Still thicker than water

by Takerra, Allen

  “No, Mrs. Bernstein I like you fine…It’s just that I like Aubrey, a little bit more. And I’ll tell you, one thing I don’t like, is liars.”

  Sasha furrowed her eyebrows and jerked her head back.

  “Liars?”

  “Liars,” the woman repeated. “You said you didn’t leave your daughter at home alone, Mrs. Bernstein. You said you left her in fact, with an Amanda Bernstein.”

  Sasha nodded matter of factly and the woman shook her head in disappointment.

  “You’re still lying… Listen, I know for a fact that you did not leave your daughter with a babysitter, and in fact you left her alone, and this was not the first time that you did so.”

  Sasha cut her off in anger and felt herself about to explode.

  “That’s bullshit! You don’t know that because I would never do that…there are no facts! I would never leave my baby. Never!”

  “Yes you would. And I have several witnesses that will attest to it.”

  Sasha shook her head as if this was a terrible nightmare, as Chauncey made his way up to them.

  “Who?” Sasha screamed.

  “I don’t have to reveal that.”

  “What’s going on?” He asked, feeling the emotion in the hallway filled with tension.

  “Your daughter’s mother, made a big mistake…and until I get to the bottom of everything…Aubrey can not return home with her.”

  Sasha felt her heart drop to her stomach and could simultaneously taste the egg sandwich she’d just eaten about to come up. Her body began to shake.

  “What! Why are you doing this? You can’t do this! I don’t even know what’s going on? Chauncey…don’t let her do this…she can’t do this!”

  Sasha began to cry hysterically, placing her hands over her face.

  “Nah, fuck that, you can’t do that shit!” Chauncey challenged.

  The woman rolled her neck.

  “I can and I will…Several sworn statements from incredibly reliable sources saying that you, Sasha Bernstein, left Aubrey alone, a one year old who was poisoned, while her mother shows up to the hospital dressed for the nightclub, smelling like champagne, who openly admits to leaving a half open bottle of pine cleaner in the kitchen…”

  Sasha lunged at her wildly and Chauncey had to restrain her.

  “You fucking bitch!”

  “Mrs. Bernstein! You better get a hold of yourself before I have you arrested and you’ll be in jail throughout this entire investigation.”

  “You stupid ass bitch!” Chauncey barked. “Get the fuck outta here on ya power trip, yo!”

  “Mr. Mills, I advise you to calm down before you make things worse.” She pulled out a packet of paper from her briefcase.

  “This here is a court order that allows Aubrey Mills to reside at the premises of her biological father, Chauncey Mills, from the time of her release from the hospital, until the investigation is complete and the decision is made on whether the mother is fit to have the child returned to her.”

  Sasha stood, a little more calm, with her arms folded and her lip quivering as tears rolled down her face. Chauncey put his arm around her and assured her, “It’s gonna be okay princess.”

  “This is only based upon the assumption that Mr. Mills abides by all of his rules and regulations in regard to the Parole Board and his parole. In the event that you don’t Mr. Mills… well I guess you can just assume what would happen.”

  She turned on her heels with a smirk and made her way back down the hall.

  “Have a great day,” she added, and Sasha and Chauncey stood there wondering what the hell was going on.

  Two Days Later

  With all that was happening, Tatum convinced Ree to extend their stay for a little while longer. It actually didn’t take much convincing being that Ree totally understood – between Aubrey being hospitalized, then her recovering, E being killed, and then the whole Child Services thing; he knew that Tatum wanted to be there for Sasha.

  And then in addition to all of that happening, he still had the news that Trinity had thrown on him weighing heavy on his mind, and he was in no rush to get back and face that situation. All in all, making this a twisted series of events.

  Tatum had been traveling back and forth between the hotel and the hospital, Ree’s big bodyguard friend by her side every step of the way. She had managed to calm Sasha down a little, letting her know that it would all work out and convincing her to be thankful that they had allowed Aubrey to stay with Chauncey when she was released. Jayde also assured Sasha that she would get to the bottom of things. Jayde knew too many people in high places to not be able to find out who these supposed witnesses of these blatant lies were. She would find them, and then, they would be sorry.

