—
With her friends following behind her, Mariah marched towards the direction of her and Blair's suite. She wished the other women had just stayed back at breakfast and let her be, but they were not letting up.
"Whitney," Janet called out to her dear friend, the one was who right behind Mariah. "Will you please leave Mariah and Blair alone?"
Shaking her head in motions that showed she agreed, Angela added, "Whatever's going on in their marriage is their business."
"True that," Toni also gave her input, feeling her stomach rumble within her body. "And I'm hungry so can we please just go back downstairs for breakfast?"
Appalled, Whitney stopped right where she was, while Mariah kept heading for her suite. "So y'all just wouldn't give a rat's ass to know that Blair been beating on this girl?"
Mariah too stopped in her tracks, rolling her eyes at what was asked. She had wished the other woman had kept her mouth shut. "Did we not just have a big blow out about you accusing Angela's husband of abuse?" She looked at Whitney, sideways. "Now you wanna accuse mine? Girl, do you ever mind the business that pays you?"
In agreement, Janet's head moved up and down, just like Angela's had done before. "Whitney that is true. You caused a big scene about Idris at the restaurant. And besides, do you even have proof that Blair's beating Mariah?"
"Proof?" Whitney was taken back, feeling as though the others figured she hadn't had her facts straight. "Girl, what the hell you been smoking? Crack? I don't need no proof. I know what I know, and that's that." She allowed an expression of curiosity to fill within her face, then pointed toward her friend. "And why are you backing her up, when you and Toni are the ones who came to me about Idris in the first place?"
Toni had fixed her mouth to respond, but Angela spoke before her.
She eyed both women and asked, "Wait a minute, y'all started this about my husband?"
Immediately, Janet moved her head from side to side. "No. We did not start anything. We—"
But, she too couldn't get her words out because Angela impeded them also.
"A simple yes or no is all I need," Angela's arms crossed above her chest. She just wanted her dear friend to be direct and honest.
"Look, Angie," Toni finally got the chance to speak. "We were the ones who brought it to Whitney's attention, okay? And we were planning on having a conversation with you but—"
Just like with the other woman, Angela had cut her off too, growing angry.
"But what? You needed to gossip about it first?" She rolled her pupils to the rear of her head. "No matter what y'all have ever gone through in your marriages, I have never discussed it behind your backs. Never."
"Girl, please." Janet waved her peer off, her too rolling her eyes. "We are your friends. We should have the right to talk about this amongst each other."
Watching everything and hearing the words exchanged, Mariah shook her head in disbelief. She would've never treated her friends that way, she thought to herself.
Responding to Janet, Angela shot back at her with, "Okay and while y'all was talking about it, did y'all even pray for me and Idris? Did y'all wish us well?" She waited for a response, but hadn't received one from either woman. Though—for her—their silence was all she really needed. "Exactly. Just as I thought. You know, if y'all was really concerned, you would've came to me."
