Chapter 31
31
Anais
“Don’t you think we should just bring the bed down and move your office stuff into the garage for now? I don’t want you walking up and down the stairs.” I have my hand lightly wrapped around Bishop’s torso on one side and Vaughan does the same on the other.
“Baby girl, I do not need y’all moving things in and out of the downstairs office. I’ll be just fine. I’ll stay mostly in my room and only come down to eat.” Bishop puts some weight on the two of us as he takes the first step.
“Man, I agree with Ana. Hayes and Luca and I can move things around. It won’t be a problem.” Vaughan takes the lead in front of Bishop to take more of the weight as we move upstairs.
“It is a problem. I don’t want to put you guys out for something that will be fine in a couple of days. I didn’t break anything and yes, I’m sore. But I can manage going up and down the stairs,” he says with a loud grunt.
“A couple of days?” I ask, skeptically.
When we arrived at the ER the other night, it was sheer madness. I was being asked question after question. My mind was a muddled mess because while I wanted to spill everything and throw Phoenix under the bus, he’s still my Uncle and I love him despite all of this. I tried to tell them it was a blur, but they began rushing him off to a room. I wasn’t allowed back and I had to beg them to come get me when they had news. I think they thought I was his family in some way, but in that moment I didn’t care. I just wanted to know every detail and for him to be okay.
It was a few hours before they let me back and I ran as fast as I could down the hall. Just as I had assumed, his nose was broken and his left cheek was fractured. He had a huge cut above his eye that had been stitched up as well as on his lip. His face was swollen –one eye completely shut– and he had some sore, but not broken ribs.
They kept him there for two nights just to be sure he was fine, but he insisted on coming home on the third day, which is today. He’s not big on people fussing over him. The only people I called were Bishop’s parents. I was so angry with Phoenix that the others were on my shit list by default.
I did have to reach out to Vaughan for his mom’s number as I didn’t have it or Bishop’s phone. When he asked why I needed it I told him, “ Because I do ”. I think my attitude was enough for him to just comply.
It was the next day when everyone else started to show up, but by that time I had informed his parents about what happened –after introducing myself as Bishop’s girlfriend– and I begged them not to let anyone else back.
His mother, Francine, was quite hesitant at first, but finally agreed after deciding he needed to rest and heal before the gang descended. To say that they weren’t happy is an understatement but again, I don’t care.
My phone was blowing up after they found out what happened. The fact that Phoenix returned home with busted and bloody hands was a giveaway that something bad had happened. I only answered my mom’s calls and she wasn’t really thrilled over the revelations.
“Anais. What did you do?” She asked.
“What did I do? Why don’t y ou ask your asshole brother that question?”
“Hey. He is still your Uncle and you will not disrespect him.”
“Momma, if you saw what he did, you’d say the same thing.”
I explained to her in extreme detail what happened and even sent pictures of Bishop’s face. She was appalled and even cried when I told her how Bishop wouldn’t even lift a finger because Phoenix is a brother and he refuses to hurt him.
She was upset that I was dating a much older man and not at all happy about how our relationship had progressed so quickly, but she has known Bishop for many years and knows exactly the kind of man he is.
We talked it out, I told her how I feel, how Bishop feels, and let her know that if she didn’t support us, she could join her brother in the ex-family line. Happy to say that she’s here for me. For us . Now I have to talk to my gramma, but I have a feeling she will not need to be won over. She’s all about my happiness.
We make it to the top of the stairs and we’re greeted with smiling faces. Francine is right there ready to practically pull Bishop into her arms, and the rest of the ladies all stand silently happy. I’m sure they’re all relieved to see that he is okay but in all honesty, I don’t want to see any of them. I just want to hide away with Bishop and shut them out.
“Oh my baby boy,” Francine says, rushing to his side.
She reaches up and gently takes his face in her hands and looks at him with unshed tears in her eyes.
“Mama, I’m okay. Please don’t cry.”
“Francine, how many times do I have to tell you? He is not a boy. He stopped being a boy when he was twelve years old and grew taller than you and sprouted a mustache.” I snort at his dad, Darius.
