by M. Skye
“The only real loss you’ve ever had, we had them too!” said Whitney. “They were my family too. I lost them right when you did, but it was worse for me. At least you got to know them. All I got were trips home on holidays and a phone call when they died telling me I couldn’t come home for the funerals. I didn’t even get to say my damn goodbyes.”
“They were trying to protect you! Your dad didn’t want Richmond ruining your life like he did ours. Why can’t you see that?”
“Like your life was so horrible! You are married to one of the best men I know and are running a multibillion-dollar company with the perfect life.”
Mia laughed angrily. “Perfect? My life is far from that. My sister was my best friend, and I couldn’t save her. The last year of her life we weren’t close at all because she was a drunk. She was getting better, but most of the year we fought about her lifestyle, and then she was gone. I regret every day the way I was with her.” Mia felt tears roll down her cheek and she began to tremble.
“My mother died that year too, and we barely spoke. The night she died was the first time I ever let her be alone with my child, and then she died. I never got the chance to say I loved her or that I was proud of her, because when I went to pick my son up, she was dead. I found her lying facedown. If that weren’t bad enough, then my son was taken. I went out of my mind, and my husband was gone, so I tried to numb the pain. I took a bottleful of pills and woke up two days later in the psych ward, so don’t you talk to me about loss. I was here through it all.”
“At least you had the option to be here. They didn’t send you away like some unwanted problem.”
“I would have preferred being sent away!” Mia screamed her last statement, and Tyree rounded the corner with a confused expression on his face.
“What is going on here?” He stepped into view and saw the tears on Mia’s and Whitney’s faces. He scanned the room. “Is anyone going to tell me what’s wrong?” He walked toward Mia, and Whitney huffed loudly.
“Even when you’re the problem, they still come to you first.” She rushed out of the room, and Jude chased behind her.
Tyree looked completely lost as he turned to Mia and grabbed her arm. “What happened here?”
“Honestly,” she sighed, “I don’t know. You should check on her. You seem to be the only one she listens to.”
“I’m more worried about you right now.” He pulled her closer, and they both missed Whitney and Jude making their way back in the door.
Whitney walked over to Mia and paused. Mia pushed out of Tyree’s embrace.
“I’m sorry, Aunt Mia. I was wrong to snap at you. It won’t happen again.”
Mia wiped her teary eyes and pulled her into a firm hug. “I’m sorry too, sweetie.”
Whitney laid her head on Mia’s shoulder and absorbed the hug. Tyree let out a deep sigh and offered a slight grin while Jude looked on. After the hug was over, Jude made an excuse and left abruptly. All three people in the room looked on in confusion, and Tyree finally voiced his thoughts.
“What the hell was that?”
“I don’t know,” Mia replied while Whitney watched the door, undoubtedly waiting for him to walk back in.
Chapter Fifteen
“So she just showed up at your house and flipped out?” Asha asked as she took a seat in Mia’s office. “Did she even say what she was doing there?”
Mia shrugged her shoulders and pushed the pile of papers on her desk. “Yeah, she followed Jude. Even though she apologized, I still feel awful. I had no idea my niece hated me. I thought I was doing a good job as an aunt.”
Asha grabbed her hand and rubbed it gently. “You are a wonderful aunt. My kids love you so much, and your son idolizes you. You have nothing to feel bad about.”
Mia stood and crossed the room to look out her window. “But I do. I feel like I’ve failed all over again.”
“You didn’t fail Janelle. She looked up to you. Mia, you can’t carry other people’s issues on your shoulders. It will eat you alive.”
Mia was about to say something, and her door swung open. When she looked up, she saw her lunch date waltzing in. “Chloe, welcome. Are you ready for lunch?”
“Yes.” She rubbed her protruding belly and sighed. “When am I not ready to eat?” Chloe was a girl she met one day at lunch and bonded with instantly. Chloe was single and pregnant without much help. She was working a dead-end job at a restaurant when she and Mia met, and Mia had been helping her ever since.
