Heartbreak Hotel: This Place Hotel

Chapter 23: Sasha

Sasha's POV

"I never fully understood you," he said to me later that night.

I was inside the kitchen, cleaning the dishes from dinner. As I tried to wash away the memory of the look of utter disgust that my only child had plastered on her face when she walked out of my house. I knew she couldn't stand to look at me, and I didn't blame her. I couldn't even stand to look at myself. I was pretty sure I broke her heart, and I was ashamed of myself.

I turned and met his hazel eyes. He looked at me with the same hurt she had in her eyes. "What are you talking about?" I asked with a sigh.

He rose his eyebrow at me. "You know what I'm talking about, Sash."

I stared at him for a moment. Trying to figure out what to say. "Can we not talk about this?" I asked in a small voice.

He shook his head. Pushing his hands in his pockets as he walked further into the kitchen. He sat in one of the blue chairs that stood in front of the island. "No, we need to talk about this. If won't get anywhere if we don't."

"Where exactly are we going to go?" I asked him, as I closed the dishwasher.

"We need to be on good terms for Aaliyah."

I pressed my lips together and cocked my head to the side. "Aaliyah is not a child, Miguel. She's grown woman, and she's gonna make her own decisions on this situation."

He nodded his head. "Yes," he said slowly. "But she's also a grown woman who missed out on having both her parents in her life."

"She had me in her life," I said, abruptly.

"As her aunt, Sasha! Not as her mother. "

I looked away then. Glancing at the horrible mess that was left on the stove. I turned away from him and began searching for a dish towel in the water.

"Why'd you lie to her?" His Detroit accent was ringing in my ears. "She seems to be more upset with the fact that you lied to her, than she is about the fact that you never told her you were her biological mother."

"She is," I said. "She can't stand liars." Aaliyah lost all respect for people who lied to her. It ain't matter how small the lie was. She felt that a liar couldn't be trusted, and trusting people was something that she was always reluctant to do.

"So, why'd you lie?"

I closed my eyes and sighed. "I don't know..."I threw my hands up as I faced him. "I don't know. I really can't answer that question." I didnt know the answer to that question. I could say it was because of my guilt that I held inside for so many years, because I never told her who she was. Or I could say that it was from the guilt of being so selfish all those years ago. Not wanting her. There was no straight answer for it. If I had told the truth, she would still be mad at me. It was a one way street.

Miguel shook his head at me. "You know that ain't no good answer. There's a reason why you didn't tell her the truth."

"You don't understand," I moaned. "Aaliyah was..."I glanced down at the floor, trying to find the right words to describe her when I met her. " She wasn't very...easy to talk to back then. She hated Dani. And I was afraid that if I told her I was her Momma...she would hate me too." I walked over to the stove and began cleaning it off.