  Sasha rested assured more, knowing that Jayde would get some answers, and knowing that Aubrey would be safe with Chauncey, but more than anything, glad to have her best friend, Tatum, there with her. Regardless of how many times she was questioned, Aubrey seemed to have no recollection of anything that had occurred, and while the doctor said that was perfectly normal, it made it difficult to figure out what happened. Sasha believed in her faith though, that everything would work out, it just had to. Mike was still worried about what had happened to Amanda and the whole event seemed to be a big mystery.

  Regardless of the circumstances however, when Tatum had revealed the news of her and Ree’s engagement, Sasha was thrilled for her. It was hard for her to be as happy as she normally would have been, but either way, she was definitely happy for her. She was actually upset that Tatum’s joyful event was overshadowed by all of the horrible occurrences. And she promised herself that when it all worked out, she would throw Tatum a proper celebration. Tatum held off about the news of Trinity being pregnant, she felt that could definitely wait.

  Meanwhile, Chauncey was trying to simultaneously figure out what exactly had happened with his daughter and what exactly had happened with E.

  He went over the night with Sasha a million times, and he went over the details of the shooting, with Jayde, about the same amount. He knew his friend was gone, and he knew a problem was coming, but apart of him couldn’t help but be thankful that his little girl had survived. Today was the day that he would bring her home.

  “So don’t feed her anything with too much sugar, oh and don’t let her drink late at night, Chauncey…make sure she has her Pedialyte every night, the doctor says it’ll help, oh, and try to read to her, it helps her sleep… and the doctor said she may be a little traumatized so keep the night light on, or maybe, sleep with her. Rub her ointment on before you put on her pull-up at night…and oh, she really likes those cookies, with the strawberry flavor…” Sasha began to tear up thinking about not having her baby home with her and she stopped. “Why is this happening? This is torture,” she painfully admitted.

  Chauncey stood there, with a solemn look. They were upstairs in his house, and Mike was outside, waiting on Sasha so that they could go to a lawyer and try to fight this whole thing. They wanted to find out some information, and try to get Aubrey back home.

  “You wanna take her?” Chauncey offered. “How would they know she wasn’t here?” He hated seeing Sasha so miserable.

  “I can’t risk losing her, Chauncey. We need to follow the rules…”

  “Then, stay here with me… move here with me…be here with me, Sash.”

  She looked into his sad eyes and she didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know if she could ever forget the pain Chauncey had caused her, but something inside told her that he was a changed man. A street man still, but a changed man.

  Just then the horn blew, and she knew Mike was waiting. They had to be on time.

  “I need to think, Chau-”

  He cut her off by pressing his lips to hers and holding the back of her head firmly, as he kissed her with enough passion to try and prove a point. She squirmed in objection, but then, submitted.

  He pulled away and stared at her and she ran her fingers over the tattoo of her
and Aubrey on his arm. He loves us.

  “Again. Kiss again,” Aubrey laughed, sitting up in her bed.

  Sasha walked over with a smile and hugged her tight, and then kissed her repeatedly.

  “I love you baby girl. And mommy will be back, okay?”

  Aubrey smiled and hugged Sasha, laying her head on Sasha’s chest.

  “No Mommy, stay.”

  Sasha closed her eyes tight and kissed the top of her head.

  “I…I will be really close, okay? And I’ll be right back.”

  Her voice cracked and she had to force herself away before Aubrey saw her cry. Then she knew Aubrey would get worried and probably cry too.

  “I love you Bri-Bri,” she added, at the doorway, her heart breaking into a million pieces.

  “I love you Mommy.”

  Chauncey stood there and watched his girls with love, and as Sasha was almost out of sight he heard her whisper something.

  “I love you, Chauncey.”

