Flawbulous

by Shana Burton

  “Do you really think a day at the beach is gonna make me forget that my son died three weeks ago?”

  “No, but it’s important for us to remember that there’s still plenty to be thankful for. Christian will always be in our hearts, but it’s time to start the healing process.”

  “What you really mean is that it’s time to move on, don’t you?”

  “I think it’s time to honor our son’s memory by embracing life, not focusing on death. We still have each other, and we still have Charity. We’ve got a good life, Sullivan. We can’t lose sight of that. I think staying here, especially in this room, will only keep reminding you of what we lost.”

  “This room is all I have left of my child. Being in here makes me feel closer to him.”

  “But I don’t think that’s healthy. That’s why . . .” Charles took a deep breath. “That’s why I’m calling some people out to come and redo this whole room.”

  Sullivan whipped her head around to face him. “What?”

  “Sweetheart, we can’t leave this room set up for a baby who’s never coming home. I was thinking of fixing it up as a studio for you so you can start back doing your artwork. I think it’ll be good for you to start painting again.”

  “How many coats of paint do you think it’ll take to cover up losing our child? Why are you so bound and determined to pretend like Christian never happened?” Sullivan shook her head. “This room is staying just like it is, Charles. Stop trying to erase our son.”

  “That’s not what I’m doing. I don’t want to erase him. I want to save you.”

  “You mean like you did after the accident? You’re a pastor, but that doesn’t give you the right to play God! You didn’t have to let them take my baby. You could’ve saved him!”

  “Then I would’ve lost you.”

  “And? I would’ve laid down my life for the life of my son. You know that!” Sullivan dropped her head. “Charles, there are only two things in my life that I’m good at—screwing up and being a mother. Giving life to those children gave me purpose. You didn’t take just Christian. You took the only part of me that’s worth something.”

  “Sullivan, God created you for a higher purpose than just popping out babies. There’s a special call for your life. That’s the gift that God gives to all of us. If you needed Christian in order to fulfill God’s purpose for your life, God never would’ve allowed him to die.”

  “I guess we’ll never know which one of us is right, will we? You made sure of that when you put your wishes ahead of Christian’s needs.”

  “You keep blaming me for our son dying. Do you know how that makes me feel? I loved him too!”

  “You didn’t love him enough, Charles.” Sullivan wiped her eyes. “Every time I look at you, I’m reminded of that. You didn’t put him first. You never put your family first.”

  “I put God first, Sullivan, but you’re a close second. Charity is right behind you. How can you question that?”

  “How can you stand there and say you put us first when I have to compete with the church for the least bit of attention from you? Yeah, you may want to believe that you prioritize us, but that church is your wife, Charles, not me. Frankly, I don’t know how much longer I can stay in this kind of marriage.”

  “Everything I’ve ever done has been for you! All I’ve asked for in return is your love and respect. I don’t always get it, but that’s all I’ve ever asked for you.”

  Charles fell silent. No words passed between them for several minutes. At long last, Charles said, “I can’t make you stay, Sullivan.”

  “What?”

  “Maybe you’re right. Sweetheart . . . I’m tired. I love you. Sometimes, I believe I love you more than I love myself, but there’s only so much I can do to make you love me enough to stay in this with me and fight for our marriage and our family. I haven’t thrown your mistakes in your face, and I never will. We’ve all fallen short. However, your actions speak volumes, Sullivan, and they don’t always communicate that you’re as vested in this relationship as I am. And, quite honestly, I need a wife who’s going to fight as hard for me as I’m going to fight for her. I can’t be in this by myself. I don’t want you to leave. God knows I don’t! But this time, I won’t stop you.”

  Defeated and exhausted by Sullivan, Charles made his way to the door.

