Chapter 10
MAHOGANY
I ignored a call from Hazel and stuffed the phone back into my pocket.
I didn’t want to talk to her. I hadn’t spoken to either of my sister in days.
The last time I talked to Sienna, it was to use her for an alibi for Pandora’s.
I avoided my parents, too. They called. I sent them text messages.
I just… I wasn’t in the mood to talk to any of them.
I was tired of pretending and I didn’t want to be seen the way I was either.
So, it was easier for me to hide and avoid them.
About two minutes later, there was a knock at my bedroom door.
“Ma! Auntie Hazel and Sienna here!” Honesty yelled from the other side of the door.
What the fuck?
I lowered my head and sighed. Looking back into the mirror, I locked eyes with myself and took a deep breath. How in the fuck was I going to move around this? These bitches. I swear they didn’t know what boundaries were. Not answering my phone did not mean pop up at my gotdamn house.
“Auntie SiSi here?!” Aubry yelled. Seconds later, I heard her feet pitter pattering against the floor, and down the stairs.
I felt disrespected. To a point where I wanted to curse them the hell out. Why were they here? I was in no mood for company.
I looked down at what I had on and sighed again. A silk pajama set, and a damn bonnet. Just as I was about to leave the bathroom, there was a knock on my bedroom door.
“Bitch been ignoring phone calls all week like I don’t have her address,” said Hazel. The doorknob rattled. “Open the door, Mahogany.”
Good God.
I took another deep breath and went to answer the door. “What?”
She drew back, offended, eyeing me up and down. “What? That’s how you greet your baby sister after ignoring her calls for days? Bitch you got some nerve!”
“Seriously. What do y’all want?” I asked, annoyed.
“What do we want?” Sienna asked, coming up the stairs. “We came to see you, sister.”
I locked eyes with her, rolled them and shook my head. The look I gave her was enough for her to read exactly what I wanted it to say. What the fuck was she here for, knowing what she knew?!
“For what? I’m busy,” I said, as they made their way into my messy bedroom.
Yes, it was a mess. There were clothes all over my bed, on the side Duke slept on.
I purposely put them there. The bed felt too big without him.
I know. Pathetic. But I’d only been sleeping with him for more than half of my life.
Anyway… yeah… it was a mess. Aside from the clothes on the bed, there were three wine glasses on both nightstands.
A bitch had been drinking in bed, scrolling social media like crazy when I wasn’t crying.
Like I said, I was a bit depressed and that’s what depressed bitches did.
Grabbing clothes from the bed, I started to toss them into a basket.
“Don’t look busy to me. Look like you been chilling all day,” Hazel said, sizing me up. “And this room! Not very Mahogany like. What’s going on, sis?”
I glanced at Sienna who was watching me and rolled my eyes again.
She… ugh. I hated that she knew something.
Hated that regardless of what came out of my mouth, she’d know it was a lie.
I wondered if she viewed me the same way she viewed me the other day, when I was in shambles.
I wondered if that was all she saw when she looked at me now.
What happened. Me without my mask. Me… raw and unfiltered.
I shuddered; wrapped my arms around my body and rubbed them.
“Nothing is going on,” I lied. “I’ve been very busy with work. That’s all.”
“Well, it’s almost five. Work is over. Get in the shower and put on something nice. We’re going out,” said Sienna.
“What?”
“You heard me. We’re not taking no for an answer. You’ve been spinning us for weeks. We’re going out.”
“Look like you could use a drink, low key,” Hazel mumbled, with this look of disgust on her face.
I didn’t even look that bad. Yes, I had on a bonnet. Yes, the pajama’s I had on were stained. Yes, I probably had black bags underneath my eyes from crying. But I wasn’t that bad off. Fuck her. Fuck them.
“I’m not going anywhere. The kids—“
“Are old as hell. Aubry is grown. I’m sure she know how to cook chicken or something. And if not, she definitely know how to order on Door dash. Hell, I’ll fund it if I have to. We’re not doing this, NeNe,” Hazel rambled, pushing me towards the bathroom. “Chop, chop. A bitch got shit to do.”
“If you got shit to do, why are you here?” I yelled. “Stop!”
“Well… I happen to have some news to share, and I would like to share it with my big sister too. So…. There’s that. You smell like Coney Island. Get in the shower and scrub them armpits real good.”
