Skin to Skin Ch. 04

"Chloe, I want my brother to be a good man. I am sick and tired of worrying..." A pair of tears dripped down her flustered cheeks. "...about whether or not my brother is dead or if he's in jail! I am tired of him using our past as a..." Then she growled out, "fucking crutch for all of the dumb shit that he is doing!" A shrilled-out cry escaped her mouth as she frantically ran her fingers through her ruby mane. "He's going to be an uncle soon and he's..." Her voice trailed off into silence. Her eyes closed as her face grimaced. A cry slipped from her mouth. There were more tears. She covered her face with her hands and then proceeded to sob.

Unlike her first outburst, when we were in the mall, I wasn't annoyed with her. I was annoyed with her giant of a brother.

'Wherever you are, Malachi, fuck you for doing this to your family!'

I walked over to my crying friend and placed her into my embrace. I felt her arms wrap around me a few seconds later. I held onto her as if I was keeping her from slipping through the floor.

"We had a bad childhood," she whimpered into my left ear. "But I turned out alright. I went to school and earned great grades. I went to medical school and now I'm a doctor. I haven't gotten in any trouble at all. Why couldn't he just do the same things?"

I honestly couldn't answer her question. So instead, I blurted out "Did he make the rug too?" like a fucking moron.

She pulled her head away from my shoulder, staring into my eyes. "What?" she gasped.

"I said, did your brother make the area rug too?" I explained. "He made almost everything else in this room, so I figured he must've made the rug too."

Lynn's flushed and wet face morphed into a mask of laughter. Her light and melodic giggling showered the walls in the room. Her slightly smaller body trembled as she laughed. Once her laughter died, she pressed her face into my right shoulder.

"You better not be wiping your snot on my shoulder, damn it" I quipped. She snorted and then giggled. She released a sigh and then hugged me tighter. I rubbed her back. "You feel better now?"

"Mmm-hmm," she hummed. "I'm sorry for releasing all of that pent up anger on you."

"It's alright," I told her. It was the truth. "I wish that I had the right words to—

"Just you being here is enough for me, Lo," she explained to me.

"I haven't been a good friend to you," I confessed.

"You are a great friend for me, Lo."

"Well, not as of lately," I explained. "For the past two months, I haven't really spoken to you. I..." I stopped speaking, so I could take a deep breath. My nerves were frazzled. "I didn't even come over here, when you told me that you were pregnant. I didn't even help you decorate the nursery. I—

"Your phone calls were enough. And besides, I wanted to be alone after I learned about the pregnancy. I needed the time by myself. At the time, I didn't know if I was going to terminate this pregnancy or not. I needed to be by myself and I didn't need anybody to sway my decision."

"But I should've been more supportive for you. I should've been here, asking you if you were alright or listening to you rant and rave."

"I'm sorry, once again, for unleashing my rant on you. I have been holding all of that in for a while now. I couldn't say anything to Ma because the end result would've been just us crying. And I couldn't go to April, Giselle and Vivienne because they have been M.I.A. ever since I told them about my pregnancy. And I didn't want to speak to Jessie or to Kenny, because the last thing they needed to have on their minds were my troubles," she further explained.

"Well, I am here for you so if you need someone to talk to, then you can come to me."

"Thank you," she said softly.

"No problem."

~oMRo~

"So, speaking of Doctor Kensington Marks..." In my best ghetto-girl impersonation, I asked, "How is your baby-daddy doing?"

Lynn's mouth made a hearty guffaw. It was so loud that she used her hands to cover her mouth. She snickered into the palms of her hands for a few more seconds before she answered.

"He is alright. He is busy working twenty-four hour shifts at the hospital."

"Damn," I muttered. I wiped the corners of my mouth with the soiled napkin. "There isn't enough money in the world that would make me work at my job for twenty-four hours."

Lynn giggled. "I worry about his health. It's the doctor in me. He's been working this way ever since I told him that I was pregnant. At first, I thought he was working so hard because he wanted to avoid me. But it turns out that he is trying to accumulate enough 'comp time', so he can take 'paternity leave' when the baby comes."

"Awww," I hummed as the sensation of swooning filled my spirit. "He's a sweetie-pie!"

