Bellamy Holmes
“Ms. Davis?” Vanessa Dubois called out as she waved her hand in front of the old hag’s face.
I stared at her from the other side of the living room, making sure our eyes locked permanently.
I didn’t like to see my mother rushing to sit by her side with her hands clasped together to hold.
A real mother, a true mother wouldn’t be so quick to feel after realizing she took your child away from you.
“Ms. Davis?” Vanessa repeated. “I know you’re listening…
somewhere in there, you’re listening but your body is temporarily stunned to keep you calm and your blood pressure under control.
Your first-born children are alive…Dr. Marvin Holmes loved you the way you loved him… Do you remember Marvin Holmes?”
She stared at me as I silently released my fangs to flash at her. I could see her eyes gloss over with tears building up in the corners. I felt more like my grandfather’s child now than I ever did when I stared at her. I didn’t feel like an extension of either woman sitting before me.
“You gave birth to a boy and a girl. Twins. Do you remember?”
Poette Davis slowly pulled her gaze from me to look at the woman with a shaky head. Yeah, she’s on her way out. I wish Marvin were here to see this on his way out. Maybe they could share in this fuckery together. The only ones that should feel any type of way were Maggie and I.
“Ask her about me,” I stated with a tight jaw. “Ask her why she gave me away and not Maggie.”
My mother whipped her head to glare at me.
“Do not start that with her. She’s––––”
“She’s what?” I asked. “You killed my father. You’ve been lying to Maggie and I’m starting to think you knew about me being alive but maybe because I wasn’t as shiny as Maggie, you didn’t give a fuck–––”
“That’s not true,” she whimpered as she stared at her mother with regret. “What difference does it fucking make at this point–––”
“You knew,” I nodded as my eyes began to swell. “You had to know about me…You had to know I was alive the same way you knew who I was the moment you stepped into this house. I’m in Atlanta all the time…I have business here…You had to know your son was alive…and looking for you at one point.”
She lowered her head.
“I found out after you were well into adulthood–––”
“Faaaauck,” I groaned, turning around with my hands on top of my head to keep from crying in front of everyone. “The day Maggie called you and asked about me, you said I was dead. Right when we came over to your house, you said I was dead.”
‘I…I was trying to protect her–––”
“You were trying to cover and protect yourself!” I yelled.
“So she doesn’t look at you like some fucking liar!
Like the rest of this fucked up family! I knew it.
You’re just like that fucking man…You all lied to me.
I had dreams about you…dreams about what you were like and this whole time I thought I killed you just for being born–––”
“I don’t know what he told you–––”
“I’m telling you!” I yelled as Namir held me back. “I’m fucking tell you what he said! I would have loved to be beside my sister! You forced her to be alone with no friends, no sense of fucking life! I could have been that for her! You kept me from her…because of what I am…and what she’s not…”
No one said a word as Himora glanced at her phone before adjusting her frames.
“Ask her…” I said, looking at my grandmother. “Ask her…Why did she do it?”
“She was under the contractual spell work of a witch,” Himora said.
“Her emotions and feelings have been manipulated and toyed with for years. It is why your mother was forcibly conceived through hatred. It’s why you were given up as a form of repayment for something your grandmother had no control over. ”
“When you know better you do better.” Wiping my face, I stared at my mother. “You can’t wait to get to know me? Bitch, you better stay the fuck away from me and my sister or I will kill you.”
“Kill who?” Trevor asked as he cut me a look before looking around. “Who is he talking to? Can’t be me or mine.”
“Everybody in this fucking room. I will lose my shit and kill everyone,” I threatened.
“Turn the emo bullshit down a notch, bruh,” Trevor said. “You’re not killing anyone.”
“Wh–where is…my–my granddaughter?”
The quiet voice caused everyone to look back at Poette Davis and her trembling head as she looked at her daughter.
“Where is our Maggie?”
“Mama? Do…you remember having kids? Twins? Remember…a little girl and boy? Do you remember having a son?”
Poette looked around, seeing her take a deep swallow before becoming quiet and refusing to speak.
“Mama, I don’t remember anything mentioned about a son…”
“She had a boy, and a girl named Adrias and Raven…names favored by Marvin before they were born. It was the names he wanted his first boy and girl to be named after previous First Family members,” Himora said.
“Which is why my middle name is Adrias,” I said, realizing the correlation. “I was the second chance baby I suppose since my mother didn’t want me.”
