Page 20 of Soft On Her
“I had to tell the lie to get you to pack instead of breaking down on me because we had to move.”
“NOOOOOOOOOOOO!” I shrieked, rapidly flailing my arms, punching the dashboard. My mother unbuckled her seatbelt and exited the truck. When my mother got to my side, she opened the door and pulled me out of the car. Her long arms wrapped around me, gently rubbing her hands up and down my back.
“Listen, Milani. We are all we got now. Do you hear me? With your father dead, your grandparents are also voting on my fate. Your grandparents’ disdain for me runs deeper than you could imagine. The moment your grandparents got word that your father was dead, they pulled our security detail and revoked my access to the bank accounts. We’re never going back, and you’re going to have to be okay with that. We can’t contact them again, and I have to make it so your grandparents can’t find me. I have a friend who is going to help hide us.”
We remained in that position for a few minutes while I allowed everything to sink in before my mother helped me inside the safehouse. Once we were safely inside, the shock wore off and I completely fell apart. I sobbed until I vomited, allowing grief to swallow me whole.
I took a deep breath after reliving that day. Anxiety always consumed me when I thought about the day my life changed. Sneaux wrapped her arms around me as I continued to breathe through the suffocating feeling. I don’t know what it was about Sneaux, but the rising feeling of dread slowly dissipated. Sneaux’s warm embrace was all I ever needed.
“The next forty-eight hours in that safehouse were a repeated cycle of weeping and sleeping,” I continued, still wrapped up in her arms as my eyes fixated on the crown molding. “While grief consumed me, my mother got rid of valuables like her car and jewelry before it was time to move. My mom had a friend, Antonio Clayton, who set us up with new identities and a ride on his PJ to Albuquerque, where he bought a house and transferred it to my mom’s alias. The only catch was my mother agreed for me to become the contingency plan for any unwed Clayton man approaching thirty.”
“That’s how you ended up engaged to AC?”
“Yep,” I nodded. “At first, we had enough money to ensure that we lived comfortably. Especially with me working as a clinic assistant for a doctor’s office. However, five years ago, my mother started spending our savings on jewelry and luxury items, unbeknownst to me. That completely depleted our accounts, and we went from living comfortably to struggling. We spent a year believing it was depression, a midlife crisis they said would pass. Only to later learn that she was misdiagnosed, and the compulsive spending was a symptom of dementia.”
“I’m so sorry,” Sneaux broke the embrace and leaned back to cup my face. She slowly wiped my tears away with her sympathetic gaze locked on me.
“It has been a lot. My mom has a rapidly progressing form of Frontotemporal dementia, and the disease has progressed to the point where I can no longer care for her on my own. She burned our house down Wednesday night and left us with nothing but the clothes on our backs and nowhere to go.”
“Milani, I don’t give a fuck what the Harris family has going on internally. I would’ve gone against all of them for you. I wish you would’ve told me what was going on.”
“I wanted to call you so bad, but I didn’t know your number by heart. The only numbers I knew were my parents, and my mom ditched my phone the day we left. Since our circles aren’t allowed on social media, that wasn’t an option either. While we were in hiding, I would Google your name all of the time, hoping that something would pop up on you. Plus, I had to have my mom’s back. She is terrified of my grandparents.”
“I doubt they would’ve wanted her head for ruining Bunny and your father’s engagement all of those years ago.”
“Maybe. But these are my grandparents we are talking about. You know that I didn’t have a close relationship with my extended family. I can’t say it would’ve been better to risk staying in Sand Cranes and expecting my grandparents to do right by me for once in their lives. Plus, you know we are taught not to ask too many questions.”
“Nah, that was your parents’ teachings. My parents always taught us to ask questions because these motha fuckas will piss on you and tell you it’s rain in a heartbeat,” she replied, instantly reminding me why I always loved her parents. They were vastly different from mine.
“Well, eighteen year old me chose to follow my mother’s lead.”
“I wish I could’ve been there for you. But I’m here now, and whatever you need for your mother, I got you. Where is she?”
“She’s in a memory care facility, and that’s why I still need the Claytons. I was in distress when I called them to tell them we no longer had a place to stay. Mr. Antonio ended up confiding in me that his wife recently passed from dementia, and he had extensive experience with the matter. I know what I’m about to say might sound dumb, but you don’t understand what I’ve been going through. My mom’s dementia is advanced. She doesn’t even remember me half of the time. She is to the point where she can’t communicate and needs help around the clock. I was helping her with eating, dressing, bathing, and using the bathroom. I was doing it all alone. I sleep in increments, leave work on my lunch break to go home and make sure she eats without choking, and often would forget to feed myself. I’m constantly stressed while I’m at work, my hair is falling out…” I choked out, roughly running my hands through my shortened hair. “I had no choice but to cut it.”
“This is a judgment free zone, Milani. It always has been.”
“I know,” I sniffled. “The Claytons hired a medical escort to fly with my mom to Florida on their private jet that same night the house burned down. I couldn’t leave with her because I had to speak with the arson investigators and grab our real documents from our safety deposit box when the bank opened that next morning. Therefore, the Claytons completed all of the paperwork for my mom, and I’m not on any of it. When I called the facility this morning, they wouldn’t tell me anything. I’m scared that they might try something with my mom if I don’t marry AC. You know the thirtieth birthday makes the families nervous. AC is the only boy, his father’s only chance at retirement because his sister has a daughter, so her offspring wouldn’t even help their situation.”
“That’s not our business to stress over. I’ll fix the issue with your mother’s paperwork and get her moved to the facility in Sand Cranes. Just tell me where they placed her. If this is going to work, you’re going to have to trust me,” Sneaux coaxed.
Glass shattering downstairs caught my attention, and my eyes doubled inside. “Oh my God. What if that’s AC?” I fretted.
“It’s not AC. Levi and Terrel are downstairs. There would’ve been gunshots if anybody came in here. Plus, Bill and Levi’s driver are outside. I need you to focus on the issue at hand, Milani. I need you to tell me what facility they put your mother in,” Sneaux questioned, fully breaking our embrace and pulling out her phone.
I went into the top left drawer on the dresser and grabbed the pink folder with all of my pertinent documents.
“I’m trusting you with our lives, Sneaux.”
“And I’m going to handle them with care,” she affirmed, grabbing my hand. The confident smile Sneaux flashed made me believe that everything was going to be okay.
I could do this with Sneaux by my side. I could face my family. I could ensure my mother was moved somewhere safe. I could breathe and take some of the burdens off my shoulders. And that’s exactly what I did when I passed her the business card for the facility my mom was placed in. Cupping Sneaux’s slim face, I pulled her in for a kiss. “I love you.”
“I’ll never get tired of hearing that. I love you too,” she beamed.
“Come on, man. I’m hungry and ain’t shit in this motha fucka to eat. How that nigga had you living in here, Milani?” Terrel’s annoyed voice interrupted our moment.
“Hello to you, Terrel. I’m happy to see that you still have Sneaux’s back and haven’t changed a bit.”