  Sullivan stopped him. “Charles . . .” She reached out for Charles’s hand but let it fall by his side. She had no idea what she was going to say. His words were jarring. Never had Charles been willing to walk away from their marriage without a fight, not even after her affair with Vaughn went viral or when Charity’s paternity was in question. This time, with Christian’s death and Sullivan’s verbal attacks, perhaps he’d had enough. She wondered if they both had.

  Charles said one last thing to her before leaving. “I’m having the room done over next week, Sullivan. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to stay.”

  Chapter 23

  “I think we have two very different definitions of what

  constitutes fun.”

  –Kina Battle

  “There it is! Isn’t she a beauty?” asked Elvin in awe.

  Kina’s frightened eyes zoomed upward to the top of the Spin Cycle, a ninety-foot roller coaster that zipped into the air, spinning the riders through multiple loops before descending back to earth. “And you want me to get on that thing?” she asked incredulously.

  “Heck, yeah! I’ve been waiting to hop on that train since we got here!”

  Kina backed away from him. “How about I just stand here and watch? I’ll keep my feet on the ground and offer moral support. I sort of have this thing about staying alive.”

  Elvin chuckled. “Kina Anne, you ain’t even lived till you’ve ridden on one of these babies! Come on!”

  Kina protested nonstop as Elvin dragged her to the front of the line. Elvin had stayed true to his promise to take her to the fair and had kept a smile on Kina’s face while they trekked through the fairgrounds, tossing rings on bottles and shooting at balloons, trying to win one of the pelicans that Kina had coveted since she was a child. Kina had even allowed herself to be subjected to the humiliation of the “Guess My Weight” game for the chance to win one, but there wasn’t a stuffed pelican in the world big enough to make her happy about going through the Spin Cycle.

  “Don’t worry. It’ll be fun,” promised Elvin as Kina was strapped in.

  “I think we have two very different definitions of what constitutes fun,” said Kina, her heart pounding as the engine on the ride revved up. The roller coaster then zipped through the air, tossing them across the seat.

  “Help me, Jesus!” cried Kina, digging her nails into Elvin’s arm.

  Elvin released a hearty laugh. “Open your eyes, Kina! I got you.”

  Kina shook her head, keeping her lids tightly shut. “I don’t want you! I want Jesus!” After another minute of stomach flipping and heart dropping, the ordeal finally came to a halt.

  Elvin peeled Kina’s fingers off of him. “All right, it’s over. You can breathe now.”

  “Oh, God! Oh, God!” panted Kina, clutching her pounding heart as Elvin helped her off the ride.

  “Here. Grab my hand.” He lifted her out of the seat. “You know I wasn’t going to let anything happen to you, right?”

  Kina exhaled, thrilled to be back on solid ground. “I did feel rather safe . . .” She stopped herself from adding, “In your arms.”

  “Taking care of you and Kenny is my pleasure. You’re my family.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You want something to eat?” asked Elvin as they passed a food stand.

  “I’d love a candy apple, but I’m afraid it’ll turn into tossed cookies if I eat it right now.”

  Elvin laughed. “One day you’re going to look back on this day and thank me.”

  “That day will be a day a long time from now!”

  “Sometimes, you’ve got to step out of that comfort zone and try something new. Y
ou might be surprised by what you find.” He elbowed her. “Admit it. You know you liked riding on that thing.”

  “Okay, it wasn’t terrible,” conceded Kina, sitting down on a nearby bench. “The important thing is that I survived.”

  He sat down too. “I think you’ve proven to everybody what a survivor you really are. I admire you, Kina. You won that weight-loss competition and weren’t afraid to compete in front of the whole world. You’ve been doing an outstanding job taking care of your son, and you survived E’Bell. I want to say again how sorry I am that we didn’t believe you about being abused like that.”

  “It’s okay. I should’ve spoken up sooner. If I had, maybe E’Bell could’ve gotten some help and would still be alive today. I’d give anything for my son not to have to carry the guilt of killing his father.”

  “He shouldn’t feel bad about that. He was protecting his mother. Many people would consider him a hero.”

