, are you okay? Well, a better question is, will you be okay?”
When he stopped at the red light, he turned to me. “I will. I’m sorry I let everything that happened affect my mood. I ain’t never dealt with no addict, and that shit got my patience thin… not thin, nonexistent. My patience is always thin.”
“I could tell. My mama’s sister was an addict. I haven’t seen her since my mama died. She had a daughter and later had a son. Before she had her son, she allowed her boyfriend to molest her daughter and looked past it because he was giving her money. Drugs can be so powerful. Her boyfriend is her son’s father. It was just so sickening.”
Christian pulled his hand away from mine and went through the light, turning left to go to Popeyes. He didn’t respond to what I said, so I didn’t try to continue the conversation… at least not in the direction it was going. “I have a doctor’s appointment next week. Are you gonna try to make it?”
“Of course. What day?”
“Next Monday.”
“Will they be able to tell if we’re having a boy or girl by then?”
“She said they can tell as soon as sixteen weeks, but I will only be about twelve or thirteen weeks by then. So they may be able to tell at the appointment after that.”
“Do you want a boy or a girl?”
“It doesn’t matter. I just want to have a healthy Henderson who looks like his or her father.”
His eyebrows lifted slightly. “And I want the baby to look like you.”
He parked in Popeyes’ parking lot then got out to help me out. After closing the door, he kissed my lips, and we went inside. Upon entry, Christian stopped dead in his tracks. I looked up and saw my cousin Amelia and her brother. I couldn’t even remember that poor boy’s name, but I guess I spoke them up.
“Hey, Mya!”
“Hey!”
She came to me and hugged me tightly. Before I could introduce them, Christian said, “I have to go to the restroom right quick, babe.”
He nodded at Amelia and her brother and walked away. I frowned slightly then looked back at Amelia. She had the same look on her face. “Everything okay, Amelia?”
She shook her head rapidly then handed her keys to her brother. “Avery, I need to talk to Mya right quick. You can go to the car.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. Go ahead.”
We followed him outside, but he kept going to the car. The minute he was out of earshot, she said, “I’ll never forget his face.”
I frowned harder, trying to figure out where she was going. “Whose? Christian’s?”
“Yeah. His dad was the man who molested me. I remember him and his brothers from the courtroom that day. They weren’t defending their dad or anything, but seeing him reminds me of that day. Avery is their brother.”
My eyebrows lifted in shock. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “What?”
“You heard me right. Is he your boyfriend?”
“Yes. Apparently, he recognized you too. He doesn’t have anything to do with his biological dad. Won’t even talk to him. He just never told me exactly why. He just said he didn’t agree with the things he did.”
“Yeah. I’m one of the things, along with three of his cousins and his aunt. His dad molested and raped his own sister for fourteen years… Christian’s aunt. Her name is Synthia. Her last name used to be Bolton like Christian’s, but I think she got married. She was the one that encouraged all of us to talk.”
“Jesus. Christian’s last name isn’t Bolton though. His last name is Henderson.”
“That’s his mom’s maiden name. He must have changed it to that.”
I glanced back at the restaurant to see Christian seated at a table with his head down. No wonder he was having such a hard time with forgiving his dad. Turning back to my cousin, I said, “Well, let me go check on him. It was good to see you.”
“It was good to see you also.”
She walked away, neither of us promising to call one another or see each other again. I slowly made my way inside, walking toward Christian. He never looked up, but I knew that he’d seen me heading his way. When I sat across from him, he lifted his head and asked, “You know what you wanna eat?”
“Umm… just a two-piece with fries.”
He nodded and stood from his seat, leaving me seated and in my thoughts. We would definitely have to talk about this, but I didn’t want to push him to. When he saw me outside talking to Amelia, I was pretty sure he put two and two together, knowing that she was telling me how they knew each other.
I knew Christian slept around, so that was my first thought when I saw how bothered they were by each other’s presence. For her to send Avery to the car let me know that he didn’t know the truth. I wondered if he ever saw his dad. When she said his name, I knew that was Christian’s brother. I heard Jakari say their dad’s name yesterday evening at dinner.
I couldn’t understand what a grown man wanted with some little girls, nor could I understand how Mrs. Chrissy didn’t know something was wrong. However, none of that was anything for me to be concerned with. The only thing I needed to be concerned with was my man. If he didn’t want to talk about it today, I wouldn’t mention it either, but at some point, we had to talk about it.
“Mya, I had them bag it. You can eat it on the way. I got mild. Hopefully, that’s okay.”
“O-okay. Yes, that’s fine. Thank you.”
I knew he really didn’t want me to eat that fried chicken in his Escalade. It didn’t matter, because I didn’t have much of an appetite now anyway. He grabbed my hand and helped me from the chair, and we walked to the vehicle. When I noticed Amelia’s car still here, I got nervous for a minute. Avery got out of it and approached us.
Christian’s grip on my hand tightened. When he got close, he said, “I just wanted to speak to you. I’m Avery Bolton.”
I could see the vein pulse in Christian’s neck and another emerge in his temple. “I’m Christian Henderson.”
They shook hands slowly for a moment, then Avery asked, “Do you know who I am?”
“With a name like that, how could I not? Plus, you look just like him and Jakari.”
When Christian said that, I stared at my cousin and realized Christian was right. Avery looked identical to Jakari. It was clear to see they were brothers. They were about the same complexion and build. Avery couldn’t have been any older than sixteen though.
“Did you know who I was when you saw me?”
“No. I recognized your sister. I didn’t realize who you were until I had walked away.”
Avery nodded then asked, “How did you recognize my sister?”
Oh shit.
Christian tilted his head slightly. “Maybe you should ask your sister. We have to go.”
“Okay. It was nice meeting you, I guess.”
“Nice meeting you too.”
After I got inside the vehicle, I lowered my face to my hands and released a few tears. My heart was hurting for Christian. I quickly wiped them as he got in. He glanced at me as he pressed the button to crank the engine. Since Avery came over and introduced himself to Christian, I expected him to say something… anything to address what he knew I now knew.
While I knew he didn’t know my cousin and who I was talking about earlier before we got here, I now realized it had triggered him. He’d thought about his biological father. That couldn’t be easy to get over or let go. Had that been my dad, it would have destroyed me inside. Just knowing my dad was capable of that sort of thing would be hard to digest.
I slid my hand to his as he turned out of the parking lot, heading to Highway 90, and he gripped it tightly. I bit my bottom lip, trying to keep my tears under submission, but it was to no avail. They fell down my cheeks anyway. I patted them with my hand as best I could.
After a few minutes, Christian released my hand. “I can’t talk about it right now, Mya, but I will. I won’t leave the story one-sided.”
“Whenever you’re ready. I just feel for you.”
He slid his hand down his face and nodded. I wasn’t sure when he would be ready, but I hoped it would be soon. The Christian I’d been seeing for the past twenty-four hours wasn’t the man I was falling in love with. I needed him back, and I was sure he needed him back too.