by Anna Black
“I know, baby,” he said. He went for a bottle of water, and then went over and planted a wet kiss on her cheek.
“Kory, not saying this out of insecurity, because I love being a full-sized diva, but when I think of Tressa and how slim she—” she tried to say, but he cut her off.
“Hey, don’t start that shit. You are beautiful, and I love you, all of you.”
“But you work out daily, and you are fit. Your stomach, baby, your abs could be featured in a magazine.”
“And you, my love, can also grace a magazine. A cover, I might add. Don’t start this, Tiff. You know that is not an issue in our relationship.”
“Okay, okay.” She went for the cabinet and grabbed the coffee. “What time are we going to head over to the hospital?”
“I guess after breakfast, babe. I called Mr. Green this morning, and he said there has been no change. He said she is still considered critical.”
“Well, maybe we should wait until after lunch. To go there and not be able to see her would be a waste, right?”
“Yes, I guess you’re right. I’m going to go shower. If you want, I can come back down and make breakfast.”
“No, baby, I got it. What would you like?”
“Omelet with everything and toast will work.”
“Omelet it is. Go on up.” As soon as he cleared the kitchen she called Rose.
“Hey, girlfriend, what’s going on in L.A.? Facebook is blasting that the Queen of L.A., whom I refer to as the Wicked Witch of the West, is dead of an overdose.”
“Well, good morning to you too.”
“I’m sorry, good morning. Is the Wicked Witch of the West a goner?”
“Rose, that is so not nice to say.”
“Since when? You know whatever my bestie hates, I hate, and I know Tressa is public enemy number one.”
“Look, she is not dead, okay? She is in the hospital, and she’s holding on for dear life,” Tiffany said.
“Wait a minute, it almost sounds like you care.”
Tiffany blew out a breath of air and went for the fridge. “I do care, Rose. That is Mr. Green’s only daughter, and for him, I care, okay? He gave me a chance of a lifetime. Gave me over forty million big ones. That man has a heart of gold, and as much damage as Tressa has done, he loves her, Rose, so my heart goes out to him and his wife.” Tiffany proceeded to get the eggs, green peppers, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, turkey ham, and cheese. Rarely did she add milk to her omelets, but today, she wanted to add a little.
Kory said toast, but when her eyes landed on the strawberry cream cheese, she decided she’d do bagels instead.
“So now you care about Tressa Hell-Raiser Green?”
“Rose, I don’t care about Tressa, but I care about Mr. and Mrs. Green. I don’t want them to lose their one and only daughter,” she said while placing everything on the island. Then she went for the drawers that housed the cookware and pulled out a pan, then went for a mixing bowl.
“Well, Tiff, as your best friend and the person you have shared every intimate detail about that woman with, they lost their daughter a long time ago.”
“That may be true, Rose, but this time, they may have to bury her, and no parent wants to bury a child. Do you remember how much hell my brother gave my mother with slanging drugs, his two baby mommas, and momma having to go down to the county for him every three or four months to bail him out and all the bullshit? Terrance put my mother through hell, Rose. I know you remember that. Yet and still, when he was murdered by them thugs, my mother lost her mind, Rose. Remember she became so depressed and for a while, she would not let it go. My mother was a basket case after that, Rose, and it took a very long time for her to heal from his death. I don’t wish that on nobody, and even though children become problem children, no one wants to bury their daughter,” Tiffany said and wiped her eyes. The flashback reminded her of her mother’s pain and the pain of losing her big brother.
“I’m sorry, Tiff. I didn’t think of it that way. I don’t have kids, never lost a sibling, and have no idea what it’s like, so I didn’t mean to be insensitive.”
“It’s all right, Rose, I know you didn’t mean any harm, and if I was as stone cold as Tressa, I’d probably not give a fuck either, but God gave me a heart. I’m not the Tin Man, or should I say, Tin Woman,” she laughed.
