Chapter 10: All The Way Home
Two Years Later
“Sunny, my father is dead.”
“Where are you?”
“Mt. Vernon.”
“I’m on the next flight.”
I hadn’t spoken to my best friend in a couple of months when I got the call. Just like that, I dropped everything and caught the first flight out of Atlanta that would get me to Mt. Vernon, Illinois within a few hours. Aiden needed me and I forgot about what he’d done to make me stop speaking to him. I’ll be damned if I wasn’t there for him when he buried his father.
When I arrived in Mt. Vernon, Illinois, I found a family that had been utterly destroyed by the sudden loss of the head of their household. I hadn’t spent much time with Doug Tyler when he was alive. I was Aiden’s closest friend and partly responsible for him abandoning his dad’s dream of him being a professional football player. Aiden and his father didn’t have a great relationship to start with, which meant that Doug wasn’t too keen on any of Aiden’s friends.
The rest of his family loves me to death. Over the years, I’ve grown extremely close to Aiden’s two sisters, Sara and Delilah. Through my friendship with Aiden, I’ve gained two sisters and a really easy-going confidante in his mother, Dina. Seeing all of them completely broken and overcome with grief hurt me. I hated that I was powerless to do anything about it.
I did what I could. I cried with the girls, comforted Aiden, and helped with the funeral arrangements when Dina just couldn’t handle it. By the time they lowered Doug Tyler’s sleek cherry casket into the ground, I had been in Mt. Vernon for a week and a half. I had to go.
That was three days ago.
I needed to get back to work. Plus, my daughter was staying with my parents in Atlanta. I didn’t take her with me because I knew I wasn’t staying long. There was too much sadness in Aiden’s childhood home. It was crushing.
But not as crushing as knowing that I left my best friend grieving alone, with only his sisters and mom to comfort him. This is the third night I’ve lain awake contemplating whether or not I should clear my schedule and go back to Illinois. I honestly don’t know if Aiden is going to recover from this.
Aiden must really hate me right now. I hate me right now. I shouldn’t have left him alone. I should be there, comforting him and being the friend that he needs right now.
It won’t be enough. I know that and Aiden knows that. He wants so much more from me, more than I’m willing to give. He just doesn’t want to listen to me. He doesn’t want to admit that we can’t be together. His refusal to accept our relationship for what it is the reason we stopped speaking a couple of months ago...amongst other things.
Still, I shouldn’t have left him. His father died, for God’s sake. How in the hell could I leave him like that? He would have never done that to me. I’m always preaching how important friendship is and how he needs to be a better friend and look at what I did.
Yeah, he probably hates me.
This is why I can’t sleep. No amount of Ambien or vodka is going to silence my guilty conscience so why bother? Instead of trying to go back to sleep, I trudged downstairs, powered on my laptop, and made a pot of herbal tea.
Fifty-seven emails and not a single one from the person I need to talk to. However, a dozen of them were from Jade with a few new jobs for me. I replied in a single email that I’d take them all. Work is all I can do. Being a stylist is such a time consuming job and right now, it is the only thing that will occupy my mind. And daydreaming about my fashion line, of course. Too bad, I haven’t actually pulled out my sketchbook and designed anything since I created Erica’s dress for the Grammys. Right around the time Aiden and I stopped speaking.
So much for S.T.Y.L.E.Z by Sunny.
My first collection was what I’ve been dreaming about for over a decade. I had the money to start it. I had the ambition and the designs. S.T.Y.L.E.Z by Sunny was ready to take off and I was finally going to fulfill my dream of showing a real collection at New York Fashion Week. Thanks to Aiden’s pathetic wife, that never happened. My dream fizzled before it could be completely realized. The money Aiden gave me is still sitting in my bank account earning interest.
Sometimes, I really disappoint myself.
I picked up my phone again to check my messages. Nothing. I know Aiden wasn’t asleep. When I left Mt. Vernon, he wasn’t sleeping that well. I understand why. The man is grieving. I dialed his number. Straight to voicemail.