Francine bats his comments away and I just freaking love them. I hope we’re like that when we get older.
“Hey Bish,” Camille says apprehensively. “Come sit on the couch. We brought plenty of food for you. All your favorites.”
“He’s going to his room. The doctor gave him painkillers and he needs to take them and get some rest,” I snap at her and walk ri ght past all of them. “C’mon big guy. Up one more flight.”
“You know son, why don’t you stay in the guest room so you don’t have to climb those stairs?” Darius tells him.
Again, I chuckle because the look Bishop gives his father is clearly full of annoyance.
“We tried that, Darius. He wasn’t having any of it,” I tell him with an apologetic shrug.
“Hey. I have a great idea. How about I speak for myself?” We all look at Bishop, a little surprised by his tone. “Sorry. I’m just tired and don’t want you all going out of your way for me.”
I slide my hand to his and lace our fingers together. “We’re just worried about you, big guy. That’s all.”
He squeezes my hand then brings it to his lips, placing a gentle kiss on the back of it.
“I know, and I appreciate it. I’m just used to doing things on my own, so it feels strange having others do it all for me. Especially talking.” He gives everyone an arched brow as somewhat of a warning.
“Sorry, son. It’s difficult to turn off mom mode when all I want to do is hold you and bandage you up like I used to when you were just a boy. But you’re right. We’ll back off…a little. You’re crazy if you think we’re going to leave you alone. We’re staying, but maybe not hover so much.” Francine gives him a loving smile that reaches her eyes.
“Thanks, mama. However at the moment, y’all are the ones who are correct. I’m pretty tired and could use some sleep.”
Vaughan and I wrap our arms around him like we did before, and help him upstairs to his bedroom. I turn down his bed, then rummage through his drawers for lounge pants and t-shirt.
“Anais. I can do that. You don’t need to.”
“Well maybe I want to do it, okay.” I arch my brow at him and as best as he can with a busted lip and swollen face, he smiles.
Vaughan helps him sit on the edge of the bed and I ask him to grab his medicine and a glass of water while I help him get comfortable. Once he’s changed and propped up on his fluffy pillows, I kiss his forehead and place the half full glass of water on his nightstand.
“Go to sleep and then I’ll fix us some dinner when you wake up.”
“You’re gonna make us dinner?” he cracks.
“No, you jerk. I will warm up the food that has already been made. I’m sure your parents will want to stay and have dinner with us, so I’ll get the living room set with some trays.”
“Babe–”
“Hush. I wasn’t asking.” I place a finger tenderly over his lips to silence him. “I’m putting your music on low, but I bet you’ll be asleep in less than five minutes.”
I give him one last kiss and turn to set his music, but he grips my arms and swings me back around.
“Thank you, baby girl. For helping me and for being by my side. You really didn’t need to do all of this.” His eyes are soft and sincere, and it starts my waterworks all over again.
“I love you, big guy. There isn’t anywhere else I’d rather be than by your side. Always.”
He tugs me to him and I plant my hands on the bed, not wanting to give him my weight or hurt him. He kisses my lips softly and intimately. I lay my head gently on his chest, listening to the way his heart beats, and he combs his fingers through my hair.
“I love you, too,” he whispers with a yawn, and I slowly stand up.
“Sleep. We’ll talk more, later.” I caress his face and he closes his eyes, nodding his head, already drifting off.
I turn on his music and walk back downstairs to find all eyes on me.
“All good, dear?” Francine asks.
“Yeah. I’m sure he’ll sleep for a while so we can have dinner with him when he’s up.”
“Oh that’s a good idea. I think he has a fold out table we can bring up,” Vivian begins, but I put a quick stop to that shit.
“Actually I meant only Francine, Darius and me. He doesn’t need a lot of people around right now. In fact, y’all can leave. He’s sleeping. I’ll make sure he checks in with you in a few days.”
Vivian’s jaw drops to the floor and the look on everyone else's face is quite amusing.
