“Dada made you smile today?”
I rolled my eyes and straightened my mouth. “Ain’t nobody smiling. Focus on the road.”
I reached in the back to grab the plastic bag from the backseat. Opening it, I pulled out the sandwich. It smelled so good. I was glad that he remembered about the bacon. Figuring that I’d emptied everything out of my stomach, I felt it was safe to digest. Taking the foil off, I bit into it.
“Mmm.” I savored the buttery croissant.
We stopped at a red light, and he glanced over at me. “How’d you sleep?”
“I didn’t sleep much. The food from last night messed my stomach up.”
“Awww, baby, you was shitty? Why you ain’t call me? I woulda got on them people ass ‘bout my baby.”
“It’s your fault. And no, I wasn’t shitty. Had you let me stay on my date last night, I wouldn’t have eaten that bad sushi. You tryna poison me, Aura?” I held my half-eaten sandwich out to inspect it for anything unusual.
“Yo’ greedy ass would be dead as fuck if that was the case.” He chuckled. “The sandwich almost gone.”
I covered the rest of the sandwich up and placed it back in the bag. “I’m onto yo’ crazy ass.”
“Girl, hush. You know I’d never harm a hair on your head. A nigga just wanna love you forreal. You the one making shit hard.”
I shook my head and didn’t respond verbally, but my heart did that thing it normally did when he put love and my name in the same sentence. I guess because deep down inside, I wanted to do the same. I wanted to accept Aura’s love openly but rejecting it seemed like the best thing for the both of us.
His phone rang as we got closer to the diner. I could see the shift. He straightened his posture, and the ease in his demeanor was gone.
“What’s the word?”he spoke into the phone.
I stared straight ahead, minding my business. My body was alert though.
His voice dipped low, and his hand gripped the steering wheel tight.“That’s not the instruction I gave. Put Tay on the phone.”
The car went silent as we rolled into the diner’s parking lot. Pulling up to the front, I went to get out, and he placed his hand on my thigh, shaking his head. The gesture wasn’t aggressive, but it wasn’t gentle either.
“Dead that nigga.”His tone was cold, the instruction clear to whoever was on the other end of the phone.
Something inside me shut down momentarily, flashing back to the voice I’d heard a year ago. It was a voice that used calm like a weapon, the same voice that freed me from abuse but also kept me guarded – from him. Right then, my stomach turned, a slow churn of uncertainty mixed with anxiety. Pressing my lips together, I took deep breaths to shake off the queasiness.
“You aight?” he asked, ending his call.
“Yeah,” I said too fast. Pulling my keys from the bag, I pushed the door open and stepped out. “Thanks for the ride in my car.”
I didn’t give him a chance to respond before closing the door and jogging up the steps. The lights were on inside, meaning that Amil had beat me to opening this morning. Turning my key, I entered, the bell chiming, signaling my arrival.
Amil walked out from the back. “Hey…”
“One second,” I managed to get out while walking briskly to the back where the employee bathroom was located.
Barely getting the door closed, I ran into the stall and hurled. At this point, I was over myself. I stayed hunched over the toilet a few seconds longer, holding onto the wall to keep me steady. Feeling the wave of nausea pass, I stood up straight and leaned back against the wall.
What the hell is going on?I thought while walking to the sink to rinse my mouth and wash my hands. I studied my reflection in the mirror and noted that my face was a little flushed and my eyes glossed over. It was nothing that my normal game face couldn’t hide – to anyone that wasn’t paying too close attention anyway.
“I hope this man left,” I said to myself, knowing that if Aura was still around, he’d point out the difference immediately.
Unzipping my coat, I walked back out front like my body hadn’t almost gave out on me a minute ago. To my dismay, Aura had come inside and was fully engaged in a conversation with his sister when I reappeared. He stood in front of her with his back facing me, while she looked up, flashing me a small smile.
“Hey, boo. You feeling alright?” she asked.
“I’m better. Thank you, Mil.”
