by Tiana Laveen
It doesn’t even matter why she did it; it’s that she did it, period. I was honest with this woman, more honest than I’d ever been… I’d done things for her, things I’d never done before, just to make her happy…
He shook his head, closed his eyes and pressed them so hard shut, he was certain he’d soon have a headache to match the intensity of his heartache. His heart sank, sulked and stuttered. He felt like a damn fool… a fool in love.
For the first time in his life, he was completely connected to another human being, and it felt incredible. But that time in paradise had been short lived, for the honeymoon was yanked from his grasp before he had a moment to press his lips against hers, to bring her body close to his own, to be inside her, to be her other half in totality, to be… to be… just, to be.
This is fuckin’ stupid for me to keep goin’ around and around like this about it. I can’t be with her, I’m done with her, but I do want to let Dr. Owens know what happened. This pen pal shit should have never been done. It’s not a good idea, ’cause people lie for attention…
He lay down on the mattress and crossed his ankles as he looked up at the rectangular ceiling, reminiscent of a slice of Havarti cheese. Water stains in shades of light tan to murky brown covered the thing, along with peeling, off gray flecks of paint.
“Fuck her… fuckin’ liar. That’s all I seem to attract. I can’t stand liars…” he mumbled once again under his breath, still obsessed with the thought of her… and hating himself for it all the same.
Mia… your name is Mia… It’s not Melissa. It’s… Mia…
M.I.A. – Missing. In. Action.
Who are you, Mia? You’re missing… or maybe I’m just missing YOU…
He was quiet for a moment or two, and then… his stomach fell several floors and burst through the basement of things long gone and forgotten. He sat up straight as if he were a rock placed in a sling blade, ready to launch. His eyes glossed over and bulged, his body stiffened and heated like an internal inferno had been lit then combusted – and he found himself still battling with that same horrid headache. He was convinced his ears were going to trickle blood and he’d bleed to death.
No… it couldn’t be… NO!
… It couldn’t be the woman I saw lookin’ at me from over the fence! Her name was Mia according to Danny…
Okay now, you’re just bein’ crazy, Aaron! There’s no way! But… she’s a teacher…
Yes, a prison teacher.
Melissa teaches children…
Educated. Mia is educated… Melissa is educated…
Melissa can write… she writes beautiful things, nice poetry…
A lot of teachers can write well, I’d reckon…
But, the woman that teaches the other inmates how to read is…
Black…
Black…
Black…
What color are your eyes I asked her? Honey brown…
What color is your hair? She said dark brown too, and long… wavy… not straight…
Your titties… I wanted to know what kinda cookies she had. She didn’t say strawberry, didn’t say chocolate… She said caramel… caramel is light brown… I’ve seen naked black women in magazine and porn movies! Some of ’em, the lighter ones especially, had that color!
SHIT!!!
FUCK!!!
He fell to his knees and pulled out the hidden treasure trove from under his bed, once again ransacking his hoarded and squandered away delights. Her perfume wafted into his face, bursting his senses wide open and blinding him with pleasant memories now stomped into blood-boiling anger.
“She wanted me to talk to a black guy… Jesus!” he hollered out, sweat pouring down his face as he looked at each and every thing the woman had sent him, written to him, all over again.
Clues! Where are the other clues?!
Her sweet words stung going down…
I LOVE YOU, AARON…
“No you don’t!” He raised his fist in the air as he fell into a terror-driven state of delirium. “I’ve been talkin’ and lovin’ on her! I’ve fallen in love with ’er! I’ve been jackin’ off and havin’ wet dreams about a goddamn ni…. ni….!” He practically bit his fucking tongue in half trying to get the nasty, evil-drenched declaration to come out, to call her that vile word… to make it stick. It wouldn’t… it couldn’t. Something in his very soul had transformed his cold inner workings. His heart had turned coat, altered, changed, and it grabbed his damn vocal chords and shut them down!
…Don’t you call her that… Don’t you dare call her that…
Mia!!! Goddamn you!!! GODDAMN YOU!!!