“Excuse me, but I th ink we have a right to stay. He’s our friend,” Viv throws back.
“Yeah, and it’s your fucking fiancée who put him in this condition. Why are you even here, Vivian? Go home and take care of that asshole because I’m sure he needs someone to lick his wounds now that he lost his best friend and his niece.”
“Anais,” Camille gasps, but I roll my eyes at her.
“I think that’s inappropriate,” CeCe chimes in.
“I don’t give a flying fuck what you all think. Especially you, CeCe,” I growl, pointing a finger in her face. “All he has asked for was your support and you have done nothing but judge him. You look down your nose at he and I, and for the life of me, I can’t figure out what I did that is so awful. I know he was right there for you with Luca. He has always been right there for every one of you, supporting you through heartbreak and happiness, and all he asked was for you to be happy for him.”
I’m suddenly full of rage and my chest heaves with anger. They all look back at me with ashamed faces and some –aka CeCe– don’t look at me at all. Tears begin to build in my eyes and I refuse to let them see me cry.
“Excuse me,” I say and rush past them and up to Bishop’s room where I climb into bed with him and cry myself to sleep.
“Ana.” The whisper of my name causes my eyes to flutter open.
The light is fading in the room and I stretch my limbs out, rolling over to see what it was that woke me. When I turn I see the smiling face of Francine. She pushes my wild hair away from my face and la ys her soft hand on my cheek.
“Hi doll. Why don’t you come down and have some dinner.” I look over my shoulder and see Bishop still sleeping hard.
I face Francine again and nod my head. “Okay,” I agree just as my stomach gurgles loudly.
She laughs and stands back to allow me to climb from the bed. I follow her downstairs where Darius sits at the table amongst plates and dishes of food.
“Should we wake Bishop?” I ask them.
“No. Let him sleep. Plus, that boy has plenty of meat on his body. He’ll be okay missing a meal.” Darius winks, standing from his chair and holding mine out for me.
I thank him and sit, picking up the glass water that sits in front of me and quench my parched mouth.
Francine plates some food for me –macaroni and cheese, green bean casserole, a dinner roll and a slice of ham– and pushes it in front of me.
“Thank you.” I pull the plate closer and stab my fork right into the macaroni and cheese, only now realizing how hungry I am.
With all of the chaos of the last two days, I didn’t eat much more than a protein bar and a few too many sodas. The protein bar was shoved into my hand by Keyara as I grabbed my backpack and an overnight bag that she packed for me. She was playing mother hen and insisted I eat something because how could I take care of Bishop if I couldn’t care for myself, first.
When I called her after contacting Bishop’s parents and told her what had happened –breaking down into hard sobs– she told me she would pack some things for me and have them ready to pass off.
“I apologize for how I behaved earlier. I guess I was a little overwhelmed,” I say, humbly.
“Sweetheart,” Francine sets her fork down on her plate and reaches over, placing her hand on mine. “Don’t apologize. What you did was give those friends of his a swift, hard kick of truth. And the truth isn’t always so pretty when it hits you in the face.”
“My brilliant wife is correct. Y ou told them exactly what they needed to hear but didn’t want to. Bishop has been everyone’s number one fan for all of the happy moments in their lives, and he’s also been there to console and support them through the lows. When he needed them the most, they weren’t exactly as supportive as he has always been.”
I swallow back a ball of emotion that builds in my throat.
“After you walked off, I gave them all a talk of my own. I had to bring out momma Frannie and boy did they revert to the fourteen year old kids who had just been caught ditching school.” Francine chuckles at what seems like a memory. “I think what it comes down to is their desire to see Bishop happy and having all of the things he deserves. What they failed to see was that with you, that is exactly what he has.”
My nose stings and I clench my jaw to stop from crying. I’ve done more than enough of it over the past few days to last me a couple of years.
