by Eden Fortae
“And I didn’t know that,” Angel added. “I thought this was still the original plan. Then you started telling me that he brought you here and it just seemed like you were falling. I didn’t want you to get hurt. I came over here to tell him to call it all off because I really see you as a friend, now, and didn’t want to lie to you anymore.”
Something in that touched Kya’s heart. It helped the battered organ to regain something close to a regular beat, but she refused to welcome either with open arms. Everything was a lie. Here they were, telling her that all she knew, all she clung to and cared about was a complete and utter lie. Forgiveness was the key to her happiness, but right now, she couldn’t find it within herself to do that.
She took a second to tamp down her emotions, although she could feel her eyes glossing over with tears.
“Is there anything else you lied to me about?”
“The guy I met at the club the night you got hurt?”
Kya remembered his face, but not the name. Just because of the way he looked at her and the strange feeling she was overcome with as it happened. Since that night he hadn’t been spoken of, so she felt there was no reason to inquire. Now, she was wondering if that had been a mistake.
“Yes?”
“We’ve been together for about two years now. He was only there to steal my attention so Tony could approach you again.”
And it worked. He’d made her so uncomfortable with his strange stares and questions that she was pretending to go to the bathroom and in turn, encountered the man who’d seduced her on the dance floor.
Kya laughed, although finding nothing funny, “Anything else?”
The other woman sighed, running her hand over her face and into her hair. She closed her eyes to brace herself, and when she opened them, they looked identical to Kya’s―glossy with a fresh set of tears and full of emotion.
“We couldn’t risk you looking him up and figuring things out. My name isn’t Angel.”
Why that was the triggering point, neither of them knew. Kya stood abruptly, snatching her purse up with her and made a beeline for the exit. It was Antonio that reacted first. He followed her almost reflexively, catching her by the hand in which she yanked away and connected with his face. The crack of her palm against his skin rang through the house.
This was a man that wasn’t accustomed to being hit. That fact was written within the shock contorting his features. He didn’t expect her to react that way and it gave her an ounce of pride. He’d done all he could to “know her” and still didn’t. He also didn’t retaliate in the way she’d expect a man that exuded danger.
“You did all of this,” she waved her hand in his sister’s direction, “for a man that didn’t give a shit about me until you came along. In essence, you decided to play with my feelings and my life, for no payoff. I can blame no one for that, but myself.”
“It paid off.” Antonio was quick to reply, halting her mid-step. “I got to know a beautiful woman that outsmarted me without even knowing it.”
Against her will, she sobbed and was only able to stop it by trapping her lower lip between her teeth.
“Well, I hope you had fun because this game is over. I don’t want to see or hear from you ever again. Either of you.”
Storming out the door and away from the two people who made her days what they were, did very little to soothe her. Neither did slapping Tony in the face nor the looks he and his sister shared when she dismissed them both forever.
There was something that could be said about unspoken words. Ways one could read into the fact that as she walked away from the beautiful homes in the direction of the fast-paced city, Antonio was driving behind her. Some would say that indicated that he cared. Others, another part of his manipulation. Whatever it was, Kya wasn’t going to dwell on it. The second she could hail a cab back to her part of town, he and everything associated with him would mean as much to her as she meant to them when they devised this plan almost a year ago.
Nothing.
ELEVEN
Three days was more than enough time for Kya to stew, have her pity party, and clean up afterward. After she tossed out the flowers and boxed everything in her apartment that reminded her of Antonio's sister, that’s exactly what it felt like she was doing. In her phone, the pictures she took with both of them, remained. Looking at them, she found herself tearing up, but was no longer mad at herself for it.
They meant something to her. Regardless of it being a game to them, they had been a special part of her life. Angel―or whatever her real name was―pushed her way into a gloomy world with sunshine, fun, jokes, and a shoulder she truly needed to lean on.
Antonio reintroduced her to the wonders of male attention; something sorely missed as she devoted all her time to her mother. He made her feel sexy. Even when she awakened in his arms, her curls matted, and makeup gone, his first words to her were how beautiful she was. Hearing that took away any doubt that he was genuinely interested in her. Foolishly.
Along with the pictures, Kya kept the frozen rose from the first time they met. The color had long since changed. The bright red, now, a deep shade of burgundy. The green stem, transitioning to brown. Those two things would be symbols of something else, now. The change she needed to make within.
In no way should two strangers have been able to impact her life so significantly. In no way should she have relied on them for happiness that was hers to find. Another thing she was going to hang on to was her former friend’s harsh words. She wouldn’t be a bartender living paycheck to paycheck. Before life dealt her a shitty hand, she had cards in her hand to help her win, cards that could still ensure a win.
Pushing out of bed, Kya grabbed a chair from her small kitchen and used it to reach the top of her closet. There, beneath her high school yearbook, the old leather sketch pad was covered in dust but its pages in perfect condition.
