Chapter 5 Aviana Scott #4
“Nigga, I’m telling her everything.” I brought my face so close to his that we were nose to nose.
I could feel the hot rage and tension exploding between us.
“I’m showing her our text messages, and I’m especially showing her every video of you eating my pussy from the back.
I’m going to ruin your life the way you ruined mine.
You were supposed to love me…” Against my stubbornness, I choked up as I thought of the life growing in my belly.
“It was supposed to be me, you, and our baby. Avi deserves to know. You can’t keep hiding me and my baby. ”
AVIANA SCOTT
The next morning, I woke up to so many threatening text messages from Mia that I couldn’t read them all.
Mia: You were my friend. I trusted you.
Mia: I can’t believe you did this to me.
Mia: I lost everything, so you have to lose everything too.
Mia: You ruined my life, so I’m going to ruin yours.
Mia: Watch your back, fat bitch.
“This is insane.” I sighed with tears in my eyes. I gripped the steering wheel, staring blankly out of the windshield of my parked Jeep.
I had been trying to get in touch with Mia since receiving the messages that morning.
No matter how vile she was toward me, I willed myself to believe that this was only her anger talking.
I felt as if I could get through to her, she would calm down and realize that she was being ridiculous.
But she wouldn’t answer any of my calls.
Still, I kept trying. Before getting out of my car, I tried to call her again. I bit my bottom lip nervously, reluctantly waiting for her rage to answer, but still hoping that she did.
But, again, I got her voicemail.
“You’ve reached Mia…”
Blowing another frustrated breath, I hung up and tossed my phone into my purse.
I had read the first barrage of messages over and over all morning in pure disbelief.
Mia’s unwillingness to give me the benefit of the doubt was heartbreaking and baffling.
I couldn’t understand where this sudden rage toward me and distrust in my loyalty to her had come from.
I sat in the car for a minute, just staring at the steering wheel. I was so frustrated and confused. I didn’t understand how Mia could believe that I would do something like this to her.
I sighed, picking up my phone and dialing Damar.
He answered on the second ring. “Hey. What’s up, baby?”
“Damar,” I whined.
“What’s wrong?”
“Mia has been texting me all morning. She really thinks I snitched. She’s accusing me of setting her up, talking about how I betrayed her.
I’m lost, Damar. I really don’t get it. I would never do anything like that to her.
She’s acting like I’m the enemy. After everything we’ve been through, why does she think I’d stab her in the back? ”
“Bae, you know how people are when they feel like their back is against the wall. She’s just grasping at straws, trying to blame somebody. It ain’t about you.”
Feeling the frustration growing, I rubbed my temple. “But why me? She knows I’d never come for her like that. I don’t know what to do. She keeps texting me, but she won’t answer the phone.”
“Just ignore her. She’ll get over it eventually. And if not, fuck her. You’ve been a great friend to her. If she’d turn on you like this, you don’t need her.”
I let out a long breath. “Yeah…you’re right.” Then I asked, “Where have you been all day? You were gone when I woke up.”
“I went to the gym. Had to get it out the way early ’cause I got a lot to handle today.”
“You could’ve at least let me know you were leaving.”
He chuckled softly. “You were drooling, baby. I didn’t want to wake you up for nothing. You already had a long night.”
“Mmmph,” I mumbled, still feeling frustrated.
“Look,” he said gently. “Don’t let Mia’s mess get to you. She’ll figure it out, and everything will calm down.”
“All right,” I said reluctantly as a I blew a heavy breath. “I’ll try.”
“Good girl. I’ll catch up with you later, okay?”
“Yeah.” I hung up and sat there for another moment because my frustrations were still simmering.
Broken, I climbed out of my Jeep and made my way toward my parents’ house on 109th and Vernon.
Despite the familiar sights and sounds that surrounded me, there was an eerie stillness that hung in the air.
It was a temporary calm. The block was resting after a Friday night, but soon the storm of activity would inevitably descend upon the neighborhood again.
But for now, on this quiet Saturday morning before noon, the neighborhood was sleeping, as if holding its breath in anticipation of what the day would bring.
I paused for a moment, taking in the sight of the familiar houses and streets bathed in the soft glow of morning light.
