AUGUST, page 8
“What are you and Mama tryna tell me?”
Just then, another message came through my phone. Checking it, I saw that my delivery had been made. I glanced back at my granny’s picture, afraid to read too deep into the answer.
Chapter Twelve
ASIA ANTHONY
If only August knew how much I needed these flowers today. Inhaling the scent of the luscious yellow daisies, I pictured it being him, and I was inhaling the freshness of his shirt while my head lay on his chest.
You’re supposed to be forgetting about him.
“I am,” I mumbled to the overflowing floral arrangement. Especially since Nesha called herself wanting him. Putting him out of my mind was for the best. He and I could remain friends. I would have to be cool with that.
Besides, as sick as I was, I had absolutely no time or energy to pour into anyone—not even my grandmother. I slipped in and out of her apartment, just to stay long enough to keep her from suspecting anything was wrong.
Until today. Today I lingered inside her apartment a little longer just to admire the flowers that August had delivered. His thoughtfulness made me smile when there wasn’t a smile within me. Dodging him had me missing him. However, I wasn’t in a state to reach out to him. He’d find a way to need to see me or take care of me. The last thing I wanted him to think was that I was some sickly ass girl.
Then there was Faith. She wanted so badly to involve August, but I threatened to block her number and file a trespassing order on her if she told him the slightest shit. It was crazy how the two of us were growing close even though we had yet to spend any time together. I did get to meet June’s handsome self. He talked to me sometimes whenever Faith would call. I couldn’t wait to feel better so that I could actually spend time with them in person.
The medication Dr. House gave me had me feeling like shit, though. Thinking I was allergic to the shit, I called Dr. House’s office just to be informed that the symptoms I was experiencing were normal side effects. He’d warned me. However, I didn’t take it as seriously as I should’ve.
Thankfully, I was able to get my wigs done. It took more time than usual, but at least orders were going out as if nothing was wrong with me. My body was fatigued and drained from lack of appetite. When I did eat, that shit came right back up.
Dr. House assured me that the symptoms would subside in the next week or so. I truly prayed they did. I was ready to eat and get back to my normal everyday life.
Trudging into the bathroom, I caught sight of myself in the mirror. Besides the slight bags dotting the space under my eyes, my skin glowed healthily. I started the shower and stepped in with steps heavy. As I soaped my body, images of August’s plump bottom lip tucked between his teeth played in my head. His scent entered the shower as well, causing my middle to ignite as if he’d somehow touched me. The girl who hated to be touched wanted so badly to feel his hands on me.
Despite the fact that I was dodging him, I couldn’t let this day pass without him knowing that he was appreciated. Knowing he’d gone most of his life without his mother made me wonder how that affected him in adulthood. I wondered if he’d ever experienced love. Or if he was just going through life’s motions trying to find his way to it.
The next afternoon, I left Ensley Shores to grab me and my grandmother an early dinner. Soup was on the menu since that was about all I could hopefully tolerate. Last night was the first night I made it all the way through without losing my stomach. I was on pins and needles, praying my grandmother didn’t sense that I was sick. I read to her for a while, then worked on a wig for Nesha and two of her crew members. Even she wasn’t privy to what was going on with me. I just wanted space to get better.
As I drove down the street past Lily’s, I willed myself not to glance where I knew August’s truck was parked. I failed. My eyes scanned the car bays, hoping to catch a glimpse of him. I wasn’t disappointed. He was standing in one of the car bays talking to Jericho. He spotted me driving by and paused whatever he was saying to stare. I missed him terribly, and it had only been a couple of weeks since I last laid eyes on him.
Sighing, I broke eye contact and kept towards my destination, wondering if Nesha ever succeeded in contacting him. Her messages over the last couple of weeks gave nothing away, leaving me on the edge. Nesha was normally very vocal. So the fact that she remained mum when it came to August bothered me a little bit.
He’s your friend. You have more access to him than anyone.
“Yeah, whatever,” I mumbled to myself as I pulled into the building just two buildings down from Lily’s. Having August’s number did not equate to me having access to him. The access I wanted to him included his heart, not just a quick text here and there.
While waiting for my order, I checked my IG page for any new comments on my last video. There were several, too many to tackle right now. Deciding to respond to them once I made it back to my grandmother’s, I clicked off my page and begrudgingly typed August’s name in the search bar. For whatever reason, my palms sweat when several accounts pulled up. Only one had the face of August. @I.Am.August_Lily’s brought an instant smile to my face. If the white lily camouflaged in the background of most of his pictures was any sign, he knew exactly what an August Lily was. The play on his and his grandmother’s name really made my heart beat wildly in my chest. I wondered if he spent just as much time with his own grandmother as he did mine.
After grabbing our soup, I pulled back into the parking lot and groaned. Elijah was coming out of the entrance with a scowl on his face. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I didn’t notice his car parked in the parking lot. I thought about putting my car in reverse and leaving. However, the moment he spotted me parked a few cars down from him, he stopped in his tracks and glared at me. He stormed over to my car, already on ten when I opened the door.
