Love/Fate (28 page)

Born smiled at Sunny, and he felt better. At least she didn't blame
him for Dorian's death. He hoped that someday he could stop blaming himself. Mercedes came in with Sheldon in tow, and Sunny explained to her daughter that Born had been a very good friend of her father's. Mercedes smiled big and hugged Born. “My daddy was a hero. He saved Mommy's life.”

Born nodded. “Yup. I could tell you a whole bunch of stones about your father.”

Mercedes's face lit up. “Really? Tell me!”

Born looked helplessly at Sunny, and she threw her hands in the air. “What, Mr. Big Mouth. You told her you got stories. Go on and tell her some stories!”

Mercedes tugged at Born's hand and pulled herself up onto his lap. “Tell me.”

Born laughed at Mercedes's aggressive personality, and cleared his throat.

“Well, one time, me and your father were in Brooklyn …”

For the next hour or so, Born entertained Mercedes, and all the other folks present, with story after story about his adventures with Dorian. Mercedes was enthralled, and never took her eyes off of Born. Sunny, too, hung on Born's every word. Some of the stories were familiar to her. Dorian had told her some of them. But others, Sunny heard for the first time, and she smiled, reminiscing on her one true love.

The night wore on, and they all enjoyed the atmosphere. Everyone laughed and joked and talked until the wee hours of the morning. Sunny had everybody laughing. Mercedes fell asleep in Born's arms, and Sheldon fell asleep in Jada's. They carried the two of them to Sheldon's room, and laid them down. Jada tucked them in, and they went back to the living room, where everyone was beginning to grow sleepy.

By the time Born got ready to leave, at close to two o'clock in the morning, he and Jada had rekindled their friendship, and agreed to see each other again soon. She walked him to the door, and he stood there smiling down at her. “Thanks for inviting me over here,” he said. “It was nice being back around you and Sunny again. Your son is so handsome,
and Mercedes is beautiful.” He reached over and touched Jada's cheek lightly, tracing his finger across the silky texture of her skin. “I'll see you again real soon.”

Jada smiled, and relished the feeling of his hand against her face. “Okay.”

Born turned and left, and Jada shut the door. She turned around to find Sunny standing behind her with a smile plastered on her face. “You got your second shot, girl,” Sunny said. “Don't blow it.”

Sunny turned and headed to the bathroom, leaving Jada standing alone—still feeling Born's strong hand caressing her cheek.

Things were never quite the same for any of them after that night. Born and Jada rediscovered the reasons they'd become such good friends in the first place. Though neither of them was in any rush to take things too far too soon, their chemistry was unchanged. Anisa hated that Born and Jada had made amends, and she was upset that he'd forgiven her. Anisa gave him hell whenever he brought Ethan around Jada and Sheldon. Born told her, truthfully, that he and Jada were just friends. He also made it clear to Anisa that he owed her no explanations about his private life. His relationship with Anisa had long been over. And deep in her heart she knew that he had never really been hers to begin with. Still, Anisa held on, hoping that he'd change his mind. But in truth, she knew that Jada had won Born's heart after all.

Sunny became reacquainted with Dorian's brothers as a result of Jada and Born becoming friends again. Up to that point, Sunny had always been cordial yet distant with the brothers, because she didn't like their inquiries about how much money Dorian had left behind. She wanted no discussion about Dorian's money. When they came to see Mercedes, Sunny always met them curbside, and dropped her daughter off with little conversation. But once Born started coming back around, that began to change.

Sunny was happy to hear that the uncles were busying themselves with D.J.'s success. Born had him poised to go platinum with his debut
CD, and Dorian's brothers were eager for a lifestyle of fame and fortune on a legitimate level. Born became the mediator between them, and he convinced Sunny that she could come back around their crew without worrying about people going after her money. She and Mercedes's uncles made amends, and Sunny was glad that their attention was diverted to what D.J. would inherit rather than what Mercedes would. Sunny and Jada found themselves attending barbecues, and reacquainting themselves with Dorian's brothers and their crew. These connections proved to be valuable when Sunny and Jada finished their novel, aptly titled
Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction.
They'd based it on their own trials and tribulations in the game, and it was as entertaining as it was fact-based.