  A few seconds later he heard her make her way down the stairs and close the front door.

  “I love you too, Princess…I love you, too.”

  And then he heard the car pull off.

  Trinity lay in her bed sobbing, a box of Kleenex as her only companion. She thought of how dismissive Ree had been with her, even after learning she was pregnant. She had figured that when he realized that she was carrying his child, she would have surely won him by default.

  More than the obvious however, she thought of how she would pull off this whole scam.

  A blood test?

  The most apparent thing had completely gone over her head.

  How could I have missed that?

  It was the one part of the plan that she had not went over, probably because she hadn’t expected him to request one. As far as she was concerned, she and Ree had been an item, and he had to know that there was no one else.

  She didn’t worry about Rodney saying anything to anyone; she knew that his fear of losing his job and his fear of Ree would keep him hushed. Plus, if he were to say anything, he would have done so by now. She had repeated their raw sex escapades thrice since the first time.

  There was a possibility that the child would have come out looking nothing like Ree, but that was a common situation, and she’d assumed that after nine months of him catering to her, seeing her belly grow, sonogram pictures, baby names, and showers, he’d be too excited to question the paternity. But now she was not so sure.

  No matter how much she tried, she couldn’t get Tatum out of her mind. The way she looked, her demeanor, her confidence, everything about her proved exactly why Ree was in love with her.

  Trinity knew that she could not compete with her on any level, until now.

  Oh my god, this is it. Once he starts to see me showing and with my pregnant glow, he’ll have no choice but to send that bitch back to the States where she belongs.

  Dreams of family moments with Ree thrilled and excited Trinity. The only thing she knew that she had to do, was to use these nine months to convince Ree to change his mind about the blood test.

  Once she did that, she knew she would be in the clear.

  She briefly thought of the rumors she’d heard of Ree, how deadly and cold he could be, but she tried to place those thoughts far in the back of her mind.

  But still, when all of her other thoughts were used up; she couldn’t help but to wonder…

  What if he finds out the truth?

  “The lawyer said the investigation is procedural…he thinks we can have Aubrey home in no time.”

  “We?” Chauncey asked, his jaw flinching in anger as he threw his fork down into his spaghetti.

  Sasha had come back to his house that night, telling Mike that Aubrey couldn’t sleep without seeing her. But really she couldn’t sleep without seeing Aubrey…or Chauncey. Sasha had made them dinner, and now they were sitting there eating, while Aubrey was enthralled in her cartoons.

  Sasha looked down into her lap, not wanting to look at Chauncey.

  “Believe it or not Chaunc, Mike cares about Bri-Bri too. He wants her home.”

  “And what do you want, Sasha?” Chauncey questioned, sounding annoyed and becoming angry. “Home with him? Or home with me? Because if it’s honestly…honestly him…then you gotta let me know, ma.”

  His voice was filled with a sincerity that Sasha felt she had to match, or she would cheapen the mood.

  Chauncey had broken her heart, indeed. But he had managed to keep a firm hold on it that Sasha could not deny. So she figured, why try to.

  “I want…” She paused and blinked away tears, her slender, manicured hands shaking lightly. “I want a home with you, not him…but I don’t want you to break my heart…again.”

  “Never,” Chauncey responded quickly, looking her dead in the eyes.

  He reached over and grabbed her hand, and she sighed and shook her head.

  Was she ready to do this? Was she ready to forgive him?

  ‘My princess,” Aubrey whined, interrupting the deep moment.

  Sasha faced her.

  “Baby girl, mommy packed your princess. She’s upstairs.”

  Aubrey calmed briefly and then pouted, as if remembering something.

  “My Pinky.”

  Sasha rolled her eyes, thinking of the scraggily pink teddy bear that she had been meaning to get rid of.

  “Bri-Bri, do you really need that tonight? Can't mommy bring it tomorrow?”

  Aubrey poked out her lip and scrunched her face up in sadness, and Sasha frowned. She knew her baby had been through a lot and she wanted to make her happy. Chauncey was an even bigger sucker for what he referred to as ‘the face’.