She flipped through a few, trailing her finger over each line of a wedding dress she drew, then another, and another that she remembered her mother marveling over. These were her dreams at one point. Stars her mother told her she could and would reach if she put in the work to grab one. Doing so now would be harder than if she had a four-year college degree, but that didn’t mean it was impossible. Nothing beats a fail, but a try and for both the memory of her mother and her fulfillment, she was going to do everything she could to try.
Kya’s teeth clenched as she pushed through the door and her former co-workers looked her way. Did they know? They watched her as if they did and she didn’t put it past Antonio to go that far. Externally, she looked unbothered. Internally, that was somewhat true. The last thing she wanted was to be near anyone connected to Antonio, but to get the money she was due, it was necessary.
Standing outside of Jermaine’s office she took a deep breath and knocked. Through the glass, she could see him on the phone, and upon seeing her, he beckoned her forward and ended the call. When she stepped inside, closing the door, he didn’t hold the same angry expression. In its place, a little sympathy.
Wordlessly, he pulled through his top desk drawer, carefully scanning the papers in it until he found the one with her name on it. He held it out to her, locking their eyes once more. As Kya reached for it, he maintained his hold.
“I will never apologize for helping a friend that is like a brother to me.” He let go of her paycheck, leaning back in his seat. “But you still have a job, if you want it.”
Shocked, all Kya could do was nod. She didn’t want to come back to this place, but to keep up her rent while working on her business, it was either this or go through the long, disappointing process of finding something new. With the second option, she risked losing hours to sketch and sew. With the second option, she’d risk putting off her dream for more extended hours and possibly more stress.
Nodding a second time, she turned on her heels. She’d think about it, weigh her opinions, plan for everything, and decide without Antonio or his betrayal being a factor.
�
�Aye, Boss!” Donny yelled, pulling off his gloves. When Antonio didn’t answer, he took a few more steps toward him, calling out again. “A naked woman is asking for you!”
Still, there was no response.
The way his friend was walking around looking like someone stole his puppy, and he brushed off as irritation brought on by the asshole detective and his unannounced visit but seeing him hammer away at the nails in the back deck he was building, he realized there was more to it.
Extending his hand, he grabbed hold of Antonio’s elbow and finally had his attention. “¿Qué paso?”
“Nothing.” Antonio looked up only for a brief moment then went back to work.
“Bullshit, Tonito. I thought Detective Dick popping up again this morning probably pissed you off, but usually, it’s him that leaves angry and you with a satisfied smirk. What’s going on?”
Several minutes passed and from there, it was clear he wasn’t going to answer. Donny grabbed his arm again, resulting in Antonio whipping around, prepared to swing on him.
“I said nothing’s wrong!”
“And you know better than to think you can brush me off with that bullshit lie.”
It was quiet once again. Instead of the loud whacks of nails hammered into a piece of thick wood, Antonio stood utterly still. His gaze was focused on the ground then up over the tree line ahead of them. Something was definitely on his mind, and as close as they were, Donny wasn’t pleased with the decision not to open up to him.
As kids, he was the only one that saw Antonio’s true feelings about his father’s imprisonment. He was the only one that knew how hard he took it and the only one that knew how he felt till that day. On the flip side, Antonio was the only person in the world that knew about the sexual abuse Donny endured at the hands of his foster mother. Upon discovery, Antonio begged his childless Aunt and Uncle to take Donny in without ever telling his secret. Their trust ran deeper than any blood relation ever could and now, seeing his friend and cousin look this way, he knew he was needed.
“Tonito?”
“She got to me,” his answer was immediate and rushed.
“Who?”
“Kya. I didn’t want to admit it, but there is no way around it.”
Donny’s hand ran through his spiked hair, then stopped on the back on his neck. He knew. Of course, he knew. Antonio didn’t put that much time and effort into any woman. Suddenly he was buying flowers, and they were supposed to believe it meant nothing more than revenge?
“You lied to me when I asked if you had feelings for her.”
“What would you have said if I admitted that I wanted her?” Antonio was looking at him, now. Worry written in all his features, but the anger was still present. “You would have called me all kinds of loco if I told you that I was catching feelings for Rich’s daughter.”
“You’re damned right I would have. She is the daughter of a man that won’t be satisfied until you’re behind bars with your old man. Just like you were supposed to be using her, she could have been using you to get the information he needs to put you away!”
“No,” Antonio shook his head absently, sliding off his protective glasses. The sun beaming down on his face caused sweat to collect along his chin. In a way, it felt like tears, and the last thing he wanted was Donny to think he was crying. “You don’t know, Kya. She would never betray me.”
Betrayal.
One word, small enough to be said in one breath, but heavy enough that it kept him up at night.
Her face was burned into the back of his eyelids. He saw her tearful eyes in his sleep and every time he blinked. The right to be angry was all hers, but it didn’t stop him from being mad at himself.
In the beginning, he couldn’t care less about a woman’s hurt feelings. But, Kya wasn’t just any woman, and he cared. The point of never being in a relationship or anything close to it was to prevent having tears spilled for him, to shield hearts from breaking at his hand. He’d managed to do it to someone who honestly didn’t deserve it.
