[ - ]
Table of Contents [Report This]
Printer Chapter or Story Microsoft Word Chapter or Story
- Text Size +
“A Mother’s Tale”


~Chapter Fifteen- A Dead Man’s Words

He pulls the dark shades over his eyes as he can hear the soft giggles of his sister running past him. Snickering, he sits up from the beach chair seeing Eliez sticking her tongue out at him and playfully tossing sand in the air before him.

“Wanna play?” Eliez beams out giggling, her small hands dig in the warm sand as she scoops up mounds of sand in a pile besides her.

He smiles, shaking his head. “Mom…hey mom.” Nick calls out to Jasmine who seemed to be relaxing in her own lounge chair clothed in just a simply one piece navy blue bathing suit.

“Hmm…what is it honey?”

“Just wondering if you got the drinks I asked for.” Nick grins, rubbing his hands together.

Laughing gently, she nods and points to the ice box: “I got two dozen of it since you and your friends swallow those things so fast.” Smiling, he walks past her as the doorbell rings loudly from the backyard.

“Ohh looks like your friends are here.” She smiles as Eliez scoops another pile of sand from her sand box besides their grand pool in the backyard.

Whistling, Nick opens the front door as A.J. stands before him holding a large keg.

“Dude are you crazy?! It’s a small barbeque not a rave party.” Nick blurts out, his light eyes taking in the keg.

Damien laughs as Brian pushes past them to the front door.

“I told him, but he didn’t listen. I however bought soda and chips since its just us.” Brian grins proudly, stepping into the house to head to the backyard.

“Jerk off.” A.J. snorts, stepping into the house with the keg. “Hehe so Nicky where do I put this?”

“Up your ass cause you’re not bringing that out there with my mom and baby sis out there.” Nick eyes him as Damien steps in holding a white cake box.

“What’s with the cake?” Nick goes over to his friend taking the cake box.

“Just a little something we got along the way.” Damien whistles, opening it to reveal a picture of a model woman wearing nothing if anything visible to the imagination on the cake along with that the words in red icing that wrote out “Would you like to eat me?”

Nick’s mouth drops open and smiles: “You want to embarrass me today don’t you?”

“Heh, it was all Alex’s idea. I just bought it that’s all.” Damien snickers: stepping aside waving to Jasmine who had stepped in at the moment.

“Ohhh you got a cake. What’s the celebration for?” Jasmine beams eyeing the young men.

A.J. looks over at Brian and Damien before busting out in laughter.

Jasmine raises her eyes brows, going over to the cake. “Ohh let me see, this is nice of you boys bringing some dessert over.”

“No problem Mrs. Carter.” Brian grins mischievously, wiggling his eyebrows at Nick.

Holding back a laugh, Nick quickly places the top of the white cardboard cover quickly over the cake as Jasmine pokes her son on the side.

“What’s wrong with the cake?” Jasmine curiously asks, edging around Nick to see what he could be hiding.

A.J. burst out laughing as Damien covers his mouth watching Nick grin and back away.

“Mom the guys were just joshing around. You don’t wanna see this.” Nick smirks.

“What’s wrong with the cake?” She asks frowning: backing Nick into a corner. “Sweetie, let me see the cake.”

By now all three of Nick’s friends were on the floor dying of laughter as Jasmine’s frowns deepen. Snatching the cake box out of her son’s hands, she flips open the cover to reveal the almost nude picture.

Dying of laughter, A.J. points out that even the pubes were crafted in to create that special vibe sending the young men there into laughter.

Smirking, Jasmine shakes her head: “Oh my…well…that’s quite the picture. You can put the cake on the table outside sweetie.” She clears her throat, looking at the other guys oddly before heading off.

“Dude…your mom totally wanted to wig out there when she saw the cake. I could tell, her expression said it all.” Damien snickers carrying the rest of the drinks to the backyard.

A.J. looks over at Nick, a smile spread over his face: “You know you wanna laugh man, its real funny. Come on, the fact that the cake came so well designed including pubes pics gotta be great right?”

Nick biting his lower lip: breaks into laugh heading to the backyard with a snickering A.J. behind him.

Damien sets up the stereo hearing Eliez sneak up behind him covering his eyes: “Hey…sweetie. I can’t see.”

Eliez giggles and lets her hands go, the then three year old watching him curiously as he connects the plug and wire. “What that?” She bubbles out.

“This plays music. You know what music is right?” He asks watching Nick tip toe behind Eliez.

Eliez nods and claps her hands as Nick picks up the little toddler kissing her pretty little face all over sending Eliez to squeal out in laughter.