  “I’m one of them.”

  Elvin took Kina by the hand. “I want you to know that we didn’t raise him to be that way. I never raised a hand to his mother, and I never would to any woman. Don’t think he got that from me.”

  “I know he didn’t. You’re a kind, gentle man. I know you wouldn’t hurt me. I mean, I—I know you wouldn’t hurt any woman in a violent way,” she stammered.

  He caressed her hand. “I would never hurt you, either.”

  Kina cleared her throat and eased her hand away from him. “You know what? I think I’m ready for that candy apple.”

  Elvin sensed she was uncomfortable and patted her on the hand. “Coming right up.”

  Kina was relieved when he left. Her heart and mind were racing. She felt something she had no business feeling for her late husband’s father.

  “Snap out of it, Kina,” she scolded herself out loud. “He’s literally old enough to be your father! Heck, he’s a grandfather and E’Bell’s dad, and he’s . . .” She sighed. “So sweet and sexy!”

  Elvin came back with her candy apple. “I got the biggest one they had.”

  She happily received it and ripped the plastic covering off of it. “Thank you. Candy apples are the sole reason I even bother coming to the fair.” She bit into it.

  “Yeah, I’m a huge fan of them myself.”

  Kina extended it to him. “Have some.”

  “You’re making it look so good over there, I think I will.” Their fingers touched as Elvin leaned in to bite the apple. He stared at her intently. “It’s better than I thought it would be.”

  They both bit into the apple at the same time, their lips almost brushing against each other.

  “Sorry about that,” Kina apologized quickly.

  Elvin shook his head. “I’m not.”

  Then he pulled Kina in for a kiss. Instead of pushing him away, she found herself kissing him back.

  It was better than any pelican and candy apple put together.

  Chapter 24

  “I’m asking you to tell me what happened . . .

  woman to woman.”

  –Angel King

  “Are you sure you can’t be persuaded to join us for dinner?” Duke asked Angel before heading out.

  “Please come!” pleaded Duke’s eight-year-old daughter, Miley. “We’re getting La’ Berry after dinner. It’s your favorite!”

  Angel pretended to ponder the request. “Hmm . . . as much as I love frozen yogurt, I have to pass, but I’ll make a deal with you. If you let me off the hook today, we’re go to La’ Berry after school one day next week—all you can eat!”

  Miley seemed satisfied. “Deal!”

  “And what do I get?” asked Duke’s preteen daughter, Morgan. “I’m not eating dairy this week.”

  Angel kissed her on the cheek. “You get to raid my make-up drawer!”

  “Awesome!”

  “All right, now that that’s settled, we better go before you end up promising these ladies your kidneys,” Duke joked and then gave Angel a quick peck on the lips. “Are you going to hang around here until we get back?”

  “I don’t know. I have a few errands to run, but I’ll call you,” replied Angel.

  That wasn’t entirely true. Angel had only one errand to run, and that was going to see Mya.

  Against her better judgment, she’d broken into Duke’s cell phone and confiscated Mya’s phone number. She’d called, requesting to speak to her face-to-face. To Angel’s surprise, Mya had agreed to meet with her at a local coffeehouse.

  Angel’s nerves were already on eggshells when she arrived at the coffeehouse. Seeing the biracial beauty approaching the table did little to calm them.

  “Thank you for meeting me. I wasn’t sure if you were going to show up,” Angel said.

  “I started not to.” Mya sat down across from Angel. “I know why you asked me here, and you can save your breath. I’m not dropping the charges.”

  “I didn’t come to ask you to do that, although you should know the kind of havoc your accusations have heaped on our lives. Duke can’t eat. He can’t sleep. The girls are worried sick about their father—”

  “Oh, cry me a river!” snapped Mya, giving no credence to Angel’s claims. “Do you think I’ve been sleeping soundly? I have nightmares, Angel, about what your boyfriend did to me! I was afraid for my life. He took more from me that night than you’ll ever understand.”

