Time Will Tell (A Michael Jackson Story)

Chapter 22

Chapter 22

"Good morning sweetie. Prom must have been great. You came home pretty late so I'm assuming you had a blast... right?" "Mom" says in high spirits as I reach the bottom of the stairs the next morning.

I glare at her and walk past her, grabbing my car keys. Her smile fades instantly.

It's crazy how a person can lie right to your face for almost two decades.

"Aniko, what has gotten into you? That is no way to treat your-"

"Aunt?" I say, placing my right hand on my hip and swinging the car keys with my left.

I'm fed up. She needs to know that I know the little (big) secret she's intentionally kept from me.

She stares at me with her mouth gaping wide.

I roll my eyes internally.

Gotcha.

"I finally met with Zara. You know, my older sister? The one my father tried to just sweep under the rug and act like she never existed? She caught me up on everything. So don't even say a word to me Aunt Janice."

I turn on the heel of my trusty running sneakers and walk to the front door. I open it and slam it shut behind me.

I take a deep breath and nod. "That was satisfying."

I skip down the front steps and get inside the car.

Fifteen minutes later, I arrive at the mall waiting for Cera. She had to take care of her grandmother after leaving prom last night but promised she'd show up by eleven.

I don't see her car anywhere. I sigh heavily and roll my eyes.

"In the future, they should really make portable mobile phones. Now that is smart."

I brush my hair back and then place my sunglasses on top of my head.

I recline the driver's seat and wait, on the lookout for Cera's car to pull into the mall entrance.

After about ten minutes, I see her rickety old gold Chevy. She refuses to get a new car because her dad intended for it to be hers. It's the only piece of him that she can hold on to.

One man's trash is another man's treasure.

I get out of my car and walk over to where she parked.

She gets out and hugs me.

"Is there anything we need to catch up on?" She asks when we pull away.

I roll my eyes at the occurrences of the last 24 hours. "Too much."

I grab her wrist and steer her in the direction of the Macy's department store.

-

Three hours later, we're sitting at the cafe with shopping bags scattered around our feet.

Cera is slowly sipping on her smoothie, enraptured by my story.

"So you're mom is... dead?"

I nod my head, absent-mindedly scraping at my nail polish.

"Been that way for eighteen years." I say quietly.

Cera gets up to comfort me but I shake my head.

"Cer, I don't need pity. I just... I can't believe I've been lied to for this long."

She slowly blows air through her mouth and shakes her head.

"That isn't right at all. What are you gonna do?" She asks.