“Neither am I, but I just know how much drama and tragedy that woman has put y’all through. Don’t get me wrong, she brought everything on herself, but I don’t wish anyone dead, not even your archenemy.”
“Me either,” Tiffany said. She grabbed the cutting board and started to dice the veggies.
“So how are you and Kory?”
“We’re good, Rose. I’m so happy, and you know Momma has been blowing me up about wedding planning. She’s going to drive me crazy.”
“I can’t wait, girl, and I’m so happy for y’all. I can’t wait to find my soul mate.”
“I know, Rose. Finding love isn’t easy, especially finding that right one. Just look at my past relationships and that damn Jeff, girl. There’s not a time that I enter my bedroom that I don’t get a flashback.”
“Well, Jeff was a stone-cold idiot. And you are putting that house on the market soon anyway, so that will be a distant memory.”
“Yeah, you’re right. You should come out here, Rose. I mean, we haven’t visited for a while. Why don’t you visit?”
“Girl, you know I’m between jobs. Since I lost the gallery, I’m trying to sell a piece here and there, just to have a few dollars in my pocket.”
“Even more of a better time, while you’re off. You know I’ll get your ticket; you can stay with us. Kory’s place is huge, and the guest bedroom has its own bathroom. And you know I got you in whatever thanks to the check Mr. Green gave me. You can come and stay as long as you want . . . hell, move here. You can start over. I’d love to have you.”
“Tiffany, come on, I don’t want your money. You know we had this conversation ten times before. When you got the money, you paid off my truck to keep me from losing it, and I deeply appreciate it, but you know how I am. I can’t accept money from you.”
“That’s because you’re foolish and stubborn. You’re not working now, Rose. Your art is beautiful. Come out here. Stay at my house if you want privacy. We can shop for some spaces, and you can have your own studio. Once these L.A. peeps get a look at your work, you’ll be selling pieces left and right.”
“You think so?”
“Rose, I know so . . . Please, for the hundredth time, come out here. You’ve said it a million times that you want to leave. Before Mr. Green gave me this money, I couldn’t help you, couldn’t help my mom, but now I can. Momma is shopping for a condo now because I want her to have a doorman and some security and not have to worry about fixing things in that old-ass house I grew up in and having to pay for someone to shovel snow and mow all that damn grass. You know I’d do anything for you, girl, so please come. You know you love my place, and it’s yours if you want a new start in L.A. Until you get your business up and running and your art starts to fly off the walls, I got you.”
“Okay, okay, okay. I’ll think about it. You know I want to . . . I just think you’re doing too much, so consider it all a loan, and I will keep a tally and give you back every cent. That’s if I decide to come.”
“Please, Rose, I was blessed with something I know I didn’t earn. It will be my pleasure to do this for you.”
“Okay, I will think about it. Living here with my sister isn’t what I planned to do, but when my pieces stopped selling, I just couldn’t afford to maintain my house and bills. I just don’t want to be a burden or dependent on anyone. You know how I am, Tiffany. I’m self-sufficient.”
“I know, and I respect that. Just think about it. I got a few connects, and trust, L.A. is going to love your works.”
“You think so, Tiff?”
“Honey, I know so,” she confirmed. She continued to chat with Rose, and then Kory came down just as she was f
inishing up. She said her good-byes to Rose, they ate, and then hung around the house for a while before leaving. Later, they went out for lunch, and then headed over to the hospital.
Rehab
Tressa
It had been a couple of days after her overdose, and she was feeling good and doing better, but they refused to let her leave. She had a mind to walk up out of there, but security was everywhere, and she wondered why she was forced to stay there. She needed a hit, a line, a taste on her tongue, but they were not complying with her request. She knew that the last time was close to her last time living on this earth, but she had this under control. She only went hard when she was angry, and Tiffany made her angry. The sight of her made her mad, and she just wanted to go home, hit a line or two, and get back to living.
