Unedited

***

Part 2.1

One Year and Five Months Later:

Magnolia looked at me with happiness and excitement, that I tried to mirror. "Make a wish." She held out a delicious chocolate cupcake in front of me, as a smile stretched wide across her face.

I focused on the burning candle for a split second, repeating the wish that had been plaguing my mind. My eyelids closed and I leaned in slightly before blowing out the candle. Sounds of cheer invade my ears and a sloppy, wet kiss was placed on my cheek.

"What did you wish for?" Alonzo, my boyfriend, asked as he snaked an arm around my waist. He pulled me closer to his side. I ignored how his touch and the closeness of his body to mine made me feel as if my whole body was on fire, and not in the good sense. I had become used to the feeling, finding that whenever I had any sort of physical contact with another man I would feel as if I was being burned. With Alonzo, it was different. I could bare it.

I gave him a weak smile before scooting a couple inches away from him. "Nothing too grand," I spoke in an attempt to distract my action with a reply. Placing the cupcake Magnolia gave me up to my lips, I took a tiny lick of the cream cheese icing. I held back a moan of bliss when the icing touched my tongue. Damn, how Magnolia could bake.

"So, how does it feel to turn twenty-three?" Magnolia asked as she plopped down on the couch that was across from Alonzo and me.

"I'm sure she feels no different than yesterday, when she was twenty-two." Lance, Maggie's boyfriend, said as he sat himself down next to her. His normal, goofy smile was reaching from ear to ear. "Right, Viv?" Lance asked with his bright, gray eyes boring directly at me.

I chuckled once, finding slight humor in what he said but had no energy to laugh fully. "Right," I simply stated, placing the cupcake down on the coffee table and grabbing my drink. I did not hesitate in taking a large gulp of the punch Magnolia had made. After the first gulp, I decided just to down the rest of the drink. Within seconds the cup was empty.

"Viv, do you think I could have a word with you?" Magnolia asked as she pointed to the hallway entrance.

I set my glass down, unsure of what she wanted. "Uhhh, sure."

Standing up, I found relief in Alonzo's touch off of me.

"What's up?" I asked her once we were in the hallway and out of earshot from the boys.

Turning to face me, Magnolia sighed as worry danced in her eyes. "What's gotten into you? You've have been drinking since you woke up. I'm surprised you can even stand and form complete sentences right now."

"It's my birthday. I'm supposed to have fun. Don't be a Debby Downer," I teasingly said with a fake smile. I had hope that she would not continue to interrogate me. I did not want to probe into my emotional issues. I just wanted to drink myself silly and forget about my life.

The concern Magnolia had did not dwindle. If anything, Magnolia seemed more curious about what my mood was about. "Is this about Braxton?" She asked, hitting it right on the nail.

Shaking my head, I ignored how my heart panged at the mere mention of his name. With all the strength I could muster, I continued to smile; saying that she had it all wrong.

"Well, something has gotten into you."

Like always, Magnolia had not understood. It was killing me being away from Cedar Falls . . . Away from Braxton. I always felt an intense pull and desire to go back and find him. Countless times over the year I had packed my bags with the intention of going back to Cedar Falls and finding him. However, I stopped myself each and every time. 

I could not risk Magnolia's life or my parents. The sheer threat in Braxton's voice back at the hospital had come off as a promise. He would murder them if I went back. I did not want their blood on my hands.

"Nothing is wrong with me, Maggie. I'm fine," I tried to assure her. "Now, how about we play charades with the guys?"

A skeptical look found Magnolia's face. "Viva-"

"Hey, girls," Lance spoke from the doorway, "Alonzo and I are gonna head out. We have a huge exam in organic chemistry tomorrow."

Magnolia glanced over at Lance, "Oh, okay." She looked back at me, "we can talk about this when they leave." Walking around me, Maggie went back into the living room with Lance.

I, on the other hand, leaned myself against the wall of the hallway. A tear rolled down my cheek and I felt as if my chest was tightening. Inhaling, slowly, tried to keep my emotions in check. It was a constant struggle, one that I felt myself losing. 

"Viva," a voice said from beside me. "What's wrong?"

A fiery sensation exploded on the side of my face as Alonzo wiped my tear away with his thumb.

"I think we should break up," I remarked without a second thought as I moved my head away from his hand. After rubbing my eyes, to rid myself of the wetness caused by my tears, I gazed over at Alonzo. He appeared to be in utter shock at what I had said.

"I'm sorry?" He asked in bewilderment.

"I said, I think we should break up."

Alonzo took a step back, "I . . . What did I do?"

"You didn't do anything, Alonzo . . . I just . . . I love someone else. . ."

Scratching the back of his neck, Alonzo seemed to be befuddled. "Who?"

I shook my head, "you don't know him."

". . .Were you in love with him when we first went out, two months ago?"

"Yes."

Another step was taken back by Alonzo as he created distance between us. It was all dawning on him. Over the past two months, I had treated him more as a friend who I gave the title of being my boyfriend. Rarely did we kiss or did I allow physical contact. 

