Chapter 1 #3
We ended the call, and I took a long, deep breath.
Although we shared the same scum of a father, I was blessed with an angel for a mother, and her support system made parenthood look easy.
I never wanted for anything, especially not food.
Conversely, Noah’s mother had always been a piece of work.
When Noah was five, she lost custody for leaving him home alone while she went to the bar.
Apparently, she had been doing it for years and never got caught until the night he woke up and left the house crying and looking for her.
My paternal grandparents had custody of Noah for almost two years before his mother, Bridgette, regained custody, and in her warped mind, she blamed my grandparents.
Once Noah was back in Bridgette’s care, she made it damn near impossible for us even to maintain a relationship with him until he got older and was able to communicate with us on his own.
Stanley was a piece of work too, so I guess it would make sense that his baby mamas would be just as thrown off.
My mom was a teenager when she got pregnant by Stanley, so I always gave her grace for procreating with him and putting us in the middle of his ghetto mess.
With my wet clothes in hand, I exited the office and found Andy leaning against the wall next to his office, holding a coffee cup.
“Here, I grabbed you some tea from the back. To help warm you up,” he explained.
“Awww, Andy. I appreciate it.”
“Of course,” he nodded.
I accepted the trash bag that Andy stuffed my clothes into, and shoved my undergarments inside before taking the tea.
My hands warmed on contact, and I pulled the cup to my lips just to heat my face.
The warm mist floating from the cup felt heavenly before I took a sip.
The peppermint tea with honey soothed my chest instantly.
“You sure you don’t want me to take you back to your hotel?” Andy offered.
“I’m positive. Thanks though,” I declined again, leading the way to the front exit that time.
Andy walked me to the Uber and shielded me with an oversized umbrella to protect me from a second round of freezing rain. The brief rain passed, and it was only drizzling, but I still appreciated the shield nonetheless.
“You’re transporting precious cargo. Please make sure she gets in safely,” Andy told the woman driving the Uber.
“Will do,” she stuck a thumb up.
Andy closed the door once I was safely inside, and I relaxed in the comfortable seats of the Chevy Tahoe.
The Uber driver backed out of the parking spot and proceeded to the destination.
My mind wasn’t on the route. All I could think about was Xain’s smug smile as they drove off while the sky opened up on me.
I bet every penny in my bank account that dick head knew that door automatically locked once it was closed, and I wouldn’t be able to get back inside.
I felt the wet hair from the wig I’d had installed that morning dripping onto my neck. Unable to take it anymore, I carefully peeled the lace off. Everything on me that was wet had to go. I didn’t give a damn. We had a busy next few days, and I couldn’t afford to be sick.
“I have some baby wipes if you want to wipe the leftover glue off. They are in the pocket on the back of the passenger seat,” she announced.
“Thank you so much,” I smiled.
Pulling out my phone, I used my front camera to clean the glue off.
After losing the wig, I was completely dry.
However, the goosebumps lining my skin were still present when we pulled up to Marissa and Yaseer’s house.
I tossed the damp wig in the bag with my wet clothes and stared out into the cold for a moment before I got the courage to brave the trek up the driveway.
“Thank you so much for the ride.” I waved to the Uber driver as I left her a tip and five stars in the app. The warm, silent ride was exactly what I needed after the long few days I had leading up to the party.
“You’re welcome. Have a good night,” she bubbled.
I closed the door and marched up the driveway, my blood boiling the closer I got to the front door.
A text from my Aunt Anilla came through inquiring about my whereabouts.
If only she had thought about me before the trucks left me in the freezing rain.
I didn’t bother to respond as I continued my trek.
THUMP!
The loud thud startled me, and I looked in the direction of the noise, realizing it was an iguana that fell out of a tree.
I remember my very first time coming to Miami.
The big ass iguanas walking around scared the shit out of me.
They made me feel like I was walking amongst the dinosaurs the way they were posted up basking in the sun in the middle of sidewalks like they owned the city.
Miami winters never saw me. However, I’d heard the iguanas would become cold-stunned in low temperatures, but never saw it firsthand. The iguanas were still alive but temporarily paralyzed by the cold.
A devious smile spread across my face because Xain’s rental truck was only a few steps away.
I pulled on the truck door and was discouraged when the passenger door was locked.
Never one to be deterred, I continued to the driver’s door and struck gold when it opened up.
Exhaling deeply, I hit the locks, dropped the bag with my wet clothes, and rounded the truck to retrieve the stunned iguana.
I poked it first to ensure it was really stunned before slowly picking it up.
Carefully placing my right hand under the chest, my left hand lifted the belly.
Being that close to the iguana was scary but intriguing.
The rough, scaly skin, sharp nails, and long tail were fascinating.
My face cringed as I fought my urge to squeal on the brief trek to the passenger seat.
I gently placed the iguana down on the floor of the passenger side.
Feeling adventurous after the first successful move, I went back to grab a second iguana just a few feet away from the first one I found.
There were quite a few stunned iguanas in the yard, but I stopped after two.
I didn’t want to press my luck and have one wake up and attack me.
Closing the passenger door to Xain’s rental, I collected my wet clothes and continued towards the house.
My hands felt disgusting, and I was desperate to wash them.
The closer I got to the front door, the louder the music inside got.
Duke stood outside, talking to someone on the AirPods dangling from his ear, doing a terrible fucking job securing the home since he didn’t hear me moving around in the driveway.
I was thankful it was Duke and not Xain with his bionic ears. You couldn’t get shit past them.
“Why you wearing that? You jumped in to start serving people earlier?” Duke inquired.
“Duke, don’t talk to me,” I grumbled, approaching the door. “Did you know he was leaving me?”
“Who?” Duke fretted, eyes narrowing in confusion.
“Nobody,” I grumbled.
Duke stepped to the side to grant me entry, and I sauntered through the foyer in the massive home.
Mama Marissa and Yaseer had an amazing house in Tampa, and their Miami home was equally exquisite.
I could tell they took their time picking out everything from the light fixtures, art pieces gracing the walls, and furniture perfectly placed throughout the house.
I walked into Mama Marissa and Yaseer’s house, fully prepared to let the iguanas handle my dirty work, but seeing Xain’s smug face leaning up against the kitchen island, smirking at my disheveled appearance, vanquished the sliver of sanity I had left for the evening.