Hell, that night she was so enraged, and she hated Colby for not supporting her. Him not stepping up and carrying out their mission, she lost her mind. She drove to the party, sat in her car, and did every last grain of the coke she had on her. What she wanted to do that night took balls, and the powder gave her wings. She parked right in front and ignored the bastards who insisted she couldn’t park there and marched right inside. She was a motherfucking Green. Her father was the reason for everything, so she could park where the fuck she wanted. As soon as she laid eyes on them, she was ready, but her head spun and her limbs were wobbly. But she was determined. After barely telling them two bitches a piece of her mind, her body abandoned her, and she blanked out . . . and then woke up there.
“Good morning, Ms. Green,” the nurse said upon entering the room.
“Bitch, don’t good morning me. I want to go home. Why are they keeping me here?”
“Ms. Green, when you come close to fatality from drugs, it’s standard to keep you for a while. We just want you to get better and not end up right back here again. You made it this time, darling, but we can’t risk there being a next time.”
“But you are holding me against my will. Isn’t that illegal?”
“I imagine it is, but your father has a lot of influence, and he wants you better.”
“My father? Did you say my father?” Tressa hadn’t seen her father at all. She wanted them to get her father so he could tell them she could go home.
“Yes, Mr. Green has been here every day. He and the doctors talk, and he just wants you better before we release you, that’s all.”
“So my father is keeping me here. That’s not fair,” Tressa cried. “I’m a grown-ass woman, and I will sue this hospital.”
“Tressa, you really don’t know where you are, do you?”
“No, I thought this was the hospital in L.A., right?”
“No, dear, this is rehab. We are in the Hamptons, sugar. L.A. is on the other side of the map, and you can’t leave unless your father allows it.”
“How is that possible? I’m grown. You can’t keep me against my will.”
“Well, according to the power of attorney signed by you, in case of any emergencies or endangerment of your well-being, your father is the sole custodian over you.”
“I never signed nothing like that or I, I, I,” she stuttered, and then went silent. She had signed so many things over the years that her father gave her without reading them, so she may have. “So you are saying I gave my father the power to admit me here.”
“That is exactly what I’m saying. If you’d like, I can let your father know you’d like to see him.”
“Yes, you do that,” Tressa said as a matter-of-fact. She couldn’t wait to tell her father a piece of her mind.
The nurse left, and Tressa paced. How was she back in rehab against her very own wishes? She went to the window, and it dawned on her that she was a few stories up, and even if she wanted to, the window wasn’t made to be opened. The grounds were beautiful, and she wondered how long she had been in rehab. She always figured she was at the hospital in L.A. She didn’t have any memory of how she even had gotten there. She remembered everything, including going to Stephen’s house and him trying to convince her to not go to the premiere party. She remembered going to Colby’s to ask him to join forces with her, and when he declined, she knew she had to battle them alone. But she didn’t remember boarding a plane, and she wondered how in the hell had they whisked her to the other side of the map with no recollection. Was she in a coma, was she sedated? So many questions ran through her mind.
All she wanted was answers, and she wanted them now. She began to bang and yell out for someone to come, and after five minutes, she realized her efforts were useless. She went for the call button and began to press the button insanely.
The nurse returned to her door. “Ms. Green, please,” she said, “you need to calm down.”
“I want to see my father! Now!” Tressa demanded.
“And I told you I will relay the message. Now, you’re going to have to calm down.”
“I will not calm down. I don’t want to be here, and you can’t keep me here against my will. I will sue this hospital and your ass too, now get my father, this minute!” she yelled through the door.
“Ms. Green, if you don’t stop, we are going to have to use other measures to tame your actions.”
“Do it and this entire facility will be shut down. As soon as I get out of here, I’m going to sue this place, and you’re going to be the first one out of a job,” she continued to yell.
“I’ll take it from here,” a baritone voice interrupted.
“Mr. Green,” the nurse said letting out a sigh of relief.
“Open up for me, please.”
“Daddy!” Tressa yelled through the door when she saw her father through the tiny glass window.
