Chapter Two

 

Makayla

 

 

“Thursday night tacos,” Lisa shouted excitedly as she broke out into a dance routine, shaking her hips as she pumped her arm out in front of her mimicking the cabbage patch. The light-weight material of her pink floral sundress shimmied with each thrust of her hips.

I should have been embarrassed by her outburst- I wasn’t. Like any reasonable best friend would do, I joined her.

Laughing together we ignored the outlandish stares of the other patrons in the supermarket as we waited in the checkout line at the local Food Lion.

Things were always like this with Lisa, easy, crazy, and so much fun. She was my better half. My crazy half. The cream to my Oreo.

Every Thursday Lisa and I got together for a girls night. Tonight was no different. With both of our busy schedules, Thursday nights were the only time we had to get together.

We had everything needed to make tonight a girl’s night to remember, margarita mix, chips and salsa, and the ingredients for tacos. It had been a tradition for as long as I could remember.

“Oh, my Gawd. Do you see this, Makayla?” Shooting quick a glance over my shoulder I saw Lisa with a magazine in hand. With a chuckle I shook my head, returning to the task of loading the conveyor belt with groceries.

Lisa had always been fascinated with the celebrity gossip mags whereas I preferred not to read them. There was no doubt she would be filling the evening telling me all about the latest Hollywood scandal as we sipped margaritas while painting our nails.

Who needed to read the rags when I could get all my entertainment from my best friend, complete with sound effects and dramatic gestures?

Lisa’s loud gasp caught my attention.

I giggled lightly shaking my head in mock shame. “What is it this time? Did one of the Kardashians get new butt implants?” I knew she wouldn’t be able to hold the gossip in. That gasp meant only one thing, she was just dying to share the latest bit of juicy chatter of Tinsel town.

“Read this.” She replied sternly thrusting a magazine into my face. The cover was so close my eyes nearly crossed. With a quick roll of my eyes, I grabbed the edge of the magazine and pushed it back from my face, the image on the cover finally coming into focus.

It was one of the weekly tabloid rags, featuring all of Hollywood’s gossip and possible Bigfoot sightings. The kind that always seemed to find their way to the checkout counters in every grocery store across America. The outrageous headlines touting proof of alien babies and wolf children.

Tightening my grip on the corner of the cover, I struggled to remain calm, my eyes refusing to take in the image staring back at me.

Breathe, I reminded myself.

My eyes slowly scanned across the man on the cover, deliberately taking their time memorizing every curve, every ripple, and dimple.

My fingers lightly traced the contours of his face. His dark hair was pushed back off his forehead, teased into tussled spikes that proudly showcased his high cheekbones. His chin was dusted with facial hair giving him a rugged manly appeal. His lips were tugged back into a knowing smirk, one full of wicked promises. The same smirk he had been flashing since he was five years old.

Stormy blue eyes peered back at me, haunted with secrets. I felt myself drowning under his unseeing gaze.

He had new ink. The large intricate A over his left pectoral sent a flutter through my chest. I knew he had a similar tattoo across the expanse of his back. My eyes scanned across his bare torso, committing the clean smooth lines to memory. Flashes of black, blue and red ink winked at me. Daring my eyes to follow them down the expanse of his chest.  My heart ricocheted in my chest just looking at him, like a Kaleidoscope of butterflies taking flight all at once.

“I can’t believe it.” Lisa gasped yanking the magazine away from my shaky grip. “Did you ever think Lenny would be into drugs?” Lisa whispered harshly, her eyes wide with surprise as she rapidly ripped through the pages at an alarming pace.

My stomach flipped. Bile rose at the back of my throat.

He wasn’t.

My eyes scanned the cover of the stack of magazines on the rack, searching for clues proving the magazine was lying. It couldn’t be true. Everywhere I looked the same image stared back at me, their headlines jumping from the pages in bold print, demanding attention.

“They’re lying.” My voice came out broken, just above a whisper. The world stopped spinning. A sharp pain radiated across my chest. My heart racing.

My eyes scanned across the covers, reading them over and over. The words screaming at me.

L.A. Rapper tries to end life: Drug overdose.

I couldn’t catch my breath. Tremors shook my hands.

It wasn’t true.

It couldn’t be true.

He loved life.

Ignoring the panic that had overtaken my body, Lisa continued on. “It says his girlfriend, Angela, found him lying on the bathroom floor with a needle hanging out of his arm.” She continued in a hushed whisper, her teeth gritting through the words as she read them.

“It’s not true. He wouldn’t do that.” My heart felt like it was encased in ice. I couldn’t breathe. An elephant had taken up residence, sitting on my chest.

Lisa knew better than to read the tabloid rags when Lenny was concerned.

I knew better.

It didn’t stop my heart from hammering in my chest. It didn’t stop the fear that rippled through me, shooting ice through my veins. It didn’t stop my lungs from refusing to inflate.

Lisa’s hand gripped around my bicep, grounding me, pulling me from under the boulder that threatened to consume me.

“California based rapper; Lenz was found unconscious in his Hollywood apartment. Sources close to the rapper say he was rushed to Cedars-Sinai hospital where a team of doctors worked to revive the rapper after being brought in after an apparent drug overdose. Doctor’s attempt to work through the night to save the rapper was unsuccessful.” Lisa read the article out loud. Each word threatened to drag me back under. Every syllable felt like a knife in my heart. The sharp stabbing pain in my chest was crippling.