“Your grandfather took you away from your mother because he believed Ms. Poette Davis hid his children away from him.” Himora corrected as if anybody even fucking asked.
I could see my mother close her eyes tight, refusing to acknowledge me before opening them as she focused on her own mother.
“Mama, do you remember the stories you would tell Maggie? Hmmm?” She smoothed back a silver strand from her mother’s face before gently patting her hair down. “Huh mama? Do you remember? The vampires, witches, angels, and demons all in the little white church? Do you remember the Underground?”
Poette said nothing as she looked at me, eyes hardening just like that motherfucker Marvin. Maybe they both were playing the entire family and this was all planned. Maybe she knew and didn’t care or want to acknowledge it.
“Long…ago,” she started, voice trembling.
“I would see people walking at night…every night in the same direction…They would all go to this small little white…church…Mary didn’t believe me at first…
but…” Her voice became smaller with each word as if life was slowly leaving her behind.
“Men with sharp teeth…eyes and hair white like the moon…”
“Yes, Mama… Yessss… You remember.” Mother exclaimed as she held her hand. “Why is she acting like this? What did you give her? She was just fine before you all barged into my damn house!” She glared at Vanessa who threw her hand on her hip with an attitude.
“Ma’am, respectfully… My work is good. She’s just old as hell.”
“Ness?” Trevor cut in with a warning tone. She raised her hands in the air and backed up with a shrug.
“Mama.” Ms. Norwood whispered. “You remember having children before me?”
Poette looked at her daughter as her eyes began to swell with tears.
“That man raped me…Gloria…” She slowly cried. “He forced his way on me–––”
“Ms. Davis?” Himora called out as she stepped in front of her. “You and Marvin are victims of a terrible curse, and a bad root placed on you, and your womb. You have a son named Adrias…a little baby boy that you held in your arms. You were young when you gave birth.”
Poette Davis said nothing. She kept her eyes on her daughter before slowly leaning back in the chair as her eyes became completely still with guilt and remorse.
She was remembering everything but refused to acknowledge her wrongdoing.
I could tell by the way she stared at me.
She knew she fucked up and this was enough for me to see.
That tiny glint of guilt she had for me said it all.
“I…I’m sorry…” She murmured. She suddenly gasped with her eyes slowly rolling upwards until they were blinding white as her body stiffened.
Her throat tightened as if someone had their hand around it and everyone jumped into action.
My mother cried out to her as something dark trickled out of her mouth like smoke.
I froze, unsure of what was just said. She didn’t acknowledge the children she had before my mother.
She didn’t acknowledge anything about Marvin but me… She…
“Aye!?” Namir shouted, grabbing my arm. “We gotta go–––”
“MAMA PLEASE?!” My mother cried. “Somebody please!”
“Step back from her!” Vanessa shouted as the black smoke filtered into the air like smoke from a chimney, hugging the ceiling as it began to spread.
Namir grabbed my arm and yanked me back while Trevor rushed to stabilize Poette.
The last thing I could hear was my mother shouting my name, and another man bursting into the house.
It was the same man I met in the house last year.
Maggie’s father tried to appear neutral, but the moment Himora unintentionally began speaking about his past?
How he was in on everything from the start, and targeting Poette Davis, all hell broke loose.
“I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU REGGIE!” She shrieked. I broke free from Namir just as my mother picked up a lamp from the end table to fling at him. “YOU SICK BASTARD! YOU’VE BEEN PLAYING HOUSE WITH ME THIS ENTIRE TIME!”
“SHE’S STILL MY DAUGHTER!” He argued. “I don’t care how you feel about what I did and how I came into your life! That changes nothing about my feelings for Maggie!”
Vanessa Dubois’s hands were raised as the thick cloud of black mass wavered against the ceiling, shifting into the shape of a laughing face with missing teeth.
She stood on the coffee table, screaming at it with a thick Geechee accent while I tried to pull my mother off of the man.
Once I saw her teeth showing, I gripped her neck, sinking my nails into her skin with my own fangs showing as the man suddenly shriveled into a black feline.
Slipping beneath our feet, he scurried off through the back door.
“REGGIE?!” She cried before looking up, horrified at the sight of the face silently laughing. Poette looked like death as her eyes remained stuck towards the ceiling. “WHAT IS THIS?!”