A single tear cascaded down his face as he grabbed her last letter penned to him, the one in which her TRUE COLORS in shades of black had come pouring and bleeding out like dark watercolor paint and tore his soul into tiny fucking pieces. He watched the shit flutter around like ebony snowflakes against the shadowed backdrop of his cell, devoid of love and life.
Word on my soul… word on my motherfucking soul, I gotta be wrong about this! This just can’t be! Please… I gotta prove that I’m wrong about this… that it’s just a coincidence! It could be! I could be just crackin’ up, goin’ crazy! I’m stressed out… Yeah, that’s it! My mind is playing tricks on me.
He paced back and forth, falling deeper into a land of pure, unadulterated craziness as he angrily tossed and threw things about until he’d gotten the attention of a guard.
“Aaron! What’s goin’ on in there?! You need to clean up your cell right now and settle down! What’s gotten into you?” the tall fellow with bright red hair barked.
He looked around himself, and then back into the light blue eyes of the guard. The ginger wasn’t fuckin’ around. He could see that from the way the man stood – confident, ready to make a move. But it didn’t matter; he’d as soon grab that fucker by the back of the head if given the opportunity and crush his fucking skull clean open, then, step over his body and walk the hell out of there as if not a damn thing had happened. He raced to the cell door; the bars mocked him as he was struck with a sudden burst of paranoia…
I can’t trust anybody, nobody at all! Liars! All of ’em!
He backed up away from the guard who hovered around his barred door, until his back bumped harshly into the bulky stonewall.
I bet this was all part of Dr. Owens’ plan. He agreed to mail the letters for me. I bet he was in on this shit! He probably been laughin’ the whole time! This is why he let me talk to her in his office, too. This is why she came up to see me at the fence. It all makes sense now! They’ve been workin’ together, in cahoots. Warden Huckleberry probably knew, too!
Suddenly filled with insurmountable rage, he raced over to his bed, gripped the thing with all of his might, and with strength he didn’t even know he possessed, he turned the entire thing over, causing it to crash onto the floor in a big thud.
The guard glared at him, stepped slowly back, then snatched his baton off his waist and his radio, too.
“We got a situation on the 3rd floor, block 6, cell 21! Inmate is destroying property and looks as if he might be high on somethin’! Send backup, now!”
PLEASE NOTE: The second portion of this series, entitled “Word of Honor”, is available RIGHT NOW for purchase in both digital and paperback formats.
Author Biography
Tiana Laveen was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. She moved away and now lives inside her mind, but her heart is occupied with her husband, two children, and twisted imagination. She enjoys a fulfilling and enriching life that includes writing books, public speaking, drawing, painting, listening to music, cooking, and spending time with loved ones.
Tiana Laveen is a uniquely creative and innovative author whose romance fiction is geared towards those who not only want to temporarily escape from the daily routines of life, but also became pleasantly caught up in the twisted, well-developed journeys of her unique characters. Tiana creates a painting with words as she guides her reader into the lives of each and eve
ry main character. Her dedication to detail and staying true to her characters is evident in each novel that she writes.
Her works include “Cross Climax I,” “Cross Climax II,” “The Slave Master’s Son,” “The Naughty Sins of a Saint,” “I Want Candy,” “When Saint Goes Marching In,” “Swirled Satin Sheets I,” “In My Sister’s Shadow,” “Swirled Satin Sheets II,” “Saved and SAINTified,” “Addicted In Cold Blood,” “Forgive Me Father For I Have Loved,” “Saint’s Sacrament – Sins of the Father,” “The Tale of the Blood Diamond,” “The Unearthing of Blackstone,” “Saint and Sinners – The King Angel Child of New York,” “Smoke and Mirrors,” “The Fight Within,” “In the Nick of Time,” “The ‘N’ Word” and “Word of Honor.”
If you wish to communicate with Tiana Laveen, please contact her at:
www.facebook.com/tianalaveen
www.tianalaveen.com
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Synopsis
Warning
Author’s Note
Dedication
Table of Contents
To the Reader
A Word from Our Hero
Preface
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Author Biography