Chapter Twenty-Eight

Callum

The smile on Pasha's face when we walked out of the DMV with the title to my SUV officially in her name was priceless. She smiled all through our lunch date, and she was still smiling when we got back to my house. When we stepped over the threshold, she led me to my bedroom, stripped both of us down, and gave me the ride of my life. Gone was the shy, timid woman. Present was this strong, confident sexual prowess.

I loved seeing her genuinely happy. She deserved so much more, and I wanted to give it to her. The $2,000 she gave me for the car would sit in my safe until I could find a way to sneak it back to her. I didn't want the money. I didn't need it, and I was sure she could use it for something.

A few days had passed since the exchange. I'd seen her every day since then. Whether it was me taking to her lunch or seeing her after work, every day we were together. I loved being in her presence. I loved how comfortable she'd become, curling up in my lap while we watched TV or simply held a conversation. The side of her I'd been waiting to see was shining through.

Today was Friday, the day of the dinner at the mayor's mansion. Whenever there was an event involving city officials who booked my car service, I always included armed security for an additional fee. I met with the drivers and the security team to discuss the protocol for tonight's event.

I'd just finished and was gathering my things to leave when someone knocked on my office door. I looked up to see William standing there. I hadn't seen him since the funeral and hadn't spoken to him since he called, apologizing for his mother showing up at my house.

"What can I help you with?" I asked, motioning for him to sit.

"I wanted to speak with you."

"About?"

He sighed as he sat while I continued to stand. "I know we can't just put everything that happened behind us, but I'd like to try to work through it."

"I don't think that's going to happen. I made peace with that at your father's funeral. It's definitely not going to happen after our family members collectively decided to come to my house and show their asses. I don't want or need that type of negativity in my life. I said I was okay with possibly building a relationship with you, Mo, and Jess again, but after that, I think it's best if we keep things as they are."

"I just feel like family should be better than this, man."

"William, Bella and I have spent seventeen years isolated from ‘the family.' You know what we've done in that time? We built a family of our own. They may not be blood, but they have been solid."

"I understand that. And I'm sorry it had to come to that."

"That's the thing. It didn't have to come to that. A bunch of greedy people decided that a dollar was more important than family. My father warned me long ago that I had to watch out for certain people in our family. He always told me that he prayed every night for God to allow him and my mother to live to see Bella and me reach adulthood. I always wondered why he said that."

I took a seat across from him and laced my fingers.

"You want to know an interesting piece of information I learned about five years ago, William?"

He looked curious. He didn't say anything, but he nodded his head.

"When our grandmother died, she left her children quite a bit of money. Now, Aunt Glenda and Uncle James blew through theirs. She spent hers tricking off on men who wanted nothing more than her generous hand. Your mother helped your father spend his living lavishly, and now they have nothing to show for it. My mother put hers into a trust for Bella and me.

"Not even my father knew about this, but her siblings and your mother did. You see, when I overheard them talking about the money they all thought they should get to share, I assumed that it was the insurance money. But, no. It was the trust. A trust I didn't know about until I found the paperwork when I remodeled the house a few years back. It was under a loose board in the back of their master bedroom closet."

My grandmother died when I was thirteen. The trust was opened when I turned fourteen. That paperwork sat in a box under the floorboards for an additional fourteen years because the only person who knew it was there was gone. When I found it, the first person I called was Bella. She verified everything with the bank. We went through the legal channels and came out with several hundred thousand dollars apiece. We invested it over the years, and it blessed us tenfold.

I sat back in my chair. "You know what your mother said to me when she came over spewing all that animosity? She said it was too bad that I wasn't on that boat with my parents."

His eyes widened, and it caused me to chuckle, though nothing was funny.

"Imagine that," I continued. "My own aunt wishing death upon me over money. Now, that shit hurt."

"Callum... I'm... I'm sorry, man."

"Don't be. She said what she said, and I fully believe she meant it. I would never ask you to go against your mother. Regardless of what I think of her, she's the only parent you have left, and I know you love her. You won't be jeopardizing your relationship on my behalf. There's no love lost between us, but I'm standing firm in protecting my peace."

He looked hurt by my rejection. I hated to have to do it because, once upon a time, he and his siblings were my favorite cousins. Sheila was his mother. As spiteful as she was, I believed she would cut him off for having anything to do with me. I knew what it was like to be without my parents. Having someone be dead to you without them actually being dead can hurt about as bad as if they were already gone.

William stood and extended his hand. "I'm sorry, I truly am. I hate that this is your decision, but I'll respect it. For what it's worth, I've always wished things were different."

"Yeah,... me too."

No other words were spoken between us. He dropped my hand and left the office. I sat back in my chair, covering my face with my hands. I thought back to that conversation with my aunt that day.

I'd been sitting in my living room watching TV when I heard a car door close outside. I walked over to the window to see Sheila and Glenda marching up the front steps. I sighed heavily as I unlocked and opened the door.