In order to help them drum up support for the novel, Born helped them secure a meeting with Monarch Publishing. They aced it, signed a nice book deal for not one, but two novels, and drummed up so much of a buzz that the book was on back order before it was even released. This was due in large part to the spot Born booked for them on Mindy Milford's radio show.

Mindy, the scandal-obsessed radio personality, started the interview off nicely enough. She described the two women to her listening audience, pointing out that both of them were iced out in brilliant diamonds, and wearing designer duds. She told them both that they were very beautiful women, and Sunny and Jada smiled and thanked her. Then Mindy asked about the book, and what the story was about. Jada gave a brief synopsis, and the interview seemed to be going well. Mindy seemed to be behaving. But out of nowhere, she attacked. Mindy asked them both point-blank if they had ever dabbled in cocaine use.

Sunny had looked at Mindy like she'd lost her entire mind. But she recovered quickly. “Yes,” Sunny had deadpanned. “I did. That's how I'm able to write about it so well. The character in the book—Charlene—she goes through a lot of things I went through, things that lots of young ladies are going through. That's why the story's called
Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction.”

Mindy cut Sunny off, and cut right to the chase. “But is it true that
before
you started dating award-nominated actors, you were once the wife of a major drug kingpin in Brooklyn?”

“What the fuck does that have to do with this book, Mindy?” The censors worked eagerly to bleep out the expletives in Sunny's tirade. “Why does that shit matter? Who cares about all that? The book is called—”

“Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction,
that's the name of the book everyone,” Mindy's voice boomed in the microphone. “I encourage everyone to go out and buy a copy, because it is beautifully written.”

“Thank you,” Sunny said, firmly.

“You're welcome. And I think it's so impressive, because the whole time you were living so fabulously you were getting high every day—”

“Mindy, why you trying to make me fight you in here today?” Sunny was pissed, and her voice conveyed that. “I didn't come in here to talk about my life. When I write that book about my life, you'll be the first to know.”

“Well, I'll look forward to reading it. Because the things I've heard about you and your lifestyle back when you were getting high,
honeeeee!
That's something we all want to read about!” Mindy pressed a button, and sound effects filled the speakers. Fake applause filled the airwaves. “Is it true that you were pregnant with the football player Michael Warren's baby?”

“I'm not answering that,” Sunny said. “Let's talk about the book, Mindy. The book!”

Mindy nodded. “Yes. The book is going to be a bestseller. The streets are already buzzing. But not nearly as much as they will be once you write that life story of yours. I'm sure you'll mention the fact that your child's father was murdered at your baby shower by his other baby's mother—”

“Bitch!” The next sound heard in the studio was the sound of microphones coming off, and the censors bleeping out the words Sunny was yelling. The phone lines lit up.

Mindy defended herself, insisting that as a public figure Sunny
should be prepared to open her personal life up to scrutiny. Sunny gave her hell, and the censors worked hard to block out Sunny's curses. Still Mindy pressed on. “I'm giving you a forum to answer the rumors. The streets are talking.”

Sunny stepped back to the mike once more, and said, “Well, the streets should shut the fuck up then. Read the book, and shut the fuck up.”

Sunny stormed out and Jada shook her head. Jada leaned in close to the mike, and said, “
Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction,
in stores now. Find out what all the fuss is about.”

And that's exactly what plenty of Mindy's listeners did. The segment got a big reaction from the syndicated listening audience, and it became the subject of plenty of the phone calls. It turned out to be great exposure, and the book was a national bestseller. Sunny and Jada were on their way, and they had Ava—their attorney—handling their business.

Meanwhile, Born was leading D.J. to the promised land, and for the most part all of their children were happy and healthy. For all of them, the whole situation was surreal. None of them had expected things to turn out as they had.