Lynn giggled. Taking a bite of her roasted chicken before agreeing with me . "Yeah, he is a sweetie-pie and pain in my ass too! Every day, he calls and asks about the baby. And he wants me to explain everything in detail! If the baby moves, he wants full descriptions of the feelings in detail! If I am confused about what type of scrubs I want to wear, if I tell him about it, he wants to know how the scrubs look and wants me to be very descriptive! If I am thinking about what to eat for dinner, he wants details! If I am taking a massive shit in the bathroom, if I tell him—

"Why would you tell him about your bowel movements?" I laughed.

"I wouldn't, but knowing that fool, he would ask me about it!" she giggled.

We laughed as we sat on Lynn's couch, totally ignoring the movie we were supposed to be watching. After Lynn's emotional unraveling in her daughter's nursery, we returned to the first level of the house. We cooked our dinner and continued to chat throughout the process. Then taking our meals into the living room, we planned on watching movies during dinner. We were in the process of watching the first movie, which was a shitty horror movie titled 'VHS', when we began our conversation.

"What does Kensington think about Malachi?" I asked. It was an inquiry that had been loitering in my mind since I found out about the infamous fist-fight that occurred between the two men.

Lynn released a huff and ran her left fingers through her thick mane. "Well," she sighed. "Kenny knows I love my brother very much. He knows Ma loves my brother very much as well, so Kenny is not going to say anything harsh about him. He also is refraining from telling me about his true opinions about him." Lynn sighed and ran her left fingers through her thick mane again. "Kenny hasn't given me any guidelines and rules about Malachi's future interaction with Cadence, but I know he has reservations."

"Mmm," I hummed. I had reached for my glass of chardonnay that was on the coffee table. I had taken a sip of the white wine before I reclined back on the couch. "You have yet to tell me what happened between Malachi and Kenny, on that night."

Lynn scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Do you really want to know the story?"

"Mmm-hmm," I said with a sly smirk.

She sighed. "Alright, but let me give you a bit of backstory. I told Ma, who later on told Malachi, about being pregnant first. I didn't tell her about Kenny until a few days later. You already know about my mom's reaction. But, I've never told you about Malachi's reaction. He was upset but he wasn't devastated. He wanted to know about Kenny. I told him a few things about Kenny, with the exception of his race. He appeared to like Kenny. Now, let's fast forward this story to the night of the fight. My Ma invited Kenny and me over for dinner. Ma, being Ma busted Kenny's balls at first. But, over time, she had shown her nicer side. The dinner was going great at first, then Malachi came home and everything went to shit."

"What happened? What did your jackass-of a-brother say to Kenny?"

"He didn't say anything at first. He just glared..." Lynn actually shuddered. "...throughout dinner. He remained quiet even after Ma made the introductions. He didn't say anything until Ma called Kenny 'her son-in-law'. Then my dumb brother made a racist statement about black men 'being allergic to responsibility and marriage'. By then, Kenny had enough with my brother's antics and so did Ma. Ma told Malachi he was acting like a douchebag. Then Malachi had gotten angry about being insulted in front of Kenny. Malachi insulted Ma, which led to me defending her. Then he called me a 'fucking coal burner' which set Kenny off. The next thing that I knew, Malachi and Kenny are fighting in the dining room! Ma, somehow, managed to break the fight up. She slapped Malachi and screamed at him. She told him that she wanted him out of her house before the night was over."

I stared at Lynn with a look of mild surprised. "Well, got-damn," I hummed. "After everything was said and done, what did Kenny say?"

"Kenny, unbelievably, doesn't have any animosity towards my brother. He told me that night, while driving me home he didn't think Malachi was really racist. He thinks he is angry. He's angry at Ma and all of her boyfriends. Just so happens that my Ma's boyfriends were black as is my dad. Kenny believes if my mom's boyfriends were white and as abusive towards her, Malachi would've still turned out the same way. It's because of the beast that is inside him. It is the beast that was formed from all of the anger he is feeling. Kenny believes that Malachi is hanging out with those Skin-Heads not because he is a racist, but because they have the same type of anger issues that he has. All of them are angry at someone, but rather than handle their issues in a healthy fashion, they are lashing out at innocent people. They are all festering together with their hatred."

'Way to go, Kenny with the assessment,' I said to myself before taking another sip of my wine.

"Kenny was on point with his assessment," I told her. "He must've been a shaman in one of his past lives."