“Well, let’s get you two fed.” Mia walked over, grabbing her purse, and gave Asha a gentle pat on the hand. Boarding the elevator, Mia watched Chloe, wishing she could share in that kind of happiness. She was having a boy, it was going to be her first child, and Mia could tell how happy she was.
Chloe had no family to speak of, and the father of her son was someone she didn’t discuss very often. While most would have folded and given up, Chloe chose to look on the bright side of things. Mia was completely in awe of her and wanted to help in any way she could. At first, Chloe wouldn’t accept help, stating that she didn’t want any handouts, but Mia convinced her by saying that everyone needed someone. In Mia’s eyes, she saw it as her chance to make up all the wrongs she felt she made with her little sister. Chloe reminded her so much of Janelle and her carefree spirit.
“So, how is he doing today?” Mia asked as they drove over.
Chloe ran her hand over her belly and leaned back in her seat. “He is kicking so hard. I swear he is fighting his way out.”
Mia smiled and glanced over at the young girl. “You must be so excited. Have you had any contact with Will?” Will was the father of Chloe’s baby and was nothing but trouble. From what Chloe explained, Will used to force himself on her and beat her, and when she found out she was pregnant, she ran in fear for her baby. Chloe seemed to be relieved that Will was gone, but Mia couldn’t help but worry about her taking on a baby alone. That’s why she took such good care of her.
“No. He hasn’t been in contact, but I did hear he’s back in jail.”
“For what this time?” Chloe was quiet and glanced out the window. “What is it?”
“I really don’t want to say. I just hate I got mixed up with him. You must think I’m so screwed up.”
“I don’t think you’re screwed up. I just think you were in a bad situation that you were smart enough to get out of. We all have our things we aren’t proud of. I can’t judge you.”
As they pulled up to the restaurant, Mia gave her keys to the valet and walked over to help Chloe out of the car. They were headed into the restaurant when Mia heard a familiar voice calling out to her. Trying to rush into the restaurant, she was unsuccessful and huffed while Chloe looked on, confused.
“Dimples, wait. I just want to talk to you.”
“Jake, dammit, leave me alone. You being here has caused enough trouble.” Mia snatched away from him, but when she turned to look into his eyes, she saw a sadness she wasn’t expecting. Trying not to be taken in by his sad demeanor, she turned back to Chloe and kept walking toward their table. “What are you doing, following me now?”
“I swear, it’s not like that. I need to talk to you. Just let me talk to you, and I swear I’ll leave you alone. One conversation, beautiful, and I’m gone forever.”
Mia sped up her walk and helped Chloe into her seat before she turned to see the broken man behind her. She wanted to be hard, she wanted to act tough, but in truth, she couldn’t stand seeing him that way. She knew in her heart that her avoidance of him was her own fault. All he had done was help keep her secrets, and here she was treating him like trash.
“Look, I’m sorry, okay? I don’t want you hurt, but I need you to understand that I’m married. I love Tyree, and yes, I messed up before, but I won’t leave him again. I can’t.”
“I know, Dimples. Look, it’s not about that.” He paused, on the verge of tears, and she placed a hand on his shoulder. “I really need to talk to someone, and you’re the first person I
thought of. Please say you’ll do it.”
“Jake, what you’re asking—”
“I never ask you for anything. I was there when you needed me, and I never ask you for anything. Please?”
Mia looked at Chloe and then back to him before nodding slowly. “Let me talk to Ty first. I don’t want to lie to him. There have been enough secrets among all of us, wouldn’t you say?”
“Yes, sure. Anything you need. I don’t want to mess things up for you. I just need a friend. You’re my friend. One of my only friends.”
Mia remembered how lonely Jake said he was when they first met. He hadn’t really connected with many people because of his work as a private investigator, and when they met, they had become friends before moving into a romantic relationship. If she were honest, she would admit she missed that part of things. She told him a lot about her life, and he shared with her.
Smiling and bowing out, Jake left Mia to her lunch with Chloe. Mia had taken her seat and looked across the table to see Chloe gazing at her. “Dimples, huh? So I take it he’s one of those things?”
