As we entered La Casa Verde, my heart pounded. Facing these people felt like I was six all over again. I felt the heat of the attic, and the darkness of the attic seemed to envelop me the closer I made it to the table they occupied.
Eldon spotted me first. He and Arisana were laughing at something when his face fell flat at the sight of me. I swear, the color drained from his walnut hued face.
“Qué diablos estás haciendo aquí(What the hell are you doing here)?” he questioned. His hadn’t blinked, and his hands were frozen with his utensils gripped in his fingers. The whites of his knuckles stood out.
“Estoy aquí para hablar(I’m here to talk).No tienes tiempo para tu hijo(You don’t have time for your son)?” Whether he had time or not, I welcomed Bianca and myself to a seat. Sitting across from them, I suddenly felt…nothing.
Switching to English, my birth father chuckled and said, “Never figured you’d come back for more.” Amused, he shook his head. “So, what you wanna talk about? If you’re expecting an apology, you wasted ya time.”
“Eldon,” Arisana chided softly. Her eyes darted from mine to Eldon’s before she glanced away. I hated to admit it, but my mother had aged beautifully. Her dark honey skin had always been radiant despite the black ass soul she harbored inside her.
“I’m not expecting anything other than to release the weight of a kid who’s been dyin’ to be let go.” My statement hit him between the eyes.
He played it off with a shrug. “Gion took you in. It’s not like you had it any better with him and Margarite.”
“My parents have always been and will always be perfect.”
He chuckled loudly. “Perfect? Gion is no better than me. In fact, he has more bodies than me, no?”
I wouldn’t satisfy the smug on his face with a response.
“Leave my pops outta this. This is about Eldon, Arisana, and Uriah.”
“Sorry, I’m late, Papa,” a young girl came up to the table and interrupted. Peering at Shyah, I saw of hint of Uriah looking back at me. She had a bookbag hanging from one of her frail shoulders and a stack of books in the crook of her other arm. My gaze shot to Eldon and Arisana. Eldon looked at the young girl angrily, while Arisana looked nervous as hell.
“Shyah, have a seat and start ya homework,” Eldon told her. Shyah offered a smile that didn’t meet her eyes and sat at the table behind Eldon and Arisana.
“It’s fucked up that y’all didn’t stop after me. Does she know who the fuck y’all are?” I questioned.
“Stop!” Eldon hissed. Arisana was close to tears. Bianca’s hand gripped mine a little tighter. She was safe, though.
“I want you to look at me and know that the child y’all so carelessly discarded, survived. I survived and became someone the two of you could never be.” Arisana wasn’t strong enough to look in my eyes, so I turned my gaze back to Eldon. “I want you to look in my eyes and see that the light you tried to put out burns brighter than a fuckin’ supernova. Wherever you go in life, I want you to remember that you ain’t shit, and you will never be shit. Fuck everything either of you stand for. With the greatest relief in my heart… Uriah.”
They sat there looking stupid as fuck as Bianca and I stood from the table. Stopping at Shyah’s table, I leaned down andwhispered my number to her, then told her to recite it to me. She mouthed the numbers twice as tears coated her eyes.
“I got you, aight?” I said for her ears only. She nodded.
Walking out of La Casa Verde, I felt better, lighter. Uriah was free. My heart was fully open to give the Bianca the love she deserved. In kind, my heart was open to receive the love she was ready to give me.
CHAPTER 14
BIANCA
Antonias’ssolemnmoodfollowedus out of the restaurant. Although his thumb stroked the back of my knuckles, his mind was elsewhere. I respected his stillness, though. I respected him even more for standing up to the people who brought so much trauma to his life. Listening to the full extent of his story turned my stomach. No child should ever go through the torment of what Antonias experienced. I wanted to hold him and let him know that I would always have his back.
When we returned to the condo, an elaborate lunch waited for us. We changed into matching loungewear and traded kisseswhile indulging in the best chicken and waffles I’d ever tasted. The private chef serving us made me the best pineapple mimosa. I wished I was enjoying myself. Instead, I was in my head because Antonias was in his head.
After eating, I straddled his lap and finished sipping from my second pineapple mimosa. He sipped his mango juice. I gazed in his eyes and brushed my fingers through the curls that rested on his forehead.
“I’m proud of you,” I told him. He smiled. “You make me feel honored to call you my man. You’re devilishly handsome, strong, and…” I felt his dick hardening beneath me, which caused me to gasp.
He smirked and gripped my thigh with his empty hand. “What else, baby?”
“Uh… You’re perfect. Your courage to confront the people who caused you trauma makes me proud to be tied to you forever.”
“Forever, huh?”
I nodded. “I’m not letting you go.”
