“Ma! Auntie Hazel and Sienna here!” Honesty yelled from the other side of the door.
What the fuck?
I lowered my head and sighed. Looking back into the mirror, I locked eyes with myself and took a deep breath. How in the fuck was I going to move around this? These bitches. I swear they didn’t know what boundaries were. Not answering my phone did not mean pop up at my gotdamn house.
“Auntie SiSi here?!” Aubry yelled. Seconds later, I heard her feet pitter pattering against the floor, and down the stairs.
I felt disrespected. To a point where I wanted to curse them the hell out. Why were they here? I was in no mood for company.
I looked down at what I had on and sighed again. A silk pajama set, and a damn bonnet. Just as I was about to leave the bathroom, there was a knock on my bedroom door.
“Bitch been ignoring phone calls all week like I don’t have her address,” said Hazel. The doorknob rattled. “Open the door, Mahogany.”
Good God.
I took another deep breath and went to answer the door. “What?”
She drew back, offended, eyeing me up and down. “What? That’s how you greet your baby sister after ignoring her calls for days? Bitch you got some nerve!”
“Seriously. What do y’all want?” I asked, annoyed.
“What do we want?” Sienna asked, coming up the stairs. “We came to see you, sister.”
I locked eyes with her, rolled them and shook my head. The look I gave her was enough for her to read exactly what I wanted it to say. What the fuck was she here for, knowing what she knew?!
“For what? I’m busy,” I said, as they made their way into my messy bedroom.
Yes, it was a mess. There were clothes all over my bed, on the side Duke slept on. I purposely put them there. The bed felt too big without him. I know. Pathetic. But I’d only been sleeping with him for more than half of my life. Anyway… yeah… it was a mess. Aside from the clothes on the bed, there were three wine glasses on both nightstands. A bitch had been drinking in bed, scrolling social media like crazy when I wasn’t crying. Like I said, I was a bit depressed and that’s what depressed bitches did.
Grabbing clothes from the bed, I started to toss them into a basket.
“Don’t look busy to me. Look like you been chilling all day,” Hazel said, sizing me up. “And this room! Not very Mahogany like. What’s going on, sis?”
I glanced at Sienna who was watching me and rolled my eyes again. She… ugh. I hated that she knew something. Hated that regardless of what came out of my mouth, she’d know it was a lie. I wondered if she viewed me the same way she viewed me the other day, when I was in shambles. I wondered if that was all she saw when she looked at me now. What happened. Me without my mask. Me… raw and unfiltered.
I shuddered; wrapped my arms around my body and rubbed them.
“Nothing is going on,” I lied. “I’ve been very busy with work. That’s all.”
“Well, it’s almost five. Work is over. Get in the shower and put on something nice. We’re going out,” said Sienna.
“What?”
“You heard me. We’re not taking no for an answer. You’ve been spinning us for weeks. We’re going out.”
“Look like you could use a drink, low key,” Hazel mumbled, with this look of disgust on her face.
I didn’t even look that bad. Yes, I had on a bonnet. Yes, the pajama’s I had on were stained. Yes, I probably had black bags underneath my eyes from crying. But I wasn’t that bad off. Fuck her. Fuck them.
“I’m not going anywhere. The kids?—“
“Are old as hell.Aubry is grown. I’m sure she know how to cook chicken or something. And if not, she definitely know how to order on Door dash. Hell, I’ll fund it if I have to. We’re not doing this, NeNe,” Hazel rambled, pushing me towards the bathroom. “Chop, chop. A bitch got shit to do.”
“If you got shit to do, why are you here?” I yelled. “Stop!”
“Well… I happen to have some news to share, and I would like to share it with my big sister too. So…. There’s that. You smell like Coney Island. Get in the shower and scrub them armpitsrealgood.”
I sucked my teeth. “Bitch you wish I smelled like Coney Island,” I said before sniffing my armpits. I did not smell like onions—Hazel had me fucked up! “You pregnant?”
