The truth would’ve gotten us locked in separate rooms under bright lights answering questions we weren’t prepared to survive. And kids who poison their guardians don’t get sympathy, they get investigated… so, of course we lied.
The coroner ruled her death as natural causes, signed the paperwork, and everybody moved on with their lives.
By the end of the day, Talia and I were separated.
Two different homes… two different fates.
“Haelyn?”
Talia’s voice and the sound of somebody laughing two tables away yanked me back to the present.
“You okay?” she asked, brows furrowed.
I took a slow sip of water, forcing my smile to stay put. “Yeah. Just no talk about Dottie.”
Talia nodded softly, her expression full of understanding and sympathy. “Fair enough. You’ve been through hell, girl. I’m just glad you made it out.”
“Me too,” I murmured, fingers tracing circles on the rim of my glass.
But in my mind, another voice whispered,Hell ain’t somewhere you escape; it’s somewhere you carry.
“Let’s move on to another topic,” I suggested, to get the spotlight from me. “So, what about you? You got a man? Married, perhaps?”
Talia smirked. “Married? Girl, I can’t even get aboyfriendto text back consistently. I’ve been single for seven months and spiritually divorced for five. It’s just little ol’ me out here trying to survive this crazy-ass world.”
I exhaled slowly. “Sounds like peace to me. But what about work? You used to love doing my hair. I figured by now you’d be charging $300 for faux locs and a side of attitude,” I joked.
“Girl, I wish. I’m not gonna lie, I tried my hand at it doing hair. But honestly? I think I was just going through one of them random broke-girl phases where you convince yourself you got a hidden talent because you watched three YouTube tutorials and borrowed somebody’s edge control. And Haelyn, we’re grown now, so you can admit my parts were crooked and my hands slow.”
“Okay, yeah… you did. And your braids did used to lean a little,” I admitted, laughing.
Talia snorted. “A little? Girl, one side of your head looked ready for school while the other side was still waiting on me to finish sectioning it.”
I giggled. “Facts! But you can’t say you didn’t have confidence, though. I have to give you that. You used to sit me in that chair like you had a booking site, a waitlist, and a strict cancellation policy.”
We both cracked up.
“So, if you’re not into hair, what are you doing these days?” I got serious.
“Keeping it real… I’m in between jobs. My last job laid off over fifty people with no real explanation. You know how that goes.”
“Damn.”
“But… hopefully, things will start turning around soon,” Talia said, eyes sparkling. “I have an interview in two days!”
“Okaaaaaay! Well, that’s good news. But an interview for what?”
Talia leaned across the table, dropping her voice to that excited tone she used whenever she thought she’d discovered a life-changing idea. “A surrogate position.”
I twisted my face up in confusion. “Awhat?”
“A surrogate, girl. You know… carrying a baby for someone else,” she explained, smiling proudly. “They want someone healthy, mentally stable, no kids, no family ties, and it just so happens, I fit their criteria like a glove.”
I stared at her like she’d just announced she was joining a cult.
Talia was always the one who swore she didn’t want kids… likeever.She used to say she didn’t even want a plant depending on her. So, to see her sitting there all excited about carrying someone else’s whole human? Yeah… that threw me.
“I thought you were the one who said you were never having kids.”