“Aiden, it’s me. Call me when you get this. I just want to see how you’re doing.” I stared at my phone for a second before sitting it back on the table. He’ll call back. He has to call.
I answered emails and drank hot tea until the sun rose and brightened up my dreary townhouse. A tall shadow made its way up my walkway, in a rush as usual. I banged my head against the dining room table and groaned. I really don’t need this today, especially at eight o’clock in the morning.
Using her key, my other best friend and equal pain in the ass, walked right into my living room.
“Sunny! What the hell are you doing here?” Erica screeched and dropped her oversized Gucci bag on the floor.
“This is my house,” I answered. “And please be quiet before you wake up my child.”
“No, for real,” Erica said as she scooped up her bag. “What the hell are you doing here? You’re supposed to be in Mt. Vernon.”
“I came home. Is that a problem?” I grumbled.
Erica rolled her eyes and made herself comfortable on my brand new white sofa.
Erica and I have been inseparable since we were toddlers. Her favorite aunt used to be married to my favorite uncle. For their entire marriage, Roxy and Uncle Joey practically raised Erica. We started saying we were cousins in grade school. By high school, we’d upgraded ourselves to sisters.
One of my favorite childhood memories is of us standing in front of my mother’s floor-length mirror pretending to be Lisa and Wendy from The Revolution. She has always been there whenever I’ve needed her. With a friendship as strong as ours, there have been many fights, arguments, and hissy fits of epic proportions. Besides Aiden, Erica is the most annoying person that I know. I love her more than I love myself sometimes.
“What are you doing here?” I questioned her as she picked up the remote control and turned on E! News, ruining my temporary serenity. “Aren’t you supposed to be in LA recording your album?”
“I can’t record anything right now,” she stated. “We’re going to stop until Aiden is ready to get back into the studio.”
A few months ago, my uncle did something out of the ordinary and made Aiden a partner in his record company. Aiden insisted on it. Aiden has made Uncle Joey a lot of money. I don’t blame him for asking for a better role in the business. It was that or start his own record company. When it comes to music or anything music related, Aiden is more than capable. Uncle Joey knew it and had the paperwork drawn up. Now, besides making music, Aiden makes others into stars too. Erica was the first artist that he signed. I’m really interested in seeing how this works out in the future. I know Uncle Joey and Aiden will be fine. I’m talking about Erica and Aiden.
Erica has been Aiden’s touring sax player for as long as he and I have been friends. I wasn’t the one who introduced them though. We all blame Erica’s aunt for that. After Aiden hired Roxy as his manager, she brought Erica into the picture because she knew that Erica would be a great addition to his all-male band. Of course Roxy was right. Musically, Aiden and Erica are a match made in Heaven. They are a train wreck in every other aspect of their relationship.
I know what it’s like to work for Aiden. I used to work for him and it was not easy. I have a feeling that Erica is going to have it worse than I did when Aiden gets back to work again.
Right now, Aiden is in no type of mental capacity to help her with her album. When I left, he could barely eat. She still hadn’t answered my question though. She was probably going to raid my closets since she thought I wasn’t hom
e. Whenever I go out of town, my clothes go missing. I always find them in Erica’s closet or suitcase. Always.
“So...best friend,” Erica said with her eyes still glued to the television. “I’m only going to ask you one more time. Why are you home? What happened? Did you and Aiden get in another fight?”
“I couldn’t stay there, E,” I sighed. “You know I’m not good with funerals and sad people. It was too much. I had to get out of there.”
Erica’s eyes widened and she glared at me with such contempt that I had to look away.
“Do not,” she said slowly, “do not tell me that you left Aiden in Mt. Vernon, alone, to deal with his father’s death because you can’t deal with sad people.” She shook her head. “That’s low, even for you.”
“It was too much,” I protested. “And you know how Aiden is-”
“Don’t even go there,” Erica interrupted. “I know how he gets when he’s going through something that he can’t handle.” She put her hands against her head and rubbed her temples.
