Give Me The Reason: A Love Story

by Coco Amoure

  Uncle Cam stood up and pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. He handed her two twenty dollar bills. “Here take this and get yourself something to eat or order a pizza when you get over to Natasha’s house.”

  Her eyes lit up at the sight of the two crisp twenty dollar bills. She jumped into his arms. “Thanks, Uncle Cam! You’re the best uncle in the whole wide world!” Delaney beamed.

  “You’re welcome, baby girl, and you are the best niece in the whole wide world!” He laughed.

  Suddenly, she began to feel sad. Being with Uncle Cam made her miss her daddy even more. He should have been the one giving her money or taking her to the movies like he used to. Delaney wished she could have a normal family life, where her parents got along and spent time together doing family things. She hated the constant arguments, the drinking, and the disappearing acts from her father.

  Cameron noticed the change in her demeanor. He wished he could fill the void in her life, but he knew he could never take her father’s place. “Things will get better, Delaney, don’t you worry,” he said and patted her on the head.

  “Just tell my Daddy that I love and miss him when you see him. Oh and tell him to please come home soon,” she said before she turned and dashed upstairs. The sooner I leave this house, the better I’ll feel!

  Although Delaney was only thirteen years old, her body was extremely shapely. Sometimes she felt like the curves she possessed were a curse. Boys her age and even grown men gawked and stared at her like they wanted to sop her up with a biscuit. She didn’t pay them any attention, because in the back of her mind she could hear her mother’s voice warning her about men. She had no intention of falling prey to a man, so she ignored them as they cat-called out to her when she walked by. Besides, if being in love with a man caused a woman to turn out like her mother, depressed, crying, and drowning in a bottle of liquor, then she didn’t want anything to do with love!

  After Delaney squeezed her ass into her favorite pair of jean shorts and a green t-shirt, she brushed her hair up into a messy bun on top of her head. She applied her favorite strawberry flavored lip gloss on her lips, and slid her feet into a pair of green bedazzled flip flops. Green was her favorite color. Whenever she wore it, it seemed to bring out the green in her eyes even more. Before heading out of the bedroom, she grabbed the diary from her nightstand and stuffed it inside of her back pack.

  Delaney glanced over at her mother’s closed bedroom door, and decided to peek in on her to make sure she was still alive. She hoped her mother would still be passed out and wouldn’t wake up to see her fully dressed and ready to leave the house.

  Just as she suspected, her mother was passed out on the bed with an empty bottle of Vodka in her right hand. Delaney’s eyes dropped down to the empty glass that her mother screamed for earlier that morning. All she could do was shake her head in disgust.

  She walked over and planted a kiss on her mother’s rose colored cheek. “I love you, Mama,” she whispered before closing the door behind her.

  Chapter Four

  “What the fuck?” Ava yelled when she felt the sting of freezing cold water splash across her face. Once she got her bearings together, she sat up in the bed only to see her brother-in-law, Cameron, towering over her. The rage in his eyes said it all. She knew she was in for a fight.

  “Wake your ass up, Ava! We need to talk,” he demanded.

  She was simply not in the mood for Cameron’s bullshit today. Ava didn’t understand why he couldn’t just mind his damn business and stay out of hers.

  “You and I don’t have shit to talk about,” she said running her hands through her disheveled hair. She knew she looked like shit and didn’t appreciate him busting up in her house unannounced. Not to mention the fact that he’d just splashed cold water in her face.

  Cameron stood glaring at her with a mixture of pity and rage in his eyes. He couldn’t believe how much Ava had changed throughout the years. It tore at his heart to see how far she’d let her appearance go. Cane had always been a player, and Cam could not understand for the life of him why Ava chose to ignore the signs even before she agreed to be his wife.

  “Ava, you need to get your shit together! Just look at you! You’re lying around here drunk all of the damn time, feeling sorry for yourself. Do you ever stop to think about how your behavior is affecting Delaney?” he questioned, throwing his hands up in the air as he stood towering over her.