Mia sighed and picked up the water glass the waiter had dropped off in the midst of her conversation with Jake. “He is, but he also saved me. Jake is a long story. We met at a time when I was going through a really bad issue. Not only did he help me, but he saved my life. I had messed up so much. I pushed Ty away, and I was alone. I mean, I wasn’t really alone. I had my family and Ty’s, but in my head, I was alone. I had convinced myself that everyone was against me, and I panicked. Jake was there. He held me when I cried. He stayed with me through the nightmares. He was just there. He was so patient with me, and it took a lot, but when I finally did sleep with him, I didn’t regret it. Sleeping with him made me realize that my feelings for Ty were still so strong even though I didn’t want to admit it. So even though he isn’t the man I love, I do cherish him for all he was to me when I needed it the most.”
Chloe dabbed her eyes and let out a silly chuckle. “I’m sorry, it’s these hormones, but that was sweet. I get how you don’t want to hurt Tyree, but I also see why this Jake guy is important to you. I know Tyree probably doesn’t like it, but I can’t imagine him ever denying you something you really need. You need to make your peace with the whole Jake thing to officially move on.”
“I do. I just need to hear him out and see what’s going on. I’ve never seen him like this, and I would feel awful not being there. I mean, the sexual part of us is gone, but does that mean being his friend has to die, too? I can understand Ty not wanting us to be friends, but it’s just so complicated.” Mia looked up at the simple smile that Chloe wore. She was so easy to talk to, and she didn’t have to feel the guilt of people picking sides. Most of her friends were the family, and they would always choose Tyree. She just needed an unbiased opinion.
“I get what you’re saying. I think people can be friends after they’ve dated, but I know your husband isn’t too big on this friend. At the end of the day, you have to do what works best for the sake of your marriage. You can get another friend, but you can’t replace your husband.”
Mia knew Chloe was speaking the truth. The plan now was to make sure Tyree knew about her seeing Jake one last time, and then she had to end it. She also knew that by the end of the conversation, she had to make sure Jake knew that the past was the past and there was no use bringing it back up.
Chloe sat quietly for a minute and then looked over at Mia strangely. Mia asked, “What’s wrong? Is it the baby?”
“No.” She shook her head, running her hand over her stomach. “I was just thinking Jake looks so familiar. I can’t place where I know him from, but it seems like we’ve crossed paths before.”
Mia shrugged. “Well, I guess he does have a common face. Maybe you saw someone who looks like him.”
“Yeah.” Chloe shook it off. “You’re probably right.”
* * *
“Jude,” Terence called out, waving his hand in Jude’s face. “Earth to Jude.”
Jude looked up and finally saw Terence. He had been speaking to him for the past two minutes without any response. Terence could tell how distracted he was when he first came into work, and it had only gotten worse with the hours passing. Jude was usually very sharp and attentive, so seeing him this way made Terence nervous.
“Hey, my bad. I was just thinking about some things. I’ll get back to work.”
Terence folded his arms over his chest and sat down in front of Jude. “What’s up? You want to tell me what has you so off? Is something wrong at home?”
“Home,” he huffed. “My house is a war zone, and I think I know why. It’s completely messed up, and I can’t even believe I’m thinking this. We’re all supposed to be family, but I . . .” He stood and pushed himself out of his seat.
“You what?”
“I need to leave.”
Terence saw the calmness wash into anger all over his face and was confused. “You’re not making any sense, Jude. What is wrong with you?”
“I can’t be a part of this anymore. I love that girl, I do, but I can’t be second. I know I’m not who she wants.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Who does she want, and why are you so rattled? The only men your girl is remotely close to are her dad and Tyree. Neither one of them could be an issue in that way.”
“I thought in the back of my mind I could have been wrong, but lately she’s been missing late in the night. I don’t know where she goes. Whenever I ask, she bites my head off or flips out. It was never like this before we came back here. I never felt this doubt before now.”
It took Terence a minute to wrap his mind around what Jude was insinuating. “You think there is something between Whitney and Ty? Are you crazy?”
Jude laughed nervously and shook his head. “I don’t know what to think. You weren’t there today. I mean, she snapped on me and Aunt Mia, and she just kept saying how her life was perfect and she had the perfect man. All the while I was sitting there watching my girl fantasize about some other life she wishes she had.”
