Page 92 of Fever: Love In Scrubs
I snorted. “I can. It’s not the first time.”
Tinka spun around in her seat. “I don’t even know that woman and I wanted to slide her yesterday. If Stacey and Asia had taken her outside, I was going too. She wants to talk about being jumped, she was about to get it.”
My aunt shook her head. “No lie, if she had touched you, I was gonna show my ass in there too. I feel so baby for that poor baby.”
I was quiet with a million thoughts running through my head.
“Wynnie?” Aunt Kira called.
“Hmm?”
“You’re awfully quiet.”
“I just keep seeing the look on her face, auntie. She’s in so much pain over that woman. I know how she feels. Daddy wasn’t abusive, but he was neglectful in so many ways, especially emotionally. My heart hurts for her.”
She pulled the last of the bacon off my griddle and came to me, pulling me into her arms.
“I know you love her, Wynter. It’s obvious. And I know Jaxson trusts you with her. He didn’t hesitate to let her stay over because he knew she needed you. You can’t fix this, just be there for her and love her like you’ve been doing.”
I nodded as a soft knock came to the door. She released me and I went to answer it. When I opened the door, Jaxson was standing there in a plain shirt, sweats, and socks with slides. His eyes looked heavy, like he hadn’t slept at all last night.
“Hey, baby,” I said, sliding into his arms.
“Hey, baby,” he said softly, kissing my temple.
As I looked up into his face, I could tell that something was wrong. This was more than yesterday.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Can we talk outside?”
I nodded as he grabbed my hand and led me out to the front porch. He took a seat on the steps and I took one beside him. For the longest time, he sat there, staring off into space. I didn’t rush him but allowed him to speak when he was ready.
“I um… when I left here last night, I went by my sister’s place. I just needed to vent and the shit I had to say, I didn’t need Jamari to hear. Kacie was with my parents so it was just me, Asia, and Johnathan. I was there for about an hour when I got a call from my neighbor stating that someone drove their fucking car through the front of my house.”
I gasped. “What!”
He chuckled. “Here’s the kicker. While I was on the phone with her, with her husband calling the police, she starts screaming that the house was on fire.”
“Jaxson! Oh my God!”
He shook his head. “When we got to the house, guess who was sitting in the back of the cop car because she was so drunk that she passed out and couldn’t get away.”
“N-no. Please don’t say?—”
“Amandela. She drove her car into my house, then set it on fire.”
I was at a loss for words. What the fuck was I supposed to say to that?
“Baby… I’m so sorry.”
He shook his head again. “I’ve tried my best to be a good person, Wynter. Maybe I wasn’t the perfect husband, but I was good to her, and I showed up when I was expected to. I took care of home, and she did me dirty. I can take that. What I can’t take is her doing my daughter dirty. She started that fire in Jamari’s room.”
My hands flew to my mouth. “What?”
“Poured fucking gasoline all over her bed and the room and set it on fire. How am I supposed to tell her that, Wynter?”
He dropped his face in his hands and his shoulders shook slightly as he cried. All I could do was pull him into my arms and hold him. It seemed to be one thing right after another. First last night, then this? This was crazy. That bitch was crazy! The only good thing to come out of it was the fact that she was going to jail and couldn’t do any more damage.