The nurse unlocked and opened the door, and Mr. Green stepped in. The nurse was sure to tell him to buzz when he was ready to leave, and she locked the door from the outside.
“Daddy, Daddy,” Tressa cried and hugged him tightly.
He hugged her back tightly, and they held on to each other for a few moments.
“Daddy, I’m so glad you came for me. I’m ready to go home. Please tell me that you’re here to get me outta this place,” she pleaded, but then looked at his face. His face was serious and stern, and she felt a scolding coming on and figured he wasn’t there to take her home.
“I’m afraid that’s not going to happen today, Isa. You’re going to be here for a while. I’m not going to let you out of here until you are truly clean. You’ve given your mother and me the last scare of our lives, and you are not going to kill yourself with drugs and only God knows what,” he added.
“No, Daddy, please. You can’t make me stay in this awful place. Where am I? This is not a familiar place. Where are we?”
“Far from L.A., far from your circle of friends, and far away from the life you once knew, and, yes, I can leave you here, and I am. Your mother and I made a decision to help you and the last time we were called to the hospital, Isa, will be our last time.”
Tressa slumped down onto the bed. She put her head down. “I’m so sorry for what I did, Daddy, I am, and I know that I gave you and Mommy a scare, but—”
He cut her off. “But nothing, Isabella. You’re not fine, and you won’t ever be fine until you are clean and sober, and you are going to stay here and complete the entire plan, and stay even longer if I have my way. I’m not going to bury my daughter.”
“Since when did you start caring? You threw me out, Daddy! You cut me off! You gave my money to that bitch, Tiffany!” she cried.
Mr. Green swallowed hard and took a moment before he spoke. He walked over and sat beside her. He moved her wild strains of hair from her face and spoke to her tenderly. “You’re right. I tossed you out of my studio and took the money that I had set up for you and gave it to Tiffany. Most of my actions were out of hurt and anger, Isabella, but I don’t regret my decisions. At the time, you didn’t deserve a cent or respect or another chance, but when I got that call that you overdosed, I drove to that hospital prepared to hear that you were gone.
&n
bsp; “When we arrived and found out you were in critical condition, but we couldn’t see you, it broke my heart, and all I was thinking is if my daughter doesn’t make it through the night, I would not have had the chance to say good-bye or tell her how much I truly love her. The next morning when your mother and I arrived at that hospital and saw that tube down your throat and the machines and your color had left your face, baby, I didn’t recognize you, Isa. My heart ached so much. It was maybe the worst pain I’d ever felt in my life. Worse than my heart attack, any breakup, or love lost.
“Your mother and I prayed and prayed and begged God for another chance, just one more chance, and a final and last chance to have our daughter back. For more time with you. Four days later, you still hadn’t responded, and your mother and I prepared ourselves to say good-bye, but we got that call that you opened your eyes, and there was physical evidence that you were going to recover. Your mother and I immediately transported you here. The next day, I had the doctor sedate you, and we flew you here. He was kind enough to make the trip with us to make sure you were okay.
“We wanted you to have another chance, so we both decided that you would only have a fighting chance here, and I know that there are some things neither of us can undo, Isa, but I’m ready to offer new terms.”
Tressa lifted her head and looked at her daddy. She could see that he was honestly making an attempt to help her and from the tears in his eyes, she knew this was his final attempt.
“New terms, Daddy? What do you mean?” she inquired. She’d hoped it was something that would motivate her to want to stay and clean up for good.
“We can move forward and start over. Not for me or your mother, but for you. Stay here willingly and get clean, Isa. Clean up and give yourself a new beginning, a new start, a new lease on your life. I know I have always denied you a spot at TiMax, but it’s time you learned the ropes. Now, I’m not saying you can have my seat, of course, because I’ll be around for a while, and there is a lot to learn, Isa, but I want to give you a position and give you some control. Underneath all of this L.A. girl image, you are smart, Isabella, and as far as your trust, the new terms concern a payment plan.”