Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

T he car was quiet as Brian and Lila rode home from Georgia’s in silence. He linked his hand with hers while she rested her head on his shoulder.

Lila sighed contentedly. The past year had been the longest period where she had felt totally at peace and looked forward to the future.

Brian lifted their entwined fingers and kissed the back of her hand. “You should stay over.”

“Again? Three nights in a row?”

“Yeah. I sleep better with you next to me.”

She wouldn’t lie. She slept better next to Brian too. “I would, but I can’t. I’ve got to finish my paper. It’s the final for this class.”

“You do?”

“Yes.”

Brian tried a different approach. “Can’t you do it at my place? You’re really going to send me home to celebrate my win alone?”

Lila raised her head slightly. “Nope. I want to graduate.” She laughed. “Anyway, I gave you the best cake I’ve ever made this afternoon.” She smirked. “That wasn’t enough?”

“I ain’t going to lie. Your cake is the best I’ve ever had. Don’t think I’ll ever get enough of it. Matter-of-fact, I want more.”

Lila giggled. “I wish I could, but my mom is in town, and I need to make sure she’s settled. Plus, I have to finish my paper for tomorrow.”

Brian was surprised. “Your mother is in town, and this is the first that I’m hearing of it?”

“There was so much going on, and today was about celebrating Lockwood. I wasn’t going to allow anything to take away from that.”

“We could have invited her, and I would finally have had an opportunity to meet the woman who gifted me you.”

Lila frowned. “That would have been a huge mistake.”

“C’mon, now. I know things haven’t been easy between you and your mom, but a mistake?”

Lila was adamant. “Yes, a mistake. My mom would have made the entire event about her. She has no idea how to be supportive.”

As they approached Cyrus’s street, Brian slowed the car. “I know you two have had your challenges, but maybe now is a good time to try and fix things. It’s been a while since you were both in the same place at the same time, right? I’d give anything for one more moment with my mom and even my dad.”

Lila was grateful her cell phone vibrated. She did not want to discuss her mother anymore and used the interruption as a small reprieve. “One second. This might be important.” She glanced down at the text, and her whole body went cold.

My beautiful Raven. You’ve flown free long enough. Time to come home. Call me.

C.

Brian pulled the car into the driveway. “What’s wrong?”

“Hmm.” Lila could barely tear her eyes away from the screen.

Brian could tell something was up because her entire body tensed. “What’s wrong?”

His genuine concern cut through Lila’s shock. Still, her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts. “N-nothing.” Just the thought of Carrington was enough to cause a full-on panic attack, but Lila managed to hold it together—barely.

The night she fled her situation with just the clothes on her back flashed before her eyes. She tried hard to lay low so that Carrington wouldn’t find her.

Maybe it’s not him. Right?!

Right? Carrington was the only person who ever called her Raven. As beautiful as the name was, Lila hated it—simply because it was his pet name for his fetish of her dark skin.

Lila fidgeted. “I-I should go inside.”

She stilled when Brian placed his hand on her arm. “Not until you tell me what the hell is up? Who was that? And don’t tell me nobody because we both know that would be a lie, and we promised that from now on, we would be honest with one another.”

His words hit her hard. Lila didn’t want to keep anything from Brian. Not when secrets and lack of communication had kept them apart for so many years.

She blew out a breath before turning to face him. “You’re right. This...”—she lifted her phone—“is someone from my past that I’m determined to keep in the past.” Lila made a big show of swiping left and deleting the message.

“Are you sure it’s not something I need to handle?”

Lila looked him in the eyes and caressed the side of his face. Even in the darkness, with only the streetlights illuminating them, she could see the worry in Brian’s eyes. “I promise. It’s not. I was shocked but not surprised to receive this text. I’ve started a new life, and for the first time in forever, I’m happy.” Slowly, Lila leaned in and gently pressed her lips against his.

Their kiss went from a tender expression of emotion to something else entirely, each speaking through it. Brian tried to convey how much she meant to him and that he would protect her from whatever was freaking her out, while Lila sought to show Brian that he was truly the love of her life.

They held each other for a few moments more before Lila whispered, “It’s late. I’ve got to go inside.”

Brian didn’t want to let her go and nuzzled the side of her neck. “Let me at least walk you to the door. Who knows, maybe the infamous Faye James will open it, and we’ll have a chance encounter.”

