An Unexpected Love (Women's Fiction/BWWM Romance) (4 page)

As Cross walked Layla to her room thirty
minutes later, he asked, “You okay?”

She pulled at her Houston Rockets T-shirt.
“I hate group.”

“Why?”

“It’s embarrassing,” she answered as she leaned
against the white door. “You open yourself up to a bunch of strangers, and
what’s the point?”

“The point is to get us to see ourselves
differently than we already do. The reason we end up in the institution is
because we don’t know how to relate to others. I love group.” He scratched his
arm. “I feel like I can be myself. Did you mean what you said? You believe your
ex-husband liked you being schizophrenic?”

“I shouldn’t have said that.” She pushed
her hair behind her ear. “I didn’t mean that he wanted me to have this illness.
But after a while, it’s like his purpose became cleaning my messes…you know?
Sometimes it’s like if he wasn’t doing that, I didn’t know why we were
together.”

He moved closer to her. “Do you still love
him?”

“He’s the father of my kids. I’ll always
love him. But I’m not
in
love with
him, and I haven’t been for a long time.” She put her hands behind her back. “I
don’t regret the divorce, if that’s what you’re asking.”

He pointed to the wrinkled crayon drawing
with macaroni stuck to it, which hung on her wall.

“That’s cute,” he said, walking to it.

“That’s my daughter’s.” Layla stood beside
him. “Aliyah did this when she was in the third grade.”

“It’s adorable.” He touched the blue-and-green
crayon scribbles. “‘I love you, Mommy,’” he read.

“Every time I come to treatment, I bring
it with me and hang it up. I had this room once before, by the way.” She walked
to the window, pulled the blinds back, and opened the terrace door. “I used to
sit out here all the time.” She sniffed the scent of fresh flowers and grass.
“I usually just stay in my room when I’m at Wellington. I always thought it
would make the time go faster.”

Cross smiled.

“You know what’s funny?” She walked over
to him. “I don’t feel that way this time, and I don’t know why.” She put her
hands in her pockets. “I feel like this time is different. I feel powerful…like
the real Layla.”

She sat on the bed with a heavy sigh.

“And who is the real Layla?”

He stood over her and touched a strand of
her hair. Layla hesitated, “Uh…”

“I shouldn’t have done that.” He moved
away from the bed. “I apologize.”

She stood. “Cross, I…”

He held out his hands. “I don’t want you
thinking I’m some creep that goes around molesting all the beautiful women in
here.”

She shivered. “Beautiful?”

“I’m sure you know that you’re
very
beautiful.” He blushed. “You’re
schizophrenic, not blind.”

She laughed. “Thank you. It’s been a long
time since I got a compliment.”

He pointed toward the door. “You gonna
come outside?”

 
“No.”
She grabbed her Kindle from the end table. “I’m gonna read a little bit. I love
to read.”

She sat back on the bed and he seemed to
contemplate her statement.

“Umm…okay. I’m gonna go outside. I can’t
stand being inside all the time. I’m an outdoors person.”

She put her Kindle on her lap. “Is that
what you do for a living? Something outdoors?”

He held his waist. “No, I’m a math teacher.”

“A math teacher? Wow. I didn’t guess
that.”

“Yeah, I teach at Johnston Middle School.
I live by
Meyerland
.”

“Really? Small world. I stay in Bellaire…
Braeswood
.”

“We live by each other, then.” A smile
took over his face. “It definitely is a small world. I heard you have an MBA
from Harvard Business School. I’m impressed.”

“Thanks.”

“Since you live on
Braeswood
,
do your daughters go to Lamar High School or…”

“Yep. Shanti is a straight-A student.”
Layla crossed her feet at the ankles. “I’m so proud of her. She has everything
planned out. She wants to go to Texas Southern University for her bachelor’s and
then be a teacher.” She pointed at Cross. “A
math
teacher, to be exact.”

He leaned back. “Ah, I like Shanti
already.”

“Yeah, she loves kids and helping people. So
what would be a better career than being a teacher?”

“What about your older daughter?”

Layla’s enthusiasm faded. “The road hasn’t
been as straight and narrow for Aliyah. While Shanti does everything right,
Aliyah does everything wrong…on purpose.”

