Page 20 of Honey Sugar
“Oh, lord. I need to go home and get the batch of honeysuckles that need to be candied. Can you two open up the shop and check customers out while I go home? I won’t be long.”
“We can handle it, Mama.” I smiled and she nodded at me. When she grabbed her keys I saw angry scarlet scratches on her hand and wrist. They twisted around her skin. Titan saw them too. My stomach dropped.
“Yo, Aunt Liv…what’s this?” He reached out and took her hand in his gently. I thought from the tone of his voice that he’d grab her but it was just the opposite. Mama looked up into Titan’s dark eyes and snatched away. Her lips were pressed into a flat line and her chin trembled.
“Titan Devereaux, you leave well enough alone and stay out of grown folks business.”
“I am grown, Aunt Liv and I’m tired of seeing bruises and scratches on you. You should be tired of it too. You want me to go back to the house with you? I know Uncle Beau is there sitting on his ass and not doing a damn thing.”
“Titan! Stop it. You don’t know anything, okay? Leave it alone and don’t you say a word to your uncle.”
“Why not? You want me to let him hit you?”
“He didn’t hit me,” she stammered. She hid her hand, shoving it in the front pocket of her jacket. “He tired but I yanked away and…that’s how I got the scratches. He didn’t come after me too much with you in the house.”
My ears were on fire. Flames licked my eardrums and crackled in my ear canal. Mama never divulged such simple details before. Something about Titan made words spill from her lips like they’d never done with me.
Anxiety ground my ribcage to dust.
“You know I won’t let that shit happen, Auntie. You have to trust me though. I’m not twelve anymore. If I need to stop him I can. I will.” His words held weight. So much weight I thought the floor of Honey Sugar would cave beneath us all.
Titan pushed out a strained breath and lifted his shirt enough to reveal the dull gleam of the pistol tucked in his back. Mama gasped and covered her lips with shaky fingers. She looked at me with wide eyes but I turned my gaze to the waxed floor. I looked at my reflection and nibbled on my bottom lip.
“W-What are you doing with that?” Her words stumbled over themselves to leave her mouth.
“It’s protection. Not just for me. If you need me, Aunt Liv let me know. You too, baby girl.” Hearing his nickname for me made my head lift until I looked him in the eyes. “We’re family. Nobody is going to hurt y’all and not deal with me.”
“Titan…” Mama sighed heavily and rubbed his shoulders. “I don’t know what to even say to you right now but please watch over your cousin. Okay?”
“Always, Auntie.”
“That gun has something to do with why you’re staying with us, doesn’t it?” Mama asked.
“The less you know, the better.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead before she left the sweet shop.
I couldn’t get a handle on my nerves. Nothing like that had ever happened before. My mother didn’t talk about her abuse beyond yelling at me not to interfere. I was in shock that she spoke so openly when Titan was around. My chest ached with confusion and betrayal.
Once my brain processed everything, I walked out of Honey Sugar and went to my car. I had a small bottle of Tylenol in the glove box. Just like the one at home, I had Xanax stored beneath the real pills.
I shook them out into my palm. The rattling of pills on pills settled my jittery nerves a little. I knew in a few minutes I’d be swallowing a better disposition. I cracked the top on a bottle of water in the cup holder and took four pills. I needed something potent.
As they slid down my throat, I relaxed in my warm car, pressing my back against the seat. I shut my eyes for a moment then I moved to put everything back where it was. I poured Tylenol pills back where they should have been and shoved napkins and half-used chapstick tubes back into the glove box.
When I looked up, I saw a pair of coal-black eyes staring back at me. My head spun around and around. I stumbled my way out of the car, tripping over my own clunky guilt. I straightened my apron and looked up at Titan.
“What the fuck are you doing, Ivy?”
“You know what I’m doing, Titan.” I moved past him and into the store. It was time to open up. He was right on my heels, not accepting a word of what I’d said to him.
“Why the fuck are you running to your car to pop pills?”
“Isn’t that how addiction works?” I snapped with a bite to my voice that I didn’t quite expect. I hated myself for it. I tugged on my ear and started unlocking the front and side doors of Honey Sugar.
Since I hadn’t eaten anything but chocolate candies for breakfast, the Xanax started working its magic instantly. It hit me harder than I expected and I felt the room spin then settle. Titan’s jaw flexed rapidly as he watched me get ready to open.
Once I was done setting up, I walked behind the counter with him and he snatched me up, pressing me against the overhang until it dug into my ass. I hopped up and slid backward to relieve the pressure.
Titan stood between my legs glaring down at me until my insides quaked. My mouth was a field of cotton and swallowing provided little relief. “Stop taking that shit, Ivy.” He said in a low tone that made the deepest parts of my stomach clench.
