UNBROKEN (Friends, Lovers, or Nothing Book 5)

by Jackie Chanel

  Ramey’s blue eyes were as cold and sharp as icicles when she glared at me. “Are you afraid that Sunny might run when she reads about all the shit that you and I did, especially after our divorce, shit I know you didn’t tell her about?”

  “Are you insane? Seriously, do you really want to out yourself as a skank right when you’re rebuilding your career?”

  “Did you just call me a skank?” Ramey shrieked.

  “Of course I did because that’s what everyone else is going to call you when your little book comes out. And don’t think for one second that two can’t play this little dumb ass game you think you’re playing.”

  Ramey’s arrogance dissipated and her bitter smirk froze. “What are you talking about?”

  “Do you really think that people aren’t going to want my side of your twisted tale? I’m more famous than you, Ramey. And you already know I give great interviews. If you think that I won’t stoop to your basic ass level and spin this so I come out smelling like roses and you sound like a whore who broke my heart, try me. You can’t ruin me or my relationship so stop trying.”

  “You don’t get it!” Ramey cried. “I don’t care about your relationship. You hurt me, Aiden! All I wanted as for you to love me like you loved her and you couldn’t! I hate you!”

  I wasn’t prepared to see Ramey cry. Sitting in my car with tears running down her face, for the first time, I saw genuine pain in Ramey’s eyes. I didn’t know what to say for a minute but then I got angry all over again.

  “Are you serious right now? What you did to me was worse than anything I did to you! You were my wife! You left me and I couldn’t fuckin’ walk! We’ve talked about this, Ramey...extensively!” I yelled. “Cut the bullshit, Ramey. You don’t hate me. You didn’t even hate me after you signed those divorce papers. I distinctly remember all those nights you came by the house to talk. And you do too. Stop lying to yourself. Sunny didn’t ruin us. I didn’t ruin us. Live with the fact that you ruined anything good that we could have had and get over it. Release that book if you want to. With my interviews and Sunny’s fashion connections, you better hope that it’s a bestseller because it will be your only source of income. Are you going to be able to support your child on just book royalties and child support?”

  Ramey looked at me with teary eyes mixed with sad fury. She knew I was right and that she didn’t have a leg to stand on. She put her hand on the door handle then looked at the floor.

  “She always wins,” Ramey muttered. “I was telling the truth, Aiden. I loved you, but I know what I saw. You might not have realized it then but you were in love with Sunny and that meant you couldn’t love me. The book is about my and Tati’s lives as supermodels, Aiden, and you were a big part of my life.”

  “Then write about that and leave out all the stuff that makes both of us look bad. If you want to tell the world about your life, you don’t have to let them in on every dirty detail. You and I had were husband and wife. Pretend like that shit was special, Ramey. But if you choose to air our dirty laundry and you ruin my relationship, I swear on everything I love, Ramey, you will regret it. Got it?”

  “Whatever.”

  Ramey got out of the car and slammed the door. I watched as she stomped towards a rented Mercedes like she was on the runway. She’s upset but I know she’ll do the right thing. She had to. Our secrets could ruin both of us.

  ***

  It took me less than forty-eight hours after I got to Atlanta to track down my wife. I knew that if I waited long enough, I’d catch up with her at her parents’ place. Jermaine met me in the driveway.

  “They just got home from the grocery store,” he told me. “Sunny done filled her mama’s refrigerator so they’re in a good mood. Go on in.”

  I shook Jermaine’s hand. I've been doing everything possible to gain this man’s respect because I want it and I respect him, but also because us having a good relationship is what Sunny wants. I’ve been making a lot of progress so far but I'm sure Sunny’s unscheduled trip here has derailed most of that.

  “Mr. Russell—” I started but he held up his big bear-sized hand and shook his head.

  “I’m not the one you need to be apologizin’ to, son.”

  “I know and I’m going to get to her. I just want to assure you that whatever she thinks happened and whatever she told you is not accurate. There’s nothing going on with me and Shay.”

  “I believe you, Aiden. But I’m not the one you have to convince.” Jermaine paused as he swiped his hands over his low cut hair then over his goatee.

