Davonyé
I barely slept last night. I eventually found myself a room at a hotel in Central Montreal and then drank half a bottle of Bourbon before I managed to knock out. I found a couple of apartments to rent that I need to go look at this week, though.
I finally get through my classes for the day; I thought they were never gonna end. I wanted to skip school but I’ve missed enough as it is, and even if everything else is fallin’ apart, at least school is something I can control. I gathered Carisse wouldn’t be in either, and I was right. Fuck knows how awkward that’s gonna be when she appears again.
“Yo, where’s Carr’?” Niro asks me on our way out of the building.
“Fuck knows.” And she’s the last person I wanna think about right now.
He laughs. “Oh, shit. You two fallen out or somethin’?”
I keep my eyes on the car park. “Nah. We ain’t together no more.” I pull my hood up over my head. Shit is freezing.
“Whoa, sorry, bro. I know how much she means to you.”
“Not anymore, so can we stop talkin’ about it?”
“Sure. You mind if I still talk to her? I kinda wanna get close to Harmony so she can hook me up with Ariella.”
I stop and face him as I feel my anger peak. “Stay the fuck away from her,” I warn. I don’t even regret being so bait about it either. Fuck Carisse, fuck him, fuck everybody. Ariella is mine.
He holds his hands up. “Hey, I don’t want yo’ girl, man. I know she’s close with Harmony, that’s all.”
“I ain’t talkin’ about Carisse, Niro. I’m talkin’ about Ariella. Stay your ass away from her.”
He looks shocked at that. “You like her?”
“No, I don’t.” I love her, nigga. Fuck… I actually love the girl and I don’t even know her.
He frowns. “So what’s the deal?”
“Just stay away from her. She ain’t interested and that’s all you need to know.” I turn and leave his ass so I can find my car. Fuck what he thinks. Ariella ain’t gonna be some dirty little secret when she comes back to school, and I ain’t gonna stay away from her for anyone’s benefit, either. I’m all in with her.
All the fuck in.
I start the drive over to Ariella's House. My gut is cramping like crazy about seeing her. I think back to the day she changed and how different she looked with white hair. I hope those scars are gone, too. I don’t want nothin’ marring that beautiful body of hers.
An hour later, I pull up outside her house and notice another drive that weren't here the last time I was. I ignore it and walk up to the front door, but it swings open before I can knock.
A hench black brother with red eyes and short faded hair answers the door. He looks at me, and then he smiles suspiciously. “You're just in time, I'm hungry as hell.” He bares his teeth and I step back.
What the fuck?
He laughs. “I'm just fuckin’ with you.”
“Demetrius!” I hear Abriya shout. “Don't be a shit. Let Davonyé in, please!”
He opens the door wider, so I hesitantly step inside. He offers me his hand and I shake it. “I'm Demetrius, Ariella's Uncle, but you can call me Dee.” His grip is firm but I don't show that it hurts.
“I’m Davonyé.”
“I know.” He closes the door and then walks ahead of me. “Got rid of that girlfriend yet?” he asks over his shoulder.
“Uh...” Shit, she's told them? Fuck, man…
“Demetrius James!” I hear Abriya say in warning. “Will you fucking stop!”
“Sorry, sis,” he mutters.
I'm surprised at how different she seems.
Abriya and another dark-skinned woman are sitting at the island in the kitchen. Dee walks over to sit beside the woman and then holds her hand. I guess they're together. She has red eyes, too, and she’s beautiful, but all the women in this family that I've met so far have been.
“Have a seat, Davonyé,” Abriya says. “And ignore my brother-in-law. We don't eat humans unless they do something really really bad. Do you want a drink?” she offers, as if what she's just said is nothin’ to worry about.
“Uh, a water would be good, thanks.” This shit just gets more and more crazy.
“Hey, Davonyé, I'm Cecile. Ariella's Aunt and Dee's wife,” the woman with red eyes says. She shakes my hand across the island and gives me a warm smile. It makes me feel a little less anxious.
I smile back. “Nice to meet you.”
“Here you go,” Abriya says, setting my water down in front of me. She returns to her seat but doesn’t struggle to get up on the stool, even though her belly is almost at its full size.
“Thanks. Is Ariella here?”
She shakes her head. “No. She's with her father and will be for a few more days yet.”
“Where are they?”
“Training. A few miles from here.”
Learning her new skills… “Can I see her?”
She sighs. “Not at the moment, no.”
Fuck. That is not the answer I wanted to hear... I feel gutted. “I tried callin’ her this mornin’, but it went to voicemail.”
