1 Night Stand

by Amaleka McCall

  “Oh God. Help me. I’m dying,” Lyric prayed out loud.

  She felt terrible. She closed her eyes and sprawled out on the cold tile floor, hoping it would relieve the burning hot feeling engulfing her entire body.

  “You ain’t dying nothing,” Ava said, suddenly looming over her.

  Lyric’s eyes popped open. Her legs kicked out and her palms slapped the bathroom floor. “Ava, you scared me.” Lyric gasped. She had been so busy throwing up and trying to recover that she hadn’t heard her mother come into the bathroom.

  “Now stand up here, girl, and let me see your breasts,” Ava demanded.

  Lyric slowly sat up on the floor. “Huh?”

  “Let me see your breasts I said,” Ava repeated, a cigarette dangling between the shaky fingers of her left hand.

  Lyric knew Ava only smoked when she was stressed out about something. Lyric braced the wall, and with a few starts and stops, she finally got to her feet. Ava’s gaze bore down on Lyric until her entire face was flaming hot.

  Lyric lifted her shirt so that her bra was exposed. Ava raised both eyebrows when she saw how much of Lyric’s breasts were spilling out of her now severely too small bra. Ava reached out and poked Lyric’s right breast.

  “Ow!” Lyric winced, stepping back a few steps. “Why did you do that?” Lyric asked. The real question that ran through her mind was why a simple poke like that hurt so badly.

  “Take off that tiny-ass bra,” Ava grumbled.

  Lyric turned her back to Ava and did as she was told. When she unleashed her breasts from the confines of the much too small bra, the pain hit her. Lyric hadn’t realized before then how sensitive, swollen, and painful her breasts had become.

  “Turn around here,” Ava instructed.

  Lyric sighed loudly, embarrassed by her mother’s seemingly perverse examination. “Why? What does my breast have to do with this stomach virus?” she whined defiantly.

  “I said turn around here,” Ava shot back.

  Lyric twisted her lips and flared her nostrils as she did a slow turn, her breasts hanging freely and now painfully in front of her.

  Ava squinted and shook her head. “Goddamn it,” she grumbled before she took a long pull on her cigarette. Her hands shook more fiercely now.

  “What? What is it?” Lyric asked, her eyebrows knitted together. “Why are you looking at me like that?” Lyric crossed her arms over her breasts to hide them from her mother’s disapproving glare.

  “When was your last period?” Ava asked, drawing in another lungful of smoke and blowing it out right away.

  “I don’t know.” Lyric shrugged, waving her hand in front of her face, annoyed by the inquisition and the disgusting cigarette smoke.

  “Think,” Ava growled.

  Lyric’s eyes went up and to the left. “Oh, I remember I had it for the Staples Center show in L.A.,” Lyric suddenly recalled.

  Lyric watched as comprehension washed over Ava’s face. Ava’s hands shook so badly her cigarette slid from her fingers. She jumped back and hopped a few steps when the hot tip hit the top of her left foot.

  “Shit! You mean to tell me you haven’t seen a period in two months?” Ava’s bottom lip trembled and she was barely able to use her foot to stub out the cigarette because she was so off balance.

  “I–I didn’t think about it,” Lyric stammered, taking a few steps back. Her heart was racing now. She was in trouble according to the evil, squinty-eyed, twisted look on Ava’s face.

  “Fuck!” Ava paced, her hands on her hips. Lyric was too scared to say anything. Ava finally stopped moving.

  “Don’t tell nobody about this, you understand me?” Ava jutted her long, red-painted nail at Lyric.

  Lyric shrugged. “About what? Having a stomach virus?” she asked innocently.

  “This ain’t no virus, stupid. Don’t you know what it means when you don’t bleed for a month?” Ava snapped, disgusted.

  Lyric’s eyes darted around like she was trying to think real hard. No one had ever had any talk with her about her body, why she bled each month, what it meant. She hadn’t ever been to school to have sex education, so Ava’s question seemed like one of those hard Jeopardy questions to Lyric.

  “Just don’t tell nobody, not even Melody and Harmony. I’ll take care of this,” Ava said. She left Lyric standing there, confused.

  Two nights later, Ava shook Lyric out of her sleep. “Come with me,” Ava whispered. “And be quiet.”