Despite the changes that had swept through Roseland over the years, there was still a sense of home here, a feeling of belonging that anchored me to this place and its people.
I used my set of keys to let myself into the house. As I stepped inside, the savory scent of sausage greeted me. My mother sat on the couch nearby in the living room. Her warm smile lit up her face. “Hey, baby.”
“Hey, Mama.” Entering the living room, I bent down and kissed my mother on the cheek. She lifted her hand, holding my cheek as she pressed hers into the kiss.
“C’mon. Let’s eat. We were waiting for you.”
Nearing her late sixties, my mother’s body was starting to show its age. She wasn’t able to stand as quickly. Seeing her body’s resistance, I looped my arm with hers and helped her stand, then we made our way through the small living and dining area toward the kitchen.
The house was unchanged, frozen in time since the day I’d left at nineteen. Every piece of furniture, every picture on the walls, remained exactly as I remembered it. It was as if time stood still within these walls, preserving the memories of years gone by.
In the kitchen, my father rushed about, which was a familiar sight. Cooking had always been a ritual he took pride in. The clatter of pots and pans, the sizzle of food on the stove filled the air.
Standing at the stove, he looked over his shoulder with a smile. “Hey, baby.”
I smiled as I unhooked my arm from my mother’s and approached him. I hugged him from behind and kissed his cheek. “Hey, Daddy.”
I closed my eyes for a millisecond, appreciating the nostalgia of being home. I needed the embrace of my parents and the familiarity of this place. I needed the reminder of who I was, my morals, and the flash of reality because Mia’s fury had caused me to forget.
“I’ll make your plate, baby,” my mother told me. “Have a seat.”
Sitting down at the table, I felt the relief of the homey, familiar surroundings.
“Aviana, did I tell you that Reverend Johnson’s daughter is having another baby?” my mother asked.
I chuckled, shaking my head, as my mother went on. “She insists on embarrassing her father.”
“That’s what PKs do.” My father laughed heartedly as he sat down across from me.
As I listened to my parents gossip about Reverend Johnson’s daughter, Sheila, I couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for her. I too had been a preacher’s kid, so I understood the urge to act out.
“Can you believe it?” my mother exclaimed as she set a plate with an omelet with a side of sausage and grits in front of my father. “This is Sheila’s fourth child with her fourth baby’s father. She’s making a mockery of her father’s position in the church.”
My father nodded solemnly with his brow curled in dismay. “It’s a shame, really. Reverend Johnson has always been so strict with Sheila, but it seems like she’s determined to defy him at every turn.”
“I can’t help but feel sorry for her,” I interjected quietly as my mother set breakfast in front of me. “She’s only twenty-one. I’m sure there is a lot of pressure on her from her parents and the church.”
My mother sighed. “I know, Aviana, but Sheila has always been fast and defiant since she was a little girl. She doesn’t realize that trying to go against her father is only making things harder for herself.”
As my parents continued to discuss Sheila’s situation, I fell silent. They would never understand the suffocation of growing up under the pressure of trying to meet their expectations, especially given that they themselves had married at the tender age of sixteen.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had ended up in my mundane marriage partly because I was trying to fulfill the expectations ingrained in me since childhood. The desire to please my parents, especially in matters of love and marriage, had always affected every decision I made.
Thoughts of Mythic lingered like a bittersweet ache. I was still drawn to him, as I had been back then. But the disapproval I imagined from my parents had always kept me from fully embracing the passion and excitement Mythic offered.
I always wondered if I had made the right choice.
I often wondered if I had followed my heart instead of bowing to the pressure of my parents’ expectations, would my life have turned out differently.
Regret, as it always did, gnawed at me. But dwelling on what-ifs only caused me more suffering.
All I could do was accept the path I had chosen and find peace in the small moments of happiness my marriage had, even if they fell so short of the passion and excitement I’d had with Mythic.
Stepping out of my parents’ house, every nerve in my body came to life as soon as I spotted Mythic walking up the block. It wasn’t surprising to see him in the neighborhood. He still had ties there. But his presence never failed to send my nerves into a frenzy.
As our eyes met, a jolt of electricity shot through me. My heart pounded unsteadily in my chest.