  Ava wanted to snap on his ass and tell him to mind his business, but she knew in her heart that he meant well. She felt the tears burning in the rim of her eyes, threatening to roll down her face. She knew that she looked a hot mess and crying would only add to her already pitiful appearance. Ava turned her head to escape his penetrating stare. She bowed her head and began to pick at her chipped fingernail polish.

  Cameron sat down on the bed beside her and reached for her hands. Although she still felt like slapping the shit out of him, she allowed him to comfort her.

  “Ava, I’m not trying to intentionally hurt your feelings, but you need to hear the truth. Delaney is suffering and she feels as if you hate her. You’ve got to stop blaming Delaney for the way your life is right now. You need to get off your ass and get your shit together. Cane isn’t worth it,” he said, softening his tone. He would give his right arm to have a woman like Ava on his team.

  At this point, she could no longer hold back the tears. She let them fall as she buried her face in Cam’s chest. It hurt her to the core of her soul to hear that Delaney thought she hated her. She loved her baby girl, but she’d grown so cold and bitter until she was unable to give her the love she needed. Every time that Cane did some foul shit, she would nut up and take her frustrations out on Delaney. The drinking definitely didn’t help matters either.

  Cam took his right hand and wiped her tears away. Then he wrapped his arms around her, and held her in silence while she cried. She’d always felt a closeness to Cam and he’d always been in her corner. He never approved of the way that Cane treated her, and he’d made it known to Cane on several occasions.

  Sometimes Ava felt like she married the wrong brother. She often thought about how different her life would be if she would have met Cameron first. She found it strange that although he and Cane could pass as twin brothers, she didn’t feel the urge to lash out at him like she did her baby girl. Maybe it was because unlike Cane, he was never one to chase after women.

  Cam started to shake his head no, as if he could read the thoughts that were floating around in her head. “Things are as they should be, Ava. We can’t go back in time and change what’s already done.”

  “Why haven’t you gotten married yet, Cam? I know there are dozens of women that would love to be your wife,” she asked. She already knew the answer to her question, yet she wanted to hear him say the words.

  “You already know why I’m not married and why I will never get married,” he chuckled.

  Ava knew he wouldn’t say it out loud, so she continued to rest her head on his chest and reminisced about the first time that she met Cameron. Cane invited her to his mother’s house for dinner one hot summer’s day. He said that he wanted his mother to meet the woman who’d stolen his heart. She was beyond nervous about meeting her. It wasn’t until he told her that all five of his siblings would also be at the dinner that she actually started to panic. Ava didn’t come from a large family, and to be surrounded by so many strangers at once had her nerves on edge. She could only imagine the questions that they would ask her. She really wanted to make a good impression on all of them.

  Cane had four older brothers and one sister who was born only sixteen months before him. He told her how his father left the family for another woman while his mother was pregnant with him. He had never even met his father. Cane’s relationship with his mother was the most important thing to him, so she knew she had to make a good impression on her.

  When Cane and Ava reached the front door of his mother’s home, they were greeted by his oldest brother, Camero
n. She had to do a double take, because the two of them resembled each other so much. Cameron welcomed her and made her feel like family from the very beginning. It was something so magnetic about his personality. From day one, he’d made an impression on her. Whenever Cane would break her heart or do anything to make her sad, Cam was always there to dry Ava’s tears. Eventually they began to develop feelings for one another. Cam and Ava knew that they had to do something to break the strong attraction that was brewing between the two of them.

  One day Ava decided to stop by her mother-in-law’s house to visit Cam. Mama Pam informed her that he’d taken a job in Texas and moved a few days prior. Ava was crushed and hurt more than she should have been. She couldn’t believe that Cam would leave without even saying goodbye. She was heartbroken by his sudden disappearance, although she understood why he felt it necessary to leave Georgia.

  Ava was lost without Cam being there to console her while Cane was out running the streets with his many bitches. During Cam’s absence she picked up drinking, and Vodka quickly became her consolation. Whenever she cracked that bottle and poured the liquid poison down her throat, she felt invincible. From that day forward, Ava began to drown all of her sorrows into a bottle of liquor. Without Cam, she felt lost and betrayed.

