Chapter 22

"Good morning sweetie. Prom must have been great. You came home pretty late so I'm assuming you had a blast... right?" "Mom" says in high spirits as I reach the bottom of the stairs the next morning.

I glare at her and walk past her, grabbing my car keys. Her smile fades instantly.

It's crazy how a person can lie right to your face for almost two decades.

"Aniko, what has gotten into you? That is no way to treat your-"

"Aunt?" I say, placing my right hand on my hip and swinging the car keys with my left.

I'm fed up. She needs to know that I know the little (big) secret she's intentionally kept from me.

She stares at me with her mouth gaping wide.

I roll my eyes internally.

Gotcha.

"I finally met with Zara. You know, my older sister? The one my father tried to just sweep under the rug and act like she never existed? She caught me up on everything. So don't even say a word to me Aunt Janice."

I turn on the heel of my trusty running sneakers and walk to the front door. I open it and slam it shut behind me.

I take a deep breath and nod. "That was satisfying."

I skip down the front steps and get inside the car.

Fifteen minutes later, I arrive at the mall waiting for Cera. She had to take care of her grandmother after leaving prom last night but promised she'd show up by eleven.

I don't see her car anywhere. I sigh heavily and roll my eyes.

"In the future, they should really make portable mobile phones. Now that is smart."

I brush my hair back and then place my sunglasses on top of my head.

I recline the driver's seat and wait, on the lookout for Cera's car to pull into the mall entrance.

After about ten minutes, I see her rickety old gold Chevy. She refuses to get a new car because her dad intended for it to be hers. It's the only piece of him that she can hold on to.

One man's trash is another man's treasure.

I get out of my car and walk over to where she parked.

She gets out and hugs me.

"Is there anything we need to catch up on?" She asks when we pull away.

I roll my eyes at the occurrences of the last 24 hours. "Too much."

I grab her wrist and steer her in the direction of the Macy's department store.

-

Three hours later, we're sitting at the cafe with shopping bags scattered around our feet.

Cera is slowly sipping on her smoothie, enraptured by my story.

"So you're mom is... dead?"

I nod my head, absent-mindedly scraping at my nail polish.

"Been that way for eighteen years." I say quietly.

Cera gets up to comfort me but I shake my head.

"Cer, I don't need pity. I just... I can't believe I've been lied to for this long."

She slowly blows air through her mouth and shakes her head.

"That isn't right at all. What are you gonna do?" She asks.

"First, I want to get through graduation," I answer, which is in a few days. "Then the plan is to get a job and move out of that fucked up house as soon as I can. By then I'll hopefully make my college choice."

"Well I'm here for you, and you know that." She says.

I smile at her and get up from the cafe table to grab a few napkins. When I get up, a necklace falls out of my pants pocket.

I turn around to get it, but someone has already beat me to it.

"Excuse me miss, you dropped something."

"Thanks.."

When I look up, my breath automatically hitches in my throat.

"Wow, this is beautiful. Who gave you this? They've got good taste."

The guy who gifted me with that silver necklace, the 'M' pendant, stands before me.

He has a slight smirk on his face.

"How have you been beautiful?" Michael asks quietly, staring at me.

"Those green eyes..." He bites his lip.

My whole body freezes, and I just stand there like a dunce. Isn't he supposed to be on the other side of the country?

"Here. Can I help you put this on?"

He doesn't wait for my reply as he moves my hair over my right shoulder and fastens the piece of jewelry around my neck.

"Where it's supposed to be." He says.

His hand slowly slips into mine, sending a shock through my body. The next second, I rip my hand away.

"You have the biggest ego that I've ever had the displeasure of coming across!" I explode on him.

"How can you... how can you just slide back into my life like nothing ever happened? Like you never broke your promise about coming back when you said you would, like we never had that argument, like we haven't not been talking to each other for months! I can't believe you. Did you expect me to fall into your arms instantly?!"

Even though I almost did... that isn't the point.

"Aniko, I came to see you. I've heard what's been going on lately-"

"Bullshit! You have got to be kidding me-"

"No! Ani, it's true. I set this up. Michael is telling the truth." Cera says.

I whip around to face her. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I thought y'all just needed to talk it out. He came to prom yesterday but that was right after you left for the hospital." She says.

"I want you back in my life. You're the only girl that's really shown me love and I just can't give you up. I came to make things right."

This is one of the sweetest gestures ever. He flew all the way out to see me at prom and now this.

My face softens as I turn to him again. "Well, maybe we could try aga-"

"Michael!" A high and feminine voice pops up behind us.

"Michael, how could you leave your girlfriend hanging like that silly?" The woman asks with a bright smile.

"Tatum, now isn't a good time." Michael says uncomfortably.

I hold my hands up. "I'm out of here. But not before I do this."

I rip the necklace off of my neck and toss it at Michael's feet. I take a step closer to him and scream with all my might, "Fuck you Michael Jackson!"

My outcry confirmed to onlookers that the celebrity was indeed the one in the cafe. The crowd multiplies exponentially as I grab Cera and our purchases and make a beeline for the exit.

"Aniko, come on! He's really trying. Can't you see that?"

"He should be focused on his girlfriend. Not that I care, it's just what makes sense." I say sharply.

"But-"

"Whatever. Let's just leave."

The two of us walk briskly out of the mall while I gently finger the place on my neck where the 'M' once touched.

--

Chapter 22

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~Joy ✌🏾️