"Now in this life, he is an over-worked Jamaican" she said before she had taken a sip of her water. I snickered. "Yeah, he does have a freaky sense of perception. It's a part of what makes him a great doctor." She had taken another sip of water. "Plus, he doesn't think that Malachi is racist because you and he boned—

'WHAT?!'

I knew that my eyes were bulging as I glared at my best friend. She had just shocked the hell out of me. "Lynn, why did you tell Kenny I slept with your brother?! Oh my God, Lynn!"

Lynn looked at me as if I started speaking in Latin. "Chloe, calm down—

"Lynn—

"Chloe, calm down, I had to tell Kenny about you and Malachi, because he saw your robe underneath his bed. He also saw your initials on the robe too. He managed to put 'two and two together' and I just re-affirmed his theory."

"He probably thinks that I am a self-hating Negro, bed wench that was just waiting for some pink penis."

Lynn's laughter was loud and boisterous. She even spilled some of her drinking water on her legs. "A self-hating Negro bed wench, Chloe?" she wheezed out in between her laughs. Her right hand was splayed against her collarbone as she continued to laugh. Tears sparkled like diamonds as they spilled down her full cheeks.

"It's true, Lynn!"

"Oh quit acting like a dramatic, teenaged girl, Lo! If I wanted to be around a drama queen, I would've called up one of the girls and hung out with them. Why are you acting this way?"

I rolled my eyes and drained my wine glass. "It's because of your brother. His pink penis has somehow turned me into a white teenaged girl," I stated dryly.

I watched my pregnant and surprisingly nimble friend recline her upper body backwards until her head landed on the couch's armrest. During her descent of resting her head on the couch's armrest, she continued releasing hoarse and raucous laughter into the atmosphere.

"Oh!" she shouted out, after her fit ended. "I needed that!"

"Well, I am glad to be of service. I will be charging you the next time." I stood up from my seat, grabbed the empty plate that once held my dinner.

"Let me help," I heard my friend say. "Lo, help me up please!"

I placed my wine glass and plate back on the dinner tray. I walked over to my friend and held out my hand to her. Lynn grabbed my hand, so I could help her up to her feet. She took her time, but managed to get on her feet. We took our used dishes into the kitchen, cleaning them. Also cleaning other appliances used during our cooking session. Once the kitchen was cleaned, I presented Lynn with a surprise; her favorite pie from our favorite bakery. Lynn shrieked with excitement when I presented her with the chocolate mousse pie. It was as if I had given her a shit-load of diamond jewelry.

Lynn grabbed a knife from the silverware drawer and cut the tiniest fucking slice for me, a child-sized portion. Then she grabbed the rest of the pie, a fork and proceeded to waddle her ass out of the kitchen.

"Thanks," I said to her retreating form. I stared down at the saucer that held my anorexic slice of pie. "What-the-hell, man?"

After I inhaled my slice of chocolate mousse pie while I was standing in the kitchen, I made my way back to the living room. Lynn was seated on the couch, eating her pie and watching the remainder of the horror movie. I sat next to her.

"So," she started out saying as she continued to watch the movie. "What have you been doing during these past few weeks?"

"Nothing much: working, sleeping and eating. I did a M.P. Detox Program as well."

"What is the M.P. Detox Program? Is it like some type of colon cleansing thing?" she asked.

"It is the 'Malachi Patrick Detox Program'," I told her.

She giggled. "What does the Malachi Patrick Detox Program consist of?"

"Well, first it consists of berating one's self and then craving for the d—

I realized that his sister was sitting next to me.

"Um, I craved for some... Some more attention from your brother and then I would berate myself again. That first stage lasts about two to three weeks. The second stage is addressing the cold hard facts."

"What are the 'cold, hard facts'?" she asked before she licked mousse off her fork.

"Malachi and I could never ever have sex again. If that were to happen again, I don't think my heart could do it without being unscathed in the process. I am not the type of person who is into the 'Friends with benefit-I came, I saw and I fucked' thing. I am more of the 'monogamous relationship-I love to make love to the man that I love' type of person. I'm already crushing on your brother as it is. And your brother doesn't give off the 'I'm looking for Mrs. Right' vibe. Can you imagine how I would feel if I had sex with him again? I would probably be figuring out the details of our wedding and names of our babies before I could even cum. Another 'cold, hard fact' is that your brother has some deep-rooted issues, he needs to deal with. If you haven't notice, your brother is the type of 'bad boy' that every good woman should avoid. He's definitely what I like to call a 'fixer upper'. I'm sure that any woman would love to help him and to take care of him. He's the perfect candidate: he's cute, he's moody, he has a nice body and he could definitely fuck a woman until she is comatose..."