  “I’ll go,” he volunteered, standing up.

  Sasha jumped up and put her hand to his chest.

  “Whoa, not so fast buddy. I’ll go.”

  She knew Chauncey, and the last thing she wanted was him going to her home, and he and Mike getting into it, and Chauncey blowing up her spot and telling Mike that she was leaving him.

  If she would decide to leave Mike, she would have the decency to tell him, and deep down inside, she knew she would leave soon.

  She reached for her purse, fishing for her keys when her cell phone began to ring.

  She answered on the third ring.

  “Hey Jayde, I’ll call you back, I’m on my way to the house.”

  Sasha waved bye and blew a kiss to Aubrey, as Chauncey assured her that her mommy would be right back, with Pinky.

  “Where are you?” Jayde asked, sounding a little concerned.

  “Oh, I was at Chauncey’s,” Sasha told her, reaching her car and jumping behind the wheel. It was dark and quiet on Chauncey’s street.

  “Well, you’ll have to drive and talk because I have something interesting to tell you.”

  As Sasha pulled off and listened to Jayde, her confusion grew by the second. Most of what Jayde was saying didn’t make sense.

  “So wait,” Sasha asked mystified, finally pulling onto her street after Jayde’s long tirade. “There is no Amanda Bernstein…is that what you’re telling me?”

  Jayde sighed.

  “Well, there is an Amanda Bernstein…but she died two years ago in a car crash.”

  Sasha furrowed her eyebrows as Jayde continued.

  “There is a woman who was caught using the name as an alias on several occasions, her name is Liz Preston.”

  Sasha was stunned.

  “And you know what, Mike did say that before we moved down here, he hadn’t seen Amanda since she was younger,” Sasha recalled, as if it were making sense to her. She couldn’t believe that they had left her baby with a stranger. “She was playing us like she was Amanda the whole time I bet!”

  Jayde stammered in deliberation.

  “But even still, you think Mike wouldn’t recognize his own cousin, I mean, even if it had been years?”

  Sasha shrugged as if Jayde could see her.

  “I don’t know, but I’m gonna let him kn
ow what’s going on. I’ll call you back.”

  Sasha was sitting in front of her house, and Jayde’s line had started going in and out.

  “O-k…le – know – im – al – record – sh – be- safe.”

  “Huh? Girl, let me call you back, your phone is breaking up.”

  “Hello. Sasha? Hello. Can you hear me?”

  Jayde moved closer to her bedroom window and spoke again.

  “Sasha, I said let me know what he says because this girl has a crazy criminal record, and I want to make sure you guys will be safe!”

  “Hello!” Jayde repeated.

  “Hello!”

  But Sasha had already ended the call.

  “Mike!” She screamed, busting in the house. “Mike!”

  All of the lights were off, besides the one illuminating from the kitchen.

  Sasha’s chest heaved in anger and in confusion, and she wanted them to get to the bottom of what was going on.

  “Mike!” She called again, walking toward the kitchen, a small feeling of fear coming over her.

  Where is he?

  All of her nervous feelings of Mike’s whereabouts vanished when she noticed his huge 35 millimeter camera sitting on the counter, the back opened as if the film had been taken out.

  He’s here.

  She breathed a sigh of relief and knew that meant one thing, that he was in his small studio in his mini shed out back.

  Under normal circumstances she was not allowed back there, but these were excruciating circumstances.

  She placed her purse down on the counter and stormed toward the deck, sliding the glass doors open and making her way to the shed.

  “Mike,” she called, as she knocked. “Mike.”

  She softly pushed the door open and squinted through the darkness. She knew there was a hand built light switch in there because Mike had bragged about it when he had first installed it.

  “Where is that switch? Where is it?” Sasha asked out loud, feeling around for it.

  Finally, her fingertips lightly touched something that felt familiar, like a switch. She clicked it up, and the sight before her instantly frightened her into stillness.