Dancing on Achilles Heels BxB (Staten Krown)

7

DESTA

"He needs a hospital."

"Ain't nobody got no money for a hospital. I'll sew him up," Aunt Claudia says, "He'll be right as rain. Ain't that the saying. Right as rain?"

I give her a look, "I dunno what the fuck the saying is."

I grunt a little bit. Aunt Claudia likes to pretend like everything is OK at times. Tone had an issue. He had a clear fucking issue. I called my Aunts to come to deal with this shit. Tonetta is standing over her son clearly embarrassed while Claudia is the only one who is really doing anything. Aunt Priscilla is clearly freaked out by the blood and keeps bringing towels over to make sure that none of Tone's blood is going to make its way onto her furniture. I can tell she would prefer for him to bleed somewhere else but she isn't going to say it because I think she's scared Tonetta would slap her in her mouth if she did.

"What's your problem?" Aunt Tonetta asks.

"Did all of you know?" I ask.

They give me blank stares. All three Aunts stare at me like I am some idiot who doesn't know up from down. It makes me ashamed to say that I'm related to them.

"Know what?"

"Know Tone was my fuckin brother."

Silence.

They knew. They all fucking knew. I watch Priscilla start playing with her hair. Claudia seems to take this opportunity to start stitching up Tone who is so high off whatever drugs his mother brought him that he doesn't know where he's at. Then there is Tonetta. She stares at me. She stares at me almost challenging me to say it.

"Don't nobody got something to say?" I ask.

More silence.

Finally, Claudia whispers almost as gentle as a mouse, "Desta just leave it alone sweetie. This is grown folks business."

I could almost laugh at the stupidity of the comment.

"Grown folks business? Grown folks. When I was 14 I knew how to shoot. My father had me robbing convenience stores and the Papi bodegas. When have I not been in grown folks business?"

And she knew it. She fucking knew it. I wasn't concerned about Claudia's perception. That isn't what concerned me. What concerned me is my Aunt Tonetta.

She finally addresses it, "It's not what you think."

"How could it not be?" I ask, "This one over here is fuckin my dad too. What—did ya'll just take turns?"

"Wait what?" Tonetta asks.

Claudia turns to Priscilla, "Priscilla...please tell me you aren't..."

"Bonnie didn't want that man when she was alive..." Aunt Priscilla starts.

WHAM! The slap across Aunt Priscilla's face from Aunt Tonetta shakes me to my core. Aunt Priscilla knew better than to hit Aunt Tonetta back. We all did. That was one thing that Tone had inherited from his mother. Aunt Tonetta heavy hand strains on Aunt Priscilla and almost immediately my Aunt Priscilla is crying. Tears streaming down her eyes. There is so much heaviness in the way that she is tearing up. I almost feel bad for her.

"I'm going to drag your ass outside and whoop your ass," Aunt Tonetta states.

She grabs Aunt Priscilla by the hair like some woman scorned over her man sleeping with her sister. I can't help but break it up. I push Aunt Tonetta off of her. The loud catty women are getting on my nerves. I can't believe Aunt Priscilla has the nerve to hide behind me, tears streaming down her face and panicking.