White Lines (36 page)

“You don’t party all the time out in Pennsylvania? You don’t go to Philly to party every now and then?”

Ava nodded. “Yeah. I party sometimes. But not every night like Jada and Sunny. I don’t see how they keep going. I’m tipsy after two or three drinks. But not those two. They’re like Energizer Bunnies.”

Born laughed, still slurping at his cereal. Ava looked at him, watched him enjoy his cereal as she drank her water. She noticed the way his brown eyes looked even brighter when he smiled. She watched his lips as he chewed, and then cleared her throat and looked away when he caught her staring.

Born smiled. Was shorty checking out his lips? He wondered, but decided to play it off. He was flattered at the thought of her finding him attractive, since she looked like an angel. “I guess you think I eat like a pig, too, huh? Jada gets on my case all the time about how I eat like a slave.”

Ava laughed, relieved that he seemed to ignore the fact that his sexy
mouth entranced her. “Nah, it’s all good.” She started to get up, and Born stopped her.

“Yo, you ready for my party tonight?” he asked. “I know you’re sick of all the parties and the fast lane, as you put it. But this one you can’t miss. Dorian’s throwing it for me to celebrate my birthday. He’s having the shit on one of those cruise ships that goes around New York Harbor all night. It’s gonna be crazy.”

Ava vigorously nodded her head. Born tried not to look at her breasts in her white tank top. Instead, he focused his gaze on her face, equally as tantalizing. “I’m excited, because Sunny makes it sound like the party of the year. I just don’t know what I’m gonna wear.”

Born nodded. “Don’t worry. I think Jada and Sunny will hook you up. They got clothes that ain’t even in style yet.”

Ava laughed, and got up from the table. She smiled at Born, the sexual tension between them thick enough to slice. “I’ll see you tonight,” she said.

Born watched her ass as she walked away, then finished his cereal, and hit the streets.

By around noon, Jada was still sleeping. Ava finally went in and managed to rouse her sister. She shook Jada awake, whining that Born wasn’t home, so she should get up and entertain her sister. After several minutes, Jada got out of bed, and went to take a much needed shower, still dressed in last night’s clothes. She felt like hell. The aftereffects of her cocaine binge and ridiculous alcohol consumption from the previous day were worse than ever before. She washed up in the hot shower, then got out and wrapped an oversized towel around her small frame. She walked out of the bathroom, and into her adjoining bedroom. She pulled the small bag of blow out of her makeup bag, and spread the shimmering powder out in front of her on a sterling silver tray atop her dresser. She bent over, ready to snort the white line, shaking in anticipation. But before she could properly snort, her bedroom door swung open, and Jada’s heart froze in her chest. She trembled, terrified that Born had busted her red-handed. Instead, Ava walked in with a cup of coffee in her hand.

“I thought you could use some help waking up …” Ava stopped speaking when she saw what her sister was doing.

Jada looked around for something to cover it all up with, but it was too late. The damage had been done, and Ava had seen what her sister was up to. She barged into the room, outraged.

“Oh my
God
!” Ava shrieked.

“Ava, calm down.” Jada was pleading with her. She didn’t want Born to come home unexpectedly, and hear them yelling.

“Calm down?!?”

“Yes! Stop yelling so loud in here.”

“What the fuck is wrong with you, Jada? You’re still using cocaine?”

“Ava, it ain’t that serious—”

“What the fuck do you mean, ‘it ain’t that serious,’ Jada?” Ava was still yelling. “Is that why you keep getting nosebleeds and acting all strange half the time?”

“Ava, come on!” Jada just wanted her sister to disappear at that moment.

“You’re still getting high?” Ava’s eyes were fixed on her sister; the disappointment in them was clearly evident.

Jada was speechless. She stood there staring at her sister in silence. She had nothing to say in her own defense, because no excuse would have been good enough.

“What about Born?” Ava asked. “Does he know?”

Jada shook her head no, and hung it in shame. Jada’s head was swimming with regret. She was crying, her gaze and her tone of voice pleading. “Just stay out of it. I got this shit under control.”

“I’m gonna tell him,” Ava said, calmly.

Jada’s head snapped back, and she was suddenly volatile. She stepped closer to Ava, her towel clinging to her small frame. “Okay, now wait a fuckin’ minute. You need to mind your business!”

