Page 37 of Finessed By A Hood White Boy

Ethan didn’t hesitate to turn the car off and get out. Walking around to my side, he opened the door for me with his hand out for me to take. The sign on the building indicated that we were at a rehabilitation and nursing center, and it made me wonder why the hell he would bring me here.

I remained silent as we walked inside hand and hand. Once we approached the front desk, it was apparent that he frequented the place because the staff was familiar with him. After he signed us in, and the lady at the desk gave us each a visitor's pass, he grabbed my hand again. There were a few residents lingering in the hallway. Some sat in wheelchairs while others were getting around on walkers. Not everyone we passed was elderly. Some seemed quite young but in bad condition.

We came upon a room where the door was slightly closed, so he knocked before we entered. The television was on, and a lady sat in a wheelchair, staring straight ahead. Not once did she bother to move to acknowledge us.

“Hey, ma,” Ethan spoke.

The woman didn’t even look at him. Her focus remained the same.

“I want you to meet Ava,” he continued.

Still, she didn’t react.

He turned to me with a small smile. The moment I looked into his eyes, I saw something there that tore a small hole into my heart.

“I brought you here to meet my mom. She’s…she’s nonverbal. It’s been that way for some years now. Seeing that bruise on your face triggered the fuck outta me. She wouldn’t be here like this had she left the clown who was abusing her. The muthafucka beat her so badly that she suffered a severe head injury. She’s blind in her left eye. I haven’t had a proper conversation with my mom since I was sixteen. Her brain injury caused her to have a stroke, and it eventually took away her ability to verbally communicate.”

Tears involuntarily flooded my eyes as I listened to him speak about his mother. Still, she didn’t move. She sat there staring straight ahead with a blank and miserable expression on her face.

“Since that day, she’d stroke out often, which led to her ending up like this. She doesn’t even know who I am anymore. I don’t want you going down the same road. I couldn’t save her because she wouldn’t allow me to. And you…I fuck with you, so I’d be damned if I stand by and not do shit, knowing you're in the same boat that she was in.”

His icy blue eyes bore a hole straight through me, and my entire relationship with Rob played out in my head. Yes, we had our good days, but the verbal and physical abuse was getting worse. I quickly wiped away my tears with my head down.

“You deserve better, Ava. You know that, right?” He lifted my chin to make me face him.

I silently nodded because my emotions wouldn’t allow me to speak. It was so easy for another person who wasn’t involved in my situation to suggest I deserved better. I knew I did. I knew my worth. Sometimes loving the wrong person could leave you blind and stuck in a hole that you have trouble getting out of. My sister would suggest all the time that I pack my shit and walk out. What she didn’t know was, I tried that already. Almost a year ago, and do you know what the end results were? He beat my ass. I didn’t want my family coming to my rescue like I knew they would. It would’ve only caused more problems for me had I put them in my business.

Although I decided to leave, shut off my location, block Rob’s number, and shut off my phone, I knew he wouldn’t just allow me to walk away. Right now, it was quiet, and shit seemed calm, but I knew better.

“I want to hear you say it.” Ethan brought me back to reality.

“Tell me you deserve better.”

“I deserve better,” I repeated as he wiped my falling tears.

Ethan grabbed my hand and placed a kiss on the back of it. His eyes never left mine until we both heard his mother’s voice.

“A…va.”

Immediately, he dropped my hand, and his attention was solely focused on her.

“I thought you said she was nonverbal.” I whispered.

“Ma?” He kneeled down in front of her.

She paid him no attention as she slowly turned her head to look at me. A small smile spread on her lips as she repeated herself.

“A…va”

Her hand stretched out toward me, and I hesitated for a moment but gladly placed mine into hers. Ethan stood in shock, and I didn’t know what to say.

“Hi,” I finally responded with a smile.

She didn’t bother to say anything else; she just smiled at me. Her eyes sparkled, but at the same time, they seemed to be empty.

“I haven’t heard her speak a word in almost three years.” Ethan looked at me.

He grabbed his mother’s other hand and started talking to her. Still, her focus remained on me as she gazed and smiled.