All of them now worked in an industry where the drug game was often glamorized and held up as a badge of honor. And they all knew the ugliest side of what that lifestyle entailed. Lucky for them, they had managed somehow to escape the game's clutches. But all of them still bore the scars of numerous battles. All of the good times had come on the heels of suffering. They had survived only because they'd learned the power of forgiveness. Their would-be fairy tale may not have ended happily ever after, but it came pretty damn close.

Jada had her life back, and she had Born's forgiveness—his friendship. They never shared anything more than an occasional kiss. And an awkward silence always followed that. Both of them were afraid. He was afraid of losing control, and she was afraid of letting him down. Jada was determined in her heart that she would never get high again. But she knew that Born wasn't so sure about that. He doubted her, and rightfully so. And Jada wasn't sure if she could ever find enough ways to convince him. Born had a wall around his heart, and she knew that she had
helped lay every brick within it. So even though she loved him more than ever, she allowed things to move at his pace, and hoped that someday she could completely regain his trust. And his heart.

Their connection was still unmistakable. They laughed together often and called each other several times a week. Once in a while, they had dinner together, and whenever their eyes met across the table, it was like magic. It was like music. True friendship knows no bounds. And they were grateful that at least their friendship had survived all the pain caused by white rocks, glass pipes, and powdery white lines.

Turn the page for a sneak peek at Tracy Brown's upcoming
White Lines
novel

Copyright © 2014 by Tracy Brown

 

“Where is he?” She was breathless. “What happened?”

“He's okay. There was some kind of explosion. They don't know if it was a gas leak, but they said something about a suitcase at the front door. They ain't saying much, but he's okay. Some neighbors called 911 and they got him here. They called Miss Ingrid, and she got in touch with me. We've all been trying to get in touch with you for hours.”

Jada groaned in frustration. She had been staging Sunny's intervention all day. “Where is he?”

“Listen.” D.J. took a deep breath. He put his hands on Jada's shoulders, looked her in the eyes. “Anisa's here. She's in there with Born right now.”

Jada held his gaze. Her heart raced. With her jaw clenched, she narrowed her eyes at D.J.

“Where's Ethan?”

“He's with Miss Ingrid. She took him to get something to eat.”

Jada glanced around. “Which room is he in?”

D.J. led the way. They stopped outside Born's room, and Jada could hear Anisa laughing softly.

“Now I
know
you're okay. You're back to being fresh again.”

Jada heard Born mumble something she couldn't hear, but she had heard enough. Her blood was at a brisk boil.

She stepped into the room, and saw Born lying in the bed with his head and right arm bandaged heavily. Anisa had basically draped herself across him, despite the IV and other monitors connected to him. Born looked at her as she stepped in.

“Hey, Jada.”

He seemed groggy. Jada wasn't sure whether they had him doped up or if he was still mumbling as a result of the explosion.

“Hey,” she said. “Why is she here?”

“Excuse you?” Anisa frowned as she sat upright. “I'm right here. Why don't you ask me?”

Jada side-eyed her.

“Nah,” Born said. “Don't ask nobody nothing.” He wasn't that groggy, and he could tell that this was not about to go well. “Lis-ten.” He tried to sit up, but his right side was racked with pain. His head was pounding, and it hurt to move. He spoke in a jumbled whisper in an effort to keep his head from throbbing worse than it already was. “Listen, 'Neece, let me talk to Jada for a while. Please.”

He watched Anisa contemplate it. This was her big chance. She could blow it all up, and tell Jada the truth about their reunion. Or she could play it cool and let Born handle things his way. Anisa was the type who could go either way. She was a livewire. But, he was counting on the fact that they'd bonded recently. He hoped that they had an understanding. She sighed, gathered her sweater, and touched Born tenderly on the leg. “I'll be outside.”

She walked past Jada without a second glance. And it was then, as Born looked at Jada, that he saw the pain etched on her face. She stood close to his bedside with her hands in the pockets of her hoodie, her eyes heavy with tears. “She's ‘'Neece‘ now?”