  Rubbing sleep from her eyes and shuffling her feet, Lyric padded behind Ava and followed her downstairs to the kitchen.

  “Sit down,” Ava instructed.

  Lyric flopped down into one of the kitchen chairs.

  “Drink this and drink it all,” Ava said, placing a steaming coffee mug on the table in front of Lyric.

  “What is it?” Lyric groaned. “It stinks.”

  “Just drink it,” Ava whispered harshly. “And drink it all.”

  Lyric picked up the mug and apprehensively regarded the steaming hot liquid inside. She sniffed it. “Eww.” She balked.

  “Drink it,” Ava hissed. “I’m not going to tell you again.”

  Lyric rolled her eyes and lifted the mug to her lips. She blew over the liquid to cool it off some.

  “No. It has to be very hot for it to work,” Ava corrected. “Drink it as hot as you can stand it.”

  Lyric carefully and slowly slurped in the first bit of the liquid. She squeezed her eyes shut and stuck out her tongue. “Oh my God! This is disgusting!” Lyric gagged and waved her free hand in front of her face.

  “Shh! Be quiet and finish it,” Ava urged through clenched teeth.

  “It’s burning my chest and my stomach and my whole body,” Lyric complained, writhing in the chair. “This is like drinking poison.” She gagged some more.

  “Unless you want to be around here dead, you better drink it. I’m not going to say it again. If you drink this, everything will be better and you won’t feel no pain,” Ava gritted, tapping her foot impatiently.

  Lyric slowly lifted the mug over and over again until all of the drink was gone. Her head felt like someone had dunked it under water. Her vision came into and went out of focus. Her ears rang. She felt like she didn’t have control over any of her body parts. She tried to stand up from the table, but her legs didn’t work, and she slipped back down into the chair. Lyric couldn’t feel her tongue, let alone speak.

  “C’mon.” Ava grabbed one of Lyric’s arms and put it around the back of her neck.

  “I ...I...can’t,” Lyric slurred.

  “I got you,” Ava replied. She hoisted Lyric from the chair.

  “Whoa,” Lyric said loudly as her legs slipped from under her, almost causing both of them to spill onto the kitchen floor.

  Ava groaned as she struggled to move Lyric along. Finally, Ava had gotten her from the kitchen to the living room. Lyric flopped down on the couch, and Ava lifted her legs and pushed her the rest of the way onto the couch until her body was stretched out straight.

  Lyric moaned and groaned until she finally fell asleep. Two hours passed, and Lyric awoke screaming.

  “Help me! Help me!”

  Ava came racing from the kitchen. Lyric was covered in blood from the waist down. Her entire body was drenched in sweat.

  Harmony and Melody raced from their bedrooms and down the stairs.

  “Help me!” Lyric cried, her knees drawn up into her chest and her head hanging from the side of the couch.

  “Lyric!” Harmony yelped, racing over to her. “What’s going on?”

  “Move! Go back upstairs,” Ava scolded, snatching Harmony by the shoulder to move her away.

  “Get off of me!” Harmony wrestled away from Ava. “She’s bleeding and she’s pale as hell! She needs a hospital!” Harmony barked.

  Melody stood staring, her eyes stretched to their capacity and her mouth open stupidly.

  “I know what she needs!” Ava spat. “It’s going to be fine.”

  “It hurts
! Help me! Help me!” Lyric screamed some more.

  Harmony stomped out of the living room and into the kitchen.

  “Where are you going?” Ava yelled at her back. “Harmony! Don’t you—”

  “Hello, 911? I need an ambulance fast. My sister is bleeding,” Harmony huffed into the phone.

  Ava rushed into the kitchen to disconnect the call but it was too late. Harmony had already given the operator the address.

  “You nosey bitch!” Ava hissed. “You’ll pay for this.”

  * * *

  “I’m so glad you’re okay.” Harmony smiled, leaning at the side of Lyric’s hospital bed and stroking Lyric’s forehead.

  Lyric smiled weakly. Thank you, she mouthed silently to Harmony. Harmony smiled back at her.

  Just then, a man in a white lab coat and a woman in a frumpy black pantsuit entered the room. Ava jumped up from her seat in the corner of the room and rushed over to the strangers.

  “Ms. Love?” the man asked.