  “I’m gonna tell you just like I told my daughter. This up and down, back and forth relationship that you two have needs help. And I’m not talking about a few weeks apart to get your mind right. Y’all can’t do that if it killed you. This relationship needs a spiritual intervention. Y’all need the man upstairs to intervene or ain’t no sense in walking down that aisle in April ‘cause you won’t make it to next Christmas. Go on in the house. I got some place to be.”

  I watched Jermaine climb into his hulking Dodge Ram. I was still standing in the same spot mulling over what he said when the engine rumbled to life and he backed out of the driveway.

  He’s right. If we can't fix this, we won’t make it to this Christmas and especially not next.

  “Sunny!” I called when I entered the house through the front door.

  Sunny says her childhood home is almost exactly the way it was when she lived here. I think that’s why she loves being here so much. She’s comfortable here and just as uncomfortable with change as I am. Mom was constantly redecorating our house in Mt. Vernon. Nothing was ever the same from one summer to the next. The only constant was our bedrooms. I never changed mine. Delilah changed her every six months or so.

  Sunny entered the foyer wiping her wet hands on the front of a pink gingham apron. Her belly protruded out further than it had when I last saw her. I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. I know that’s my son in there. I just know it. I love my daughter but a son…that’s something else. What man doesn’t want a son to carry on the family name? Maybe my junior will like playing football more than I did. Maybe Summer will be my musician and Junior will be my athlete…or a doctor like his aunt…or a lawyer like his uncle. All I know is that I will let him make his own decisions about what he wants to do with his life and support him every step of the way. I looked up from Sunny’s belly and met her eyes. My smile was quickly wiped away by the dark scowl on her face.

  “And hello to you too,” I muttered.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  “I should be asking you that same thing.”

  Sunny smirked snidely. “Do you really want to play that game with me?”

  I shook my head, already tired of her. “No. Actually, I just came here to get my daughter. I don’t really give a damn what kind of games you want to play.”

  As intended, my words struck a chord with her. There’s no way in hell I was going to let her keep thinking that she can get away with running away from her problems like she usually does. She gets mad and runs then I follow and try to fix it. This time, I'm fixing anything. She should have stayed in LA and listened to what I had to say then we wouldn’t even be in this situation. When did I become the mature and responsible one in our relationship?

  “What makes you think you’re taking my child anywhere?” Sunny asked with her hands on her hips.

  “Yeah, okay.”

  I brushed past her and headed towards the kitchen where I heard Summer and Peaches giggling. Sunny’s apparent anger was just fuel to my fire. We’ll get into it sooner or later, but not here in front of her parents and our daughter.

  “Hi Daddy!”

  Summer jumped up from the kitchen table and ran into my arms. I scooped her up to kiss her rosy little cheeks. One thing I know for sure is that no matter what is going on between me and her mother, my daughter is always happy to see me.

  “Aiden?” Peaches turned away from the counter where she was mixin
g something in a very large bowl. “What are you doing here?”

  “Why are you acting so surprised to see me? Were you this shocked when Sunny showed up at your doorstep?”

  “Don’t talk to my mother like that?” Sunny ordered when she entered the kitchen. “You’ve seen your daughter now leave.”

  “Fine. I’ll just get Summer’s stuff and go back to LA and spend Thanksgiving with people who want us there.”

  “She’s not going back there with you.”

  “Really? Watch and see.”

  Sunny stood in front of me, blocking my path out of the kitchen. Every time I tried to get around the pregnant roadblock, she moved so I couldn’t. I was tempted to move her out of the way but I’ve never put my hands on her and have no intention of starting.

  “Peaches,” I said. “Please get your child. What she wants to happen isn’t going to happen today so she needs to let me leave.”

  Peaches threw, literally threw, her large spoon into the sink and spun around angrily.

  “Aiden, put that child down! Summer, go in the den and watch TV. You two sit your grown asses down, right now!” she shouted.

