Chapter 3
Then what happened? You called me, cussing me out, as soon as I didn’t come back like you thought I should.
I knew then that you wasn’t a safe place.
So, I fought for my life, and decided that I wouldn’t dare tell you, looking for sympathy.
And the girls didn’t see me, because I didn’t wanna be seen like that. Now you fucking have it!”
Face vehemently shook his head. “Nah. Hell, nawl. That aint making sense. At no point did you consider telling me what was going on, when that could’ve cleared the air?”
“You wasn’t the nigga to confide in, Face,” she spat. “It had already been established that if I wasn’t laying down with you, then you couldn’t bring yourself to treat me respectfully. But I was supposed to trust you at my most vulnerable time? Are you crazy?”
Face was still shaking his head.
“Just look!” Tera shouted, as she tossed her phone near him. “Scroll through those pictures and tell me what do you see.”
Saying nothing, Face picked up the phone, and I nosily leaned over to look, as he scrolled. There were several pictures of Tera in a hospital bed, bald. No eyebrows. Frail. And sickly. There was one picture where she was standing up and was rail thin, forcing me to look away.
Face’s breathing became labored, as his chest heaved up and down. “You could’ve…you could’ve told me,” his voice cracked.
“Oh, mamaaaa,” Shi sobbed, as she abruptly clung to Tera. Crying, Aspen hugged her from the other side.
Sitting there, I had tears in my own eyes, not really knowing quite what to say.