Sun in the South |• Southern Horror Series

22. Hard Smack to the Face

Nothing good ever came out of Evelyn's mouth, Yvonne knew it. The day Anton died, Yvonne had received a call at six in the morning. Evelyn's hysterical voice resonating as she howled like a banshee and cried her eyes out. "He didn't make it, Yvonne. He didn't make it," she had said through the endless sob.

The day Yvonne had found out that her sister was dating her estranged daughter's father, she'd heard through Evelyn's mouth after it glared her in the face and she defiantly went on to ask for benefit of doubt sake. "Because he didn't love you doesn't make him a bad person," she had spat out like a loose canon. "He wasn't just meant for you, Yvonne. He's meant for me, get that."

The evening their mother had made the decision to go away with Joromi to Nigeria, Evelyn had been in Germany, but she somehow heard first and deemed it necessary to break it to Yvonne. "It's best she left that town with all the good and horrible memories. Let Joromi take care of her."

Without her knowledge, she'd broken Yvonne's life with her words, but more with her actions. So, right now, to have told Yvonne that Christopher and herself were considering Monterrey as their relocation plan, Yvonne could not have been more certain that Evelyn was a devil — dressed in a pitch black gown and a veil to top it all off.

Clarissa pushed the door open, Kaka standing behind and towering her. She was dressed — like tights, T-shirts and trainers type of dressed, her hair worn long. "Hi, mom," she greeted with an edge to her voice. Anger perhaps.

"Where to?"

"Kaka is taking me to Downtown," Clarissa said, not bringing her gaze Yvonne's way as she marched to her pink car. "I'll be back on Friday after my final tests."

"Since when do you make decisions without consulting your mother?" A very dark frown formed on Yvonne's face as she moved towards Clarissa. "And you, since when do you tend to her decisions without running it through me?" That was for Kaka, sure he was the wing Clarissa was flying with.

Kaka, wanting to get his name out of this conflict, shook his head. "I'm sorry, ma'am. I couldn't let her attempt taking herself."

"And why would that be, Clarissa? What the hell do you think you're going to do in Downtown?"

"Study, and forget that my mother left me alone with a stranger because she wanted to watch Monterrey go against other cities like she has any interest in sports."

There was no way that just came out of her daughter's mouth. Utterly upset, Yvonne assigned a hard slap to Clarissa's left cheek. They both immediately halted in shock, even though it was surprising that Yvonne was shocked after she hit her child. She did the hitting.

To add insults to injury, Clarissa shook her head sourly and, without uttering a single word, hopped into the car and threw her face the opposite direction.

Fuck. "I'm sorry, honey." Yvonne begged without thinking it through, sprinting to the car and banging the glass as Clarissa rolled it up. "I didn't mean..." a slap was never a mistake, so no. "I'm sorry. Please come out, let's talk this out. You don't need to leave."

"Go do you, I'll do me." Clarissa's voice was brought down by the window barrier, although she was yelling.

That wasn't fair. "And how am I supposed to be your mother when you don't want me around?"

"Figure it out," she said after a hard stare. "You've done it before. Unfortunately, this time, grandpa isn't alive to pick up your misfortune."

No, no, no. She wasn't a misfortune. Yes, she'd been a mistake, but 'misfortune' was a terrible words. "Don't ever call yourself that!"