“In a day he’s going to be a walking bottle of vodka,” she moaned. “And you know what happens after that. Or at least we will know when we turn on TMZ.”
I grimaced. Aiden swears up and down he doesn’t have a drinking problem, but I’ve seen him drown all of his problems in a bottle of vodka and chase it with a bottle of tequila.
“He’ll be okay,” I said, not believing those words myself. “He just needs some time to deal with this.”
Erica shook her head. “His father died, Sunny! How could you leave him up there like that? That is so foul! Who’s going to keep him from doing something stupid now?”
“I don’t work for Aiden anymore,” I reminded her. “He has an assistant, a publicist, and a manager to keep him out of trouble. Besides, you’re his friend too. I don’t see you in Mt. Vernon offering him your shoulder to cry on. You didn’t even come to the funeral!”
“He didn’t call me, did he? He called you. You just don’t want to be there because you’re too scared that you might let your dirty little secret slip in front of him and his family. I don’t know why you think they haven’t noticed that Summer has green eyes just like her dad. They might not say anything, but I’m sure they’ve noticed. You’re just to chicken to say anything,” she added with a roll of her eyes.
“What the hell was I supposed to do, Erica?” I snapped. “Tell him about his daughter before or after the funeral?”
“You should have told him two years ago,” she yelled back. “Aiden isn’t as stupid as he acts sometimes. He’s going to figure it out eventually. Summer looks just like him. How long are you going to keep pretending that Xavier is her father?”
I haven’t been pretending that my ex-fiancé is Summer’s father. I haven’t even told anyone that Xavier was the father of my child. I’m a single parent. Who fathered my child is no one’s business except mine and the Lord.
Eventually I want to be able to tell Aiden the truth. I just don’t know how I’m going to tell him. He’s in no place to deal with being a father, especially now that his own father isn’t here anymore. He knows less than I do about raising a child.
“Change the subject, Erica. We are not having this conversation again.”
“Fine.” She pouted like a little girl for a second then grinned. “My aunt said that his dad wrote him a letter before he died. What did it say?” Erica asked.
I scowled. Erica is too damned nosy.
The memory of Aiden’s reaction to his father’s letter burned in my heart. He looked like a little boy lost as he held the three-page letter to his chest and wept. His tears tugged at my heart.
You are my son and I love you.
You are my hero.
Aiden had a rough relationship with his father up until two months before he died of colon cancer. He never thought his dad loved or respected him. He always thought he was a huge disappointment to his father, no matter how rich and famous he became.
Finding out that his father really did love him nearly broke him. I’ve never seen a man that emotionally distraught in my life. I couldn’t console him. I didn’t know what to do. What do you say when a man is crying in your arms because his father will never know how much he loved him?
“Sunny!” Erica yelled. “What did the letter say?”
“You are so nosy! That’s Aiden’s letter. Stay out of his business.”
“Why do you get to know and I don’t?” she demanded.
“Let it go, Erica. I’m not telling you.”
Erica has always felt like she should be on equal footing as me when it comes to Aiden since she met him around the same time as me. She’s not but their relationship is a little irritating though. They flirt all the time. I try not to think about the two times I know they slept together. I’ve always assumed that she thinks their relationship is more than it is because they had sex. That is just not the case. What they had was sex and only sex. Point. Blank. Period. Both of them have slept with more people than necessary. She’s just a number added to Aiden’s body count and his to hers. I have chosen not to make it more than it actually is. She has not.
They’re friends. She’s signed to his record label. She plays in his band. She’s not me. She is not privy to the same information as me. She doesn’t know everything about him like I do.
Aiden told me he loves me. He wants us to be together.
I’m afraid he’s going to hate me when he finds out that Summer is his daughter and I’ve been keeping this secret from him for over two years.
Aiden is going to kill me.
***
I waited until Erica had left until I picked up my phone again. One text from Aiden that simply read,
I’m alright.
