Page 41 of Color Me Broken
“So, what’s really going on?” she asked, settling into the chair across from Tasha.
Tasha tried to shift her weight, her movements slow and painful. “Nothing much. Just the usual.” She patted her weave. “I lost my fuckin’ job today.”
Shyann instantly lit up with glee. This was the outcome she was praying for. Seeing Tasha’s world crumble made her heart skip a beat. She didn’t expect the video to do damage that quick. “Girl, you got fired?”
“Yes, hunni. But anyway, it's cool. I’m glad you came by. I actually need a favor… could you take me to my follow-up appointment? Niyah’s busy, and my sister’s got that double shift.”
“And Juelz?” Shyann asked as she let her gaze wander upstairs.
“I asked you, Shy.Damn.”
Shyann swirled the ice in her cup, her expression unreadable. “I guess I can. Just text me the time, and I’ll come by and scoop you. I hope you got gas money too.”
“Girl!” Tasha shook her head, removing the blanket from around her. “Thank you. For real. But I’m bout to lay it down and catch a nap. These fuckin’ pills workin’ on my ass.” She stood up to go open the door for Shyann, taking baby steps to avoid disturbing her stitches.
“No problem, Tash,” Shyann spoke, as she gathered her purse off the floor. “I’ll talk to you later.” She glanced back at Tasha. “And tell Juelz I said, go to hell.”
Tasha laughed tiredly and closed the door behind her. Shyann’s heels clicked down the walkway…and the second Juelz heard the loud engine of her dusty ass Nissan crank up and fade down the street, he let out the longest breath he didn’t even know he was holding.
He glanced down the stairs at Tasha and headed back down to help her. He placed an arm around her waist as he guided her back upstairs to their bedroom. Once in the bedroom, he pulledthe covers back and adjusted her pillow as she slid off her house shoes and got into bed. He eased down at the bottom of the bed and continued to play his game.
The following day,Shyann had taken Tasha to the cancer center for her follow-up visit as promised. Tasha was feeling more pain than the day before. She moved like molasses, feeling every ache the more she took a step. She barely got to the car before she dropped into the passenger seat, exhaling loudly.
“Nice meeting you, Mrs. Riggs,” Tasha yelled out the window at the older woman she met inside the doctor's office. Mrs. Riggs had beaten cancer before, and now here she was again, back in the ring fighting another battle.
Shyann didn’t say much at first, just started the engine and pulled off from the cancer center lot. “You want somethin’ from the store?” she asked, glancing over at Tasha. “I can run in and grab crackers or ginger ale, whatever you need.”
“Yeah, ginger ale. And maybe those little lemon cookies if they got ‘em.”
Shyann nodded and pulled over into the Quick Stop. “I’ll be right back, girl.”
Tasha watched Shyann as she headed into the store fussing with the old men who was posted by the icebox. She reached into her purse to check her phone, only to find that it was dead again. She sighed. “Damn, not again. I swear I gotta get me a new phone.” She searched around in her purse for her charger, hoping to get lucky. “Fuck!Hopefully, Shy has a charger I can use. I need to holla at Jue for a minute,” she thought to herself.
Her eyes started to drift and landed on Shyann’s phone in the cup holder. She picked it up to see if it was charged. “Good, Shy got a couple of bars.”
She opened the phone app to dial Juelz’s number, but as she started typing the first three digits, a name popped up in the “recent” suggestions.
MY SECRET
Tasha’s heart skipped. Not just because his name was there, but because of the name she had his number saved as.
She pressed the name, her thumb hovering over the screen. She scrolled to the message app and read their recent text thread.
Shyann (3:10 PM) video attachment:“Yes, Juelz. Umm…yessss.”
She went to the next message.
Shyann (3:14 PM):
Come meet me in 30 minutes. Don’t be late. 226 Column Lane. Hotel on the right. Room 069. Or I’ll send it to Tasha.
Tasha’s mouth dropped open. Her vision blurred, but it wasn’t from the pain she was feeling. It was straight rage.Her hand shook as she kept scrolling, her chest rising like she couldn’t catch her breath.
The car door opened.
Shyann hopped back in, two bags in hand. “They ain’t have them damn lemon?—”
Slap…