  Summer slipped out of my arms simply because I was so stunned to hear Peaches raise her voice at me that I loosened my grip on my daughter. Sunny sat at the kitchen table right away. I guess she’s used to her mother yelling at her. As stubborn as she is as an adult, I'm almost certain she got cussed out on a daily basis when she was a stubborn ass kid.

  “Don’t look at me with that dumb look on your face, boy. I said sit your ass down! I am so sick of the both of you,” Peaches said as soon as I sank into the wooden kitchen chair. I looked across the table at her problem child. Sunny wouldn’t meet my eyes.

  “You two get my pressure up. Here I am, trying to get this big ass Thanksgiving dinner prepped and here comes my child with more relationship drama. I’m so tired of y’all! You runnin’ around here with your cousins talking about wedding dresses. What you need a wedding for if you can’t even act like a good girlfriend? And you...” Peaches looked directly at me. “Wipe that innocent look off your face. Half of y’alls problem is you. I done told you before, Aiden, you need to grow up. Havin’ money and a kid don’t automatically make you a good husband. Like your partner in crime over here, you don’t know shit about being in a serious relationship. Y’all need help. You need to get some couples therapy and some marriage counseling A-fuckin-SAP or don’t even think about getting married in April.”

  “Mama,” Sunny’s voice was forlorn. “Don’t say that.”

  “Why not?” Peaches snapped. “You expect me to start holdin’ my tongue now? I’m too old for that nonsense. I’ve told you this before, Sunny Rain. Maybe this time you’ll listen.”

  Peaches pulled out a chair and sat down between me and Sunny. I was a little nervous about what she still had to say. Maybe coming here wasn’t such a good idea after all.

  “I’m not going to even pretend like I understand your relationship. It’s nothing like it was when I met your father, Sunny. Back then, we didn’t have the Internet or none of y’alls foolishness. Hell, we barely had phones. We struggled so our kids wouldn’t have to. Those days of not having enough money to keep the lights on and sleeping on our friends’ floors made us closer. We only had each other because we were taught not to let the world into our beds. We didn’t run and tell everybody our business. We had to toughen up and depend on each other. Jermaine became my rock and I was his. We have a strong foundation.

  “You two, your foundation is your friendship. I’ve never seen two people more perfectly matched as friends but your love is weak. Every little thing, every little stone, has the potential to shatter y’all to pieces. That,”—she pointed to Sunny’s engagement ring—“is just gold and diamonds. It’s not super glue. Hell, it ain’t even Elmer’s glue. That thing ain’t gon’ fix shit. You two need to figure out, right here and right now, why you’re together. You can’t be each other’s default. why do y’all run back to each other when other relationships don’t work out? Do y’all even like each other like that? I mean, I know y’all like each other,” Peaches continued without allowing either of us to answer. “But being honest, what y’all are showing the world isn’t a couple who deeply loves each other but two friends who got caught up and are trying to build something outta nothing.”

  Peaches pushed her chair back and stood up. “Y’all got some thinking to do and I got some cooking to do. Pastor Hodges will meet with you tomorrow morning at the church. If y’all gon’ make this thing work, both of you better show up at eight. Now both of y’all get on out my face and if you gon’ argue some more, do it away from here and away from your daughter. She don’t need to hear that. If she asks me one more time if y’all gon’ break up, I’m goin’ upside both y’all heads. Bye. Get out my house. Both of you.”

  “Mama, I’m helping you cook,” Sunny protested.

  “Go find something to do, Sunny,” Peaches snapped. “I’m not playin’.”

  I was eager to get away. No one has ever spoken to me like that but I should have known that Peaches wouldn’t hold any punches. I left Sunny sitting at the table and walked out to my car.

  Counseling, especially with a preacher, isn't something that I think we need. Peaches is wrong. I do love Sunny as more than just a friend. Sure, she’s still my best friend…I think. Lately, it hasn’t felt like it. I’m smart enough to know that I took a big risk on that beach when I asked Sunny to be with me and an even bigger risk when I asked her to marry me. Our friendship is strong but even I don’t know if it’s strong enough to survive if our relationship collapses.