With shaky hands, I approached him. Mythic stood tall and imposing. His presence cast a shadow over me as I stopped in front of him while standing on the sidewalk in front of my parents’ home.
My breath hitched. His appearance kidnapped my attention, demanding it. It dared me to find the ability to look away. Despite his bad-boy swag, he was still angelic in a fitted white tee. Diamonds glistened in his ears and on his neck, competing with the sun.
“Avi.” His voice was so smooth and deep, sending shivers down my spine.
“Hi, Mythic.” My voice was weak as my heart raced with excitement.
My stomach lurched with regret knowing that Damar never made me feel this way.
He took me into his large embrace, smothering me with his woody scent. The familiar pull of obsession tugged at me. He was so intoxicating that it swallowed me. His irresistible grip on my heart tightened around it.
“Why haven’t you called me?”
Pushing back against his chest, I looked up at him with a wrinkled brow.
He answered my silent inquiry. “Mia came to the club last night.”
I pried myself from his embrace. Frustrated, I began to charge toward my car. “She told you? So, she seriously thinks that I did this?”
Mythic followed close behind me. “Of course she told me. We’re tight. You should have told me.”
“I was going to. But it’s not something that I felt I should talk about over the phone, especially since she’s being investigated.”
Looking back at him, I saw Mythic nod. “That’s smart.”
“You don’t think I really told on her, do you?”
His steps halted. His head tilted dramatically as his striking glare anchored on me. “Hell no, Avi. I know better.”
I swallowed hard, forcing myself to focus on reality. “Then why doesn’t she know better?”
Mythic shrugged. “I think she’s just lashing out. She’s frustrated and has to let it out on someone.”
“But on me?”
“When people are going through something, they often lash out on the person closest to them.”
Sucking my teeth, I pouted. “That’s fucked up.”
“Don’t worry about it. She’ll figure out that she’s tripping soon enough. Her lawyer will figure out the evidence against her, and she will realize how she got caught up. I’ve been trying to call her to talk some sense into her, but she hasn’t been answering all day.”
“It shouldn’t take all of that for her to realize that I would never do something like this.”
“I know.” He slightly poked out his hefty bottom lip, mocking my own expression. Then he softly grabbed my chin, causing my body to quake. “It’s going to be okay.”
I craned my neck to meet his towering height. I had to squint up at him as the sun’s rays blinded me.
“You okay?”
Looking up at him, a current of emotions rushed through me. His mere presence stirred up a longing that I had tried to suppress for years. The yearning I felt for Mythic was unlike anything I had ever experienced, and it was a force that I could no longer deny.
But I had to.
Standing there, I felt like my parents’ and God’s eyes were on me, ridiculing me.
“I’ll be okay.” I forced my eyes off him and unlocked my Jeep with my key fob.
“I know you will.” I could hear his sexy, deep rumble as he followed me.
As we reached the curb, I paused when I noticed a car speeding down the block. I was instantly relieved as I realized that it was Mia’s Audi. I looked back at Mythic, who gave me a reassuring, supportive smirk.
As the car slowed to a stop in front of me, I discreetly smiled, grateful that Mia was at least willing to talk.
As her tinted window began to roll down, I stepped forward, saying, “Hi, M—”
But Mia’s arm shot out of the window, clutching a glass bottle with a flaming cloth rag, which made my whole body freeze. She hurled the bottle through my driver’s side window. The window and bottle shattered on impact, engulfing the Jeep in flames.
“Oh my God!” I shrieked, just as Mythic’s large arm snatched me back. We stumbled over the curb, tumbling into my parents’ yard.
Panicking, I scrambled to escape the inferno. The heat and smoke choked me as I crawled away from the wreckage. Gasping for air, I felt Mythic’s presence shielding me from the chaos.
As the adrenaline began to subside, he gently lifted me to my feet. His concerned voice cut through the confusion. “Are you okay?” he asked as he scanned my face and body for any injuries.
Gasping for a steady breath, I couldn’t find words as I stared at the flames engulfing my Jeep.
All hope of reconciliation with Mia vanished in that moment, replaced by a blinding reality of her unhinged wrath.