  Ava plastered on a fake smile and stuck her hand out. “Um, yes. I’m Ms. Love.”

  “I’m Doctor Seitz, and this is Ms. Carlisle from our social work department,” the doctor said. Ava’s features quickly shuttered. She dropped her hand at her side and her smile was gone.

  “We wanted to speak to you about what happened.”

  Ava shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “What do you mean?” she asked, her words coming out shaky.

  “Well, your daughter was pregnant and severely intoxicated. We also found the drug RU-486 in her blood. Do you know what that is?”

  Ava’s entire body trembled now. She could barely keep still. “I, um, think I’ve heard of it before, but I would have no idea where she’d get something like that.” Ava fabricated on the spot so fluidly that even she seemed to believe it.

  “It’s a pill that terminates pregnancies, Ms. Love,” the doctor said sternly.

  Ava put her hand up on her chest like she was shocked and devastated at the same time.

  “Were you at home when she ingested the alcohol and the pill?” the doctor probed. The social worker scribbled wildly on a yellow legal notepad. “This could’ve been a deadly cocktail, Ms. Love. It seems more like a suicide attempt. I mean, with all of these pregnancy options around, this was extreme.”

  Ava swallowed hard and ran her hands over her clothes. “You know how it is.... These teenagers,” Ava replied, wringing her hands together in front of her. “I have three girls. I can’t be with them all of the time. I tried to talk to them about these things—pregnancy, staying away from boys—as much as I can, but like I said, they are teenagers.” Ava shook her head and chuckled nervously.

  Harmony stood up and glared at Ava evilly then shook her head in disgust and stormed out of the room. Melody followed her out.

  Lyric turned her head to the right and closed her eyes. Tears ran over the bridge of her nose, down the side of her face, and pooled in her right ear.

  Your daughter was pregnant.... Your daughter was pregnant.... A pill that terminates pregnancies.... A pill that terminates pregnancies.

  The doctor’s words played over and over in Lyric’s head. She had been pregnant! She had only had sex with one person in her life. Getting pregnant came from sex, that much she knew. Lyric’s heart monitor began to squeal loudly in response to her broken heart.

  * * *

  Harmony bent down in front of Lyric and grabbed her around the shoulders. “It’s just one day. When this is all over, you’re going to get some help. We are going to get some help. But we have to bury her, Lyric. Rehashing all of this pain is not doing us any good,” Harmony said, giving Lyric a soft pep talk.

  Lyric’s breaths came out in jagged puffs. “It wasn’t you,” she rasped. “It didn’t happen to you.”

  “I know,” Harmony agreed, her voice going low with shame. “I used to pray that it was me, that one of those nights it would be me instead of you. Believe me, Lyric. I would’ve taken your place in a heartbeat if I could’ve,” Harmony assured, stroking her sister’s head.

  “What the hell?” Melody boomed from behind them.

  Harmony closed her eyes and let out a long, exasperated breath.

  “The service is about to start. How many of these stupid little hug fests are you all going to have?” Melody spat, peering at them over her dark shades.

  “As many as it takes for her to be all right,” Harmony said tersely, standing up to meet Melody eye to eye. “Now go get her a cup of black coffee, find her a pair of decent stockings and some shoes, and hold off the service for another thirty minutes. And if you can’t do shit for yourself, then tell one of your flunkies to do it. But do it,” Harmony said with force.

  Melody stomped out of the bathroom, mumbling under her breath.

  “Thank you,” Lyric said barely above a whisper, her words still clumsy. “I mean it, Harm. Thank you.”

  Chapter 10

  Harmony

  “Are you sure you’re ready to go out there?” Harmony asked as Lyric took the last sips of the black coffee.

  Lyric kept her eyes closed, but she shook her head in the affirmative. Harmony could tell her sister wasn’t one hundred percent sober, but even fifty percent would have to do.

  “Can you stand up by yourself?” Harmony asked.

  Lyric chortled. “I’m good, Harmony.”

  “Well, I had to ask. You weren’t so good an hour ago,” Harmony said, letting out a light chuckle of her own. Harmony’s shoulders eased a bit, seeing her sister in better shape.

  “Okay, well, let’s go face this together,” Harmony said, extending her hand toward Lyric.