Lynn made a grimace once she heard about her brother's sexual prowess.

"...Yeah, my dumb ass will definitely catch some feelings and end up being hurt by him. Another fact about your brother: I don't think that I could ignore that damn swastika that is tattooed on his chest anymore. Every time I think about it, I do feel like a self-hating Negro bed wench. And those are the 'cold, hard facts'."

"Is there another stage to you detox program?"

"Mmm-hmm," I hummed. "So, after thinking about those 'cold, hard facts', I moved onto 'Stage Three' of the Malachi Patrick Detox Project, which is 'Whenever I am thinking about what life could be like with your brother, I think about my list of Cold, Hard Facts'. Stage Three lasted for about two more weeks. 'Stage Four' was the most annoying stage."

"What did you do for 'Stage Four'?" she asked with an amused smile.

"I had gone out with a few guys on some dates," I answered while staring at the plasma screen.

Lynn chuckled. "Well the best way to get over a guy is to get underneath another one—

"And get a venereal disease in the process? No, thank you. I had gone on a few dates just to prove to myself there are normal-thinking and decent men out there. They should be the ones that I should think about pursuing and not your brother."

"So what were they like?"

"There were four dates and all of them were boring. No, let me take that back. All of them were just unattractive," I informed her. "I didn't clique with any of them. I felt like I was on dates with my uncles."

"Ugh, that's a bummer! Where did you meet these dudes?"

"Through my mom," I informed her.

"Mama Pat hooked you up?!" Lynn found this info to be interesting. "What were they like?"

"They were older than me. The youngest of them was thirty-seven—

"Thirty-seven?! Why did Mama Pat try to hook you up with all of them old ass men?!"

"My mom believes that an older man is more likely to want a wife than a younger man," I explained to my friend.

"Yeah, and it just so happens that these men want to date a younger woman rather than a woman that is near their age," Lynn sarcastically muttered. She placed her fork down and pushed her pie away from her. She leaned further into the couch's cushions. "Is there any more steps to the M.P. Detox Program?"

"Yeah, one final step," I told her. "It is accepting the fact that Malachi is not the same Malachi that I knew when we were kids. Throughout this whole process, I had this ongoing problem which was for every step that I took towards being 'healed', I ended up taking four steps backwards. Every time when I figure out a 'cold, hard fact', I had taken 'four steps back' by assuming that Malachi is still the same as that boy I grew up with. The final stage for me is finally acknowledging that he isn't the same person anymore."

All Lynn said was a simple "Oh".

The movie ended twenty-three minutes later. By then, we were both tired and physically drained, thanks to that day's activities. Lynn was asleep by the time the movie's closing credits were flashing on the television's screen. I had to tap her on her left knee in order to wake her.

"What?" she murmured as her eyes were still closed.

"Lynn, come on, get up."

"What? Why?" she said in a groggy state.

"The movie is over and you're falling asleep. Come on and get up, so you can go upstairs to bed," I informed her.

"Okay," she hummed. She continued to remain seated on her couch, for a few seconds. Her hazel eyes opened and blinked until she could focus. Her right hand rubbed her eyelids as she took a deep breath, pulling her hand away from her face and grabbing the cushion that lay underneath her. She slowly rose to her feet, moving a few steps away from the couch. I followed her.

"Don't worry about the pie and everything, I'll put it in the fridge for you," I informed her.

"Oh, I had forgotten about that," she muttered. She walked over to the base of the staircase that led to the second floor. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," I told her. "Now, go upstairs and get some sleep."

Lynn turned to face me. Her sleepy eyes gazed at me. "Thank you for today," she said in a soft voice. She threw her arms around me and gave me a hug. "Thank you for everything," she said into my left shoulder.

"You're welcome," I told the top of her head. "Now have a good night and don't worry about cleaning up. I'll do it for you and lock up your house before I leave tonight," I informed her.

"Thanks."

"Now, you and the bambina can go to bed," I told her as I gave her ample butt a gentle swat.

Lynn giggled. "Okay." She released me from her hold and turned towards the staircase. "Good night, Lo. I'll talk to you tomorrow," she told me as she climbed up the stairs.