A Mother's Bond

50

Beyoncé  October 8, 2016
I stared out my bedroom window, tuning out Solange. She had been gone less than a day, and she'd already called me twice. TWICE. Once in the morning, waking me up. And now, a few short hours later. For a moment, when she'd left–just a moment–I'd thought, 'I'm finally free.' But NOPE. Somehow, she was even further up my ass than before.

My eyes landed on the fence that surrounded our yard. Without meaning to, my mind drifted towards Sarayah. I hadn't seen her since I'd woken up. As far as I knew–not that I was paying attention–she hadn't come out of her room at all. Not even for breakfast. I had at least expected to see her at breakfast. What if she wasn't even in her room? Had anyone checked on her?

"Hey!" Solo said loudly, pulling me out of my thoughts. "Are you even listening to me?"

I rolled my eyes, turning away from the window. "No, I'm not."

"Okay, rude."

I crawled onto my bed, resting my back on the headboard. "Is it? Or is it rude to talk to someone for ten minutes straight without letting them speak?"

Solo sighed. "Fine, what do you want to say?"

"I want you to hear me when I say this, Solo. Truly. STOP CALLING MY DAMN PHONE!" I yelled into the microphone.

She smacked her lips. "Listen Bey, you not gon–"

I interrupted her. "No, what YOU not gon do is tell ME what to do. You are MY younger sister, remember that. I don't need you calling my phone every three hours. You already talk to Mama and Sarayah, you don't need to be calling me too."

"Yes, I do. You said–"

"I said I would try not to hurt her. And I can honestly say that I have." I interrupted her, annoyed.

"By cutting her out of your life? How does that not hurt her? Explain it to me." Solo snapped.

I ran my fingers through my hair, sighing. "Solo. I can't handle being around her. At least not now. My emotions are all over the place and my mind...I just can't do it. If you don't want me to hurt her, then staying away from her is my best bet."

There was a timid knock at the door. I looked up to see Jay leaning against the door frame. I held up a finger, and he nodded, walking downstairs.

I pursed my lips. "I have to go. Jay wants to have a 'talk'."

"Okay, I'll call you later," Solo promised.

I frowned. "Don't. Bye."

I hung up and stuck my phone in the back pocket of my jeans. I walked downstairs. Jay was waiting for me in the living room. I sat on the couch opposite to him.

"Your mom took the kids out to get some food," he informed me. "Just wanted to keep them out of the house for a while."

I smirked. "Already prepared to fight, huh?"

"Nah, I'm cool. I'm just covering my bases. Can't seem to predict what you're gonna do lately."

"Must be hard for you," I replied sarcastically.

Jay ignored me. "So, I feel like we should talk about Sarayah. Things are settling down now. She's finally here for good–"

I cut him off. "Is she though?"

"Yes." He answered confidently. "She chose to be with us this time. You would realize that if you weren't popping pills like they're candy."

I laughed harshly. "You're such a fucking asshole."

We glared at each other. Jay broke first, looking away. He shook his head, settling back into the couch.

"I don't want to fight."