“That’s a teenager for you.”

“She’s gonna be a senior next year. It’ll
probably be a miracle if she ever graduates…with her grades.”

Cross held a compassionate expression. “I’m
sorry.”

“She’s so smart and beautiful. She could
be anything. She used to get good grades and be just as good as Shanti. But
she’s changed all the way around. If it doesn’t have a penis attached to it,
then Aliyah ain’t interested.”

“Really?”

“I hate to say it.” Layla’s stomach filled
with butterflies. “My daughter is fast, and I’m so worried about her. I pray
every day that she changes. I don’t care if she hates me. I just want her to
live the best life she can.”

“All I can say is: don’t give up on her.
Sometimes the older our kids get, the more they need us.”

“
Liyah’s
acting
like this to punish me. She’d rather ruin her life to get back at
me
than to live right.”

“I’ll pray for you and her.” He took her
hand. “Everything will be all right. Don’t give up hope.”

She stared into his comforting eyes and
then abruptly let go of his hand.

He bit his bottom lip. “Hmm…so you and
your husband have done pretty well for yourselves, huh…Miss MBA from Harvard?”

“We’ve done okay.” She beamed with pride.
“Patrick is an accountant for a law firm, and I made a nice living with Royal
Delights.”

“I bet.”

“Money is gonna be a bit tight now that
I’m divorced. But that’s to be expected.”

“Are you going back to work?”

“I’ve been thinking about it…nothing to
stand in my way now, right?”

“Nope. The world is your oyster.”

As he stared at her again, she held up the
Kindle. “Well…”

“Let me leave you alone so you can read.”
He backed out of the door. “I’ll be in the rec room later, probably playing
some cards. Why don’t you come join us? Can you play cards?”

“Yeah, but dominoes is my game.”

He blew on his fingernails. “I happen to
be a dominoes champ.”

She laughed. “I doubt you’re better than
me.”

“Is that a challenge?” He walked to the
bed with his hand out. “Put your money where your mouth is.”

“Okay.” She shook his hand. “When?”

“How about six o’clock?” He winked. “It’s
you and I playing dominoes in the rec room, no holds barred…if you’re up for
it.”

Layla lay against the headboard and
smiled. “I’ll take that challenge.”

Aliyah flounced into Patrick’s kitchen
that night in a tight, spandex dress with her boobs popping out of the top and
her butt hanging out of the bottom.

“What do you think?” she asked Shanti as she
spun around.

Shanti stirred the pot of mashed potatoes
on the stove.
 
“I think you must be crazy
if you think Daddy’s not gonna kill you if he saw you in that ho-uniform.”

“Daddy ain’t here, is he?” Aliyah patted
her hair that she’d piled over her head into a messy bouffant. “And this isn’t
a ho-uniform…like I’m supposed to listen to the opinion of someone who still
dresses like she watches Dora the Explorer.”

“No, I dress my
age
unlike you.” Shanti pulled at her T-shirt. “And Momma would
flip if she saw all that makeup you got on. You look like you’re thirty years
old. Maybe if you focused more on school instead of how you look, you wouldn’t
be flunking.”

“I’m going out,” Aliyah told her as she headed
out of the kitchen.

“Wait a minute.” Shanti ran to the kitchen
doorway. “Get back in here.”

Aliyah rolled her eyes and sashayed back
into the kitchen in her four-inch heels. “What?” She chomped gum. “My man’s
coming to pick me up in a minute.”

“Your man,” Shanti mumbled on her way back
to the stove. “Which one is it this time? Some dude you picked up when you were
with another dude as usual?”

“Hey, you want some ice in that
haterade
,
lil
’ sis?”

Shanti rolled her eyes.

“I told you to stop getting in my
business.” Aliyah put her hand on her waist. “You’re starting to piss me off
like Layla.”

“Don’t call her that.”

“It’s her name isn’t it?” Aliyah went to
the stove and sniffed the garlic-flavored potatoes.

 
“You
need to lay off her, for real.” Shanti checked the chicken in the oven. “I know
you’re upset, but this has been going on way too long. Why are you so angry?
She never did anything to you.”

“I’m sick of her shit.” Aliyah batted her
fake eyelashes. “I can’t even have a fuckin’ life because of her crap.”

