𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐍 𝐈𝐍 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐃| 𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐕𝐎𝐍

𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐍 𝐈𝐍 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐕𝐈𝐈

ᶜʰᵃᵖᵗᵉʳ ˢᵉᵛᵉⁿ▔▔▔▔

—BECOMING increasingly annoyed with the child occupying her salon chair, she let out an exasperated sigh in response to the little girl's whining.

"We can take a thirty minute break." Alana held her hands together rubbing them from the soreness.

"I don't understand why she's behaving like this," the child's mother said, shaking her head as she lifted the six-year-old from the chair. Alana silently acknowledged that she was fully aware of the reasons behind her behavior.

Alana mumbled "Mhm" softly as she continued to massage her aching hands. Despite the child not being  tender headed , she still behaved foolishly when Alana even got near her.

Walking out of her personal hair room, Alana reached into her pocket and retrieved her phone.

Damn. She was supposed to have dinner with Derrick's family after work, but to be completely honest, she despised them.

She was treated as if she were an outcast, as if she didn't fit in. Additionally, Derrick's uncle Ricky gave her strange feelings.

During a cookout, there was a time when she found herself in the kitchen with Ricky. He would constantly make inappropriate jokes and discuss her breasts, which made her feel uncomfortable.

She chose not to inform Derrick because it was highly probable that he wouldn't show any concern, as he had never shown genuine care before.

Before her cellphone began to vibrate in her hand, she pondered whether she should simply cancel on them and fabricate a falsehood.

Looking at the contact the seen it was no other than dayvon, they had gotten closer and closer over the few weeks.

Alana wasn't bothered by it, but she found it strange that she hadn't connected with anyone as quickly as she did with him.

As soon as she heard his voice, she placed the phone against her ear and a wide smile instantly spread across her face. "Dayvon," she said, simply awaiting his reply.

"Whatchu' doin lil foenem?" he asked, audibly chewing on something. "I'm doing hair, you know I work on Fridays, Von."

"You seem mad mama, what's the wrong? Ain't nobody fuckin' witchu' is they?" She huffed in response, feeling a slight sense of satisfaction that he had asked, as it gave her the opportunity to share everything with him.

"No von no one's messing with me, but my client is like six and she's making my hands cramp because she won't sit still" she complained.

"And-I have to have dinner with my late fiancé 's family later tonight." She bit her lip as she waited for his reply.

"What's the wrong with them niggas? They be on bullshit or sum " She shook her head, as if he could perceive her actions. "Absolutely," she promptly replied.

"So cancel and come see me Alana." He said and Alana chuckled softly at his words. "I can't..this is about his case." She said causing the line to go silent.

"Ight man, call me when you done." He said and Alana furrowed her brows at the sudden change of tone in the young man's voice.

"Dayvon I know you don't have an-" she pulled the phone from her ear seeing he had hung up on her. Well now my mood is even worse.

Shaking it off she walked back to her hair room.

▔▔▔▔

—THE restaurant was dim and quite fancy, Alana had no idea Derrick's family could afford this kind of dining.

She seen them in the middle of the restaurant chatting it up, about four people at the table total.

"Hello." Alana greeted Derick's parents, brother, and sister with a wave. "How have all of you been?"

Derrick's bald father, while taking a sip of his lemon water, said, "We have been doing well, please have a seat."

"Sorry, traffic was crazy." Alana said sitting in the empty seat beside the younger woman. "That's fine."

"What's the purpose of this small gathering?" She inquired, observing the expressions on everyone's faces. "Well, we've decided not to disclose any further details about the case to you," Melissa sighed, gently dabbing the corners of her mouth with a napkin.

"What?" Alana asked, processing the woman's choice of words. "I'm confused... have I done something you didn't like?" She furrowed her brow, scanning the table for a straightforward answer.

"We have reasons to believe that you may be involved in Derrick's case, given the circumstances surrounding the events."

Alana's eyes were fixed on the older couple, unable to believe what she was hearing, as a surge of anger started to rise within her. Despite not being prone to anger, this situation truly infuriated her.

"Do you all understand how stupid you sound? Why would I set the love of my life out to be killed in-front of a corner store?!" She shouted pushing her seat back.

"Until Derrick's passing, none of you showed any concern for him, but now that the check is on its way, suddenly he matters to you?"

Mellisa's mouth dropped hearing Alana's words run through her mouth. She had never heard Alana speak up or yell no one had ever heard her or seen her get angry.

Alana angrily left the restaurant, her heels making a loud clacking sound, expressing her frustration by saying, "I've had enough, all of you can go to hell!"