“I want you to get all of your shit and move it out of her apartment. You don’t live here.”
Rolling my eyes, I reached back inside the car for my purse and the food.
“Did you hear me?”
“I hear you,” I stated. He blocked my way when I went to move past him.
“You little arrogant piece of shit. Yo’ mama should’ve gotten rid of you like I told her to. My mama may not see what your motives are, but I know a scheming ass bitch when I see one.”
His words stung. They stung like hell.
“‘Scheming ass bitch’? I did spring from your loins. Sure you’d know how a scheming ass bitch operates. You’ve been scheming on your wife for years. The same wife who blames me for her husband’s failures. You’re just an angry nigga, mad ‘cause my mama did what most women would do after being schemed by a bitch ass nigga. She kept her child and moved on with her fucking life.”
He laughed. “And look where that got her. Alcoholic bitch couldn’t even take care of yo’ ass. Now she’s married to a nigga who ain’t half the nigga I am.”
Elijah was one nigga I wished my mother would’ve never laid down with. Out of all the men she’d dealt with, Elijah was the worst.
“Fuck you and how you feel about me and my mama. As much as you like to put your dick in women that don’t belong to you, next time I hope you stick it somewhere filthy—”
Before I knew it, Elijah’s hand went across my face. My glasses flew off my face and the neck beads securing them ripped my skin as they ripped in two. Hearing my glasses hit the pavement caused instant shock. Tears clouded my eyes. I didn’t have time to process what was going on before Elijah raised his hand to me again. This time, I blocked it. However, the force sent me crashing to the ground too. I fell, and the sound of a crunch signified that I’d landed on the very things I depended on to see. I gasped.
“Watch who the fuck you talkin’ to—”
His words barely left his lips before a fist smashed into his face.
August!
I scrambled to my feet and tried to grab August before he could get his hands on Elijah again. My ass had no luck stopping shit. August repeatedly punched Elijah who, although he could take any man in a one-on-one, had a hard time keeping up with August.
“I’m finna beat the shit outta you, nigga!” August’s fists stunned Elijah, flooring him in three shots. August didn’t stop, though. Elijah’s attempts at dodging the haymakers August threw was futile. After Elijah tried rolling under a truck parked next to my car, August grabbed him by his collar and dragged him back like Elijah was a kid throwing a tantrum.
“Aye! Stop!” One of the security guards ran over and tackled August. They hit the ground, causing my heart to nosedive.
“No!” Through blurred vision, I watched the commotion, not sure what the hell to do.
“Get the fuck off me!” Somehow, August freed himself from the security guard and was up and in attack mode again. “Bitch ass nigga!” Elijah stumbled to his feet and leaned against the very truck he’d been trying to roll underneath just as August cracked him across the face again. Like a sack of potatoes, Elijah hit the ground. Still, August wanted more.
The security guard was quicker this time and kept August back. “I got you, youngblood.”
I heard sirens approaching, causing my stomach to knot up. Hearing them too, August turned to me. I wasn’t standing close enough to make out his facial expressions. Immediately, I started to cry. I couldn’t see shit.
“Go inside, Asia,” August softly commanded.
“But—”
“Inside, baby.” The firmness in his tone startled me. That was the only thing that had me turning on my feet to take refuge inside of Ensley Shores. I looked at the ground as I walked, for looking anywhere else caused me intense dizziness. Now my stomach was back to being upset.
Your father just put his hands on you. That could account for some of my dizziness. Anger bit at me. Just when I thought shit couldn’t get worse, Katrina met me at the entrance.
“Is there any hope that this won’t make it back to my grandmother?”
Katrina gave me a look that wasn’t promising. “As long as they weren’t inside the building, I can let the police handle it.”
“Will Elijah be trespassed from the property?”
“That will be up to management.”
Which meant they’d want to involve my grandmother. I hoped August hit Elijah hard enough to knock some sense into him.
I stood inside of the building, upset that I couldn’t see what was going on in the parking lot. The police were here, questioning August and Elijah. It went on for too long, making me more anxious by the minute. My mind should’ve been on the pain in my face or how I planned to get a new pair of glasses before the day was over. I didn’t have a spare pair, and there was no one in town who could make me a pair before tomorrow.
Ten minutes later, August strolled inside of the building and walked right up to me.
“What’d they say?”
August tilted my face up, angling it as he inspected all the damage.
“He’ll be in jail until he goes in front of a judge.”
“Oh,” I simply said. Lotus, Tera, and Eli would hate me even more for this. Elijah’s family hated the ground I walked on.
August held his other hand out. What was left of my spectacles lay in his palm.
“Do you have another pair of glasses?”
Embarrassed, I shook my head no. I couldn’t tell him that my eyes changed so often over this last year, that spending money for another pair was useless. Not to mention the headaches I got whenever my eyes had to adjust to a new pair. I never removed my glasses and even had them secured with strings to give them extra security. August’s fingers trailed over the spot where the strings ripped my skin. Instead of jerking away from his touch, I stood still.
“I can’t see without them.” I chuckled to lighten the clog in my throat.
