Best Friend Next Door (Love Next Door Book 2) *Rough Draft*

Chapter 24

"Is Cam, home?"

Dee blew out a rough breath, as if she was the one that was supposed to look after her sisters, her son, and Val's kids. Dee had to give her oldest sister credit, take on the role of parent to all of them was pretty amazing, and to have raised Cam while she was raising her own, was amazing. She admired her older sister, but she knew she couldn't have done the same.

She sunk in the sofa. Lunch was over, the kids were down for a nap, and this was her time to relax. "I don't know, I think she's upstairs in her room."

A loud slam of the front door and Dee looked up giving Mel the eye. She'd notice the sheen over Mel's eyes but brushed it off. The princess crying wasn't anything new.

"Don't start, Dee."

"Keep it down." She snarled in her teeth, the kids are sleep.

Mel ran up the stairs and then slammed her bedroom door. Dee could hear the springs shift on her bed from the living room.

"Who was that."

"Miss. Hi-Dramatics. You know her."

"She sounded upset."

Dee just rolled her eyes.

"Go talk to her."

Dee just let out a dry laugh, "How about I not and say I did."

"I'll call her." Val said, "But I need you to do me a favor Dee."

"Of course you do."

"Look, I have some of the inventory reports on my desktop in my office. I need those. I might have found another supplier."

Dee's lip twitched, "I thought you were supposed to be on vacation."

"So?"

"Mr. Abe is gonna be mad you bringing your business to the beach."

"Please, Abe ain't gonna do nothing. He is knocked out."

"You gonna throw his hip out." Dee teased.

"Shut up! Abe is not that old." Val laughed, "You wish you had an Abe."

Dee rolled her eyes again, "I'm going to leave him to you. I have sworn off men."

"Sure you have Dee." Val Chuckled.

"What I have." Dee defended,

"Dee come on now. You have a flavor of the month every other week."

"So what I'm some whore that doesn't know how to control herself around men."

"I didn't say that." Val snapped, "I'm just saying you could slow down, what is Jamaal going to think having all them uncles."

"I have a lot of guy friends."

Val heard her blow out a breath, "Okay, Dee, I'm sorry that's your business. I'm just saying maybe you could tone it down."

Dee ran her tongue across her teeth. It was hard to hear lectures about what everyone thought she was doing. So she had a lot of guy friends back home, big deal. She didn't sleep around. She just shook it off.

"Okay, I'll get to the restaurant." She said.

Valerie explained where the keys were and Dee hung up, got in her car and took off in the direction of her sister's place. She hated coming here for a reason, people knew her but they didn't know her. She had to leave if only for that reason, to start over. It was as if her sisters believed what they all believed and she hated it. You make one mistake, and you get labeled for it. It wasn't just her mistake, she tried not to wallow in her regrets. She always tried to be strong, but as much as she hid it, there was hurt under the surface and she felt it daily.