Page 106 of Call Me Mrs. Taylor

“What the fuck else was I supposed to do? You lied! About everything! Then, you put the cherry on top by breaking in my fucking house!”

“Maybe that should tell you how strong my feelings are,” she says softly. “Read the room.”

“Nah," I say, shaking my head. "This ain’t about feelings.”

“Then what’s it about?” She walks over to her desk and drops into the chair. “It can’t be about secrets, because everybody keeps those.”

“Not like you.”

She smiles. “Really?”

Her eyes glint with something sinister.

“Are you up on your high horse right now?” she says. “You think you’re better than me? You think you’re so honest and open?” Her voice drops. “Let’s talk about little Elijah.”

My whole body locks up.

Raya’s breathing is shallow, eyes burning with rage. “Uh huh. You didn’t tell me. Youwithheld information,” she says mockingly. “How thefuckis that any different from what I did?”

I don’t ask how she knows. I don’t deny it. I just stare at her, my pulse hammering in my ears.

Right now, I hate this bitch with everything in me.

“You wanna know how I know,” she says correctly. “I’ll tell you how I know. Because every second of your life can be found on the fucking internet.”

That snaps me out of my fury. “So you stalked me. Big surprise.”

“Whatever,” she says, waving me off. “All of y’all have public accounts. Why take pictures and post them if you don’t want people looking?” She leans forward. “You love it. Don’t you? All that validation. All those raggedy bitches in your comments telling you you’re 90s fine, and random ass people congratulating you on your accomplishments. What you not gon’ do is make me feel bad for looking at somethingyouput out there. I refuse.”

My stomach knots. She’s wrong, but she ain’t all the way wrong.

Something else caught my ear, though.

“Who is ‘all of y’all?’”

She blinks. “What?”

“You said, all ofy’allhave public accounts.”

The hard exterior falters. For the first time, she looks scared.

“You knew my sister, right?”

I don’t wanna know, but I have to. I need to make a clean break, and I’m pretty sure she’s about to give me what I need to do it once and for all.

“You want the truth?” she says, and I laugh bitterly.

“Ain’t that what Ibeenwanting? Yes!Fuck.”

She squares her shoulders, staring me directly in my eye.

“Your sister is a bitch.”

“Hold up—“

“Don’t ask for the truth and then get mad at how I tell it.”

I motion for her to continue.

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