Whodunit

Deleted Scene #3

"Oh, hey, baby. I wasn't expecting to see you," Opal Sellers cooed as she opened her front door to the sweet, brown eyes and soft smile of her son's ex-girlfriend, Anisa. "What brings you here? Did Dmitri do something?"

"I was just in town for Mardi Gras and thought I'd stopped by to check on you. I know Dmitri probably doesn't," Anisa said with a smile as a television blared behind the lady she once hoped would be her mother-in-law.

"Thank you, honey. Of course, he doesn't, but he's down at the rehab right now. The jail let him out but told him he had to spend some time there first," Opal said before waving at a mosquito near Anisa's flushed face. "Come on in. Don't want you to standing out here letting these mosquitoes tear you up."

Anisa stepped into the elevated home and brushed her jeans off as Opal closed the door behind her.

"You want something to eat, baby? I cooked a little something for myself since that no good man of mine never does anything."

"No, I'm okay," Anisa mumbled as she sat in a burgundy chair with tattered arms and took in the state of the living room.

Clothes were strewn over sagging couch pillows and separated into what looked--and smelled--like dirty versus clean piles. The scent of overcooked ground beef lingered in the air from the coffee table. Anisa could practically taste the lumpy gravy that was sitting on a plate over a chunk of half-eaten Salisbury steak.

"So, what's been going on?" Opal asked as she plopped on the couch and turned the T.V. volume down with the remote.

Anisa shrugged and pulled a short loc behind her studded ear. "The usual. Focusing on school and trying to graduate on time."

"You found you a little boyfriend out there yet?" Opal teased as an uneasy smile grew on Anisa's lips. "I know you found you a good pre-med boy or engineer or somebody that's gon' make some good money and take care of you when they finish up."

Anisa chuckled and cut her eyes to the ground, an awkward thickness in the room. Who did Opal think Anisa was? Some kind of insecure girl who couldn't depend on herself for survival? She didn't need a man. She didn't need to be the trophy to some pre-med, frat narcissist or the housewife to an engineer geek. And she damn sure didn't need another Dmitri. She could fend for herself. Make her own money. Seek her own revenge.

Anisa pushed the dark thoughts to the back of her mind and tilted her head with a hint of a sneer. "Oh, no. I'm working on myself after everything Dmitri put me through," she said. "Our relationship really took a toll on me."

Opal sighed and crossed one leg over another. Anisa tried not to focus too hard on the petite, graying lady's every move, but before she knew it, she had one leg crossed over the other like a broken reflection.

"I understand, baby," Opal tried to offer a little comfort for the troubles her son caused the sweet girl. "But, please, don't give up on my son."

"Huh?" Anisa sat up straight in the sinking seat.

Opal uncrossed her legs in a swift motion and clamped her hands together like a prayer. "Please don't give up on him, baby. He needs a good woman like you in his life. I know he messed up a lot, but he's young. He needs time to grow up and learn how to be a man. He can't do it without a strong woman like you sticking by his side. He needs someone to make him do right," Opal pleaded with Anisa, who stared back at her with pulsating irises and veins in the whites of her eyes. "I know he hurt you and did all of that with Serenity, but he really does love you."

Anisa's sight turned blaring white. She reached under her hoodie and grabbed the handle of the knife strapped to her chest.

"He really does, Sweetheart," Opal repeated in a rehearsed, manipulative, angelic tone that almost forced horns out of Anisa's forehead.