“The majority of them told us they were on our side, but it never really felt like it. I get that we were keeping a pretty big secret from the one person who deserved to know most of all, but no one offered to be there for us to come clean to him. Everyone knows how Uncle Nix’s temper can be, but not one of them said they would stand with us. All we got were ultimatums to tell him or they were going to do it. They know exactly how he would react to having news like that thrown in his face. Why didn’t one, just one, say hey, let us go with you to tell Phoenix? Give us some extra strength in numbers that we’d need to face him. But they all turned their backs, feeding us bullshit and topping it off with ‘ you do it or we will’ threats. Pardon my language.”
I stop my rant and run the back of my hand over my soggy eyes.
“You really love that boy, don’t you?” Darius asks with a smile only a father could have for their child.
“Very much. It’s quick and silly and maybe even a little naive, but it’s real and that’s all that matters.”
“Doll,” Francine says, placing her folded hands on the table. “Let me tell you a little story about a boy and a girl who had that sam e kind of fast and consuming love. I was twenty, just about to enter my junior year of college, when I began seeing this boy.”
“A child is more like it,” Darius throws in.
Francine shakes her head and continues. “We had been dating for about three months and I foolishly thought it was love. One day, a friend from back home in Houston came to pay him a visit. My boyfriend thought it would be great to introduce me to his childhood best friend. We met this friend for dinner and low and behold, who walks in?”
“Me.”
“Darius.” The two say in unison.
“It was like an electric shock to my system the minute she touched my hand. All of a sudden I hated my friend for taking a woman that was meant to be mine.” Tears build in my eyes once again when I hear Darius talk about his first meeting with his wife.
“I had a similar feeling, but didn’t know what to do about it. How was I supposed to tell my then boyfriend that I felt a connection with his friend? Needless to say, the breakup wasn’t a good one. A friendship was lost and a lot of tears were shed. Some of my friends abandoned me, and the place I once loved was now somewhere I couldn't stomach being.
“Darius and I began dating just six weeks after our first meeting. We talked in secret and wrote letters to one another. And when the semester ended, I made the decision to leave Ohio and transfer to Houston. By January, Darius and I were engaged and by the start of our senior year, we were living as husband and wife.”
“Boy, our families were shocked,” Darius adds with a whistle. “But when they saw how serious we were, they knew it was either get on-board or stand back because we were moving fast and nothing was stopping us.”
“Our Bishop came four years later, and thirty-five years later we still mostly like each other.” Francine laughs.
“So you see, Ana, we understand what it feels like more than most. I won’t deny that you’re young –younger than most people deem appropriate– but when you find the one, you shouldn’t let anything or any one get in your way.”
I breathe deep as I try to calm my racing heart and look between the two of them. Why couldn’t everyone else understand this? I’m not after Bishop’s money, I’m not using him to help me advance in school, and he isn’t some fling that I need to work out of my system, and then brag that I was with an older man.
All I want is to love him and build a life together, one day. Why is that so hard to accept?
“What did you two say to make her cry?” Bishop’s voice is strained and I look up to see him struggling down the stairs.
“Bishop,” I exclaim, and fly out of my chair and up to the step he has stopped at to help me. “Why didn’t you call for me? I would’ve gone up to help you.”
“I wasn’t about to scream your name like you’re my beck and call nurse.” He grips the railing a little tighter and I come up beside him, dipping under his arm and wrapping my arms around him. “Hi baby girl.”
“Hey big guy.” I look up at him, my eyes aglow, and he releases the railing for just a moment to touch my face. “Are you hungry?”
“Starving,” he growls, and I enlarge my eyes to let him know to cool it in front of his parents.
“Baby, come sit down and eat. I’ll fix you a plate.” Francine is already buzzing around, filling his plate and getting him a glass of water.
We walk carefully down the stairs and Darius meets us to help assist him to the table. We all sit down, and Francine begins sawing at the ham, cutting it into smaller bites.
“For the love of God, Fran. You gonna spoon feed him, too?” Darius watches as she does everything but feed him.
I laugh and look over at Bishop who is already staring at me, a cracked smile on his face and I just know…I know it’ll all work out. With or without our friends behind us. And it won’t matter because we’ll have each other and that’s the only thing we need.