Anna and Jackson

by Tigris Eden

  “You’re all right, Vivian.” He says sweetly. Sweetly! Like she is a baby and needs coddling. I don’t stick around to see what happens next. I hear Joey call after me, while Treat and Jackson try calming Vivian and her daughter down, who is screaming bloody murder.

  Was I wrong for going off on her? Of course, I was, but I’m not going to admit that to anyone but myself right now. I just don’t care.

  Should I have waited for Jackson to give me his sorry ass excuse of a story about why he was kissing his ex-fiancé?

  The answer to that question is a big hell no.

  My only regret is that their child had been there to see me explode.

  I thought things were going to be different between Jackson and me, that I was special enough to gain his love. But I was wrong--painfully wrong. I almost hit Joey’s rosebushes when I pull out of her drive. My eyes are so blurry from tears that I can barely see. I pull over halfway down the road just so I don’t kill myself trying to get to my next destination.

  What the hell am I going to do now? All of my stuff is at Jackson’s place. All of it.

  I tug my phone out of my purse and hit up the first person I can think of–someone I know is all wrong for me, but will make it all right. My crazy cousin Lola.

  “Speak your business.”

  “Lo, it's me.”

  “Well if it isn’t New York.”

  “I don’t have time, Lo, I need a place to crash.” I sniffle into the phone.

  “Annabelle, you okay? What happened? We need to cut a bitch? I got you, Cuz, you know me.”

  Yeah, Lola is one crazy girl. Even though she’s married with kids, she is still down for whatever dirt I need done.

  “I will be, once you tell me I can come crash at your place.”

  “Yeah, girl. Come on through. I’ll get out the Crown. Pooh Bear is working the late shift, and the kids are all over at Mom’s. Come on over, girl. I got what you need.”

  “Thanks, Lo.”

  “Anytime, Anna.”

  I wipe my face and drive the twenty miles over to my cousin’s. It’s the only place I know that Jackson wouldn’t dare come looking for me.

  “Hold up! The fuck you mean you walked in on them kissing!” Lola screams. I just look at her and take another drink of my crown and coke.

  “I’m not going over it again. I already told you three times now what happened, Lo. I just want to get drunk and fall asleep.”

  “Girl, you need more than a drink, you need some green. You want me to roll you one? I know you say you don’t smoke, but, girl. You. Need. A. Smoke. That’s some shit right there, you can’t just woo-sa that one away, Cuz. I’m so sorry.”

  I love my family. I do, but sometimes, I just want to forget. My Aunt Lorraine and her kids are wild. Mom says all the Danvers have sass. They are loud, and straightforward. Word vomit doesn’t equate to the kinds of phrases that come out their mouths. If one of Lorraine’s kids are feeling generous with their words, they will spread it everywhere.

  “No, I can’t. You know that stuff makes me sick. I don’t have the same reaction you do.”

  “Girl, its Friday, your man cheated on you. With a model, girl, a motherfucking model! Ain’t no chance in hell Jackson Storme is going to go back to you when Jackson has her and the little girl. Girl, I’m not even Maury and I can already tell you what the verdict’s gonna be.”

  I roll my eyes at Lola.

  “Girl, you know that baby is his. I’m sure he got at least four, five of them running around in some other parish.”

  “Lo, you are not helping me here.”

  “I am. I’m telling you the facts, because you know good and goddamn well, if Jackson were standing on my front porch, you’d take his fine ass back. Girl, let Pooh Bear do some shit like that. Ooh wee. Locks would be changed. I would have done more than gotten my groove back. I would not wait to exhale. Honey, I’d set this whole place on fire and then go and fuck his best friend. Real talk!”

  My head is starting to hurt, the alcohol having the effects I want it to have. My cousin is now done with her spiel, so I raise my glass and give her a loud, “A. To. The. Men. Cuz.”

  “Hell yeah! Now we’re talking. You want to go and pour sugar in his tank? Key his ride up? You know me--I’m a ride or die chick. Hood one hundred.”

  The front door slams open, and both of us look up at my cousin’s husband, Daniel, aka Pooh Bear.