Honestly, it was that each time I felt as if I was betraying Braxton. But, I had needed someone more than Magnolia. I had needed Alonzo.

"I'm sorry," I apologize, knowing it did not erase the fact that I had led him on. From the beginning, his conquest had been a lost cause.

"Naw, it's cool," Alonzo said as his brown eyes locked with mine, "really."

I gave a small smile, "thank you . . . for understanding."

Alonzo nodded, "umm, no problem, I guess. Uhhh, I should head out. I have this exam-"

"Oh, yeah. No, go. It's fine. Really," I quickly said. I was over the moon that he had to leave. The awkwardness was growing between us to a point I did not think I could handle it much longer. "Good luck on your exam," I truthfully said as we walked back into the living room together.

"Thank you," Alonzo replied as he and I went over to the coat rack that Lance and Magnolia were standing by. Alonzo gathered his coat and scarf. He threw each on with haste, clearly and reasonably not wanting to linger. He was quick to tell Magnolia and Lance goodbye before waving at me and saying he would see me around.

Once he was gone, Lance roped his scarf around his neck and zipped up his coat. "Well, that was rude of him not to give you a kiss goodbye. Want me to drag him back?" Lance sincerely offered.

I shook my head, knowing that his actions were in no way necessary. "No. I broke up with him."

Both Lance and Magnolia looked at me with wide eyes and opened mouths. They were not expecting such a reply from me.

"You did what?!" Magnolia shouted in disbelief. 

Lance visible gulped, "I think I will catch the two of you later." He said, evidently knowing that Magnolia was about to unleash heavy wrath on me. "Be nice," Lance said, placing a kiss on Magnolia's temple. Lance looked at me with panic. "Maybe, if she hasn't killed you, see you around, Viv," Lance slipped out of the apartment, saying nothing more.

Magnolia firmly placed her hands on her hip the moment the door closed. She put her game face on that showed she was ready to give me a lecture. "Viva Raena Reynolds. Why on this green Earth did you break up with Alonzo? He was so nice to you. He treated you like a princess. He loved you."

"We went through this before. He was just a replacement. I could not keep up the ruse any longer." I stated as I walked to the coffee table and began to gather some of the dirty dishes that were scattered around the room.

"So, this is about Braxton."

I winced. "Please don't ever say his name." With hands full, I strolled into the kitchen and placed the dishes in the sink. I turned on the hot water, allowing it to fill the dishes so that they would be easier to clean later. 

"Viva, we have gone through this," Magnolia proclaimed as she followed after me into the kitchen. "You can't go back to Cedar Falls," Magnolia told me as I shut off the water.

Gripping the counter's edge, I attempted to hold myself back from going off on Magnolia. "I am aware."

"Then, you know that there is no future for you there, with Braxton."

"I am aware," I repeated with anger and annoyance leaking in my voice.

"I can call Alonzo for you and tell him that you made a mistake."

My head snapped in Magnolia's direction. "Are you insane? I just broke up with him. I told him that I loved someone else. You can't fix this Magnolia. Not when it was broken from the beginning," I told her before reaching over to and grabbing a bag of sour worms that laid on the counter.

Opening the bag, I plucked out a few worms and greedily shoved them into my mouth. Immediately, I felt a little happier; an effect of my favorite sweet treat but I knew it would not last long.

"The night is still young," Magnolia said after a minute. "How about we go to the club? Maybe you can find some guy to cheer you up."

I stopped eating my candy, "You did this last time and it's not going to work."

"I did what?" Magnolia innocently questioned as if she had no idea what I was talking about.

"You shoved men at me, left and right. You pushed me to go out all the time and meet guys. How has it not clicked that I am unable to be with another guy? I believe you think I'm exaggerating when I say that it literally burns my skin to physically touch another guy. Whenever I kiss another guy, it's honestly like someone is punching me in the gut - repeatedly.

"I tried to get over it," I admitted. "I tried it your way. I dated Alonzo and I forced myself to act as if I enjoyed being in his company. Truth is, I hated it. Not that he was not a nice guy but he's not . . . he's not Braxton."

"Fine! I give up," Magnolia threw her hands in the air, in a surrendering motion. Not saying anything else, Magnolia turned around and walked away.

Placing the sour worms back on the counter, I waited for the slam of her bedroom door. It took a few long moments but soon the thunderous sound echoed through the house. I had flinched at the sound even though I had expected it.

Exhaling loudly, I decided to finish cleaning up the mess from our small get together. Walking into the living room, I noticed that there was not much left to clean up. I packed up all the dips and chips that were placed about, along with the rest of the dirty dishes. When all that had been done, there was just the matter of trash left over. I went around and gathered the trash.

When I was finished, I looked around the room to make sure I had gotten everything. Satisfied, I went over to the lamp that illuminated the room. My intention was to turn it off and retire for the night, however, the second my hands touched the light switch, the doorbell rang.