“You are my business! You’re my sister.”

“Well, Born is not your business, Ava.”

“Well, if he loves you he will get you help—”

Jada was dead serious. “Don’t bring him into this. You let me worry about Born.”

Ava shook her head. “Well, don’t you think this would hurt him, Jada? Don’t you think it would kill him to know that you’re throwing your life away while he’s trying to fill your life with happiness? How could you do this to him? Shit, you got a good man here!” Ava was so angry, and so sincere that her body language exhibited this. She talked animatedly to her sister, knowing that Born would leave her if he knew what she was doing. “Look at the house he got you living in. All your diamonds and furs, and all the things he does to keep you happy. And you repay him by getting high behind his back?”

Jada walked closer to her sister. “You find your own man, Ava. You worry about them niggas up at college and keep Born’s name out your mouth! I’m not hurting him as long as he doesn’t know. Don’t stand in my face, in my house, and threaten to tell on me. He’s my man. Not yours! And I’ll worry about how he feels and what he needs to know about me.”

Ava shook her head. “He needs to know that you’re a cokehead, Jada. You got this man walking around thinking that you’re perfect. He loves you. A blind man could see that. But you’re sneaking behind his back, and you’re playing him. You might as well be cheating on him, Jada.”

Jada’s jaw was firmly set. She was as mad as hell. “Fuck you, Ava! Okay? Don’t stand there and judge me. You probably want him for yourself! Coming in here with your little fancy education, looking down your nose at me because I live a different lifestyle. It kills you to see that I’m happy without you—that I’m happy without fuckin’ Mommy. Well, I
am
happy. I don’t need you or her. I’m a big girl, you understand? Don’t come into my life, wishing it was yours, and then have the nerve to try and turn my man against me because you’re jealous that you can’t have him!”

Jada was out of breath after her tirade, and she stood with her chest heaving. Ava stood back and stared at her sister. She let her words linger, allowing the pain of what she’d said resonate. Ava shook her head,
placed the cup of coffee on the dresser, and walked out of Jada’s bedroom. Ava was destroyed.

She walked downstairs to the guest room, and began to gather and slowly pack her things. Ava wondered what hurt more—the pain of realizing that her sister was still using drugs, or the truth of what she’d said about Ava being envious. The love Born felt toward Jada was plain to see. Ava knew that he would be destroyed to find out that Jada had slipped. So why had she really threatened to tell him? She wasn’t so sure what her own true motives were. For the past few days Ava had felt herself growing more and more envious of Jada’s lifestyle: the money, the status, the man. She had to admit that she was a little jealous. Born looked so good, and he seemed like such a good man, and Ava knew in her heart that if she had a man like that she would never hurt him. She knew that, feeling the way she did about Born, it was clearly time for her to leave this house and let Jada live her life. Ava was feeling things for her sister’s man that she had no business feeling, and now Jada’s secret indulgence had been exposed, and she didn’t want her sister’s help. Ava packed, called a cab, and went to her mother’s house in West Brighton. Jada cried her eyes out in the privacy of her bedroom.

When Born arrived home, looking forward to his birthday party, he was surprised to see Jada looking upset. He asked her where Ava was, and he noticed that Jada started crying at the mere mention of her sister’s name. Jada told him that they had had an argument about Ava reconciling with their mother, and it had ended badly. She explained that Ava had left, and that she assumed that her sister was going to stay with her mother for the remainder of her vacation. Born couldn’t help feeling disappointed that he wouldn’t see Ava again. He couldn’t deny that he had been looking forward to seeing her at his party, that he wanted to spend time with her that night. But he felt guilty for feeling that way, and quickly brushed those feelings aside. He wondered if Ava’s real reason for leaving was the incident from the previous night. She had said not to tell Jada that he’d seen her naked, so why would she leave so suddenly? He assumed that Ava had said some pretty painful things to his baby girl, since Jada’s eyes were puffy from crying, and it seemed she’d gotten a
nosebleed from all the stress. He told her he loved her, assured her that he was all she needed and that he wasn’t going anywhere, and he got her to smile. Jada masked her torment within, and got dressed to help her man celebrate his birthday.

