“Heaven, I’m glad you’re having fun, and you can tell me about it later. Now, move so I can meet Thor.”
My dad grumbles in the background as my mom checks her hair in the phone’s camera.
“You get it from her,” Axel whispers in my ear.
“He’s six-six, Mom.”
Her eyes increase. “You’re lying...”
“Stand up, Axel.” I scoot up to allow him to vacate the chair. I switch the view to show my mom his full height.
“Girl, I’d be in California, too.”
“Watch your mouth, Tina,” my dad yells from the other room.
“Axel, sweetie,” my mom continues, ignoring my dad, “I approved from the first deep ‘hello,’ but I wouldn’t be doing a good job as a mother if I didn’t threaten you. If you hurt my baby, the world isn’t a big enough hiding spot.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Axel acknowledges her threat with a megawatt smile.
“Y’all make sure to come and visit, hear?”
“Yes, Ma’am,” we agree in unison before she disconnects.
“Your parents are funny.”
His body language suggests otherwise, and I know his one-track mind is back on, trying to find out what bullshit Ashley and Dre cooked up on the internet.
Axel
Heaven grabs my hand and leads me to the bedroom. As much as I love the opportunity to get her naked, I need to know what’s on that video. Heaven must sense my unease because her demeanor isn’t seductive when she lies down in my bed.
“I figure if we must watch some bullshit, we may as well be comfortable,” she quips as she pats the space next to her.
She is trying to be light-hearted, but I can see the weariness in her eyes. I hold up a finger and change out of my work clothes into my pajama pants. I know it’s still in the middle of the day; I’ve never donned pajamas this early, but with all that’s going on, I don’t see a reason why we can’t just check out for the rest of the day. Sometimes it’s a necessary decision to remain sane.
I snuggle in and pull my woman close. With a sigh, she presses ‘play.’ It’s an interview at Dre’s network with Dre and Ashley discussing their wedding. It’s the usual bullshit until they get to the one minute and thirty-second mark of the interview. Ashley starts fake crying about all the stress she had the week of the wedding.
Heaven tenses in my arms when Ashely starts to lie about being followed by Dre’s lovesick ex everywhere they went. She even went as far as to show pictures of Heaven during the week eating, sleeping, and talking to Latoya and Keri at the luau. I magically wasn’t in any of the pictures nor was I mentioned. Dre sat by her side while patting her leg apologetically during Ashley’s whole lie about Heaven begging for him to take her back.
At the end, he smiles sheepishly and says, “Sometimes people have trouble letting go of a good thing…”
Heaven ends the video, but I can still see the alerts. She checks a few and some are dragging her for being desperate. One called her a ‘crazy bitch.’ People have made stalker memes out of the pictures Ashley shared. Heaven throws her phone down on the bed and takes a big cleansing breath.
“I’m glad you’re rich, Axel.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m going to need bail money and a good lawyer.”
I laugh because I know that although she’s livid, she’s not serious.
“It’s not necessary, dear. I know this is your battle, but let me handle it from here.”
“No, Axel. I need to put on my big girl panties and—”
“You’ve dealt with them alone long enough,” I cut in. “I warned them. They didn’t listen. Now, it’s time for them to suffer the consequences.” I turn to look her in her teary eyes. “You enjoy your time here. Relax and go on with your life. Your man will fix it.”
“I’m supposed to be making your life easier, not adding to the drama.”