Figuring that Magnolia was already passed out and not going to answer the door, I went over to the front door. I ended up opening the door without bothering to look through the peephole.

"What the-" I had no time to question why a young girl was leaning against my doorpost with a bloody nose. Her knees went weak and she collapsed right on my threshold. "Whoa," I said as I bent down to her level. "What happened?" I asked in horror of her condition, as I rolled the girl over onto her back.

The girl began to cough up blood.

I lifted her head, trying to prevent her from choking on her blood. "Magnolia! Call 911!" I shouted a couple times over. "It's going to be alright. We are going to get you help," I told the girl in my arms as I tried to see if she had been stabbed or shot anywhere that was visible.

The girl reached up with shaky hands and grabbed the side of my face, "Viva."

I froze at the mention of my name from her lips and the cool touch of her hand.

"What's wrong?" Magnolia asked as she came into the room. "Oh my goodness!" Magnolia yelled as she ran over to us. "What happened?"

"I have no idea. Call the ambulance. Hurry!" I instructed as the girl's hand slipped to her side. 

Magnolia scrambled to get her phone and call for help.

I looked down at the girl in my arms as she appeared to be having a hard time breathing. "You're going to be just fine. My sister is calling for help."

The girl shook her head and coughed up more blood. "No," she struggled to say.

I looked at her with confusion.

"You," she tried to tell me. "Have to go back."

My eyebrows furrowed. "Go back? Go back where?" It dawned on me, "Go back to Cedar Falls?"

The girl nodded and then violently started to cough again. When she recovered, the girl looked me dead in the eye and it was then that I suddenly recognized her. "You're Angie. The girl from that herb shop in Cedar Falls."

"Yes," she wheezed out. "Find Dinah . . . Stop Braxton."

"What do you mean?" I questioned right as Angie's eyes began to close. "No, stay with me, Angie! Stay with me!" I shook her head slightly with my hand. "Don't close those eyes, you hear me!"

"Help is on the way," Magnolia said as she raced over to me.

I could feel Angie's body go stiff and her body give up breathing. "No," I all but shouted, not accepting that Angie had died. I placed her down flat on the ground and started to perform CPR. "Come on, Angie," I urged over and over.

Magnolia put her arm out and stopped me from continuing when the ambulance team had arrived. But, I refused because I knew that if I stopped that would be it for Angie. More than likely they would call it because I had been going at it for a long time.

"No," I said, continuing the constant beats.

"Viva, you have to let the professionals take over."

"No," I repeated.

Magnolia went over to me and pried me away as the ambulance team swiftly dove in to take care of Angie. "You did what you could," Magnolia said as she held me in her arms.

I pushed myself away and was about to tell Magnolia that I had not done all that I could but an officer came up to the two of us.

"Excuse me, may I ask which one of you called?" The male officer asked as he held the ballpoint of his pen to the blank page of his notepad.

"I did," Magnolia spoke up.

The officer scribbled something down on his pad. "And, what is your relationship with the woman?"

"I have never met her a day in my life," Magnolia confessed. "I was in my room and I heard the doorbell. After a minute or so, my sister yells out my name and orders me to call 911. When I entered the living room I saw my sister holding the woman, who seemed to be bleeding from somewhere-"

"It was coming out of her mouth and nose," I said as the police officer wrote down what we were saying. "She had rung our doorbell and I answered. She said. . ." I paused when I hesitated to explain the reasoning Angie had come to our door. I was not sure how the officer, or Magnolia, would take that she was sending me a message about how I needed to return to Cedar Falls. "She said nothing. All she did was cough up blood," I tried not to think about the memory, finding a nauseating feeling to overcome me when I did.

"Are you sure she didn't say anything? Not even a word or a name?"

I shook my head, "No. Not even a syllable."

***

"What are you doing?" Magnolia asked as she entered my room. Her eyes intently watched me as I scrambled around my room, gathering things here and there.

"I'm going to Alonzo's," I lied as I shoved some of my belongings into my Vera Bradley duffle bag. "I can't be alone after what happened. You have Lance, you should call him," I suggested knowing that Magnolia did not like to be alone and would object because of that.

"I thought you broke up with him," She stated with slight confusion in her voice.

She was right, I had but there was no way I could tell her where I was really going. She would try and stop me. Or, possibly worse, she would try and join me. "I did but I called Alonzo. What happened tonight with that girl made me change my mind about everything, I guess," I honestly spoke. "I will be back soon." I zipped up my bag and threw the straps over my left shoulder. "Don't be afraid to call me if you need me."

It took Magnolia sometime before she said anything, "I-I will." It was apparent that she was trying to process my sudden action of getting back together with Alonzo and going over to his place.

When I was nearly out the door, Magnolia called out to me. "Hey, Viv?!"

Looking over my shoulder, I saw Magnolia staring at me with apprehension dancing in her eyes. "Be safe."

I gave her a smile that for once in the past year or so felt real. "Will do, Maggie."