Awakening The Goddess

CHAPTER 6

Eriana

I laid in Ashlynn’s lap as I cried my heart out. She rubbed my back to soothe me, to no avail. I literally felt like I was dying. They broke my heart into a million pieces. When I woke up this morning both Darius and Mya were long gone. I was hoping it was all some sick dream, but the blood in my bedroom told me it wasn’t. Last night I really caught Darius f*****g my cousin. My favorite cousin, at that. IN OUR APARTMENT! I stopped crying for a minute only because I was so angry.

I shot up out of her lap to find them both and put them out of their misery. Ashlynn, of course, knew my true heart and raced behind me to keep me in the apartment.

“Eri. No,” she said in a stern voice.

“And why the f**k not? Why do I have to be the only one in pain?”, I spat back.

“You aren’t. I saw Mya and Darius and trust me, they’re both in pain. Almost like they got the s**t beat out of them,” she said with a smirk.

I sat back down on the couch and tried to calm myself down.

“Wait, when did you see them?”

“This morning when I was coming home from work. You really f****d them up, girl,” she laughed.

I laughed along with her for a second until the sadness consumed me again. I looked over at Bria sleeping in her playpen with her sippy cup in her hand and I couldn’t help but smile.

Bria was so amazing and perfect. She was the sweetest little baby I’ve ever met, and I’m not saying this because I’m her mom. She literally is the sweetest baby I know. She’s extremely friendly and her little toothy smile can light up a room. Ah, well, maybe I am a little biased.

I stared at her peaceful little face for another minute before I turned to my best friend again.

“What am I supposed to do now, Ash? Darius was my first and only. I really thought we would be together forever,” I said through more tears.

“What do you want to do, babe? You can forgive him and get back together or you can move on and live your life. You’re a bad b***h, so if you want another man, I’m sure you won't have a problem finding one,” she said as she rubbed my hand in comfort.

I sat and mulled over her words and my mind wandered to Derion. He told me last night to call him if I ever wanted a real man. I sighed heavily. Did I even want another man? Can Darius and I really work past this? Do I even want to?

What about Bria? How will she feel if he wasn’t around all the time? Well, it wasn’t like he was around much lately, anyway. And she seems fine. Except for last night, when I came home to her unattended while he was f*****g my cousin!

The anger sparked up in me again, and I immediately knew I never wanted to see either of their faces again.

“f**k Darius! f**k Mya, too!” I almost yelled until I saw Bria stirring. I quickly covered my mouth, hoping that she stayed asleep.

“That’s my girl! He’s a bum ass lowlife, anyway!” Ash whispered loudly.

“You right! You know what! Let’s go out this weekend! I want to drink until I forget he exists!” I said with excitement. I haven’t been out since I had Bria because Darius was so “overprotective” if I didn’t go with him, but now I’m having second thoughts even about that.

“Yaaaasss! I’ll even find and pay for a babysitter for you! My little cousin has been trying to break into the babysitting business for a few weeks now. This would be an excellent opportunity for her!”

“Yes! Let’s do it! Do you think she could babysit today, too? I have to go to work in a few hours,” I picked up my sweet baby girl and started walking her to her bedroom.

“I’ll text her and ask her, if not, I’ll watch Bria for you,” she offered with a big smile. “You know I wuv my wittle pumpkin pie,” she said in baby talk.

“Ugh, thank you, girl! I think the worst part about all of this is that I lost my free babysitter,” I said as I closed Bria’s door behind me.

I walked into my room to get ready for work and noticed that the blood from Mya’s beat-down was nonexistent and my sheets and comforters replaced. I figured Ash did it and made a mental note to thank her.

I pulled out a uniform shirt and jeans and laid it across the bed and undressed. I went to the bathroom, turned the shower on to its hottest setting, and waited a minute before I stepped in.

As I washed away the stress of recent events, I had flashbacks of the dirty things Darius and I used to do in here. The shower was one of my favorite places to have s*x, but he could never keep up with my s*x drive.

Heh. Maybe the next man will be better. Derion’s dimpled smile crept into my mind. I wonder what it would feel like to have his lips all over me.

I shook those thoughts away and continued with my shower. When I finished, I wrapped myself in a towel and air-dried as I laid across the bed. I closed my eyes for a few minutes and drifted off to sleep.

KNOCK KNOCK!

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

Huh? What the f**k is that knocking?! I sat up and look at the clock and instantly curse myself for falling asleep. Now I have to rush to get ready for work.

KNOCK KNOCK!

“Yeah?!”

“My cousin is here to babysit. I figured you fell asleep since you were taking so long. Thought you would need a wake-up call,” Ash said through the door.

“Yeah, I did. Thanks, girl. I’ll be out in a minute,” I replied while hastily putting on lotion and getting dressed.

I threw on a Bre’s Diner T-shirt and a pair of ripped black jeans and looked for my favorite pair of combat boots when I remembered I took them off in Bria’s room last night. So I settled for a pair of black suede heeled booties instead. I didn’t want to risk waking Bria before I left because I knew she would give Ash’s cousin a hard time.

I looked over my appearance and put my hair in a half-up, half-down style. My eyes were puffy from crying and I didn’t have time to put on any makeup. It’s not like I had anyone to impress, anyway. I walked out of the room to see a young girl who was the spitting image of Ash standing in my living room.

“Hi, I’m Liz, it’s short for Eliza, not Elizabeth. I’m 14 and even though this is my first time babysitting for pay, it’s not my first time. I’ll take good care of your baby,” she beamed.

“Hey, Liz. Eliza, not Elizabeth. I’m Eri, it’s short for Eriana, not Erica. I trust you because Ash trusts you! Plus, she’s staying here with you today. So no worries, kid,” I said with a smile as I stuck out my hand for a handshake.

She looked at my hand weirdly and hugged me instead. Her sudden movements shocked me, but quickly recovered and hugged her back.

“Ah, you’re a hugger,” I said with a smile. “Me too!”

“Thanks for the opportunity, Eri - Eriana, not Erica. I really appreciate it,” she said with gratitude as she let me go.

“No problem, Liz - Eliza, not Elizabeth,” I said as I grabbed my purse and keys. “Take good care of my baby!” I said over my shoulder as I walked out the door.

When I arrived to work the place was in full swing, it was Friday and it was pretty much what I expected. I hopped in the fray and relieved the morning manager and started taking orders to run to the kitchen.

I walked to the table in the far corner and noticed how handsome these guys were. What were the odds of meeting five of Earth’s finest specimen in less than a week?

“Hey, y’all. Welcome to Bre’s! Has anyone helped ya’ll yet?”

“No ma’am,” they both replied.

“I’m sorry about that, what can I get for you today?”

“Two number 6s with a strawberry milkshake and a chocolate milkshake, please,” one man replied.

“Coming right up, guys. I’ll be back with your meals soon,” I said as I walked away.