Grace
"I'm coming," turning down the heat from the stove, I rushed to open the door for Mel, who called earlier and told me that she was coming to see me.
Truthfully, she wanted to come and hear all the details, but I didn't mind. I loved having her around.
"Heyyyyyyyyyyy!!" She jumped on me immediately I opened the door, more than excited for me like the previous night was a ritual into the elite life.
"Whoa, calm down boo. You miss me that much?" I teased.
"Well, seeing that I'm the only friend that understands affection, let's leave it at that." Her eyes rolling to the back of her head as she strutted in my apartment.
"Ooouuuhhhh, what smells so good? Is this what it feels like to be rich?" She teased referring to the money I had gotten the previous night.
"Oh please, you know more than half of that money isn't even mine, plus my bills are so high I could use them as a ladder to the sky." I walked over to the kitchen to finish up the cooking.
"Yeah, that's why I made you go, I knew you needed the money more than me, plus Nicky was bothering you a lot." She trailed behind me. "How was it anyway?" Her eyebrows perked up.
"Come on, let's eat something before I start to narrate my escapades to you." I groaned, trying my best to avoid the topic.
"Hell no, I know you. You're just finding a way to avoid this, and you're not going to. So, spare the excuses and spill to Mama." She grabbed an apple from the counter and focused on me.
Almost immediately, like they were trying to save me, both our phones rang. "Thank God!" I muttered as we both went to answer our phones. Mine showed an unknown number, which I was skeptical to answer but decided to anyway.
"Hello?" I said into my phone
"Grace, did you block my number?" I could recognise that voice even from the deepest coma.
"No, mom, I think my phone is acting up." I lied.
I blocked her the night before, on my way to Jones Hotel.
"You lying piece of shit, where is the money?" She snarled
"I'll send it to you right now, I was working on getting it."
"You better and unblock my number. You know you're so ungrateful. After everything I did for you, this is how you repay me?" And the crying started. This is how my life had always been. My mom took in with me as a result of her high school crush, forcefully having sex with her, and he was forced to marry her to avoid jail.
Mom started using her immediately she gave birth to me and also had to take care of me as my father couldn't care less about us. He shamelessly brought in girls to our home and fucked them right in from of my mom and eventually me, when I was born.
Mom never cheated, at least not to my knowledge, but she was getting too addicted to the drugs that she started losing touch with reality at a point.
I had started working as soon as I turned thirteen, Dad wanted me to be a sex worker, but Mom fought against it even in her wasted state. I worked throughout the summer and even during school sessions to save up for college.
Mostly, I worked for mom because she kept taking more than fifty percent of my salary but I couldn't complain, she had broken her back for me and I thought it was my own way of repaying her.
But it came constant and demanding. By the time I left for college, I was already juggling three jobs plus my studies to meet her needs, and when my check was late and I had to delay sending her money, it was one emotional blackmail or the other.
Today was no different. Crying was her most used tool. Second on the list was using Sally's health, and third was to insult me.
Considering how my mum and dad hated each other, I was more than surprised to see that my mom got pregnant when I was eight years old.
I could remember crying in the closet because another baby was coming to replace me, and my father might send me out.
Sally came with a lot of complications, it was the first time I saw my father care about a child that came out of my mom. He followed her for hospital appointments, he cleaned after her and the baby, even stopped bringing girls home for a couple of years, it was like he started to care about her again.
Even mom stopped using or she reduced her intake but she was always aware around Sally. She treated her like her golden child, her salvation and for those six years I was abandoned, I hated Sally with every bone in my body.
When Sally turned six, most of the complications she had went down the drain, she could walk on her own, speak and even eat. And a year later, Dad went right back to his ways like her sickness was the only thing keeping him from being his true self.
She later grew out of all her complications, turned out even smarter than me and bagged her self a scholarship to college so at least I didn't worry much about her except when she had her episodes.
"Mom, I'm sorry. I'll send it over immediately."
"Okay." And she hung up the call, no bye, and certainly no I love you.
I immediately transferred her the one hundred and fifty thousand I promised her and dropped the head on the counter as tears threatened to spill out of my eyes.
"Hey, who was that?" Mel waltzed in few minutes after.
"Oh, it was Nicky." I smiled weakly as I wiped my ears which was already pouring tears.
"Hey, come on. We agreed not to let her get to you again. You're fine, don't waste your tears on her okay." She hugged me till I was fine and cleaned my face with a paper towel.
"I have news for you."
"Okay, what's that?" I sniffled
"Coral just called me and she has a new gig for you if you're up for it."
"Okay who do I have to meet this time?"
"That's the thing, it's more like a long term thing."
"Long term? Mel, I don't understand you." She paused, making me nervous. I just hoped it wasn't what I was thinking.