Page 52 of Widow Mayker

“My mama was beautiful, intelligent, and strong. The only time I’d ever seen her defeated was at the hands of my father. Deep down, I knew she was tired. She was tired of running and hiding. Years of abuse will do that to someone. The will to fight leaves and resignation takes its place.” Tears ran unchecked down my face as I recalled the look in my mama’s eyes moments before bullets silenced her fears forever. Von’s fingers never stopped wiping the tears away. “In her last moments, she looked at me with such regret, sorrow, and…her eyes implored me to forgive her.”

Von kissed my forehead, then below both my eyes. “I hate that ya heart is breaking, and all I can do is hold you. I want to open you up and repair the damage that has been done. My love for you makes me want to take a visit to hell just to torture the man who should’ve protected ya mom and you until his dying breath. He never deserved either of you, and if I have to spend the rest of my life correcting what he fucked up, I vow to do that.”

Von could’ve just been telling me what I wanted to hear. I knew better, though. His words were like the sun beaming down on a wilted flower and reminding it of its beauty. Although wilted and lifeless, the flower recognized the sun as its healer and accepted the rays of medication to soothe its withered petals. So it was with Von; all I had to do was accept him as the man sent to bring life and healing to me.

“I love you, Maja,” he uttered. “Allow me to show you that for the rest of our lives.”

I barely tugged him, but he rolled over on top of me, using his arms to steady himself above me. Taking his face in my hands, I brought his lips to mine. Our eyes remained locked as we kissed. Breaking away, I reached for his hardened dick. As I fisted him, his breath hitched. I loved the way his eyes deceived him. He loved me.

Positioning him at my opening, I only tensed a little as he pried his way into my wet center. He hissed and clamped down on his lip as my pussy immediately responded to his intrusion.

Running my hands over his scruffy cheeks, I settled in for another round of lovemaking and confessed, “I love you, Von,” against his lips. That night, the shell had completely broken. I laid down Maja Storm and became a woman who was comfortable allowing herself to be loved. I became a woman who no longer had to fight against something my heart desired more than anything. Finally, I became her.

A few days passed, and I was still on a high. By the time I returned to work, I was so used to being without my hat that I walked into the office without wearing one. Stares followed me through the hallway as I made my way toward my office.

Coco spotted me and stopped in her tracks. The look on her face caused me to blush, then laugh as tears welled in her eyes. She was so dramatic. Without so much as a word, she embraced me with a love I’d felt since the first day I met her. She ran her hands over my finger-waved pixie and sighed. She hugged me one more time before kissing my cheek and continuing toward her office.

Heir and Shyah reacted the same way. While no one really knew the cause for the hats, they were educated enough to know that the hats were a part of my armor. Shedding that piece of me was life-changing, and they understood that.

Later that day, the girls and I went to grab burgers. The place had become our go-to, and if we weren’t careful, the burgers would start to stick to us. I noticed Iyana standing outside of Burger Shack, with her head down as she furiously typed something on her phone. Judging by the look on her face, she was upset. Large shades covered her eyes, and as the girls and I spoke, she timidly spoke back.

Her usual bubbly personality was nowhere to be found. She faked a smile and dismissed us while she continued to type on her phone. Thinking that was strange, the three of us peered at Iyana, then each other.

“Y’all go inside. I’ll be right there,” I said, staying back to chat with Iyana. Once Heir and Shyah went inside, I tapped Iyana’s shoulder. Startled, she jumped as if she forgot that I was standing next to her.

“Oh!” She forced a laugh. “I’m sorry, girl. My mind is all over the place.”

“Everything okay?” I asked. It was midday, and I wasn’t into being in Iyana’s business but she wasn’t dressed for work and the bank she worked at was all the way in Niceville Shores. This was my second time seeing her there. Come to think of it, I hadn’t seen her at the bank the last time I was there.

“Sure,” Iyana replied. Again, she forced herself to laugh. Her movements slightly shifted her shades, which she quickly pushed back into place. It was too late. My blood turned cold at the shadow of bruising around her right eye.

“Iyana, you’re lying. Who did this to you?” I felt myself getting angrier by the second. The part of me I buried when I returned to Niceville Shores threatened to consume me.

“No one, alright. Please leave me alone,” she requested. A silver Bentley blasting its music pulled along the curb. Iyana’s body language wasn’t promising as a man stepped out of the vehicle. He glared at Iyana and straight up ignored me. Walking around the vehicle, he snatched the passenger door open and without a goodbye, Iyana hurried off to get inside the coup. The guy slammed the door, then went back to the driver’s side before peeling away from the curb.

Over lunch, I stewed over Iyana, the guy, and what the hell was going on with them. I fought hard to bury her. I fought hard to claim a new life without violence. I dealt with trauma with paperwork and behind a desk now. My old ways of handling things were behind me, and unfortunately, I had to leave them there.

It was tough swallowing the pill of new beginnings. Because although I wanted to react the way I wanted to, I couldn’t. Life had changed for me. Going backwards wasn’t an option. I just prayed that Iyana found her way out of whatever situation she was in.

SHYAH SUAREZ

“Shyah… This is Lewis Winston. I won’t drop my source for how I got this number until you call me.”

“Aight, I see you not gon’ answer my calls. That’s cool just let every nigga know that I’m ya man, and I don’t play about what’s mine.”

“Happy Monday, baby. I was just callin’ to say good morning, and I pray you enjoy the week ahead.”

“You for real ain’t gon’ answer the phone, baby? I could be… Nah, I am the man of ya dreams.”

“It’s late as hell. I’m in bed. All I wanna do is hear ya voice.”

“You can send me to voicemail every time, baby. You ain’t blocked me, so that means you wanna hear my voice.”

Whatever possessed me to hold on to voicemails from a complete stranger should’ve concerned me. Being intrigued should’ve scared me. I’d witnessed some weird shit in my life, which should’ve had my guard so high that nothing as simple as a sexy, deep voice and sweet message would make me smile like a fool.

He’s more than just a sexy voice, I thought. That was surely the truth.

After the first voicemail I received from Lewis, I couldn’t resist looking him up on social media, just to make sure he was legit. I found him on IG, standing on a college’s football campus wearing a tuxedo fitted in the university’s colors, a couple of stoles around his neck, and grinning with his grill showing for the world to see. He was natural in front of the camera, and he knew he was fine as hell. To be sure that the man was Lewis, I played reel after reel until I found one of him talking. I melted listening to him talk about law and why he chose to pursue a degree in it.