Page 18 of The Hellcat Barbies: Aubree

Snapping back to the present, I walked toward the kitchen ignoring his question. My mother was placing bowls of food on the dinner table. There was fried chicken, yams, collard greens, turkey wings, macaroni and cheese, corn on the cob, and corn bread.

“Ma, how are you going to drop a bomb like that then just walk off like what you said was normal?”

Her shoulders hiked into a passive shrug.

“It might not be normal, but it happened, and I’m okay with it.

Your father and I finally opened our mouths and admitted what we’ve known for years but refused to say.

It’s over. It’s been over. His health issues changed him.

Somehow, he began to resent that even on a fixed income he had to provide for a family.

You girls are grown, and I’m grown as well.

You all don’t need him financially, and if he doesn’t want to provide for me, I can certainly do it myself.

So now, he’s free. I don’t know about him, but I’m happy. Let’s eat.”

I was still in shock, but I had to admit that my mother did look happy.

In fact, she was glowing. I knew life with my father wasn’t a walk in the park for her, so if she was happy, then I was happy.

It had been years since my father picked up a phone and reached out to me.

He never called to check on me or ask me how I was doing.

When I came by the house, he’d engage in short conversation, but he never seemed too interested for real.

Shit, when I got my hellcat, he was admiring the car, and that was the most I’d heard him talk at once in years.

Now that I wouldn’t be seeing him at the house when I stopped by, there was no telling when I’d see or talk to my father.

I loved him, but he needed to fix whatever issues he had.

It wasn’t my job or my mother’s to do. How someone could resent taking care of the family they willingly created was absurd to me, but I couldn’t waste braincells trying to figure it out.

When my mother asked Brasi what was going on with him and he told her about his science channel and going back to school, I couldn’t stop smiling.

My mother seemed genuinely impressed, and I was so proud of him.

After dinner and dessert which was apple cobbler, I helped my mother clean the kitchen.

She said she was going to a nearby park to walk.

I didn’t know when she started walking, but I was liking the way my mother was handling her separation from my father.

“Are you going to be okay with the bills?” Suddenly worry crept into my brain. My mother worked full-time, but it was at a retail store, and I was sure she didn’t make more than $12 an hour if that. “You know I can help if you need it.”

My mother smiled at me. “I applied for a manager position at my job, and if I get it, I’ll be bringing in about $1,000 more a month than I do now. In case I don’t get it, I’ve applied for some other jobs as well. I have savings, but it’s not much. I should be okay though.”

“Nope. I’m putting some money in your account.” I grabbed my phone off the table and went to my banking app. I did well for myself and helping my mother was never an issue. Within seconds, I had transferred $2,000 into her account. When she got the notification on her phone, her jaw slacked.

“Aubree.”

“Is that enough?”

“It’s more than enough. Oh my God. Thank you so much.” My mother hugged me, and I made a mental note to put money in her account every month whether she got a new job or not.

When we were done cleaning the kitchen, my mother walked Brasi and I to the door.

My stomach soured as I watched the reflection of me walking to the door.

It was really sad that I literally hated my twin sister’s guts, but I did.

When she saw me, she smirked, but when she saw Brasi behind me, her face fell, and it was my turn to smirk.

Autumn opened the door and pushed past me and Brasi. “Oh y’all having family dinners and what not, and I wasn’t invited. Typical,” she sneered.

“Autumn,” my mother’s tone had a hint of warning in it. “Don’t come over here with all that.”

“And people wonder why I act the way that I do. No one ever tried to hide the fact that they thought somehow this bitch was better than me.”

I heard the word bitch and lost it. Years of pent up anger toward my sister and her ignorant ways grabbed a hold of me and wouldn’t let go. I lunged toward Autumn and punched her in the face.

“Aubree,” my mother gasped, but I was on Autumn’s ass.

I got three punches in before she even hit me back once. I managed to toss her onto the floor and kicked her before Brasi pulled me off of her. “That’s enough man. Come on. This is your mother’s house.” He spoke directly into my ear in a soothing tone.

My chest heaved up and down as Autumn got up off the floor. With a chuckle, she wiped blood from her mouth. “You finally grew some balls, bitch. I guess you aren’t such a Miss Goody Goody after all.”

“That B word is going to be the reason I get you again. Keep trying me,” I struggled to get away from Brasi.

“Girl, who supposed to be scared of you? Walking around like you’re hot shit and you’re a whole deadbeat mom. Got rid of your kid, so you can live a fake bougie ass lifestyle.”

With her words, Brasi released me, and I flew toward her again. That time we both fell. I ended up on top of her, and I hit her in the face over and over again. Brasi let me get a good six punches in before he grabbed me again.

That time when she got up off the floor, she didn’t have anything to say.

“Autumn get out of my house, and don’t come back again until you learn how to be respectful.”

“You don’t ever have to worry about me coming back over here.

It’s always the same thing. You’re having a family dinner and didn’t even tell me about it.

I used my words, but she attacked me like an animal.

Not once but twice, and I can’t come back over here?

” Autumn stabbed her chest with her finger. “Y’all got it.”

She pushed past us and left the house. It took every ounce of restraint that I had not to lunge at her again.

I wanted nothing more than to beat the brakes off her miserable ass without anyone breaking it up.

All my mother could do was sigh and shake her head.

Brasi let me go, and I wanted to apologize to my mother for my behavior in her house, but I couldn’t fix my mouth to do so. I wished I had done worse.