“Put it back, Lis.” I implored through gritted teeth. I could feel my heartbeat pounding in my skull as blood rushed to my head. Lisa’s words began to sound as though they were garbled.

I felt faint.

My stomach threatened to revolt as images painted by the tabloids began to swim through my mind.

I couldn’t look at it.

I didn’t want to hear another word.

My hands gripped the grocery cart in a white-knuckled embrace. The world swam before my eyes. Sensing my distress Lisa quit reading, her arm going around my shoulders in a comforting embrace.

Carefully, Lisa put the magazine back on the rack, her eyes filled with sympathy.

“He would call you right? You guys are still close, yeah?” Concern etched on her face.

“I think I’m going to take a pass on tonight,” I replied dully, still in shock, ignoring her questions.

The truth was I didn’t know anymore. Up until this moment, I thought I knew everything about him.

Now, I felt as though I never knew him at all. Were we friends? Would he have called me? I refused to believe what they were saying was the truth.

Lisa gave me a sympathetic smile. “I’m sure he’ll call.” Her arms wrapped around me, pinning me to her chest.

“Do you want me to come home with you?” I could hear the sympathy and pity in her voice. It caused my stomach to churn.

I didn’t want her pity.

It wasn’t true.

I don’t care what the tabloids said. It was all lies.

It had to be lies.

“No.” My words were firmer than I expected. “Sorry.” I apologized immediately feeling horrible for the way I had spoken to her, my voice much softer this time, afraid I had hurt her feelings.

“Its okay, Sweetie. I understand.” Lisa gave me a reassuring hug. Her arms around me brought unshed tears to the corner of my eyes.  I gave her hand a light pat, not wanting to alarm her.

I knew Lisa was as affected as I was. She and Lenny were friends as well. I knew reading the headlines had to have hurt.

“Next week, I’m not letting you get out of it. We’re having a girl’s night. We will sit back and Lenny bash. Be ready because girl’s night is going to happen.” Chuckling slightly, despite the aching in my heart, I hugged her back.

“Next week,” I promised.

Checking out of the grocery store Lisa helped me load the bags into the trunk of my car before hugging me goodbye with a promise to call later.

I needed time to think. Time to wrap my head around the allegations in the paper.

He would have called, right?

If it was a lie, he would have called and warned me. He would have let me know, warned me.

The drive home was made on autopilot. My mind racing with any scenarios. I knew the tabloids were unreliable but would they really go that far?

With the groceries tucked under my arm, I rushed into the house. As much as I denied wanting to know about the claims surrounding Lenny’s overdose, I needed to know.

I needed to know if it was true. I couldn’t breathe again until I had all the facts surrounding the allegations.

So much of my heart told me it was a lie, but a small sliver told me it could be possible. I hadn’t talked to him in a couple weeks. Anything could have happened between now and then. I didn’t even know he had new ink until I saw the picture. 

I tried to search my memory for any signs I may have missed from our last conversation. He had sounded happy when we talked, as happy as he could be, given his situation. But happy nonetheless.

I tried to focus on anything that may have stood out. I knew he was having trouble. It wasn’t a secret between the two of us. But had it really got that bad?

Did that mean he was capable of doing something so rash?

“Mommy!” The excited squeal of my daughter’s voice instantly warmed my heart, chasing away the dark thoughts that threatened to consume me, even if only for a moment. I welcomed her comfort. Her bright smile driving off the demons of the night.

“Hi, Baby.” I couldn’t help but smile down at my little girl, the absolute picture of perfection. My heart splintered looking down into her angelic face. The white-hot pain returned, looking into her eyes, threatening to drag me down.

Dressed in her bright green and yellow Tinkerbell pajamas she reminded me of a tiny fairy as she danced around my feet in excited glee, oblivious to my internal breakdown.

Her dark ringlets sprang along her shoulders and across her forehead as she bounced on her feet.  Her Dark blue eyes shined like diamonds as she beamed up at me. She was the spitting image of her father. I choked down the raw emotion threatening to crumble my resolve.

“Mommy, I have a prize for you. But it’s a secret.” Her eyes ignited, growing wide with excitement as she spoke.

“What surprise do you have for me, Avery Baby?” I choked on the words. Glancing around the living room, I sought out my mother. She always watched Avery for me on girl’s night.

I needed my mom. I needed her warm comforting embrace. I needed her soothing words to chase away the nightmare that threatened to obliterate my world.

I wasn’t going to last much longer.

I wasn’t strong enough.

Without out a beat, Avery’s tiny voice answered. “Daddy’s home.” Her small hands were spread wide beside her face, her face lit up like a Christmas tree at her admission. For the second time tonight my heart began to pound erratically in my chest.

“Daddy?” I asked, my words coming out in an exhale. My mind spun trying to make sense of her words.

“Makayla,” The groceries in my arms tumbled to the floor at the sound of his voice.

Standing in the archway to the kitchen stood my best friend, my daughter’s father, the other half of my world, Lenny Demark. The same man whose face graces the cover of magazines worldwide. The very same man that was reported to have overdosed earlier this week.

My heart held still. Blinding tears burned behind my lids. I blinked repeatedly, afraid I was seeing things. Was he really here? Was I dreaming?

Lenny leaned against the archway, his arms folded across his chest. An arrogant smirk played across his lips.

“Len?” His name was a whisper, a prayer, across my lips.