Page 8 of A Lie so Dangerous and Fragile

My apartment wasn’t far from the diner. Sometimes, I walked home. I stared at the streetlights that swallowed the darkness. The street looked lonely. The tiny circles of white lights projecting from the streetlights cast shadows on the sidewalk.

“How is Vixen?” Adrian asked, and I laughed, knowing he was referring to Vina.

I didn’t know how Vina had gone from fangirling him to hating him. The first time he’d visited our apartment, she’d told him straight to his face that she hated him. I suspected it was because of what had happened with Tristan. She hated Tristan more than I did.

“She is good. She is starting work next week.”

I was so proud of her. She was done with her major and graduated not long ago with her Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She was the first in her family to graduate from college.

“Nice,” he said with a weird smile.

I knew he wasn’t her biggest fan either. They were always bantering over something when they ran into each other.

“Thanks for bringing me home.”

“Anytime. You know you can still have one of my cars.”

“Nah. I enjoy the walk. Make sure you get some rest,” I said before stepping out of the car.

“Tell Vixen I said hi.”

“Will do.” If she’d give me a chance to even say his name.

I waved at him and climbed up the steps to the tall building. I rode the elevator with a beautiful lady and her adorable daughter. I smiled at the little girl who kept staring at me.

I waved, mouthing,Hi.

She smiled and ran to her mom’s side.

I missed Kayden. I wished I could spend every second with him. It was better this way, just Mrs. Porter, Kayden, and me. I would let Vina know about my baby, but I wasn’t ready just yet. I could admit, I would never be the perfect mother, but right now, I felt like I was making the right decision. I didn’t even know what was right or wrong anymore. I just wanted my baby to be safe. I missed him terribly, and I wished I could spend every moment with him, but I didn’t want to give Vina more reasons to be suspicious about my whereabouts. I walked out of the elevator immediately after it opened. I unlocked the door, not sure Vina was awake. I stretched my body after I entered the room.

“I can’t believe you are still hanging out with him,” Vina said immediately after I walked into the living room.

“Adrian is a nice guy.” I groaned, already tired of telling her.

“He’s probably feeding that asshole information about you.”

“Like what? That I’m a waitress? A housekeeper? That my life sucks?”

“I’m just saying, don’t trust him. He is still best friends with Tristan.”

Ever since she had returned from her New York trip with Adrian, her hatred for him had increased tenfold. She wouldn’t tell me what had happened, and Adrian had only told me that he made a mistake.

“He’s not as bad as you think, Vee.”

I walked away. I wasn’t ready for an argument.

***

Mrs. Carter gave me more rooms to clean today. I tried my best not to argue with her. I was convinced she didn’t like me and was waiting for me to break and quit.

Mrs. Porter called me during my break. She had just left for the hospital with Kayden for his monthly physical.

I had been told because of my excessive drinking, he could be at risk for health problems. I didn’t know if I was too late. I’d quit alcohol a month after I found out I was pregnant. I blinked away the tears brimming at the edge of my eyes. I didn’t want anything to happen to Kayden. I loved him too much to watch him suffer because of me. It broke my heart every time I thought about it. Knowing I could be responsible for whatever might happen to him in the future made me cry. I suppressed the sounds escaping my lips and tried to regain my composure.

“Are you okay?” Malva asked, looking closely at my face.

“Yeah. My eyes are just itchy,” I said, wiping my tears away quickly and forcing a smile.

---