“Just forget it.”
“If this were meant to be easily forgotten, you wouldn’t be standing here looking like you’ve lost everything. Something else happened. Tell me.”
Laughter, a low chuckle that was not of amusement rolled through his chest.
“What the fuck do you want me to do? Pour my heart out, lay down right here and tell you I cry myself to sleep at night?”
“No, bitch, I want you to stop faking like you’re made of steel and be real about this.”
“Really? You’re just going to call me a bitch like that?”
“I call it how I see it. Now, stop stalling and talk.”
Antonio’s quick smile fell. He didn’t want to talk about it, but not doing so was only allowing him to kick himself over the mistakes he made and the fact that he messed up something that felt so good. So right.
“She knows that everything was a setup. That I asked Jermaine to hire her and let Rina pretend to be an employee to get close to her. I told her everything, but my initial plans to kill her. I honestly didn’t think I’d care if she found out but seeing her cry and know I was the cause, makes me feel like shit.”
Donny stepped around the wooden stairs to gain his full attention. Ducking his head, he made Antonio look at him and hoped they could keep that line of contact.
“Tell me the truth. The real truth. Do you have feelings for Kya?”
Naturally, he hesitated. He’d never had a serious girlfriend. At least one he would give that title to. To them, there was a relationship, but to him, it was just a thing. Kya wasn’t his girlfriend and was more than a thing. She was the first woman to make him reconsider his stance.
“I do.”
“Do you want to be with her?” This time, there was no answer. He couldn’t say that. Literally, couldn’t speak the three-letter words that were his answer. There was too much to it. Too much that went along with it, and Donny knew what that was. “I never thought I would be saying this to you, let alone about Rich’s daughter, but you need to talk to her. If she’s truly worth it but won’t speak to you without whooping your ass first, then you need to stand there and take it like a man. I stick to what I said. This girl has your downfall written all over her, but if she is where you want to be, I’ve got your back.”
That was a surprise. Antonio was almost positive Donny was going to say the opposite. That he should be happy that Kya removed herself from his life and it was time to move on. Deep down, it felt good to hear that he had his support to pursue her.
“But first,” he added, gathering a few wooden planks to continue finishing the frames for the windows, “you need to take a trip to Attica and clear up this shit with your Pops. Until you deal with the resentment for the way he hurt your mother, you’re not going to be any good to this girl.”
Another surprise. This one, Antonio wasn’t at all pleased about or looking forward to. He hadn’t visited his father since he was still young enough for his mother to force him. He hadn’t taken his calls or written him a single letter, either. As far as he was concerned, they had nothing to discuss, but if doing this was what was needed to be a decent part of Kya’s life, he’d have to deal.
TWELVE
It didn’t take much time for Kya to think it over. There were bills to be paid and an empire to be built.
With her check in hand, she ventured through the fabric store, cringing at the prices of silk, satin, and lace. From there, the decision was clear. The following Monday, she was back behind the bar. Seeing Jermaine still brought back flashes of the painful truth, but for her future, she cast it all to the side. Each drink she poured, she viewed as money banked. Each smile she gave, resulted in a tip. More money banked. That was how she was able to keep moving daily. Sleeping six hours after work, eating while she drew ideas, plotting her moves on paper, and then working to earn it all.
Eventually, Kya began taking her sketchbook to work. Times like now when the place was pretty dead, she sat on her stool
, book in her lap, penciling wedding dresses inspired by the most random things.
Her head was down, focused on the pages in front of her when something caught the corner of her eye. Not wanting any shit from Jermaine, she closed her book with the pencil inside. It had become so routine that she stood without looking at the patron first. Coming face to face with one of the last people she wanted to see, she wished she had.
“Hey, Kya.” She looked different. Tired and not as alive as the woman she once called her best friend. Dark circles under her eyes told of very little sleep. A softness in those tired eyes detailed the desire for a conversation.
“Today’s specials are on the board,” Kya motioned behind her as she had with everyone else. “What can I get for you?”
“A few minutes to talk?”
“No.”
“A few seconds?”
“If you’re not getting a drink, there is nothing to talk about.” Immediately, she turned to head back to her stool.
“Fine! Give me a Long Island.”
Wordlessly, Kya pulled a glass from the shelf, being followed and bombarded with questions as she moved.
“How have you been? Those gossip columns are anxious to know who you are, now, huh? Any trouble with that?” Met with silence, the talking continued. “I was surprised when Jay said you were still here. Not so much when he said you told him how much of your ass he could kiss before you came back. I wish I could have been there.” The laughter faded as Kya finished off the drink, pushing it across the polished wood.
“Seven-fifty.”
She handed Kya a crisp twenty and quickly added, “No change back.”
Internally, Kya had to fight to keep from snapping. She didn’t need a handout from this woman. Didn’t need her tips, conversation, and damned sure didn’t want her in her line of sight. Rather than voicing that, she took the money, keyed it into the register and pocketed the tip. On her way back to the stool, she heard a deep sigh and then her name.