Damien smiles softly and blinks seeing another one of his friends walk in with a few women behind him.

“Heh…Orlando and his English charm again. I tell ya I’m about to start faking an accent myself to lure the women in.” A.J. smirks, settling down on a beach chair.

A loud splashing was heard as Brian throws a dark hair beauty in the pool.

“Hey, hey that’s my woman…or well she’s gonna be my woman so hands off.” A.J. shouts out scrolling over to some woman to introduce himself.

Jasmine smiles watching this and sits on her beach chair as Arianna runs to Nick and both cuddle in the corner. She turns her head to Damien holding a then three year old Eliez in his arms as she giggles out something to him.

Feeling content, Jasmine lies back to let the sunlight hit her sun kissed skin, rolling to her side she closes her eyes for a moment before hearing a loud giggle and soft padding of feet coming towards her direction. Opening her eyes, she looks around the now empty backyard and frowns, sighing. Realizing it was only a distant memory, Jasmine sits up from the beach chair looking around the lonely pool. A soft breeze ripples the clear blue water in the pool as a soft humming of a distant bee swarm over the blooming flowers of the arriving summer.

“Honey…are you ok?” She hears Roger’s voice behind her. Turning over on the beach chair, she smiles, nodding her head.

“Another one of those huh?” He whispers out, kneeling down to her height gently cupping her face.

“Yeah…” She sadly murmurs out. “The more I think about it, the more memories fill my mind. I miss him so much. That was my baby boy Roger, my little boy and now he’s gone from me…from us.” She chokes out feeling her husband’s arm wrap around her tightly.

Holding tightly to her, he kisses the top of her head and sighs, “We’re going to make it. He wouldn’t want you to be so sad. You know he was a happy kid and always wanted the best for us.”

“I know Roger…I know my baby boy.” She barely whispers out, clutching the front of his white wife beater to her.

“We can take Eli out for some ice cream and that can help clear your head.”

Looking at him she smiles softly, pressing her lips against his: “Thank you.”

Roger smiles and stands up, holding Jasmine in his arms, carrying the woman inside their house.
~*~

“Lean your head back, I need to divide the hair up right.”

Makenzie tilts her head feeling Arianna’s hands gently comb her hair.

Sitting behind her, Arianna uses the comb to create a zigzag design to part Makenzie’s hair. Using a black part pizzazz to easily create an intricate parting she smiles and clips it in Makenzie’s hair, leaving many of the golden tresses to fall out beautifully.

“Oh you’ll like this.” Arianna smiles: shoving a hand mirror in Makenzie’s hand. “Hehe, I’m so gifted in this, normally I charge people for this but you’re a cool girl, so its on the house.”

Laughing, Makenzie’s holds the small mirror, checking out her hair in satisfaction: “Thanks. Wow…this is some stuff you did here. Heh, Alex is gonna flip when he sees me.”

“Well that or he’ll strip you right there and take you.” Arianna snickers, handing Makenzie back the comb and brush.

Clearing her throat, Makenzie turns to face the young woman and smiles: “I…I have a question…hope you don’t mind.”

“Oh no go ahead.” Arianna yawns, stretching out on the sofa behind her.

“Ok…how long have you and well Nick been together…” Makenzie states slowly hoping to catch Arianna in something or trip up her story.

Simply smiling, Arianna locks eyes with the emerald eyed woman before her: “For six months…I thought I had found the man of my dreams…but stuff happens and you move on you know.”

“Stuff? Ohh…well I was reading something in the papers the other day and it said you were still with Nick since the day of the incident…but you’re dating another man…so I’m kinda confused.”

Arianna blinks and grumbles under her breath wishing for once the guys were in the room with her. She looked to the front door hoping A.J or Damien would stroll in to break the conversation cause she was running out of answers in this lie.

“Umm…well…that’s the media always screwing with people. We were friends by then, you know it was time to move and all and we called it quits. But reporters like to add their own little twist and mess the stories up making it seem like I was cheating or something on Nick, which God no! I would never do that. I loved Nick, he was a sweetheart…” Arianna looks away almost fooling herself at how well she played it off.

“Ohhh…so you were friends with him for a bit before dating again? Cause it seems kinda cruel that you would date his friend while being around him don’t you think?” Makenzie narrows her eyes, scrolling over to Arianna who seemed spaced off.

“Yup.” Arianna smirks, clipping her own locks to settle back on the sofa.

Makenzie trains her eyes on the woman as she gets up gathering her hair products to put back in her handbag quietly.