  “What the hell are you girls doing now?”

  “Hey, Pooh Bear,” My cousin yells, her voice still strong and loud. She’s had more Crown and Coke than I did and she is still sober.

  “Hey, Daniel.”

  “Hey, Cousin Anna, how’s everything?”

  “Humph.” I grouch.

  “Sit down, honey. I’ll tell you the whole story. The whole story. First, you gotta see Anna’s hand. I cleaned it up, but she beat a bitch down. I mean beat that bitch like she stole something.”

  Lola had taken one look at my hand, cheered, and then washed me up. All on the condition that I give her punch-by-punch detail of what went down. After she cleaned me up, she offered to drive down to the Storme place for round two. This is why I needed her, as bad of an idea as it is; Lola has a knack for making people feel good about themselves. Even when they are in the wrong. Because the truth is, I had no business putting my hands on Vivian. It felt good. Real good. But I was caught off guard and the only thing I could think about was my fist connecting to her face. Thinking about it has me wanting a repeat. In slow motion. I know I’m letting her get the best of me, but right now, I don’t care.

  Lola tells the story to her husband. She adds little extra ins and outs that never took place, and I should correct her, but I don’t. They may live twenty miles outside Beauville, but by midday tomorrow, it will twist into something grand and out of control. My mother is going to be angry. Joey’s probably upset because I caused a ruckus in her home, and I couldn't care less what Jackson and his ready-made family thinks. He can go suck a dick for all I care.

  “Well that explains the phone call,” Daniel murmurs.

  “What phone call?” Both Lola and I ask at the same time.

  “Sheriff called me looking for you. Asked if you were staying the night at our place. Told him we hadn’t heard from you.”

  “Dude! You’re a fugitive.” Lola stands, clapping her hands.

  “Quiet, Lo. Jackson is worried about her. He didn’t sound like he was trying to pick her up for assault,” my cousin’s husband comments.

  “Oh come on, Pooh Bear. You know that’s probably his way of gaining information from us. But you were smarter than him, baby.”

  This is my life. I forgot how crazy Lola could be.

  “I wasn’t smart, baby. I had no idea Anna was even here.”

  “Don’t worry about it, Daniel. He won’t come here causing trouble, I promise. I’m sure he thinks I’m at my mama’s or I went back to New York.”

  That’s when it hits me again.

  New York.

  All your stuff is still at Jackson’s.

  Ugh.

  I can’t even make a run for New York.

  My eyes are puffy from all the crying I’ve done. My stomach is empty, and I’m dizzy from all the alcohol. Now if only sleep would claim me. I stay up well into the night with Lola. Both of us coming up with different scenarios of how the fight with Vivian should have gone down. It makes me feel better.

  That is, until morning.

  My head hurts and my mouth is dry. There isn’t anything worse than a hangover on an empty stomach. I slept in my cousin’s guestroom. Somehow, my cell phone’s plastered to my cheek. I remember turning it off when I got to Lola’s, but I don’t remember turning it back on. There are seven voice mails. One from Joey and the other six from Jackson. All the messages are the same. They want to know where I am, if I’m safe, and Joey wants to know, when am I coming back. From Jackson: ‘I had better bring my ass home.’

  “Not gonna happen anytime soon.” I reite
rate to myself.

  I try sitting up and immediately lie back down. The room is spinning. The ugly minions from drunkard land are hammering at the sides of my head. I don’t want to think about the messages from Joey or Jackson. My mind just wants sleep, blessed sleep.

  She wasn’t at her mother’s, and Daniel had confirmed the night before she wasn’t at his place. That was at least something. Lola Danvers was a hot ass mess. She was also Annabelle’s cousin. If Anna had gone to her, Jackson knew all four of his tires would have been flat, and his car would have been keyed.

  “Treat, has she called Joey back at all?” His sister had tried calling as well. He’d hope she would have at least taken his sister’s call, but she hadn’t.

  “No, man, she hasn’t contacted anyone. You need to let her cool off. When she comes back to the house, you can try to explain what happened.”