“I figured as much.” He grinned, showcasing a set of sparkling bottom teeth. I’d never seen him with a grill in. As if I needed any other reason to find this man fine as fuck.
“Come on, let me take you to someone who can help you get some new ones.”
“Really? This late in the day?”
He nodded. “I got you, lil’ baby.”
I followed him outside to his truck, then let him assist me inside the monster. To hold off the topic of Elijah, I retrieved my phone from my purse and ordered my grandmother some more food. After the order was placed, I sent a message to Katrina to let her know the food would be coming. Once I was done, I sighed and listened to the music playing through the speakers. There was no enjoying it for too long. August turned it down and cleared his throat.
“Has he put his hands on you before?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“What about Mary?”
My head whipped around to look at August. “You think he hit my grandma?”
“I’on know what the fuck that nigga’s done. That’s why I’m askin’ you.”
Blinking, I thought about every instance of the times Elijah came to see my grandmother. She would always be withdrawn and sullen whenever he left. And I was never here to see how he treated her.
“Oh, my God.” My head started swimming.
“Relax, mama.” August’s hand reached out to take my face into his palm. “Relax, my baby.” His voice was so smooth and calm that my heart had no choice but to comply.
“I’m so sorry,” I cried.
“He’s sorry he put his fuckin’ hands on you. I’m sorry he’s still breathin’. He won’t get another chance.”
I believed him. Gulping, I swiped at my tears, put my distorted attention outside of the window, and let the radio talk the whole way to wherever he was taking me.
We ended up on the other side of downtown, at an office building with several different businesses in it. August took my hand to assist me through the maze of hallways and onto the elevator. As much as I hated touch, his hand in mine made me question my own dislikes. On the third floor, we entered an office with the name Dr. Samuel Cunningham, Optometry written on the door.
Inside, the lobby of the office was empty. The male receptionist at the desk chucked his head at August.
“‘Sup?”
“Sammy in?”
“Yeah, come on back.”
A soft beep sounded, disabling the door leading to the back. August walked through here like he owned the place. I just let him hold my hand and lead me, pretending like his touch didn’t reduce me to ashes. We came to a clearing down the short hallway, to a nurse’s station. Sitting behind the desk, was a dark-skinned man in a white coat. I assumed this was Dr. Cunningham.
“I hope whoever put their hands on you is floating in Escambia Bay right now,” Dr. Cunningham said to me. His voice was deep and the concern in it caused me to softly smile.
August bumped fists with him. “I need a favor.”
“You know I’m good for it. Who do we have here?”
“Asia, this is Dr. Cunningham. This is my friend, Asia. Her eyes kinda got fucked up in a lil’ scuffle.” August handed him the remnants of my glasses.
“Please tell me the nigga is dead?” the doctor said.
“Not yet,” August mumbled. “You got her?”
“I do. Follow me, Asia. You go have a seat in the waiting room,” he directed to August.
Once inside the exam room, he immediately had me sit behind the machine to test my vision. Before he started any of that, he cleaned the wounds on my neck. As he did so, he continuously mumbled under his breath.
“How old are you, Asia?”
“Twenty-five at the end of the month.”
He grimaced. “I have a daughter your age. If a man ever did some shit like this to her, he’d be dead as fuck.”
My eyes watered. “What if the man is her father?”
His hands stilled. “Then, he deserves worse.”
Dr. Cunningham sounded like a real father, one who didn’t play that shit. Instantly, I felt comfortable sitting on his table.
“So tell me about your eyes.”
While Dr. Cunningham did my exam I gave him the rundown of my optical history and even the tumor that was just found. He was pleased that I was following doctor’s orders and even offered to see me for any future issues I might have with my eyes outside of Dr. House.
August really stepped up on my behalf. This was twice now that he’d tended to me when it wasn’t his responsibility to. Little by little, the rest of my heart was falling for him.
Chapter Thirteen
AUGUST WELLS
When I hopped in my truck a few hours ago, Ensley Shores wasn’t even my destination. I was on my way to meet June and Faith at the park when I saw Asia pulling into Ensley Shores.
Curious as to how she liked the flowers, I pulled into the parking lot to talk to her. Seeing her pops nearing her had me about to turn around. That was until that nigga started acting hostile. I put my truck in park and hopped out of it just as he smacked her across her face. I practically flew across the parking lot, but not before he raised his hand again.
The quickness with which I reacted surprised me. Not that I wouldn’t ever take up for a woman in distress, but I wanted to kill Elijah. Pastor James’s statement was in the back of my mind with every blow I sent to that nigga’s face.
Shaking my head at how quickly I’d checked out behind Asia, I knew in that moment that things could never be friendly between me and her. I wanted her. Every part of me that wanted to protect her rose up the minute I saw danger nearing her. Anger still brewed on the inside of me even as I sat waiting for her to finish with Sammy. Needing to calm down, I dialed Faith’s number. Hearing June’s voice and seeing his chubby face would calm the storm inside me.
“Your son was just talking about you,” Faith answered.