“She doesn't have her phone. She needs to concentrate on learning right now. She's doing this for you, too.”
She's staying away from me for my benefit? “With all due respect, Misses James, I need to see her. I got things I need to tell her.”
“I understand that, but she must learn how to control her ware side. Do you know how easily she could kill you?” she asks bluntly. “Even as a human, she is ten times stronger than you now. I understand how much you care about her and how much you want to be with her, but right now, she’s in the safest place and so are you.”
I sigh hopelessly. I came here to tell her that I'd gotten rid of Carisse, and that I wasn't gonna hurt her anymore by being with another woman, but now I’m here, I can’t even fuckin’ see her.
“So what am I meant to do now?” I ask her, sounding more pathetic then I’d ever wanna sound.
“Wait until she contacts you.”
I groan as I rub my face in my hands. Why does my chest feel so tight after hearing that?
“I'm sorry,” she says, briefly resting a hand on my arm.
I nod my head and drop my hands. “How’s she doing?”
She smiles. “Really good. She's amazing. You wait till you...” She drifts off.
“Wait till I what?”
“I was gonna say, wait till you see her, but I know you were a little uneasy about the whole ware thing when Clarence changed.”
“Oh, shit.” Dee laughs. “Clarence did that?”
“Yeah,” Abriya mumbles.
“Well, shit, no wonder he felt uneasy. You and Clarence are fucking huge.”
“Ariella ain't much smaller so you wait.” Abriya glares at him. “And if she’s that size then you know how big a certain someone’s gonna be when they change. So I’d be careful how you speak to him.”
“What? She got your size, too?” Dee asks in surprise.
“Almost. Must be an Ariya thing.”
“Ariya?” Who’s Ariya?
“Family history,” she says nonchalantly. “Anyway, haven't you got school?”
“Nah, classes are done for the day. I need to make a move, though, I gotta go look at a few apartments.” I down my water and then make to leave. I shake Dee’s and Cecile’s hand. “Nice to meet you both. Abriya.” I nod. “I'll see myself out. Could you please just ask Ariella to contact me when she can?”
She gives me a sympathetic smile. “I will.”
The further away I drive from Ariella's house, the sadder I feel. I feel like shit. I've barely slept because I miss Ariella like crazy. It's almost like I'm getting withdrawals from being away from her. I was even tempted to take my ass hiking to look for her.
If I feel like this, now, how the fuck am I gonna last the week?
***
I manage to hook myself up with an apartment by mid-week. It’s in Laval. It’s further away from school but closer to Ariella’s house, and that’s what made me get it. It’s big, too, and I’ve definitely got more for my money being out of the city. I just wish Ariella would contact me, cuz when I’m home, all I think about is how much I wish she was with me.
I still ain’t heard from her, and it’s Thursday. I ain’t gonna lie and say I ain’t feeling like a crackhead on withdrawals right now. I’ve sent her messages tellin’ her I’ve changed my number, and I’ve asked her to call me, but I ain’t got nothin’ back. I’ve resulted to spending more hours at the gym and beggin’ for overtime at work, just so I ain’t sitting in my lonely ass apartment thinkin’ about her.
Carisse kept callin’ day and night on private caller so I changed my number. She ain’t been in school but I’m on edge expecting her to come in at any time. Shit is gonna kick off big time when she finally does, cuz I know she ain’t gonna be able to stop herself from making a scene.
I walk towards my first class of the day and see Harmony walking towards me. She’s on her phone so don’t see me coming until I’m a few feet away and she stops. She looks surprised to see me.
“Harmony.”
“Davonyé.” She moves to walk around me but I sidestep into her way. “I can’t talk to you,” she says.
“What? Why?”
“Cuz I ain’t getting involved with your shit.”
“Have you seen her?” I’m soundin’ weak but I can’t fuckin’ help it.
“Which one?”
I give her a look and she bites her lip. “I ain’t in the mood, Harmony.”
She sighs. “I can see that,” she mutters. “Do you know?”
“About wares?” I say quietly. “Then, yeah, I know.”
She looks surprised for a second but then she covers it. “No. She ain’t replied to any of my messages. I don’t think she’s home yet.”
Fuck sake. How long does she need? I thought she was getting magic? Why ain’t she just magicked herself into a fucking werewolf professional and taken her ass back home? “Well, do you at least know how she is?”
“All I know is that she’s doing well.”
That tells me nothin’. Her mom said the same shit. “If you speak to her, tell her to call me.”
She takes a good look at me and then slowly nods her head. “I will, alright? I promise.”
I thank her and then make my way to class. This whole situation is long. I don’t know how much more of this shit I can take.