  “If she’ll listen. She’s stubborn.”

  “Well, if you love her, then she’s worth it. I gotta tell you, man, seeing Annabelle put Vivian on her ass was classic. That girl has a killer left hook.”

  Yeah, she did. Vivian’s right eye was black and swollen, her lip busted and her nose was bruised. At least nothing was broken. He’d taken her to the hospital last night to get her patched up. She’d soaked up every bit of attention she thought she could garner from him by acting like a baby. But it hadn’t worked. She’d kissed him, and right as Anna was walking through the door. It was planned on Vivian’s part. She just hadn’t expected the reaction she’d received. Anna was quiet by nature, but if you pushed hard enough, she’d push back even harder. She was, after all, related to Lola Danvers, and the Danvers were no joke.

  “I do. She wants me to say the words.”

  “What woman doesn’t want to hear that you love her, man? Have you not learned anything from the crazy shit your sister and me went through to be together? I almost lost Joey because I couldn’t tell her. Women aren’t like us. They know about the show, but if you don’t tell them every now and again, well, they get antsy.”

  He’d tell her every day if she’d just let him explain what happened with Vivian.

  “Yeah, well I have so much shit going down right now, man, I’m just trying not to let it all bleed into my future.”

  “I hear you.”

  Jackson wasn’t going to tell Treat about the conversation he and Vivian had last night about her so-called threat. He needed to make sure it was legit before he went and made a move on making sure the woman didn’t destroy what future he had with Anna.

  If there even is a future.

  He wasn’t going to think like that. Of course, they still had a future together. He just needed to sit her down and explain a few things to her.

  “Well, she still has her mama’s car. Pearl has work today, so she has to show up to her mother’s sooner rather than later.” Jackson said into the phone.

  “True. Well, I gotta head into the office today. You know, keep up appearances. My father wants to go over some new plans for an upcoming project.”

  “If you or Joey hears anything…”

  “Yeah, we’ll let you know.”

  Jackson laid his cell on the table and took a drink of his coffee. What if she went back to New York? Her stuff is still here. She wouldn’t leave her camera.

  Where else would she go?

  Give and Take: Chapter 9

  “Annabelle…Annabelle Macon.”

  Someone was calling me, but I can’t turn my head to see who it was. My head still hurts, and it feels like a bulldozer hit me repeatedly.

  “Here, take these. Pooh Bear and I dropped your mama’s car off to her so she could get to work. Everyone, and I mean everyone in Beauville is looking for you, girl. Couldn’t even drive to the darn pharmacy without hearing about your fight with Jackson’s ex-fiancé. Mamie Lee was talking to Sylvia, who was standing with that tramp Viola and, girl, they were saying that the reason you’re not in town is because Jackson gave you the boot.”

  Lola makes a puffing sound. I have this mental picture of her rolling her eyes and her neck, as she tells me how she set the record straight. I would have looked if I could open my eyes.

  “You know I told them hos the real deal right? Skanks. They’re just jealous because you and Jackson are an item. And you know Viola is pissed she can’t even get on his rotation. Especially since he shut that shit down after the two of you hooked up. Girl, I wanted to slap a bitch, and Jackson ain’t even my man.”

  “Water,” I squeak hoarsely. “Water and some aspirin.”

  “Right, let me get that for you. Natasha! Natasha! Bring your cousin Anna a bottle of water. You had better not be on your cell. Get up off your lazy ass and do as I say.”

  “Yes, ma’am!” I hear screamed back.

  “Oh, now where was I? Oh right, the tricks at the pharmacy. Anyway, as I was straightening them out, guess who should walk in? Corrine Storme. You know she couldn’t keep her mouth shut about her grandbaby Ava, and then she started sprinkling her lies all over. Talking about how Jackson stayed at her place with his daughter, and the baby mama. Making sure she was alright because you were out of control.”

  “Are you serious?” I manage to croak.

  “Girl, yes.”

  Lo’s daughter Natasha comes in then with water, and touches my back so I roll over and hands me the bottle as Lo shoves aspirin in my face.

  “Thanks, Nat.”