  Chapter 18: What is This

  RISING STAR BAPTIST CHURCH intimidated me before I even stepped foot through the door. The dark red brick building wasn’t a mega church that were everywhere in Atlanta. It was small and looked liked such a staple in the neighborhood that perhaps the neighborhood had been built around the church. Sunny told me once that this was the church she attended every Sunday and Bible study every Wednesday. It’s been decades since I’ve set foot inside a church. I’m pretty sure that the things I’ve done won’t allow me to without some sort of repercussion. My stomach rumbled uneasily as if the concept of being struck down as soon as I crossed the threshold was a very real thing.

  I sat on the hood of my Firebird staring at the church and waiting for Sunny to pull up in her mother’s Cadillac. Peaches said her pastor was meeting us at eight and it was 7:50. A slick black Toyota Avalon parked next to me on the gravel parking lot. A tall dark-skinned man with a bald head and gray goatee got out of the driver’s seat and walked over to me. He didn’t look anything like a pastor. He was dressed like a high school football coach.

  “Aiden?” he spoke. His voice was deep and authoritative. Maybe he was the pastor. I nodded. He held out his hand to shake.

  “Pastor James Hodges. Pleased to meet you.”

  I shook his hand and hopped down off the hood. “Nice to meet you too,” I mumbled.

  For some reason, I wasn’t sure if I should look directly into the man’s eyes. This was a man of God. I mean, God spoke to him. I was sure he probably heard quite a few things about me, probably all the bad things too.

  “Come on in to my office. We can talk in there while we wait for Sunny.”

  Thankfully, Pastor Hodges’ office had a separate entrance meaning we didn’t have to walk through the sanctuary. Why did I even agree to this? Marriage counseling from a pastor? I think Sunny and I need a certified therapist to get to the root of her problem.

  “Make yourself comfortable,” Pastor Hodges stated after he unlocked the door and turned on the lights.

  To my surprise, the Pastor’s office was modest and smaller than I’d imagined. There was a wooden L-shaped desk and one wall was lined with bookcases. A brown comfortable looking sofa sat along another wall. There were two simple chairs at the desk and a brown leather desk chair on the other side. Pictures of his family sat on the cluttered desk. A mini-f
ridge with a coffee maker on top sat in the corner.

  I sat on the sofa and waited. I tried to avoid looking as anxious and nervous as I felt but obviously, I was failing because Pastor Hodges chuckled and told me to relax. A few minutes later, there was a soft tap on the door. Pastor Hodges opened it and let Sunny in. She was carrying a box of Krispy Kreme donuts and a carrier holding three Starbucks cups. How considerate.

  Sunny distributed the coffee and donuts without looking or speaking directly to me. I wasn’t bothered. It was obvious that what her mother said yesterday had no affect on her childishness. And people say that I’m the immature one.

  Instead of speaking to me, Sunny and the pastor exchanged lighthearted small talk about the fickle Georgia weather and tomorrow’s Thanksgiving plans. While they were catching up on Sunny’s work—her favorite subject—I used my phone to make flight arrangements back home. There’s absolutely no way I’m spending Thanksgiving with Sunny and her family.

  “So, Aiden, are you working on anything new?”

  I looked up when I heard my name. “Umm, yeah. I have a few new projects I’m working on.”

  Sunny blatantly scoffed. I shook my head at her. “Not the time or place,” I muttered.

  “Actually,” Pastor Hodges interjected. “This is probably the perfect time and place. Obviously, your work seems to be an area of contention.”

  “Look, sir, I’m not trying to be a jerk or insensitive to Sunny, but my work is my work and it’s not going to change any time soon. I don’t question her about what she does.”

  Pastor Hodges finished his donut and grinned. “That wasn’t the starting point I was thinking of. So let’s back up a bit. We’ll discuss your careers another day. Let’s start with what’s been bothering me since Sister Cheryl called. Why are we here this early the day before Thanksgiving since you aren’t scheduled to start your premarital counseling until March?”

  Since he wasn’t my pastor and our being here wasn’t my fault, I remained silent. I didn’t even look at Sunny as we waited for her to speak up. She knew the answer. Her mother was the reason.