Page 108 of Finessed By A Hood White Boy

Doing as I asked, Aja called our mother. Rob was so damn sneaky; I didn’t want to take any chances of him trying to take my baby without my permission. I needed to have my eyes on her at all times at this point. An hour had passed, and my mother was pulling into my sister's driveway. Both Savannah and Dakota excitedly ran into the house. When my eyes laid on my daughter, I grabbed her up and held her tightly. She hugged me back at first, then tried to wiggle from my grasp.

“I love you,” I spoke and signed.

Smiling, she placed a quick kiss on my cheek before running off with her cousin.

“What’s going on?” Momma asked, hugging me.

I had to blink back the tears. Now that I had Savannah back in my presence, I didn’t want her to see how much of an emotional wreck I was. My mother looked at me with concern and then looked at Aja, waiting for one of us to say something. See, whenever any of us went through some shit, we kept all the details between us as siblings. We hardly ever involved our parents in our mess because the way mom was set up, she worried too much. The smallest thing would stress her out and cause her to lose sleep because she’d be up praying.

“Rob is filing for full custody.” My voice was low.

She looked at the both of us with wide eyes. Momma knew I had moved out, but I never said anything about getting divorced.

“Is he crazy?” she asked.

“Hell yeah,” Aja spoke up before me.

“There’s no way that’s going to happen. Baby, don’t you let that man stress you.” Momma hugged me again. “Did you file for divorce?”

“Yeah, but he’s not making it an easy process.” I shook my head.

“Well, if he wants to play hardball, there are ways around it. You continue working and making a way for you and Savannah. Don’t allow the devil to distract you. That’s all this is, a distraction to knock you off course.” She pointed at me.

“Yes, ma’am.” I nodded.

With a deep sigh, Momma looked between Aja and me.

“Y’all behave yourselves. I have to go to the grocery store so I can make ya daddy something to eat before he leaves for work. Ava, remember what I just said. Call me later. I love you two.”

She kissed us both on the cheek. Once momma was gone, I got ready to head back to my room.

“I’m about to pack our bags. I don’t even know where we’re going, but….”

“Girl, just drive. Once you do, a destination will come to mind,” Aja said, resparking the blunt.

I needed to meditate. I had too much going on in my mind. From processing the death of Ethan’s mom, and now Rob was doubling back with his bullshit. It was becoming too much to bear.

CHAPTER 31

Ethan Whitmore

Isat backed into a corner as I watched a team of people come in with a stretcher. With tears in my eyes, I watched them place my mother on the rolling bed before zipping her up in a white plastic bag. Closely, I followed them to the front, and watched from the door as they placed her in the back of a van. That shit instantly gave me flashbacks to the day she was taken by the ambulance, only to return home in a fucked up state. My life was never the same after that, and it damn sure wouldn’t be the same now that she was physically gone.

Before the coroner pulled out, I was already gone. I needed to be by myself for a moment. I needed a whole bottle to help ease my mind because this shit was about to mentally take me out.

I waited four days before I finally decided to lay my mother to rest. Instead of having a traditional burial, me and Big Momma made a joint decision to have a green burial. There weren’t too many people who cared to check on her over the years. Therefore, her service was private and only for immediate family. In Big Momma’s back yard, we had a plot dug and fenced off for her final resting place. It was the ending but yet the beginning of a new chapter in my life. I’d been trying my best to keep busy, so my mind wouldn’t constantly reminisce on all the good and definitely not the bad. As soon as my momma was placed in the ground, I went right back to work.

On the business aspect, the process of cleaning my money had officially begun. The guys and I had just touched back down from Vegas, and I guess you can say I felt good. Despite the fact that I was grieving, shit was actually looking up. I couldn’t be any happier about that. When it came to the club, the building had already been gutted and the transformation was underway. Ava never told me what she wanted to do, so I took it upon myself to decide for her. I had faith in her catering business and knew one day soon, she’d want to open her own restaurant.

“Aye, I gotta make a stop right quick,” Ace spoke over the music playing.

We had just dropped Duke off and were cruising around town on the way back to my spot. I wasn’t in a rush to be anywhere important, so I was cool with the detour. When we pulled up to his parents’ house, I noticed Ava’s car in the driveway. I wasn’t expecting to see her, but I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to speak, either. She reached out to me a few days ago and even stopped by Big Momma’s briefly but I never reached back out. Not because I didn’t want to talk to her. I just wasn’t in the right headspace. She had been on my mind heavily. Before everything happened with my mom, I had been itching to contact her. Every time I picked up my phone to call or text her, I caught myself and decided not to. I wanted to respect her wishes by giving her the space and time she requested, but I was missing her like crazy.

“You might as well bring yo’ ass in the house. I know you want to.” Ace chuckled as he got out of the car.

I sat still for a moment to contemplate. Fuck it, I said to myself. I got out and walked behind him into the house. Whatever his mom had cooked smelled good as hell.

“Aye, Ma, you remember EJ, right?” Ace announced.