  She no longer cared about her appearance or the upkeep of her home. Ava began to neglect her one and only daughter and started becoming verbally abusive towards Delaney. She could never talk down to her baby girl unless she had that liquid courage running through her veins. Ava needed something or someone to take her anger out on, and it just so happened to be her precious daughter.

  “Are you ok?” Cam asked, interrupting her journey down memory lane.

  “Yes, I’m fine. Just hold me please,” she begged. Ava reveled in the feel of his strong arms around her. At that moment she needed to feel loved. In Cam’s arms is where she had always felt loved and wanted.

  Without saying another word, Cam complied. He held her in a way that she hadn’t been held in a long time. All of her insecurities seemed to vanish in the security of his loving embrace. What she wouldn’t give to go back in time and change the decision she made thirteen years ago. She only prayed that what they’d done didn’t come back to haunt her.

  Chapter Five

  Delaney walked to Natasha’s house without a care in the world allowing the cool summer’s breeze to tickle her face. She didn’t even mind that the bright sun was beaming down harshly on her chocolate skin. Delaney was just happy to escape the madness of her life, even if it was only for a little while. She couldn’t wait to get to her bestie’s house and let her hair down. She prayed that when she did return home later that evening, that she wouldn’t have to face her mother’s wrath for disobeying her and going to Auntie Dana’s house against her wishes.

  “Damn, you fine as hell!” A voice called out from behind her.

  Delaney stopped dead in her tracks and placed her hands on her hips with a scowl on her face. She was used to boys trying to holla at her, but that didn’t mean that the constant attention didn’t get up under her skin. She mean-mugged Chris as his eyes lustfully roamed over her shapely body from head to toe. After flipping him off with her middle finger, she turned and walked away. Chris flashed a dazzling smile ignoring her obvious annoyance and continued to taunt her with his lame come on lines.

  “Hold up, shawdy, let me holla at you for a minute,” he said, jogging to keep up with her fast pace.

  Delaney rolled her eyes and ignored him as if he wasn’t talking to her, but Chris was relentless in his pursuit to get her attention. She quickened her pace in an effort to escape his advances.

  “Damn, Laney, why you so mean girl?” he smiled, calling her by her nickname. She couldn’t deny the fact that Chris was a cutie. He was the most popular boy at her middle school. All the girls were crazy about him, except for Delaney. His smooth mocha complexion, curly hair, and pearly whites kept the girls panties wet. He stood about 5’9, and stayed rocking the latest gear. No matter how attractive Delaney found Chris to be, he was still a boy that would soon grow into a cheating, no good ass man. In her mind, all men were just a heartbreak waiting to happen. She refused to fall under his spell no matter how charming he may have been.

  Delaney stopped walking for the second time and stared Chris dead in his eyes. She rolled her eyes, cocking her head to the side. “First of all, my name is Delaney to you. Second of all, I am not mean. I’m just not interested. I would appreciate it if you would leave me alone and get outta my face.”

  “Come on, Delaney, let me rap to you for a minute. I know you’re on your way to Natasha’s house, and I just happen to be on my way to Craig’s crib,” he said, flashing that heart-melting smile of his.

  Delaney crossed her arms over her chest and shrugged. “What does that have to do with me? I ain’t stopping you,” she said, with attitude dripping from her voice.

  Chris wasn’t fazed one way or the other by Delaney’s attitude. He’d had the biggest crush on her ever since kindergarten. Her beauty took his breath away every time he laid eyes on her, and he was determined to make Delaney his girl. All of his homeboys wanted to get with her, but every time one of them stepped to her, she shot them down cold.

  “Craig lives right across the street from Natasha, so I’m saying we may as well walk there together. Or I can walk behind you and keep staring at your booty, lil’ mama,” he teased, amused by the reaction he knew was coming.

