He disconnected the call and I went to call Brandy. I hovered over her name before ultimately deciding to refrain from doing so. She needed time and I couldn’t do anything but grant her what she wanted. Following her home would probably be more than enough for her.
I wasn’t going away this time though. We would see this through together. I would respect her in the timeframe it took to get to her sister’s house. For now, I had to sit on the fact that my most trusted and head of security failed me and allowed our cousin to die like it was nothing. There's no way Serg wasn’t in on this shit and nobody could tell me otherwise.
The second I got behind their vehicle, Brandy looked in her sideview mirror.Good girl.Our eyes locked for a split second as I switched lanes to get a better view of her then caught her little smirk. She knew she was safe and that’s what mattered most.
I rode in silence the entire way and by the time I pulled into their driveway I had everything sorted. My thoughts came to a halt when Brandy made her way to my vehicle.
Those long legs were covered in leggings that looked like a second skin. Her arms were folded over her chest and I wanted nothing more than to bring those hands down and grip them softly to assure her she was safest with me.
I stepped out of the car and faced her, sure to keep a solid distance between us. I didn’t want to bombard her and make her feel any sense of insecurity. The last thing she needed was for me to overstep.
“What can I do, honeybee?”
“Can you hold me?” she murmured.
“Of course, mama.”
I grabbed her hand softly and gently pulled her arms apart. I closed the space between us and slid my hands across herlower back. She caved into my chest and I secured her fully. Her head fell and she broke down. I couldn’t imagine what was condemning her the most, but I would be here to help her rid herself of every demon lurking, even if that demon was me.
Chardonnay looked at me with confirmation of approval for what needed to be done. I knew it was bad, but seeing this firsthand let me know she wasn’t overexaggerating the life she’d been consumed in for so long. She was trapped and now it was time to set her free.
Arlando stepped out of the house and rushed over to us. He picked Chardonnay up and spun her around as he examined her quickly. He knew if she was harmed in any way I would’ve let it be known by now. He was putting on a show.
Our mother stepped out behind him and the joy that was once on Chardonnay’s face was now replaced with fear. She was not ready to meet our mother, and quite honestly, I was hoping she had left. She had plans for the evening. She should’ve stuck to that.
“Mother, take your nosy ass back inside,” Arlando said once he laid eyes on her.
“I can’t come down and make sure your women are okay?”
“No, you can’t. Go the fuck inside. What if the problem followed them here? Then you’d be shot the fuck up. Go,” he replied.
“You think I’m a fool? Of course, I surveyed the area before I came outside. You forget who taught you those survival skills,” she pressed.
“You’re still talking? Okay, so you can take your ass back to your house and get the fuck on since you still wanna bark,” Arlando replied.
“Bro,” I said. He was being harsh for no reason. I didn’t know what happened in the time it took to get here but he was furious,and by the looks of things, it was our mother’s doing and not our current situation.
He looked at me with such hate in his eyes. I had a feeling his love for our mother had now shifted. When I looked at her, I noticed how she was grilling our girlfriends. She turned her nose up at them and that just about made me pull away from Brandy and slap her for being so damn disrespectful.
“Nay, we’re going to head to Armond’s for a couple of days. You good with that?” Arlando asked.
They had a silent conversation then she looked at our mother. When their eyes locked, she attempted to put on a smile, but our mother further showed her disdain. Brandy was crying so much she couldn’t see what was happening, but it looked like this dinner was not going to be as promising as we hoped.
“I’m sorry we have to meet under such circumstances. I’m Chardonnay. It’s nice to finally meet you, Mrs. Davis.”
She extended her hand and our mother looked at it like it was covered in mud. Her expression shifted quickly and she grabbed Chardonnay’s hand while putting on a fake smile.
“It’s nice to meet you as well, Chardonnay. I too wish it were under different circumstances. I was excited for our dinner but now...” She looked at Arlando. “There seems to be no need.”
Chardonnay looked at Arlando like she wanted to slap him. We both knew Arlando had taken his frustrations out on our mother and never held his tongue.
“Don’t even start your shit, Nay,” Arlando griped.
“Whatever. We don’t have to do the grandiose dinner you all expect. We can do an intimate dinner with just us and our mothers and let it be. How does that sound, Mrs. Davis?” Chardonnay asked.
“That sounds wonderful. Pardon me, you must be Brandy,” my mother said as she turned to face Brandy.
Brandy wore a weak smile but shook her hand anyway.
