Her grandmother’s eyes fluttered open. She had IVs in and looked thinner than Sweetie remembered. Her vision blurred as she grabbed her granny’s hand gently.
“Sweetie, is that you, baby?”
Sweetie’s shoulders sagged. Her grandmother’s voice even sounded frail. That wasn’t like her at all. She was normally the fiercest one in the room.
“It’s her, Granny. She came to see you,” Audra said from behind her when Sweetie couldn’t speak. A lump had formed in her throat as she looked into her grandmother’s eyes.
“Oh, now don’t cry,” Lucille fussed.
“I’m so sorry.” Sweetie bowed her head and sobbed.
“For what, chile?”
“For not keeping in touch. I thought I had more time. I just wanted to get on my feet.”
Lucille weakly waved her off. “Don’t speak no more on it. Let that shit go, Sweetie. Ya here now. That’s what matters.”
Sweetie watched as her granny’s eyes fluttered again, and she closed them.
“She just took her medication. It makes her extremely tired,” Audra whispered.
Sweetie sat with her a little longer, letting her rest. She held her hand and kissed her cheek. She soaked her in as much as she could before she stood and wiped her tears.
“I’ll be back tomorrow, Granny.”
Audra offered her a sad smile as they walked out of the room. Neither of them had the chance to speak when Audra closed the door behind them because they ran right into their parents.
“Sweetie, you came,” Valarie said. Her mother looked poised as ever with tightly curled hair and flawless loungewear that looked like it had been ironed by the maid.
“I told you I would,” Sweetie said defensively. She saw a flash of hurt in her mother’s eyes, and Sweetie instantly felt bad. Her mom was losinghermom, and Sweetie was being an ass to her.
Before she could apologize for her tone, her father asked, “What are you doing here?”
Sweetie’s attitude could no longer be contained as she eyed the man who made her life a living hell. He was bald and tall, and she got her ebony skin from him.
“To see my granny,” she snapped.
He waved her off. “You still stripping?”
“Yup,” she replied with her chin up.
“Then get out. You aren’t welcome here.”
“Vernon,” her mom scolded, but her dad held his hand up to her.
“I don’t care who’s dying. If you want to continue to be a disgrace to this family, you are not welcome here,” he barked.
“Daddy, I think that’s a bit extreme.” Audra tried to reason with him, but it was clear he wouldn’t be swayed.
“I’m sorry. Who pays the bills around here? Who takes care of y’all?”
Audra and Valarie looked down at the floor. Sweetie hated the sight. This was what her father did. He was an ass and held his power over his family.
“You’re fucking evil,” Sweetie said.
“Get out,” he roared.
With tears in her eyes, Sweetie turned on her heels and stomped toward the front door. “Gladly.”
