If You Make a Deal With a Shadow...

Chapter 24

"Is it the way I wear my hair? Just tell me the truth, boy, I don't care. Look at me as I am. I just don't understand. Tell me why. (Why. Why) Why won't you love me the way I need to be loved?"

- Why Won't You Love Me by Toni Braxton

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ONE WEEK LATER...

After the incident with Junior, Aubrey vowed to never let those uppity females watch her precious son ever again. Payton tried to explain to Aubrey that Ciara was punished, but Aubrey didn't know whether to believe him or not. She wasn't going to let her son back under his roof until she felt it was safe for him. The only reason she stayed is because Payton paid good and she needed the money. She had no reason to talk to the other girls other than when discussing their food choices. The whole ordeal overwhelmed her and that's all she could think about as she made dinner.

Aubrey made everyone their favorite meal tonight, but when dinner was over the girls and Payton quickly packed up and left. Without a word. They never said anything and she didn't even care to know where they had gone. She was tired of everyone.

Although, before they left they did put their plates, glassware, and silverware all on the cart and Aubrey wheeled it to the kitchen to wash the dishes. It wasn't her job but she loved the peace it brought her, especially because she could play all the music jams. It took her a minute to finish but when she was done she went up to her room and immediately undressed to jump into the shower. She hummed a couple of songs to herself. There was one that had been stuck in her head all day that she made sure to put on replay a few times while she was in the shower.

Heart to Heart by Chris Brown.

Aubrey sang to herself with closed eyes as the water cascaded down her body. "Baby, heart to heart. You're the biggest part of my needs. Girl, they can't tell the story of what you do for me. It gets too deep, girl. What I do for you. What they say to you. You don't need 'em. You'll be better off hanging out with me. They try to break us up. They don't understand my love 'cause it, it gets too deep..."

After another run of the song goes through she changes it so that her playlist continues. Once three more songs pass through she turned off the shower and grabs her towel from the wall hook. Moments later she was slipping on her new satin Victoria's Secret pajamas. They were so soft and they caressed her aching body. She was sure it was close to what Heaven was like.

Aubrey walked out of bathroom and turned on the TV. Love and Hip-Hop: Atlanta was on, but before she got into bed she grew curious on what everyone else was up to. Earlier she didn't care but her curiosity got the best of her. She softly padded down the hallways and peeked into all of the different rooms, but when she realized the three billy goats weren't in their rooms she sighed. Now here she was heading down to Payton's wing.

When Aubrey appeared in front of his office door his guard quickly told her to turn around. "Payton has requested for no interruptions tonight."

"I don't care," she rasped before trying to push past him. He struggled with her—she was stronger than she looked—but she put up a fight. "If you don't let me in there I will make it my personal goal to have you fired," she hissed.

She wasn't the type of person to threaten someone's job because she knew how wrong it was, but if Payton was hiding something she definitely wanted to know about it. It was just something nagging in the back of her mind that told her that she had to see what was going on behind his door.

He cleared his throat nervously before moving a few feet to the side and nodding his head at her to continue. "Fuck it," he mumbled under his breath.

She reached for the door handle, but when she heard a loud shriek she furrowed her eyebrows and stepped closer, pressing her ear to the door. When she heard a moan her face contorted. "Yes... Faster," she heard a female voice mewl, making Aubrey pull away from the door like it was burning charcoal.