Monty was easy to be around.
I could be goofy or serious, quiet or talkative, and he somehow adjusted perfectly to whatever mood I was in. Conversations with him flowed naturally, like we’d known each other forever.
When I stepped outside, the California sun wrapped around me in warmth. I tilted my face toward it for a second, letting the brightness hit my skin. The weather out here still amazed me sometimes. Back in Mississippi, the sky could change its mood in a heartbeat. Here, it was almost always sunny or just slightly cloudy. You could live your life without constantly worrying about storms.
I slid into my car, the leather seat was warm from the sun. Just as I reached for the ignition, my phone rung.
I glanced down and immediately rolled my eyes.
My mother, for the fourth time this week she blew up my phone.
Rellianah had warned me about this. She told me I should’ve kept my number blocked when I checked on her. The moment I unblocked it, my mother started using it like she owned it.
Changing my number again wasn’t an option though. It caused too much confusion with the women in my shop, and I needed them to be able to reach me if something serious happened.
I sighed and answered.
“Yes, mom?” I asked dryly.
“Don’t yes mom me, Layloni!” she snapped. “Where are you? I… I really miss you.”
My shoulders dropped as I listened to her sniffle through the phone.
“I’m really sick this time, Layloni,” she said weakly. “I think the cancer came back.”
My stomach tightened instantly.
“Have you been to the doctor?”
“No! I ain’t going unless you take me!” she snapped. “I’m your got damn mother! You supposed to be taking care of me! Instead, you got me paying bills while you running some business out there with all that money you got off my son-in-law Glen!” Her words twisted my guts inside out.
“You broke that good man’s heart!” She continued to rant.
My stomach churned as she kept ranting. But something she said caught my attention. How did she know I owned a business? If she knew that… Then Glen might know too.
A cold chill crept up my spine. I glanced around instinctively, scanning the street like someone might’ve been watching me. This was exactly what I feared.
“You know the only family he had left died, right?” her voice broke through my paranoia. “Troy got killed by that new man of yours!”
My mouth went dry instantly.
“Momma… what are you talking about?” I whispered.
“Bitch,” She snapped harshly into the phone as if she didn’t just claim to miss me dearly. “You heard me! Troy is dead!” she screamed before coughing violently. “You need to come home. I’m sick!” Her cough sounded worse, rough and desperate.
For the first time in a long time, fear crept into my chest. My mother never begged for help. That meant she was telling the truth.
“Mom,” I said quietly, swallowing the lump that formed in my throat. “I’ll hire a nurse to take you to appointments. I’ll come down next month.”
“Next month?! Bitch I might not make it to next month!” She exclaimed angrily.
I ignored the insults that I grown accustomed to from her and asked the next question that I already knew the answer to.
“Are you still using drugs?” I nervously bit into my bottom lip awaiting her answer.
Silence hung for a second.
“You know if you want to survive, you need to stop, Momma,” I uttered cautiously.