“She idolizes Tyree, yes. They are extremely close and always have been. He loves her just as he loves his little sister, hell, like he loves Milan, but he only has that crazy, ‘I would do anything for you’ love for Mia. Mia is the only woman Tyree sees that way. Whitney might as well be like his own daughter.”
“I know that. He doesn’t see her that way, but I just don’t know, man. I didn’t want to believe it, but this morning I saw it with my own eyes. Whitney is not who I thought she was.”
Terence could see this was tearing Jude apart and felt sorry for the young man. It was true, he had always wondered about Whitney’s feelings for Tyree. He had always seen it as a schoolgirl crush that would die with time, but he too had come to see in the past few months that her infatuation had grown. He was sure Tyree was oblivious to everything, but he knew it needed to be addressed. He had to call Tyree before anyone else started to feel like Jude did, especially his wife.
Taking a deep breath and standing from his seat, Terence crossed the room with his phone in hand. He turned back to Jude and offered a smile. “The one thing you can count on is that, no matter what her feelings are for him, Tyree would never cross that line. He loves Mia, and he knows it would kill her.”
“I know, but that still doesn’t make it any easier. Just because it’s not returned doesn’t make me feel better about the way she feels.”
“I’m sure it’s just a phase. It will pass, and reality will kick in for her. She loves you too, Jude. I can see it even if you don’t right now.”
Terence walked out of the office and pulled his phone up to his ear in the hallway. He hit his speed dial, and in two rings he had Tyree on the line. “Ty, we need to talk. We have a serious problem. I’ll be at your office in a few. We need to do this in person.” Shutting the phone, he walked over to the elevator and hit the button. The whole way down to the lobby, he was dreading the talk he was going to have with his oldest friend
. It could only bring trouble.
Chapter Sixteen
“Kitten.” Tyree came into the room and set his things down. He looked over to the bed to find Mia passed out facedown on a pillow. She looked so beautiful, her hair spread out on the bed and her arms crossed in front of her. It was late, later than he usually arrived home, but after his talk with Terence, he needed to unwind and did so in the comfort of a few glasses of Crown and Coke.
He could smell the liquor exuding from his pores and knew Mia would too if she awoke. He hadn’t had a drink in years, but today’s news prompted him to need one. He hadn’t figured out how his best friend had come to him with such a ridiculous thought. Terence voiced his suspicions and Tyree snapped, telling him he was out of line and completely wrong. There was no way Whitney had any kind of romantic feelings for him. It was ridiculous.
As the day wore on, however, he began to let Terence’s statements take hold. He was always so protective of Whitney, so touchy with her, and maybe it confused her. He didn’t mean anything by it. He thought he was just the cool uncle she needed, but the more he thought about it, he came to see what Terence pointed out to him. He had been sharing his problems with her, and she had been advising him on how to deal with his wife. How could he have been so stupid? All this time, he had been feeding into her little crush and making it seem like there was a possibility of them. Well, no longer would he indulge. The only woman he needed was the one lying down in front of him.
Stripping off everything and sliding between the sheets, he saw that she didn’t stir. He watched her for a second, running over every curve with his eyes, his mouth watering over every delicious morsel of skin. He was mesmerized. Mia was the one. She was the only one. Bending his head down to taste her, he moved her hair to the side and placed himself over her without applying his weight. With his knees spread on both sides of her, he kissed her and delighted in the sounds that emitted from her sleeping form.
A smile formed on her full lips as his mouth took advantage of her bare neck, staking his claim. When she moved her head slightly, he grabbed her hair, jerking her head to the side, and her hands braced the sheets. She still hadn’t woken up, but sliding his hands down the back of her thighs and under the nightgown to find that she wasn’t wearing panties, he slipped his fingers inside. He watched her back arch to him, and he placed his body on top of hers to push her back down. At this point, he wasn’t ready to relinquish any kind of control. He wanted her to feel the need he felt and to know that she was the only one who could bring this out in him. He needed her to know who owned him and that he would do anything for her.