Page 83 of Defect
I instantly understood why Vince hated his own son. That shit was fucked up. I hoped every damn day that Malachi got away from his dad. I knew how it felt like to have a parent that wanted to keep you just to punish you.
“It got worse when they moved in together. Solana was his golden hen. She could do no wrong as long as she did everything he wanted her to do. I had the hardest time trying to explain to her…that wasn’t love. So, in my opinion, their relationship was never good. There were always red flags.” I saw Solana’s relationship with Vince in a whole new light after talking to Amaris. Shit, I saw a lot of things in a new light after talking to her.
…
SOLANA
“I’m not eating that shit, Solo,” Ezra laughed. I was trying to feed him a forkful of vegan scrambled eggs but he was having none of that shit.
“It’s not bad. It’s just tofu.”
“I hate tofu. No matter what the hell you do it’s disgusting.”
“Stop being such a baby.” I climbed in his lap, letting my legs hang over the sides of his chair. He groaned and opened his mouth because once I was on top of him he couldn’t ignore me anymore. I fed him a forkful of eggs and he made a face like he wanted to vomit. I erupted with laughter and hopped off of him.
“Nah. This shit is gross.” He spat it out in a napkin then went back to eating his chicken eggs. Can’t say I didn’t try. “Let’s go. I want to set my tea blends out in the studio and then I have to go take my test.” He smiled with so much pride that I thought my chest was going to crack open.
Ezra had been working hard for weeks taking GED classes after work every other day. He’d taken a few practice tests and aced every one. I told him I thought he was ready to take the real test. It was my hope that by taking the test, it would get his mind off everything that happened with his mother yesterday.
“Okay, okay. Let’s go.” I finished my breakfast of tofu scrambled eggs and fruit then put my plate in the sink. Ezra grabbed my keys and folded his too tall, too bulky body into my Volkswagen or as he called it my yellow tin can. I hopped in beside him and we pulled off. I noticed him looking across the street at his mother’s house as we drove by.
“Are you going to get the rest of your stuff after you take the test?” I asked him.
“Yeah. Whatever I can carry over.” Mrs. Fredericks’ car was still in the driveway and it was nearing ten o’clock. That was abnormal for her since she was usually up at the crack of dawn for work. “I see she stayed home today. I can feel her staring at us out the window.”
“Yeah, me too,” I said with a creeped out shudder. Once we were off the street, I turned up the music and Ezra shook his head.
“You have to blast music for a five-minute drive to the studio?” He quizzed.
“Yes. I do. You can always walk if you don’t like it,” I stuck my tongue out at him and he flipped me off playfully. When we rounded the corner to find somewhere to park, my stomach sank. I saw yellow caution tape and police cars blocking off a group of parking spaces near the front.
“What the fuck is going on?” I unhooked my seatbelt and leaned forward to see better. I couldn’t tell whose store all the commotion was happening in front of but judging by the spiky way my energy felt…it was Sun Goddess.
“Solana, you should stay in the car while I go see what the hell is happening.” Ezra had to park a block away from the studio because so many cop cars surrounded it.
“No. Fuck that. I want to know what’s going on.” The moment the car was in park, I opened the door and rushed toward my studio. Ezra was right beside me.
Chunks and shards of broken glass littered the sidewalk like diamonds. Every time I took a step toward the door, glass crunched and rolled beneath my shoes. My stomach sank somewhere so far down it felt like it disappeared.
“My studio,” I gasped. A brick had been thrown through the bay window and I could see that everything inside had been trashed. It felt like I was walking through water at first but then my speed picked up and before I knew it, I was running full-speed toward my studio with tears blurring my vision.
“Solana,” Ezra grabbed my arm before I crossed the yellow caution tape with my keys in my hand.
“I’m sorry folks, we’re going to have to ask you to step back,” an officer said motioning for me to move.
“This is my yoga studio,” I said with a wobbly voice. “What the fuck happened?” Anger took over quickly and I had to flare my nostrils to pull in enough air to breathe. The cop looked me over and asked me to provide ID and proof of ownership. Once I was able to prove who I was, I was allowed inside.
My space was trashed. Ezra groaned when he saw the tea blends he’d been working so hard on scattered across the floor and the jars he kept them in smashed to bits. I cringed when I saw the computer broken in pieces on the floor. Half the keyboard was in one place and the other half was across the room somewhere.
I rushed back to the Reiki room and cried when I saw my massage table shredded and tattered. The black leather top had been sliced from one end to the other and white fluff carpeted the floor. Ezra wrapped his arms around me tight and I buried my face in his chest.
My dreams were destroyed.
“We need to ask you some questions, Miss Monroe.” I looked up from Ezra’s chest when an officer approached. I wiped my tears and nodded trying my best to put on a strong face. How could I though when my studio had been trashed on purpose?
I knew exactly who to blame for it all too.
“Okay. Give me a moment,” I said. The officer hesitated for a second then left me alone with Ezra. “You need to take your test, please.”