  “That’s why I’m here. I need you to help me understand. I need to know what happened.”

  “I’m not talking to you about that. You can hear all about it in court.”

  “I don’t want to hear it with lawyers and the officers of the court involved. I’m asking you to tell me what happened. . . woman to woman. Mya, you can talk to me. Whatever you say will stay in this room. I promise you that.”

  Mya released a coarse laugh. “So you expect me to fall for this BFF bull? I may just be an administrative assistant, but give me some credit, all right? I’m not stupid enough to think that you’re my friend or that I can trust you any further than I can throw you.”

  “I’m not here to dig up information for Duke’s case. I’m here because I love him, but before I commit my life to this man again, I need to know what happened.”

  Mya smirked. “What’s the matter? Don’t you trust him? If he says I’m lying and I made the whole thing up, why don’t you believe him?”

  “I do believe him!” proclaimed Angel. “I trust Duke. You know what? Never mind . . . this was a mistake.” She stood up. “I shouldn’t have wasted your time or mine.”

  Mya exhaled. “Wait. . . . Sit down. I’ll tell you what you want to know.”

  Angel slowly returned to her seat. “Are you going to tell me everything that happened that night?”

  “I’m going to tell you what you need to know.” She thought for a moment. “I will say this. Duke has been nothing but the consummate professional whenever we’ve been at the office. He’s always treated me with the utmost respect, but the minute we got on the plane, he made it very clear that we were no longer on the clock.”

  “What do you mean?”

  She tilted her head down. “What do you think I mean?”

  Angel gulped. “Are you saying that Duke made a play for you?”

  “He did more than that! Once we landed, he took me out for dinner and drinks. He told me that whatever happened in LA stayed in LA. He confessed that he’d wanted me since the day I walked into his office.”

  “And what was your response?”

  Mya tossed back her hair. “I told him the feeling was mutual.”

  Angel felt sick.

  “You still want to hear it?”

  Angel shook off the nausea. “Go on.”

  “We went up to his room. We started kissing, touching, and one thing led to another.” She paused. “I’m sure you don’t want me to give you all the details,” she added quickly. “Once we were practically naked in bed, I changed my mind. I didn’t want to go through with it, and I told him that we were making a huge mistake. I guess he f
elt like we’d gone too far to stop. When he saw that I wasn’t trying to give it to him, he decided to take it.”

  Angel shook her head. “I don’t believe you.”

  Mya shrugged. “I’m sure a judge will see it differently.”

  “Duke is a family man. He’s a father and a Christian. Why would you want to destroy his life this way? What is it that you’re after? Money? Revenge?”

  “Justice.”

  “This whole case comes down to your word against his. There’s no proof that he tried to attack you. I don’t know about you, but Duke has a gang of people who can vouch for his character and good standing in the community.”

  “Hmm . . . maybe, but that’s not what’s bothering you,” replied Mya, guessing what was gnawing at Angel. “You don’t care whether it was consensual or not. You want to know if Duke came after me, if he was willing to cheat on you.”

  “No. What I want to know is why you’re insisting on slandering a good man’s name with this garbage! We both know he didn’t try to rape you. In fact, I doubt that he was even in the room with you at all. When the truth comes out and you’re revealed to be the liar that you are, I pray that God has mercy on you, because we sure won’t!”

  Mya nodded slowly, sucking her teeth. “What about the bull?”

  “Huh?”

  “He’s a Taurus, right? I’m assuming that’s why he has a bull tatted on his chest. It’s right here, isn’t it?” She pointed to a place above her breast. “How could I possibly know that?” She waited for Angel to reply and rose when it became clear that Angel had no response. “I think I’ve answered all your questions now. I’ll see you and Mr. King in court.”

  Chapter 25

  “In all fairness . . . you married her baby’s daddy.... I

  say this makes you even.”

  –Sullivan Webb