  “Hmm.” She turns and walks back out. Her head’s down as she peers at her cell phone.

  I know I shouldn’t get too caught up with all that went down in the pharmacy, but Lola is a great storyteller.

  “Yes, and then the woman had the nerve to say that Jackson was officially off the market for good, and soon there would be a wedding. You know she was hinting at that broad Vivian. Is she that whacked-out? Why would Jackson marry her when he can have you? I mean, you got booty, tits, good hair, and well, Anna, I hate to say it, but girl, if you weren’t my cousin and I wasn’t straight, I’d be all up on that.”

  “Gross, Lola.”

  She laughs. Actually laughs. I smile after a while. She is, after all, my cousin. I don’t remind her that last night she all but told me Jackson preferred Vivian to me because she had his kid.

  “Just saying.”

  “Well, thanks for saying that. I’m going to use your shower. Can I borrow some of your clothes?”

  “Yeah, girl. Go on ahead and get that out of the way. Then we can start trying to figure out how to get your stuff back from that worthless piece of a man Jackson. Especially if he went and spent the night with his baby mama.”

  “Yeah, let’s not and say we did. I don’t want any trouble.”

  “Girl, won’t be any trouble. I can call Pookie, Trill, and Skrilla.”

  Oh dear lord in heaven. All three of her brothers have records a mile long. The three of them had gotten into so much trouble as teenagers, they grew up in the penal system. My cousins going down to Beauville and starting trouble would be all kinds of bad.

  “No, we don’t need to do all that. I’m a grown woman, Lo. I can go and get my stuff from Jackson, and then that’s that.”

  “Let me put my hair up, just in case.”

  “Just in case of what, Lo?”

  “You know, if that Vivian woman is there and we gotta tussle with her. I can’t have her all up in my kitchen. Pulling and yanking on it. I just got my whip did like three days ago. Rhonda would have a conniption if I came back to the shop tore up from the floor up because I let some white woman get her claws in my head.”

  “Lo, there isn’t going to be any fighting. Jackson wouldn’t let that go down again. I’m just going to call him, let him know I’m coming to pick up my stuff, and then we’re leaving. Please don’t make this anymore crazy than it needs to be.”

  “If you say so, but just in case, I got your back.”

  I half smile, which is all I can manage with a splitting headache that still hasn’t subsided. “Alright, Lo. You got my back.
”

  My cousin claps her hands and winks at me. These gestures could mean anything. Either she is taking to heart what I said, or she has her own agenda.

  There comes a time when things need to be handled differently. How it’s handled is the real kicker. I pride myself on doing what I think is right. Beating the snot out of Vivian, wasn’t one my most promising moments. I did call Jackson, and he answered on the first ring.

  “Anna,” his voice sounds relieved. “Baby, where are you? Do you need me to come and get you? I can be there in thirty minutes. I just need to go over the schedule for the week with my men.”

  Hearing his voice hurts my heart. I’m still angry at what I witnessed the night before. It doesn’t help that my cousin has spoon-fed me the drama that went down earlier at the pharmacy.

  “I don’t need you to come and get me, Jackson.”

  He lets out a frustrated groan over the phone. “Anna, we’re not going to go through this crazy bullshit. You hear me. I’m not having it.”

  “Oh, you’re not having it?”

  “What he say to you, girl? What’s going on?” My cousin is sitting at the kitchen counter, doing her best to hear the conversation. I stand, walking out to the front porch. This is between Jackson and me. No one else.

  “Are you fucking kidding me, Anna? Was that Lola?”

  “Yeah, but I’m out on the porch now. She knows not to follow. Look, I don’t want any problems. I just want to get my stuff and leave.”

  “Get your stuff and leave?”

  “That’s what I said.”

  “You’re not even going to let me explain, are you?”

  “What’s to explain? I walked in on you kissing your ex--or should I say current fiancé?”

  “What the fuck do you mean current fiancé?”

  “Does it even matter? You obviously want to do what’s right for your family. I get it. Vivian comes standard with a kid. She’s beautiful, and most important, she’s white.”