Arianna smirks rolling to her side: “Its too bad that happened to him…Nick was such a sweetheart. God bless his heart…he was even packed in all the right places…” She whispers out in an almost haunting voice, lost in her thoughts.

Blinking at Arianna, Makenzie runs a hand through her flaxen hair plopping down on a seat besides her: “Err…uhh…ok.”

Lying on the sofa, she hears the soft chuckling of the two men who enter the living room. Quickly plopping besides Arianna, Damien pulls the fair-headed woman on his lap kissing her.

Rolling her eyes, Makenzie watches A.J. slid into the room and sit on her lap smirking. Giggling she wraps her arms around A.J.’s waist as he snickers kissing her softly.

“Ugh…you smell of smoke baby.” Makenzie frowns, pushing away from the man as he smirks.

“Sorry babe, I needed a nice smoke, the craving was hitting again. But ladies what did we miss?” A.J. slides off her lap, snuggling the woman to him.

Arianna cuts a glare at A.J. and snorts: “Nothing…nothing at all. Damien sweetie I’m gonna go in the kitchen, wanna come with me?”

“Uh not really.” He yawns, leaning back on the sofa.

Pinching his arm, she smiles: “No you do wanna go with me. I left something on the top counter and I can’t reach it.”

Damien nods, “Sure thing baby…you two behave.” He smirks, heading to the kitchen following behind Arianna in the kitchen.

“Heh…what happened?” He asks once out of earshot from the others.

“She asked me about Nick and you.” Arianna frowns, drumming her fingers on the kitchen counter.

“And I’m guessing you said what we rehearsed right?” He steps up behind her whispering in her ear.

Sniffing, she quickly nods and leans back against him: “How long do we have till she knows?”

“Not sure…I need to find out the watch situation first and then we can spill the beans to Mrs. Crazy bitch Carter.” He smirks, running a hand down her side.

Arianna nods, scratching her elbow: “She’s getting too curious…Makenzie.”

Damien wraps his arms tightly around her: “So let her be…but if you crack and tell her, your ass is mine.” He threatens her, pushing away from her to put the drinks away in the fridge.

Sniffing, she wipes her eyes, leaning against the counter: “How can you be so cold hearted? This is getting to me and you just stand there!”

Damien blinks and snorts, throwing his arms in the air: “What the hell you want me to do? I can’t change what we did. What’s done is done. We gotta deal with it.”

Silently crying, she leans against the counter, wiping the stray tears that cross her pale cheeks.

Sighing, he goes over to her and whispers: “We’re gonna be ok. Shh don’t cry baby. I’ll be right here. I won’t let anything happen to you. I would risk my life to save yours and you know that.”

She smiles softly, placing her head on his chest: “Thank you…I love you.”

“Back at you.” He whispers out, rubbing her back in circles. “Me and the boys are gonna do a crack down at Carter’s place. I think the bitch is taking stuff from me and I need to make sure.”

“Did you ask Roger?” She furrows her brows eager to get back to the others so the others don’t suspect things.

“He doesn’t know though I’m sure his wife would tell me…that is if she’s willing to talk to me since the accident.”

She sighs and exits the kitchen heading back to the others in disarray.
~*~

She watches the cartoon closely, her big eyes glued to the screen of Casper the ghost floating into his little animated room. Grinning, she pulls her cabbage patch doll to her: “Molly look. Shhhh…mommy no know.”

Eliez sits in her room quietly, tugging on her pink cotton bear blanket. Giggling she watches the cartoon in interest as she sways side to side, humming to the song on the show. Shutting off her tv, she blinks seeing her room door swing open suddenly with no one in front of the door. Curiosity getting to her: she runs out the door and looks out the long hallway seeing no one.

“Mommy?” She calls out, walking slowly down the dim hallway. “Mommy?” She tries again, hearing nothing but her own voice and soft breathing. Raising her eyebrows, she goes across the hallway into the bathroom and smiles picking up her red crayon that seemed to have rolled into the room. Giggling, she exits the bathroom and stands before the mahogany plank walls scribbling a repetitive statement over and over again. She smiles as she hears her mother coming up the steps besides her with a basket of laundry.

Jasmine gasps, dropping the basket, standing besides her little girl. “What have you done Eli?”

Eliez looks up at her mother, skipping back to her room as if nothing was wrong. Jasmine quivers, her eyes scanning over the poorly written words: but it was clear enough to be understood. The bright red scribbled words clearly spelled out over and over again on the wall: ‘Nick hear.’ Jasmine trembles slightly, feeling her mouth drop open as she falls to her knees in shock.
~**~

**~To Be Continued…~**