I sucked my teeth. “Bitch you wish I smelled like Coney Island,” I said before sniffing my armpits. I did not smell like onions—Hazel had me fucked up! “You pregnant?”
“No, I’m not no muthafucking pregnant. Can’t get pregnant off silicon, bitch.”
“You switch them out so much, you could be fucking with a nigga for all I know. Might’ve gotten into some poly shit. I don’t know what you got going on.”
“And that’s a problem. And I’ll never get in another poly relationship again in my life, ho.”
“You want all of these clothes in this basket?” Sienna yelled from the room.
“Don’t touch my stuff! I got it! Please exit my room. Hazel, get off me!”
I shook her off, took a deep breath, and looked at her with a frown.
I did not feel like getting dressed and going out but because I knew them, they weren’t going to let up until I did.
So, in an effort to get them to leave me the hell alone, I pushed Hazel out of my bathroom, locked the door, and started the shower.
About an hour later, I was dressed in a simple black jumpsuit, and an oversized blue jean top I left unbutton, sitting in Sienna’s car, getting ready to head to the restaurant.
While they talked amongst each other, I stared out of the window, trying to will myself to have a good time.
We were downtown, on a nice spring night, I needed to enjoy it.
Although my mood had been blah and I’d wanted to stay in the house, being outside was a bit refreshing.
A definite step up from moping around all day.
Sienna tapped me on the arm. I looked over at her, and she handed me half of an edible. “Here.”
I took it and popped it in my mouth with a sigh.
That was exactly what I needed. Something to ease my racing mind.
I flipped the sun visor down and rubbed my glossy lips together.
I looked damn good. A lot better than I felt.
But then again, I was a master at doing that.
Dressing the part. Hiding my pain behind beauty.
I flat ironed my twenty-four-inch wig bone straight and put on a bit of makeup.
Because my makeup was light, I wore a pair of wispy, dramatic lashes.
I kept my lip combo simple—brown liner, and clear gloss.
Before leaving, I doused on my favorite, Marc Jacobs Perfect.
My phone rang and I fished around my black Coach bag for it. Once I saw that it was Duke, I sighed and put it back. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Sienna notice.
“We should turn our phones off for the night,” she said, grabbing hers. “Jah got the kids, and Tuesdai ain’t gone want shit.”
From the backseat, Hazel sucked her teeth. “Now you know—”
“Girl, turn that damn phone off,” Si said.
I looked at her, wondering if Hazel knew something she wasn’t supposed to know.
Sienna lightly turned the corners of her mouth up as to say, ‘be for real’.
I turned mine up in return, tilted my head to the side a little, and looked away, grabbing my phone from the purse to shut it off.
Right in the middle of him calling again. God I wanted to block his bitch ass.
It had been over a week since everything happened and the vibe around the house hadn’t done anything but get worse.
And the calls and text messages? More persistent.
He wanted to come home. Said he was suffering without me…
without us and he missed his kids. Those text messages went unanswered too.
I knew he couldn’t stay out of the house forever.
Not without an active divorce on file. I just…
I wasn’t ready to see him yet. Aubry and Gabe stopped asking me about when he would be home.
Honesty and Sparkle though? They asked every single day, and it was wearing me down.
After sitting, talking shit for a couple more minutes, we got out.
My heeled mules beat against the pavement as I strutted down Gratiot Ave, heading to a spot called Standby.
Downtown was as crowded as I expected it to be during happy hour.
A calm breeze swept across my face, through my hair and I smiled a little, feeling the effects of the edible starting to come alive.
I still had a little while before it reached its full capacity but the little jolt of ‘don’t give a fuck’ felt good as hell.
We walked in and asked to sit at the bar. It was kind of early and neither of us wanted an actual meal. We came for the drinks, and the drinks only, although I did plan on having me an appetizer.
As we made our way to the bar, I paused, ready to turn around and leave.
Seated at the bar was Crescent and two other men I recognized from the first meeting we had.
I spotted him, and he spotted me. Stopped mid-drink and put his eyes on mine.
I swallowed, and glanced over my shoulder, locking eyes with Hazel who gave me a puzzled look.
“Girl… Go,” she pushed.