"Can I help you?" I asked.

They barged right past me and into the house.

"Why, yes, won't you come in?" I said sarcastically as I closed the door.

"We won't be long," Sheila said, glaring at me. "I just want to know what made you think it was okay to come to my husband's funeral, starting trouble?"

"I didn't come to start trouble. I came to pay my respects."

She scoffed. "Pay your respects? After the way that you disrespected all of us?"

"You mean after the way that all of you stood in my parents' house two weeks after their death, fighting over who should get their money? Or after I caught you in my parents' bedroom going through their things? Or after all of you flat-out said you wouldn't take us in without compensation? If I disrespected anybody, I promise it was warranted."

Sheila rolled her eyes. "We all had children of our own. Did you really think we could take you in without some kind of payment? Raising kids ain't cheap."

"And I completely understand that. I would have gladly given you money to make sure that my sister was okay while I was in school. None of you talked to me. None of you asked how we could make this work. None of you asked anything. And after hearing what was said, do you honestly think I would leave my only sister in the hands of people who didn't give a fuck about her? Sheila, you were my uncle's wife, not even my blood, so you had no say-so at all. That's why I cursed you out. You spoke for you and your husband, and he allowed that shit. All you wanted was the money.

"Glenda, not only did you want the money, but you also wanted my parents' house. You were already prepared to kick me out and move in here. Where was I supposed to go when I came home from school? Did you expect me to sleep on the couch when I had a whole bedroom?"

Glenda shook her head. "Sacrifices had to be made if you wanted your sister to be taken care of—"

"Sacrifices?" I yelled. "My parents sacrificed their lives! That's the only way anybody would have gotten that insurance money!"

Sheila laughed. "It wasn't just insurance money. You think we didn't know about the trust fund?"

My brows furrowed.

"Oh, you're confused now?" Glenda asked. "You were willing to throw us a few dollars to care for Bella while you blew through your trust fund? You wanted to saddle us with the responsibility of raising a kid for five years while you went off and lived your best life."

I laughed. When I say laughed, it was a good, hearty laugh. They looked angry at my reaction. Sheila raised a hand to slap me, but I grabbed it.

"Don't even think about putting your damn hands on me. My parents didn't hit me, and I'll be damned if you start."

She glared at me and snatched her arm away.

"According to my mother's letter, my grandmother left all three of her children money. Sheila, you and your husband ran through his trying to keep up with the Joneses. Glenda, you decided to be a damn sugar mama to men who dropped you as soon as they got all they could get out of you. My mother, being the smart woman she was, invested hers in her children. You were gagging on audacity and entitlement if you thought for a second that either of you would capitalize off that money."

I walked over to my front door and opened it.

"James is dead. I'm sure he had a nice insurance policy, so, Sheila, you'll be okay. Glenda,... you like to trick. Maybe you'll find a man who's willing to trick off on you one day. Now, get out of my house."

They stood there for a moment, stewing in anger.

"Get out!"

Slowly, they walked toward the door. Sheila stopped in front of me. Her evil eyes trailed me from head to toe.

"Your mother always thought she was better than the rest of us. I never liked her. It's too bad you weren't on the damn boat."

That stung. It didn't have to come to that.

"I'm sorry you feel that way," I said, not showing any emotion.

"Stay away from my children."

"Well, you made sure they stayed away this long so... I have no problem with that."

When they were good and gone, I sat on my couch and had a long cry about that shit. It was the moment I knew I could never have a relationship with my family again. I accepted it. It is what it is at this point.

I arrived at Pasha's around seven to pick her up for game night.

After that visit from William, I just wanted to see her face. I'd already called and spoken to Bella about it, but somehow, seeing Pasha always put me in a good headspace. I lightly tapped on her front door. A few seconds passed before she opened it with a smile.

"Hey, you."

"Hey, baby."

I stepped in and pecked her lips before I pulled her into my arms for a hug. When she tried to pull away, I held her tighter.

"Not yet," I said softly.

She didn't question me. She simply wrapped her arms tighter around my frame and stroked my back. She didn't know how much I needed this hug.

"I got you," she whispered, kissing my cheek.

For a while, she held me while I worked through the flight of emotions surging through me. When my nerves finally calmed, I pulled back and looked down at her. She cupped my face, gently stroking my cheeks.

"Better?" she asked.

"Much better."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

I nodded. She led me over to her new couch, and we sat down. After a heavy sigh, I gave her the rundown of everything that had transpired after the funeral. She listened attentively as she held my hand.

"I'm so sorry they treated you like that, Callum. You didn't deserve that at all."

"It's fine. It hurts, but I'll be okay. I created a family with people who show me nothing but love and no expectations in return."

"You're blessed to have them."

"I'm blessed to have you as a part of that." I leaned in and softly kissed her lips. "You make me happy, Pasha."

