“You wouldn’t know the truth if it came up and punched you on the nose. But that’s okay. I’m not going to give you the satisfaction of ruining my life. I’m going to get Misalo back now that the truth has come out. I suggest that you stay away from him, unless you want something bad to happen to you!” Maya threatened me.
“Is that why you sent that pack of girls to beat me up? Huh? Come on, Maya, don’t deny it,” I said, forcing her to own up to what she had done.
“I didn’t have a thing to do with that. Perhaps the girls just didn’t like you. You have built up a reputation of being a backstabber,” Maya said maliciously.
“And you have a reputation of being a snitch!” I reminded her of her soiled reputation with me.
“A snitch! Is that what this is all about? You still haven’t gotten over that mess with your father?” Maya asked.
“You ruined my life, Maya, and I’ll never forgive you for that. Had you kept your mouth shut, my father would be alive today, and I wouldn’t have to live under the same roof with you! I hate the fact that you’re alive, and I wish God would do the world a big-ass favor and strike you down!” Maya and I were now having a full-blown and very loud argument.
“Your father murdered someone!” Maya hollered at me.
“Were you there? Did you see him do it?” I pointed at her.
“No,” Maya answered.
“Then how can you be 100 percent sure that he did it?” I cornered her with my question.
“I overheard him say what he’d done. You know that.” Maya defended her justification for snitching on my father.
“You don’t know what you heard, Maya. You’ve always had an overactive imagination and can’t tell reality from fantasy. My father was the best man in the world. My life was perfect when he was alive. And you, with your lying-ass mouth, put an innocent man behind bars where he was killed. I hope you rot in hell, Maya.”
“And I hope you burn in hell with your homicidal father!” Maya hobbled closer to me.
“You want a piece of me?” I asked as I balled up my fists and prepared to kick her butt.
“All you need to do is stay away from Misalo.” Maya issued yet another warning as she limped toward the stairs.
“Why are you guys so loud? I can hear you all the way upstairs,” said Anna, who had come to see what all the shouting was about.
“Viviana needs mental help,” Maya hissed as she hopped up the steps.
“Wow! She’s really pissed off,” Anna said as she joined me in the family room.
“And I couldn’t care less,” I said as I settled into my seat. My head had begun to throb.
“I have a question I need to ask you.” Anna pulled out her cell phone. “I just got a text about a fight between Carlo and Misalo. Did you see it? Do you know who won?”
“Does it really matter, Anna?” I answered, irritated.
“Yes. I want to know if Misalo kicked Carlo’s butt. You were teaching him how to fight, right?” Anna asked.
“Yes,” I answered.
“Well, did your man win or what?” Anna was eager to hear all the gory details.
“The fight didn’t really last that long. Can we talk about it later? My head really hurts,” I said.
“Would you like some aspirin?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I said.
“Okay, I’ll be right back,” Anna said as she rushed off. I closed my eyes, exhaled and thought about what needed to be done in order to make Misalo care for me again. There was no way I would allow Maya to come between the true feelings that had developed between us.
three
MAYA
I was resting on my stomach when I was awakened by the sound of my cell phone. I wanted to ignore it, but I knew it was Keysha by the sound of the ring tone. Without looking, I reached for the nightstand where my cell phone was situated. Once I had it, I placed it to my ear.
“Hello?” I answered groggily.
“Wake up,” Keysha said in a chipper voice. I closed my eyes tighter.
“What time is it?” I asked.
“It’s time for us to get up and face the day,” Keysha said energetically.
“Seriously?” I asked, annoyed.
“Stop acting like an old lady and wake up.” It was obvious to me at that point that Keysha wanted me to do something with her.
“My knee still hurts. I’m not going to be out of bed anytime soon,” I griped as I moved my injured leg.
“What if I told you that I got up first thing this morning and my dad took me to driving school?”
I perked up. “What?” I readjusted the phone. “Stop playing.”
“I’m not playing,” Keysha answered.
I turned over and looked at my alarm clock positioned on my dresser across the room. It was 12:45 p.m. “Wow! I didn’t realize that I’d slept so late,” I said, stretching out my body.
“You always sleep late when you’re depressed,” Keysha reminded me.
“I’m not depressed,” I disagreed as I glared at the ceiling. I swallowed hard, noticing how dry my mouth was. “Are you really taking private driving lessons now?”
“Yep. I’m learning the rules of the road!” Keysha answered gleefully.
“Why didn’t you tell me today was your first day? See, you’re a crummy BFF. How could you keep something that major from me?” I asked.
“News flash! I was busy helping you deal with Viviana,” Keysha answered sarcastically.
“That whore.” I tossed my feet over the edge of my bed and sat upright.
“Did you get a chance to confront her about what she did?” Keysha asked.
“Oh, yeah. We had a big blowup yesterday after I got back home.”
“And?” I could tell by the tone of Keysha’s voice that she was hanging on my next words.
“She hates me, Keysha, and that’s all there is.”
“Does she hate you because of what went down with her father?” Keysha asked a question she already knew the answer to.
“Yep. She believes I ruined her life when I spoke up, and now all she wants to do is get even with me.”
“Damn! How are you going to live under the same roof with someone who has that much hatred for you?” Keysha asked.
“I have no idea,” I admitted.
“You should probably tell your mom about it. Maybe she can help Viviana work through her issues,” Keysha suggested.
“I care more about a baboon’s smelly behind than I do about Viviana. All she has to do is stay out of my way and leave Misalo alone.” My resentment toward Viviana was absolute.
“Speaking of feelings, boys and all that stuff, guess who I saw this morning?” Keysha asked.
“Wesley? Was he standing in the yard below your window reciting poetry?” I asked mockingly.
“No, silly, although that would be very romantic if he ever found the courage to do it.” Keysha giggled.
“Oh,