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2
Lavinia
Lavinia sat at Nico’s bedside wondering what the hell happened to them over the years. Looking at the man laid out on the large mattress, she sighed in defeat. No matter how angry she was with him, she’d always be here for him. He was her other half. The one person she needed to feel whole. Yet, she felt so far away from where they used to be. As if she’d lost him without realizing it.
She’d loved Nico for almost half of her life, and that love had only grown over the years. But at this point, she no longer believed that love was returned. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes, but she wiped them away before they had a chance to fall.
If it weren’t for the man in front of her, and her other best friend, Max Bishop, she didn’t know what her life would be today. From the first day they’d met, the three of them were inseparable. Where Nico and Max were, she was sure to follow.
No one could come between them, although many tried. Nico and Max didn’t like her being involved in the life they lived. That had been too bad for them. She wasn’t leaving their side for any reason. Once they’d adopted her into their little clique, she was there to stay. They protected her, and she protected them right back.
When she first met them, they’d come up on her throwing a beating on some chick who’d been talking shit about how dark she was. The girl’s boyfriend had stopped to talk with Lavinia about something stupid. She couldn’t even remember the topic of conversation. That’s when the girl started talking shit. Maybe she felt bold because her group of friends were behind her. Usually, Lavinia let shit like that roll off her back, but the things coming from the girl’s mouth that day had been the one topic she never should have touched.
Her parents had just recently moved to this new neighborhood. They’d gotten Lavinia to promise she wouldn’t fight. It wasn’t that she liked getting into altercations with other people. She didn’t. Sometimes her temper flared, even when she tried to stay in control. When people talked about her or her family, that’s when her anger got the best of her.
Like right now, with the stupid ass girl talking shit about Lavinia trying to steal her boyfriend. Even then, she did all the things her parents, and the counselors, told her to do. She breathed in deeply. Counted to ten. Then she counted to twenty. When that didn’t work, she turned her head, looking for something else to focus on. That’s when she saw them.
Two boys around her age. Both white. One with blond hair, the other with dark. They were joking around, laughing, and pushing each other as they walked to the basketball courts. She wondered what it would be like to have people like that around her. Ones who hung out with her because they just liked her, not because she was always the one ready for a fight. Fighting all the damn time was getting old.
It was always something, and she was tired of defending herself all the time. Her momma would tell her words couldn’t hurt her. That Lavinia should ignore the cruel taunts. Be the better person. Even walk away. If only it were that easy.
Now that she was sixteen, it was all about what you did or didn’t do that determined your future. She learned early on, walking away was never a good decision. If you walked away, the bullshit never stopped. If you tried to ignore it, the bullshit continued. On the other hand, when you used your fists to punch someone in the face… Well, people tended to shut their mouths and leave you the fuck alone.
At this stage in her life, when people said stupid shit to her, she shut them up. If that meant using her fists to beat their face into the ground, so be it. Whatever worked to help them learn their lesson.
The words of the other girl continued to sound in her ears, like a gnat buzzing around her. Glaring at the group of girls as they teased and taunted, she almost smiled. A group of neighborhood guys began to surround them. Some knew her reputation. They were trying to tell the group of girls to pull their friend away, to leave it alone. Clearly, they weren’t getting the message.
Lavinia tried to be good. She really did. Although her dad and uncles taught her how to defend herself, her dad was clear that she was only supposed to hit other people if there was a reason. The situation hadn’t escalated to that point yet.
Her mother didn’t want her only girl fighting for any reason. She wanted Lavinia to be a young lady. The first time she came home with scraped knees and a bloody lip, she was eight years old. Her momma yelled for two hours. Then she asked if she won the fight. When she said yes, her momma just nodded her head. They didn’t talk about it for the rest of the night.
So, she knew exactly what both her mom and dad would say about her fighting again. Plus, at her age, the cops might get involved, which she really didn’t need. They’d only lived here for three months. For Lavinia to get a reputation as a trouble-maker this early would surely piss off both her parents. She sighed deeply. She had to get her anger under control. Maybe today was the one time she’d walk away.
“You’re so damn black, your momma should have named you black licorice,” the head girl said with a loud laugh, hand on her hip, head rolling from side-to-side. Her butterscotch skin, and thick, long hair were what all the girls her age envied. All the girls except for Lavinia Ross.
“My skin color is beautiful,” she countered. Standing up for herself, while also trying to remain calm. “Listen, don’t nobody want your man. It’s not even like that. You need to leave. You don’t want none of this.”
“Girl, dark skin is ugly. You can’t even go out at night because no one would even see you. You’d have to smile the whole time. Your white teeth would be the only thing people would notice. Yo’ dark ass out here looking like a monkey.” The sound of raucous laughter rang out from the huddled group. A couple of the other girls looked a bit uncomfortable, yet none of them spoke up in her defense. Lavinia glared at them as they avoided her gaze. Cowards.
“Y’all just gonna stand there looking stupid?” she spat out the words in their direction.
One girl was brave enough, or stupid enough, to defend their actions.
“Well, Lavinia,” she paused, looking at the others for courage. Maybe it was approval. Doesn’t matter. She was now on Lavinia’s list and her ass-whooping would be coming soon. “I mean, you are really dark. No one really likes dark-skinned girls like you.”
The words hurt but it wasn’t anything she hadn’t heard before.
What made Lavinia most angry about the situation? The girls making the most racket and laughing like hyenas had been in her home. Had spent the night with her family. Laughed with her mom and dad as they played family games. They’d told her how much they liked her, her family, and pretended to be her friend. It was the lying and pretending that pissed her off the most.
She hated fake bitches.
When her fist flew, it connected with the first girl’s mouth. Blood spurted from her lip, covering her teeth. The yell that came from the girl spurred her on. “Yeah, talk shit now,” Lavinia yelled. “I told your ass to walk away. Coming at me over some fucking dude.” Going in for another punch, her fist cracked the girl in the eye. Lavinia was laughing now. When she got like this, her laugh usually sounded maniacal. That usually scared people into leaving her alone. “I bet you this black girl is about to kick your ass.” Crack! The shit-talker fell to the ground, and Lavinia pounced. Straddling the girl’s body with her own, her fists flew, the blows to the girl’s face could be heard by everyone in the crowd. Arms flailed, screams rent the air, and yet the hits never stopped. “Don’t ever fucking come at me again,” rage filled her voice as she let out all the pent-up aggression she’d been holding back.
She could hear the other girls yelling at her to stop but that time had come and gone. This girl had to pay. After today, everyone would think twice about making any comments about Lavinia to her face, or behind her back.
“Yo’! Come on. Get off her. I think she’s had enough,” a deep voice called out to her. An arm grabbed her around the waist, pulling her back. Another set of hands grabbed at the girl bleeding all over the pavement, pulling her away.
“Let me go. I’m gonna punch her in the face some more for talking shit about me,” she yelled in a feral tone. Once Lavinia got like this, it took a minute for her to calm down. All she could focus on was causing pain to the other person. It was the only thing that mattered.