“Trust me; Faye is a lot, and it’s been a long day. Again, I don’t want to ruin your night.”

Brian held her a little tighter. “Trust me, period. Nothing will ever ruin my night or any other moment when I’m with you.”

“Another time.” Lila’s heart felt like it was going to burst. She loved this man and hoped her past wouldn’t ruin their future.

Lila walked into the house just as her mother came out of the shower. Her head was wrapped in a towel, and she was wearing a silk bathrobe. “Oh, I thought I was going to have the house to myself.”

“I texted you earlier to let you know I’d be home late. Where is Uncle Cyrus?”

Faye shrugged. “I don’t know. He took off with some woman.”

Lila smiled. “That’s nice. He’s been alone for so long. I’m glad that he’s spending time with someone.”

Faye rolled her eyes. “Why is it nice for him and not me?”

“Whoa.” Lila wasn’t exactly sure where that had come from. “It’s late, and you don’t want to go there.”

Faye placed her hand on her hip. “Why don’t I?”

“Because you won’t like what I have to say.” Lila’s response was harsher than she intended.

Faye pressed her lips together in an angry line. She was still pissed from her earlier conversation with Cyrus. “You mean you wouldn’t say, ‘Thanks, mom, for taking care of me, for sending me to the best schools.’ For me doing the best I could as a single parent!”

Lila’s brows drew together in anger. She was doing her level best to remain calm. “That’s not the way I remember things.”

“How do you remember things? I really want to know.”

Lila started to walk toward her room. “Tonight is not the night for you to be picking fights. I’ve had a long day. I still have some studying to do, and I’m tired.”

“There you go. Always putting me off as if I was one of your little friends. You need to give me the respect I deserve!”

“Respect?!” Lila whipped around. “Okay, you want to go there? Let’s go. I’m supposed to respect you for parading one man after the next around me or for packing me up and off to stay with Uncle Cyrus and Aunt Lauren while you went on one of your adventures? You. Were. Never. Around!”

Faye was about to strangle Lila with her bare hands. “You little ungrateful witch!”

Colby walked into the house just as Lila was spitting fire at her mom. They could both be heard yelling from outside. Colby quickly stepped between mother and daughter before things got completely out of hand. “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” She extended her arms to keep some distance between them. She wasn’t exactly sure they wouldn’t get physical. “Maybe we should all take a deep breath before y’all say something you don’t mean.”

Faye backed up slightly. “I meant every word of what I said. Don’t worry. I won’t beat her ass even though, clearly, I didn’t do enough of it when she was a child.” Faye glared hard at Lila before brushing past her into Cyrus’s room and slamming the door shut.

Colby turned to Lila. “What was that? Is that how we are talking to our mamas now?”

“This is really none of your business.”

“You made it my business when you were about to tear my parent’s house down. C’mon, Lila. Talk to me? What’s going on?”

Lila’s eyes grew glassy. “I’m sorry, Colby, but this conversation has been a long time coming. She just keeps pushing my buttons.”

“For better or worse, that’s your mother. I know things between you two aren’t the best, but take a walk, do some yoga, just try not to talk to her like that.”

Lila was wrong, and she knew it, but she still pleaded her case. “You couldn’t possibly understand what it’s like to have Faye as a mother. She’s the reason...” Lila cut off her words as the tears spilled down her cheeks.

Colby placed a hand on Lila’s shoulder. She spoke softly, “What?”

Lila pulled her lower lip into her mouth. “I’m trying to be respectful, but she keeps pushing me to the edge. I can’t deal with her. It’s just too much.”

“What’s too much?”

Lila shook her head. “I’m tired. I just want to forget about it and start over tomorrow.” She didn’t wait for a response before stomping off to her room.

Once she was inside, she closed the door and leaned her back against it. She closed her eyes and pressed the cell phone she’d had clutched within her palms against her chest, only to receive another text notification.

Raven, Waiting and losing patience.

C.

Lila rage texted back before blocking his number.

Don’t text or call me again, otherwise, I’ll have to share it with your wife!

Lila took a few steps toward her bed, then fell face-first into it while silently screaming into her pillow. Her worlds were colliding. Brian said he’d love her no matter what. She mostly believed him, but what if he didn’t? What if he knew the whole truth about her? No, she wouldn’t allow it. Her past was the past, and she was determined to make a fresh start. Anyone who got in the way of that would have to be eliminated from her life, including her mother.