He’s lying. He’s not all right and no amount of text messages saying so is going to make me believe him. There is someone who will tell me the truth. I called Sara.
Unlike her brother, Sara answered the phone. I wanted to cry when I heard the sadness in her voice. I hate that she’s going through something so traumatic.
“Hey Sunny, what’s up?”
“I’m just calling to check on you guys,” I told her. “How’s everyone doing?”
“As well as can be expected, I guess,” she answered heavily. “Mom’s taking a nap. My husband had to give her some anti-anxiety pills.”
“And your brother?”
“No change. He hasn’t said much about anything. He just sits in Dad’s study listening to old records.”
“Has he made any plans to go back to LA?” I asked.
“He wants to go home soon. He said so yesterday. I think he should go. You know how much he hates it here.”
I nodded even though Sara couldn’t see me. Aiden hates the small town he grew up in. That’s why he hightailed it to Atlanta as soon as he turned eighteen. Nothing could keep him there. He needs to get back to LA as soon as possible. At least he has friends in LA. His best friend, his baby sister, and his entire band followed him out to LA. He needs to go home.
“I might be in LA next week for a client I’m styling,” I told her. “If so, I’ll drop by his house and check on him.”
“Good.”
“Can you tell him I called?” I asked. “He’s not answering his phone.”
“Sure, Sunny.”
We were both quiet for a minute. I decided to end the conversation. Nothing is more awkward than uncomfortable silence.
“I’ll call you guys later,” I told her. “I love you all.”
“Thanks Sunny. Love you too.”
Chapter 11: Poker Face
I started my car and cranked up the AC. Sitting in the parking lot outside of Lenox Mall, my car felt like a furnace in the ninety-degree heat. I wasn’t planning on sitting in here for such a long time when I pulled into the lot. My client and her assistant were supposed to be meeting me here.
I picked up my phone from the console and frowned. Not a single word from Autumn or Aiden. Not that I expected to hear from him. I’v
e given up. It’s been two weeks and he has yet to return a call. He answers my texts with one or two words. He doesn’t want to speak to me. But Autumn is screwing with my time and money.
I have a million other things to do today in order to get ready for my second trip to New York this month. Shopping with Autumn was not originally on my list of important things to get done today. I’m a stylist for a reason. I know how to shop. I’ve been styling her ever since she and Aiden were label mates so I’m used to her behavior. Hell, I’m used to working with celebrities and their diva-tudes. I’ve worked with hundreds of artists, actresses, and models but Autumn is the most difficult client that I’ve ever worked with.
I’m only giving her ten more minutes to get here. I’m styling some video girl for a Vibe photo shoot after this. I don’t even need clothes for Autumn. I know what she looks good in. Even though I love my job, some days, I just don’t have the patience to deal with difficult singers. I’ve paid my dues. I’ve assisted some of the best designers I’ve ever met. I’ve dealt with some of the biggest egos in fashion. I know what I’m doing.
I get so sick of people not trusting my judgment. I understand better than most, what a pop singer should look like. I’m not going to dress her in a peasant skirt and cowboy boots! She gets on my nerves!
When my phone vibrated, I answered it without paying attention to the caller ID. Big mistake. As soon as I heard my mother’s voice, I wished I let it go to voicemail.
“Hey Mama.”
“Girl, where have you been?” Peaches yelled in my ear. “I’ve been calling you for two days!”
“Mama, I’ve been working,” I told her. “I can’t always stop what I’m doing in order to hear your church gossip or the latest update in this ongoing cake war you have with Miss Jo-Jo. She didn’t steal your cake recipe.”
“I know you’re too busy to deal with us common folk,” she scolded me, “but I’m your mother. And I want to see my grandchild.”
I shut my eyes tightly because a strong pain had started to force its way to the front of my head. Lately, my mother has become one of my migraine triggers. She always has something to say about how much I work. I’m used to her being mad but it doesn’t make it any less annoying.
Sunny's Song (Friends Lovers or Nothing Book 2) Page 9