  Lyric slapped her hand away playfully. “How old am I again?” she joked, standing up on her own.

  “Well, excuuuse me,” Harmony sing-songed, placing her hand on her chest in a clutch-the-pearls manner. They shared a light laugh and headed for the door.

  Just as Harmony pulled the door open, Melody came rushing at them.

  “I can’t hold this service off anymore. I mean, it’s been over an hour. What’s taking so long?” Melody panted like she’d been running.

  “Nothing. We are ready,” Harmony replied. “You sure are doing a lot of running around here for yourself today. Don’t you have people for all of this back and forth?” Harmony asked, annoyed by Melody’s persistence.

  “Okay, everything is set for the service. She looks much better. Now let’s walk in together,” Melody said, ignoring Harmony’s subtle dig.

  Harmony raised a suspicious eyebrow. It wasn’t like Melody to be acting like a regular everyday layperson and not a high-falutin’ celebrity. Melody also wasn’t the one to readily request or participate in any sisterly bonding moments or to be seen with her sisters.

  What is she up to?

  Harmony shrugged off her paranoia and didn’t say anything. All three sisters exited the bathroom doorway together. Lyric and Harmony did their usual arm-in-arm routine, and Melody walked alongside them at first. When they were about to round the corner that spilled into the funeral home’s lobby, Melody quickly hooked her arm into Harmony’s free arm, making them look like the Three Musketeers.

  Harmony’s eyebrows shot up into arches. She opened her mouth to say something, but there was no time before the first surge of flashes exploded in front of her.

  “Smile,” Melody said through her teeth while smiling beatifically. Harmony looked like a deer in headlights. Lyric’s head whipped from side to side, her eyes also wide with surprise.

  “It’s Sista Love!”

  “They’re back together!”

  “Look at them!

  “Melody, will there be a reunion?”

  “Melody, are you going to have your sisters make an appearance on the 1 Night Stand tour?”

  “Melody, where have your sisters been all of this time? Will you be doing a press tour about your reunion?

  “Melody, are all of the rumors about bad blood between you and your sisters lies?”

  “M
elody, will there be a new album from the group?”

  Goddammit. She set us up! I knew she was up to something, Harmony thought. Her jaw rocked. She bent her arm and pulled it toward her chest, tightening her lock on Melody’s arm until she was sure it was painful.

  “Who invited them here? This is your mother’s funeral, not some publicity stunt, for God’s sake,” Harmony whispered through her teeth while trying to keep a smile on her face for the cameras.

  “I didn’t call them here, but if I can use this as an opportunity to get you girls back out there, why not?” Melody did the same, speaking through her smile while one explosion of flash after another went off in front of them.

  “Are we going on tour with her?” Lyric asked, a hint of childlike excitement in her voice. “Is that what they just said? Is that what she’s saying?”

  “I wouldn’t bank on it,” Harmony whispered out of the side of her mouth.

  As Harmony, Melody, and Lyric finally made it through the gaggle of paparazzi to the funeral chapel doors, Harmony spotted Ron and Aubrey. Harmony’s pulse quickened. She swiftly unlatched herself from her sisters and frantically pushed through the gawking crowd and made her way to her husband and baby. Ron’s eyes lit up when he spotted her.

  “Hey!” Harmony sang, throwing her arms around his neck and squeezing him tight. “Oh God, I’m so happy to see you,” Harmony whispered as she melted against him.

  She inhaled his Jazz Club cologne, and suddenly all of the tension from the day’s events seemed to ease. Ron smiled and moved his face so he could kiss her. Harmony’s entire body tingled. Oh, how she loved her husband.

  “Mama,” Aubrey cooed, reaching her tiny arms toward Harmony.

  “Awww,” Harmony crooned, grabbing her baby girl and squeezing her against her chest. “Hi, sweet girl. How’s my sweet girl?” Harmony used her high-pitched baby voice to speak to the baby.

  “Oh my God. I’ve missed you both so much,” Harmony said, turning her attention back to Ron. She was on the verge of tears. This time, happy tears.

  “Oh, we’ve missed you too. Trust me. It felt like you were gone twenty days instead of two days. Sheesh. I didn’t realize how easy you made life,” Ron replied, shaking his head like he’d had it rough in her absence.