Chapter 24
Deshona
I’m a trash ass, raggedy ass, horrible daughter. I can’t recall the last time I called or talked to Mom since I left home, and now look. Were her overbearing and man-hating ways so bad that I have avoided her? What if she dies? Jesus! What am I gonna do without my mother?
What if everything is okay? What if you’re tripping for nothing? What if . . . what if . . . what if . . . Maybe you should stop beating yourself up.
I wipe the tears that fall rapidly from my eyes, as they’re about to make it hard for me to see. From the moment the nurse at OSU said her name, my mind has been on a constant merry-go-round. I didn’t hear much after she told me that she was calling on behalf of Roslyn Edmonds and that I needed to get to OSU as soon as I could. Alijah’s truck and my leg must be in sync because the minute it stops, my leg stops bouncing. Patience and chivalry are two things I don’t have time to wait for as I bolt from the vehicle like someone has doused it in gasoline.
“Deshona! Deshona!”
My mind is on my mom, so I don’t have time to wait for or acknowledge Alijah. He’ll have to just catch up. I run past people with no regard for running into them, shouting ‘excuse me’along the way. I burst into the front entrance and huff when the metal detector goes off and the person near the doors stops me.
“Ma’am, I need to check your purse,” the Robocop says with a glower that I return easily due to this inconvenient interruption.
“I don’t have time for this,” I say with a roll of my eyes.
“Damn, you did me a solid, man,” Alijah says, and he sounds like he’s out of breath as his penetrative eyes peer intently into mine.
Please, bae. I know. I just can’t right now.
“Can we talk after I find out what’s going on with my mom?”
“Your little ass is lucky I understand your headspace. Come on so we can see about your mom,” Alijah says when the Robocop gives the clearance to continue on toward the information desk.
My shaky hands rest on the desk as I wait for the woman behind it to acknowledge my presence. I don’t wait to be called up to the desk, so maybe that’s why she hasn't spoken to me or looked up from her computer.
“Excuse me, miss,” I say in the fakest, politest voice I can muster.
Keep ignoring me, bitch, and I’m gonna yank you by those blonde extensions you failed to hide properly.
“We need some information,” Alijah says, and that’s when the woman looks up, lust in her green eyes.
“Hello. What can I do for you, sir?” she asks, showing all thirty-two of her teeth, and I bite my lip to keep from going off on her ass.
“You can’t. But you can assist my lady,” Alijah gruffly says before his eyes shift to me.
“What room is Roslyn Edmonds in?”
The woman rolls her eyes and types into the computer and frowns like I’m inconveniencing her or something.
“I need your ID for a visitor badge, and then someone will lead you to the correct floor.”
“So, you’re not gonna tell me the room number?” I ask.
“It’ll be on the visitor pass.” The tone of her voice grates on my nerves, but not wanting to delay getting to my mother any further, I remove my driver’s license from my purse and hand it over.
The woman takes it like it has shit on it as she goes about the business of scanning it and printing me the access I’ll need to see Mom. She then sweetly asks Alijah for his license, and my blood boils with fire. Once we have what we need, the woman calls for a volunteer to escort us. I take a step from the desk before I return and speak.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I forgot something.”
“What?” She snaps.
“Your boss’s name. Now.” I paste on an award-winning smile as I stare at the woman whose eyes flash with remorse.
“Here it is, ma’am,” another woman at the desk says as she hands me a sticky note with a name and number written on it.
“Thank you,” I say and walk off as Alijah laughs beside me.