That night was one of the longest of Jada’s life. Not only had Ava left her house after discovering her secret, but Born was here celebrating his birthday on a splendid ship in the middle of the water, surrounded by all the people he thought knew and loved him. His mother was there, several of his boys from back in the day, and all the friends he’d made during his meteoric rise. And by his side was Jada, the one woman he loved and adored. She was all that he ever wanted in a woman, and she knew that it was all a lie. She wasn’t the person he thought he knew. She was a cokehead, as Ava had told her she was. She was a liar, and a drug addict, and she didn’t deserve this man who loved her so much. Jada was inwardly distraught but outwardly stunning, as she made the rounds with Born. He paraded her around, as proud as a peacock for being with her. She looked amazing in her black Gucci dress and shoes, with her hair done in a neat ponytail. Jada felt like the party would never end. All she wanted was to find a way to fix the mess she made, and to try and right her wrongs before the next person who discovered her secret was Born.

Sunny was excited about tonight. It was the night of Born’s party aboard the cruise ship, and she was overseeing the minutest of details. She got her manicure and pedicure done, and her outfit pressed and delivered. Her hair was styled to perfection, and she felt great. The whole affair had been Sunny’s brainchild. She wanted an excuse to celebrate, another reason to party. She used Born’s birthday as an excuse to throw a big gathering aboard a ship that circled New York Harbor. Sunny was bored. She was sick of the day-in and day-out cycle of parties and bullshit. So she put her all into the planning of Born’s party. Of course, she enlisted Jada’s help. Born was, after all,
her
man. But Sunny made sure her preferences were made clear when it came to the decor, the meals, and the liquor. The party was a gift from Dorian, and Sunny felt that she was playing her position as wifey by ensuring that Dorian’s reputation for throwing an amazing party remained intact. She saw that every detail was attended to. Jada’s job was to let her know Born’s favorite color, his favorite dessert, and his ring size. Dorian had a nice surprise in store for Born.

Sunny arranged to rent the entire top level of the vessel for Born’s birthday party. She knew the party was going to be fabulous. But she had ulterior motives this evening. She wanted to show Ava that the lifestyle she and Jada were living was indeed glamorous and enticing. She wanted Ava to see that this life was a good life, if you make it that
way. It seemed to Sunny that Ava thought she was above her sister. Dorian had taught her how to read people well. And she could tell that Ava loved her sister. The bond between them was obvious. But it also seemed like Ava believed that since she’d done the right thing—graduated with honors, gone on to college—she was somehow more deserving than her sister. More worthy of the finer things in life. Sunny saw that Ava was intrigued by how her sister lived. But she could also see that she disapproved. In Sunny’s opinion, Jada was doing alright for herself. Shit, they both were. Sunny and Jada had expensive homes, clothes, cars, and jewels. What more could one ask for? She wanted to show Ava the family atmosphere among them. Maybe then she’d feel differently.

Sunny heard the phone ringing just as she was contemplating going upstairs to take a hit. She walked to the living room and picked up the cordless handset. “Hello?” she answered, as she headed for the stairs.

“Wassup, Sunny?” Raquel’s voice resounded in her ear.

“Dorian’s not here.” Sunny prepared to hang up the phone.

“I know. ‘Cuz he’s here.” Raquel sounded like she was laughing at her.

Sunny stopped climbing the stairs, holding on to the rail for support. She kept her voice nonchalant, and said, “What kind of desperate shit are you pulling now, Raquel?”

“You told me to keep riding Dorian,” Raquel reminded her. “And I’ve been doing just that. I’ve been riding him, sucking him, fucking him—”

“Whatever!” Sunny laughed, as if this was all bullshit. “He don’t want you, bitch.”

Raquel laughed last, and hers was sinister as she cackled in Sunny’s ear. “Oh, yes he does. He’s supposed to be in VA now, right? I know what he told you. Check inside the zipper in his duffel bag when he comes home. He loves to see me in these.”

The line went dead, as Raquel hung up the phone. Sunny was furious, and distraught. Raquel must be crazy. She sat there on the stairs leading to her bedroom, leading to her drugs. She paused, wondering where Dorian really was. After all, they were hosting a party in less than an hour, and he was supposed to be driving home from Virginia, just as
Raquel had said. He
was
driving home from VA, she told herself. Dorian wouldn’t mess with Raquel again after all they’d been through.