She smiled softly. "You make me happy too... very happy. You know, this whole thing makes me want to reach back out to some of my family. When my depression settled in after my parents died, I withdrew from so much of the world. They understood, and for a long time, they continued to reach out to me. But over time, it stopped. I've always felt bad about that. I didn't want to project the way I was feeling onto anybody. I just wonder if they'd be open to a relationship now that I'm getting it together."

"If you want to try, I will support you. Don't let my situation deter that."

"I know there's a family reunion coming up. They host one at the same time every year. Maybe I'll go."

"Maybe you should. If it's on your heart to restore your relationships, I say it's worth a try. You never know until you put yourself back out there."

"You're right." She sighed. "I'm ready to get going. Malcolm is picking Avyn up since she had to work a little later."

"I heard she finally gave my boy a chance."

She giggled. "She did. It's about time. I told her to stop playing with that man."

"Between you and me, I think he shed a tear or two."

"Awww! That's so sweet!"

"It's something. Come on, let's go. Chris already texted me asking if we were on the way when I arrived."

"Well, let's not keep them waiting."

"Bookend!" Avyn yelled.

"That's it!" Pasha confirmed.

"Wait a minute!" Bella exclaimed. "How the hell were we supposed to guess that?"

We were playing Pictionary. It was Pasha, Avyn, Malcolm, and I versus Martin, Bella, Chris, and Eva. So far, our team was up by five points.

I chuckled. "It was easy, Bella. There's the bookcase, the books, and the bookends holding them up."

"Who uses bookends? You don't just line the shelf from corner to corner? That's that fancy shit."

"Don't be a sore loser."

She frowned as she stuck her middle finger up at me. I laughed it off as I stood to grab the marker for my turn.

"Good one, baby," I said, pecking Pasha's lips.

"I guessed the word," Avyn reminded me.

"You did good, love." Malcolm kissed her cheek, and it made her smile.

I shook my head as I plucked a card from the stack. The word was spaghetti. I was a horrible artist, so I prayed that somebody on my team could see through the less-than-stellar drawing I was about to make.

"Bowl!"

"Food!"

"Uh... uh... dammit..."

There was the snapping of fingers as Martin tried to get his words together. My team sat quietly, watching while the others were yelling out answers.

"Pasta!" Eva yelled.

"Pasta?" Chris questioned. "That looks like a pile of hair."

"Why would he draw a pile of hair, Christopher?"

While they went back and forth, I drew the meatballs and a horribly constructed fork.

"Spaghetti!" Pasha yelled.

"That's it!"

The other team groaned.

"I'm tired of this game," Bella declared. "Pick something else. Y'all are working up my blood pressure, and I need a drink."

She stood, and the rest of the women rose and followed her to the kitchen, cracking jokes along the way. Chris and Martin turned to Malcolm and me.

"Y'all are on your way to being banned from Game Night," Martin informed us. "How do you both bring newbies in and they whip our ass? I don't like that."

"Well, look who you have on your team," I retorted. "A pile of hair, Chris?"

He laughed. "In my defense, you draw like a three-year-old."

"That's okay. My baby knew what it was."

They all grinned at me.

"This man." Martin shook his head. "You've been waiting to claim that title. Look at that smile on his face."

"I'm happy for you, man." Chris reached out and slapped my hand. "You two do look good together. And she's almost completely single."

"Yeah, man. Only a little while longer. I want to do something special for her. Maybe take her away for a weekend or something. She's done a lot of growing in the last couple of months. I wanna celebrate that with her. I want to celebrate her."

Malcolm raised an eyebrow. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were in love."

I smirked. "I might be inclined to say you're right... almost. I care deeply about her. My feelings are strong as hell. I'm not sure if it's love yet, but it's the closest thing to it."

Martin chuckled. "He's being modest. Looking at you two, I can see it won't last long. Seriously, man. I wish you the best of luck. I've been around a long time. I've witnessed you love and care for your sister like she was your own child. You pour into her and my daughter, and I have so much respect for you, man. You deserve to get a happy ending, finally. Pasha too. If you can find that with each other, I'm all for it."

Malcolm and Chris nodded in agreeance.

I pinched the bridge of my nose, fighting back tears. "I appreciate that, man."

The girls returned with drinks for all of us. I noticed that Eva had been sipping on water and juice all night. She was sitting next to Chris at this moment, talking softly with smiles on their faces. I wasn't the only one who noticed.

"What are y'all whispering about?" Bella asked. "There's been a lot of these lovey-dovey moments tonight."

They looked at each other, and he nodded.

Eva surveyed the room. "Well... We were going to wait a little while before we announced it, but... We're having a baby!"

I felt Pasha tense, then relax next to me. I looked over, and she held a smile on her face, but there was sadness in her eyes. She offered congratulations along with everyone else, but I could tell that the news was a gut punch. It was nothing personal against Chris and Eva. It was simply a reminder. I reached out and grabbed her hand. Pulling it to my lips, I kissed it.

She offered me a timid smile, but I could tell she was breaking inside.