  Delaney didn’t find that shit funny at all. “Ugggghhh, you make me sick! Just come on, the faster we get there the faster I can get you out of my face!” she fumed.

  Chris chuckled and draped his arm around Delaney’s shoulder. He felt like he’d won the first battle, and he was determined, now more than ever, to make her his girl.

  Delaney cringed when Chris wrapped his arm around her shoulders, she was stiff as a board. She wanted to protest, but decided to keep walking. Her lips were drawn tightly together, and her face wore an expression of pure disgust.

  However, Chris didn’t seem bothered in the least. He was talking a mile a minute, which annoyed the hell out of Delaney. On the flip side, her body started to betray her mind as she walked so closely with Chris. She felt a tingle in between her legs that she’d never experienced before. All of the tension she felt earlier during their encounter seemed to have left her body, and she felt more relaxed in his presence.

  To Delaney’s surprise Chris was pleasantly funny and entertaining. She found herself giggling like most school girls her age did when they’re crushing on someone. She actually felt her age for those few moments and no longer like the recluse thirteen-year-old she’d become.

  When they reached Natasha’s house, Delaney felt a fleeting moment of disappointment because her time with Chris was coming to an end. She immediately checked her emotions and reminded herself why she pledged to stay away from the male species altogether. Chris didn’t come off overly aggressive, and he appeared to be genuinely interested in her. The internal struggle weighed heavily on her mind, and she felt conflicted between her attraction for Chris and her mother’s warning about men.

  “What’s wrong, lil’ mama? You look like you just lost your best friend,” Chris inquired, noticing the change in Delaney’s demeanor.

  “What makes you think something is wrong?” she replied. Delaney was the master of disguising her emotions, and the fact that Chris saw past her tough exterior had her nerves on edge.

  “It’s all good, Laney. Imma check you later,” he smiled, and ran across the street headed towards Craig’s house. Chris could sense that he’d won her over and that’s what mattered the most. He would have more opportunities to get next to her. There was no need to press her too much. He would just let nature take its course. One thing for certain, Delaney was going to be his girl.

  Delaney stood there stunned with her mouth wide open at his sudden disappearance. She expected for him to have some slick comeback or to at least try to press her for her phone numbe
r like he normally did. Oh, whatever. Guys! she thought.

  After she picked her mouth up off of the ground, she turned and proceeded to walk to Natasha’s front door. She could hear music playing loudly from inside of Natasha’s house, which meant Auntie Dana was not at home. Knowing Natasha, she was probably laid up with Jason’s ass.

  Delaney rang the doorbell and waited on her best friend to come to the door. After ringing the doorbell for a third time, Natasha finally opened the door wearing a skimpy pair of short black spandex shorts and a white tank top with no bra.

  “Dang girl, what the hell took you so long? I’ve been standing out here for damn near fifteen minutes,” Delaney said, stretching the truth.

  “Sorry girl! I didn’t hear the doorbell,” Natasha said, stepping to the side to allow Delaney to enter.

  Delaney could smell the pungent odor of weed as soon as she stepped inside of the house, which only confirmed that Jason was near. Natasha starting dating Jason two years ago while in the sixth grade and those two had been inseparable ever since. She met him one night at the skating rink. The duo quickly turned into a trio. At first Jason’s constant presence bothered Delaney. She wanted things to stay the same, when it was just her and Natasha. But in time, she came to accept Jason and they actually got along better than she expected. She never understood why her best friend was so boy crazy in the first place. Like Delaney, she too had seen the pain of what loving a man did to a woman. Natasha’s mother had men coming in and out of their house like a revolving door.

  “Dang, y’all got it smoked out in here! Auntie Dana gonna kick off in your ass when she gets home,” Delaney warned.

  Natasha shrugged her shoulders, turned and began walking towards her bedroom. Delaney smirked and followed behind her best friend. A hard head makes for a soft ass, she thought to herself.

  When they entered Natasha’s room, Jason was sprawled out across her bed shirtless, smoking a blunt. “Whad up, Laney,” he said, blowing smoke out of his mouth.