Page 7 of Kisses Behind the Spotlight

“Damnnnn,” Andy gawked when he spun around and caught a glimpse of my body.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” I rolled my eyes, pulling the jacket over my body. The last thing I was in the mood for was a nigga gawking over me like a piece of meat while I was physically shivering. My attitude was fucked up, and I just wanted to snap something in half. Preferably Xain’s stupid face. I could beat my own ass for trusting him. I should’ve told Mama Marissa, Yaseer, or anybody else.

“My bad. Ummm, yeah,” Andy offered a delayed response, then went back to searching for the clothes.

While he continued searching, I requested an Uber. Now I was kicking myself in the ass for not bringing my purse in. I didn’t have anything but my phone on me, which meant I couldn’t go straight to the hotel. I’d have to stop by Mama Marissa and Yaseer’s house to grab my belongings.

“Here they are.” Andy brought me out of my dreaded thoughts and passed me the change of clothes.

“I’ll give you the room,” he nodded before bending down to gather my drenched clothes from the floor. “I’ll put these in a bag for you. Do you need a ride back to your hotel?”

“Thank you,” I offered a forced smile. “I’m good on the ride. I already have an Uber pulling up.”

“You sure?”

“Positive,” I nodded.

Andy closed the office door behind him, and I quickly redressed because my Uber was already a block away. My phone rang as I pulled on the oversized slacks. They were a size large, and I wore a medium or small, so they were swallowing me. With the pants on, I glanced at my phone and saw it was my younger brother, Noah.

It was almost four o’clock in the morning; he should be somewhere asleep. Noah was sixteen and a big part of why I didn’t want kids of my own. I parented enough when it came to him. My father, Stanley, had three kids by three different women in three different age brackets. I was the elder daughter, had my life together, and was successful. When Noah kept getting into trouble in middle school, his mom moved from Oklahoma to Florida so he could be closer to our dad. However, I felt like I was taking on a lot of the parental responsibilities because Noah’s mom was just as half-assed as our dad.

Noah was the middle child, and we had a six-year-old brother named Maurice. Noah and I talked almost daily, but never at four o’clock in the morning. As if I wasn’t stressed enough, I braced myself and answered the phone to make sure that everything was okay.

“Hello,” I greeted him, pressing the phone to my ear as I struggled to pull the shirt on.

“Hey, big sis. I know you’re out of town, and I hope you weren’t sleeping, but I need a favor.”

“What? What’s wrong?” I quizzed, stuffing my feet into my damp shoes.

“My mom has been gone all day, and she isn’t answering her phone. Can you DoorDash me something to eat? I haven’t ate since I finished off the last bit of cereal this morning. My mom is so worried about running behind that nigga and ain’t even been to the grocery store. Sis, I tried to eat sleep for dinner, but I woke up because my stomach was rumbling.”

I rolled my eyes and pulled the phone away from my ear, placing the call on speaker. “Have you told Dad about the stuff your mom has been pulling?”

“Yeah, I told him everything last Wednesday when she never came home, and I didn’t have a ride to school. He has been taking me to school since then, and I told him how she been moving. He was supposed to talk to her. I’m sure he hasn’t. He don’t want to get cursed out. Plus, if he would’ve said something, she would’ve already been in my face, asking me, ‘Why you telling everybody my business?’” Noah mocked his mother. “I called Dad first, but he didn’t answer, so I’m calling you as a last resort.”

“Noah, you don’t have to wait until you’re starving to call me. Call me at the first sign of some bullshit next time. I’m kind of tied up, so I just sent you the money, and you can order whatever you want to eat. I sent enough to hold you over for a few days until your mom decides to pop up again.”

“Thanks, sis. I love you!” Noah expressed before making kissing sounds.

“I love you too,” I replied. “I gotta go. I’ll text you in the morning.”

“Alright, sis. Have fun and be safe.”

“I will.”

We ended the call, and I took a long, deep breath. Although we shared the same scum of a father, I was blessed with an angel for a mother, and her support system made parenthood look easy. I never wanted for anything, especially not food. Conversely, Noah’s mother had always been a piece of work. When Noah was five, she lost custody for leaving him home alone while she went to the bar. Apparently, she had been doing it for years and never got caught until the night he woke up and left the house crying and looking for her.

My paternal grandparents had custody of Noah for almost two years before his mother, Bridgette, regained custody, and in her warped mind, she blamed my grandparents. Once Noah was back in Bridgette’s care, she made it damn near impossible for us even to maintain a relationship with him until he got older and was able to communicate with us on his own. Stanley was a piece of work too, so I guess it would make sense that his baby mamas would be just as thrown off. My mom was a teenager when she got pregnant by Stanley, so I always gave her grace for procreating with him and putting us in the middle of his ghetto mess.

With my wet clothes in hand, I exited the office and found Andy leaning against the wall next to his office, holding a coffee cup.

“Here, I grabbed you some tea from the back. To help warm you up,” he explained.

“Awww, Andy. I appreciate it.”

“Of course,” he nodded.

I accepted the trash bag that Andy stuffed my clothes into, and shoved my undergarments inside before taking the tea. My hands warmed on contact, and I pulled the cup to my lips just to heat my face. The warm mist floating from the cup felt heavenly before I took a sip. The peppermint tea with honey soothed my chest instantly.