Page 46 of Unbreakable Bond
“Why not?”
“I don’t know what’s going on yet. I want to think niggas would know better, but I’m not putting shit past anyone, especially with Cam.”
I had to agree with Mack, but I couldn’t tell Marcus no. Whenever I went against anything he said, he pulled my strings and forced me into compliance, reminding me the clock was ticking.
“I know, but Cam is really looking forward to it,” I replied with a half-truth.
“When has that ever mattered?”
“What is that supposed to mean?” I fired back with my hand on my hip.
“Good morning, family,” Mom sang, walking into the kitchen.
Mack and I were in a standoff. I wanted him to expound on his jab, but he refused. Instead, he delivered another that pissed me off even more.
“You’re her mom, Sky. It’s your call. I have to go.” Mack kissed my cheek, but there was no emotion behind it. Cam was always our child. Now he was being a passive-aggressive asshole.
Adria picked up on it, too, as Mack delivered the same meaningless kiss to her and headed out the door. She paused, hoping I would say something. I didn’t because she wasn’t even supposed to be here, let alone witness our quarrel.
“That was tense,” Mom announced, tired of sitting silently.
“Don’t start,” I warned.
“What? Aren’t mothers and daughters supposed to talk about these things?”
“Some are. We’ve never been that.”
“Arguing with your man sure put a fire under you this morning,” she disputed between sips of her coffee.
“Help yourself to breakfast,” I rolled my eyes and left Adria in the kitchen.
Cam had already eaten and was held up in her bedroom watching YouTube on the oversized television Mack Attack had bought for her. He had treated himself to a new one in the basement. Cam said she wanted a television like that for her room, and three days later, another one was delivered. The urge to fuss, because he was spoiling her rotten, was strong, but that was my trauma talking. Cam was a good kid and deserved to live the life I only dreamed of at her age.
I grabbed my schoolbooks and dived into the exciting world of Politics and Breastfeeding. The course was boring as fuck but necessary in my journey to become a lactation specialist.
“Mommy, look what I made!” Cam bounced into my bedroom and hopped on the bed.
“It’s beautiful, boo!”
“Thank you. Mack Attack said I’m the best drawer,” Cam repeated proudly.
I giggled at the conviction in her tone as she repeated Mack’s words. In Cam’s world, his word was the only thing that mattered.
“If Mack Attack said it, it must be true, huh?”
“Yup,” she smiled proudly, hopping down and searching the room for the perfect place to hang her latest masterpiece.
Mom never cared how we felt about the revolving door of men she moved in. I didn’t want that for Cam, so I decided to pick her brain.
“Mack is pretty great. Do you like living here with him?”
“Of course. Do you?”
I chuckled at her mature question, “Yes. This house is much bigger than our old one.”
Her eyes grew three sizes as she stretched her arms to demonstrate, “Way bigger!”
“What do you like most about living here?” I asked because Cam’s mind was a peculiar place.