Cash’s POV
This god forsaken fucking crazy lady didn’t know her place! She didn’t know when or how to leave well enough alone. Devin’s hand slipped into mine, showing she was pressedenough, and I quickly handed her my cell phone with the camera open in her other hand.
“I need you to record what we’re walking out to. I’m going to be sending it to the director of the Big Brother Big Sister program. I know you said you didn’t want me to blow up my relationship with Calen, and I didn’t want to, but she pushed me with this shit. I amdonewith this woman. I feel bad for doing this to Calen, but I’m not putting up with her shit anymore.”
“What are you talking about, Cash?” She asked as she rubbed the final bits of sleep from her eyes. I felt bad not being able to fully explain, but my phone was ringing with the neighbor across from me and notifications from my doorbell camera. I squeezed her hand as I pulled her to the front door of her apartment.
“Please start recording, please, my love. I’m so sorry for all this shit so early in the morning. She’ll be gone after this, though. Enough is enough. I’ve been polite long enough. If she continues to harass me or us, I’ll be getting a restraining order and pressing charges.” My voice was calm and steady as I held my breath before we headed down the hallway. She nodded and held the camera up in front of her, ready to capture all the evidence I was hoping I’d need. I knew it was blatantly obvious what we’d been up to. Our clothing made it clear. I glanced at the woman holding my hand next to me. My shirt just barely covered her ass that I wanted to sink my teeth back into and I was wearing my trousers.
Opening the door and looking at my apartment door, I saw her.
Vivienne.
“Mom! Please!” Calen’s strained voice the closer we got, “I actually like Cash for my big brother! Please don’t screw this up for me! I don’t want to have to start over again just because you think you can get in his pants!”
We heard Calen stressing his point, trying to reason with her. I had clocked her almost as soon as I looked at her. She was all about trying to find someone to take care of her. If they treated Calen nice, she considered it a bonus. I knew she used her son to get what she wanted, and honestly, I would continue to care for Calen but she needed to back the fuck off me.
I am a taken man.
“Viviene,” I said firmly, darkly, fucking pissed this was how I was woken up after the best date of my life. Calen could read my face, he could see how pissed I was, but she just smiled at me like she was happy to see me, to find me.
Until she saw Devin. I watched as her eyes traced down to where our hands were clasped together, fingers laced with each other’s. Her expression went from disbelief to rage, dark, and I didn’t like it. No one looked at my girl like that.
“What are you doing here, Vivienne? It’s not even seven in the morning on a freaking Saturday morning. People are trying to sleep here. People who pay to live in this building. You need to leave.”
“I came because Calen wanted to see you,” I watched her lie so easily, all while the poor kid shook his head behind her, looking at me worried that I’d leave him too. I knew that look in his eye all too well. I knew that feeling of being abandoned. I wasn’t the first big brother he’d had, but the director wouldn’t tell me why he’d been through three of them by the time heturned ten. I’d been with him the longest, going on five years. All the others only lasted a year or two.
“Therealreason, Viviene. It’s early. You’re showing up at my home at the crack of dawn, and we’ve had a very long, verybusynight,” I held Devin’s hand up, letting Viviene know in silent acknowledgement that Devin was my priority.
“I’m in a committed, loving relationship with Devin. She’s my girlfriend.” I was being as firm as I could, while still being polite. I felt myself getting angry, but I was trying not to be an asshole in front of Calen. I was downright pissed, though. Absolutely fucking boiling just under the surface, ready to scaled her.
Who the fuck did this crazy bitch think she was that she could come to my home, disrespect my relationship with the woman I love, and then try use her son as an excuse?!
She picked the wrong mother fucker. Because I was not the one.
Viviene’s face twisted more; my words forcing her to acknowledge that I didn’t want her. It was obvious she was angry. It was starting to work already, getting the evidence I needed. I could see the wheel turning, trying to paint it as a phase, as something not that serious.
Like I wasn’t completely gone for the woman next to me. I could see the way she grasped for the straws that slipped through her fingers. I just turned my head, smiling softly at Devin. The next blow was delivered as Vivienne’s face turned beet red.
“I love her,” I felt Devin tense beside me. I just gave her hand a quick, light squeeze, letting her know I was with her, that I was telling the truth. I felt her eyes on me. I knew her head hadto be ready to explode. We’d only been dating less than twenty-four hours.
“I’m in love with Devin. She’s the one I want to spend my life with. Her. Not you Viviene,” Calen smiled from ear to ear at my words. He liked Devin. A lot. She’d help him with his science and math homework if he came over after school and was stuck on something.
“I’ve told you before to act right, to not use Calen to get to me. I’m not those weak men you used to go after. I will also sending this craziness of showing up here bright and early to the director of the Big Brother, Big Sister program because I’m done dealing with your shit, Vivienne! If I could keep Calen as my Little Brother without having to deal with you, I would! This has been going on for the last eleven months—”
“Don’t push me away, Cash! We’re just in a rough patch right now, not on the same page. We’ve been doing so good for almost five years, working so well together, and nowshehas to go and ruin it?!”
What now?
I looked at her confused.
“We havea historytogether!” She screeched, drawing a few nosey neighbors behind doors, listening in to the drama. I stood there, confused and trying to process when I had ever given her the impression that we had anything more between us than the well being of a little boy.
“We don’t, and never have had any kind of history between us, Vivienne. I’m a big brother to your son, that’s it. We have never hadanythinggoing on.” I tried to see if that would sink in and when it didn’t land, I hoped she was a decent enough mother to put her child first.
“I don’t want to get a new little brother, but you’ll leave me with no choice if you don’t stop your harassment. Now.” I flicked my eyes from Vivienne to Calen, and the poor kid looked terrified. I made a mental note that I would let him know he could still count on me. I just can’t risk anything endangering my relationship with Devin. She would always betheetop priority for me. No one else would be before her.
Viviene held my eyes as she stormed past me, shoulder checking me as she went. Calen stayed frozen to the spot where he was outside of my apartment door, watching me.