Shanti turned off the potatoes. “You know
how selfish you sound?”

 
“You
know it’s true.” Aliyah stood beside the table. “She’s pathetic, and she’s
always riding my ass. How can she tell me how to act when she can’t control her
damn self?”

“Because she’s our
mother,
and she’s schizophrenic. She can’t help her behavior, but
you can help yours.”

“You can walk around and play the perfect
child-slash-doormat, if you want. You’re the favorite, any damn way.”

 
“I’m not the favorite.” She washed her hands
and grabbed the dishtowel. “It’s just not fair how you treat Momma.”

“You know what’s not fair? Not having a
mother when I needed one. That’s not fair. She’s spent more time at Wellington than
she has with us.” Aliyah grabbed Shanti’s hand. “How can you not be pissed off
about that?”

Shanti yanked her hand away. “She did the
best she could.”

 
“Yet
we’re the ones paying for it.”

Shanti gaped. “You think she
hasn’t
paid?”

The doorbell rang.

“Thank God.” Aliyah ran out of the
kitchen.

 
“Wait.”
Shanti followed.

Aliyah got to the front door and looked
out of the peephole.

“It’s my man.
Oh
.” She patted her thick hair she’d put into a ponytail. “He is so
fine.”

“Yeah?” Shanti crossed her arms. “Like all
the others have been so fine?”

“Shut up.” Aliyah pulled at her dress.
“Are my boobs sticking out?”

“Yes.”

She licked her lips. “Good.” She opened the
door. “Hey.”

“Hey. What’s up?” A tall, young, dark-skinned
guy in sagging jeans, LeBron James’ sneakers, and a Houston Texans jersey,
grabbed Aliyah by her waist. “You smell good, ma.”

He kissed her and Shanti rolled her eyes.

Aliyah pulled on his jersey. “Stop.”

 
He
sniffed her neck. “You didn’t say that the other day.”

“Come on in.” Aliyah pulled him inside.
“This is Shanti.”

“This your little sister?” He licked his lips
and held out his ashy hand. “What’s up, ma? I’m A.C.”

Shanti didn’t take his hand until she
noticed Aliyah glaring at her. “Nice to meet you too.”

“
Mmm
.” He leaned
back, rubbing his flat stomach. “I see good looks run in the family.”

Aliyah tapped his arm. “You crazy.”

“How did you two meet?” Shanti asked.

“Shit, I don’t even remember.” A.C.
scratched his cap. “A brotha was drunk as hell.”

Shanti scowled at Aliyah. Aliyah put her
purse on her shoulder. “I’ll see you, Shanti.”

“Can I speak to you real quick?” she
asked.

Aliyah told A.C. to wait outside then shut
the door.

“What’s your problem…
today
?”

“Who is that guy?”

“My man.” Aliyah chewed gum. “What’s the
big deal?”

“You’ve gone out with about five different
guys in the last six months. Are you out of your mind? Do you know how
irresponsible this is? How old is he?”

“He’s nineteen, so chill.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“I don’t see what the big deal is. I’m a
teenager. I’m supposed to have fun.”

“Going from man to man is fun?”

“Yeah.” Aliyah chuckled.

Shanti shook her head. “You’re doing this
to ignore your emotions. You’re hurting, and you’d rather have false attention
from these guys than to face it.”

Aliyah looked at the ceiling. “Thank you,
Dr. Phil.”

“You’re too smart for this.” Shanti
pointed to the door. “That guy looks like a thug.”

“He’s not a thug.” Aliyah smoothed her
hair down on the sides of her head. “You’re just judging him on how he dresses.
A.C. is a nice guy, and he treats me better than any other guy I’ve dated.”

“He’s just trying to screw you.”

Aliyah pulled her dress down at the back. “Mission
accomplished.”

“God.” Shanti exhaled. “You’re better than
this. You keep on, and you’ll end up pregnant or worse.”

“And that’s my problem, isn’t it?” She
smacked gum. “This is my life, and I’m gonna live it any damn way I want.”

“You’re just doing this to get back at
Momma.”

Aliyah opened the door. “I’ll be back by
curfew.”

Shanti held her waist. “What do I tell Daddy
when he gets home?”

“I really don’t care.”