LOVELESS

Chapter 47

OVER AN HOUR LATER

Veronica is staring at her mother's grave when her phone rings. She pulls it out of her back pocket, and almost drops her phone when she sees Sam's name on the screen. She accepts the call and sighs in relief. "Sam..."

"What's up, V?" Sam responds as he stands in front of Yemi at the front desk.

"I-um... I don't know how to say this..."

"It's something about you?"

"No. Your mom. She..."

Sam furrows his eyebrows as he waits for Veronica to continue. "Yo, just say it."

"I'm trying, Sam. I'm trying. I-she, well..."

"V, what the fuck yo? Is she alright?"

"I don't know. She's been-"

Sam hears a click sound, and then looks at the screen to see Veronica is no longer on the phone. He calls her right back, but it goes straight to voicemail.

On Veronica's end, she doesn't notice that the call has ended, so she continues to speak. "You know what... I'll just say it."

She takes a deep breath. "She didn't want me to tell anybody that she has cancer," she says in one breath with her eyes tightly closed. After a moment of silence, she looks at the phone and sees a black screen. She taps it and nothing pops up. "Shit! I forgot to charge my damn phone." She sighs aggressively.

"Fuck it. I'm not worrying about this shit anymore." She slides her phone back into her back pocket and then sits on the ground. She stares at the photo of her mother for a brief moment before laying down in the fetal position, propping her head with her arm, next to the headstone. She breathes in and out, trying to relax.

"Why did you have to leave me, Mommy? This tough skin is starting to thin out." She rubs the photo and then slowly closes her eyes to stop herself from crying.

*

Back at the gym, Sam looks worried as he calls Liliana. She doesn't answer, so he calls his father, who also doesn't answer. He stares at Yemi as he contemplates what to do. A moment later, he calls Stephen.

"Yurrr!"

"You know what's going on with Ma?"

"What do you mean?"

"V was starting to tell me something about her, but I think the phone died."

"Oh yeah, she called me, too. But she was supposed to call me back after talking to you. I don't think it's anything serious, though, or she would've just told me what it was."

"She told Yemi it was important."

"Oh. Well, maybe they got into an argument. You know how women are when they start kickin' it more with each other. She probably wants us to intervene or something."

"Damn, if that's the case, they must have said some fucked up shit to each other."

"Probably. But yo, I got a flight in a few hours, so I need to take advantage of this party while I can."

"Alright, B. I'll call you tomorrow." Sam ends the call before taking a deep breath.

"They got into an argument?" Yemi asks him.

"That's what he thinks. I don't know. I'll just wait for V to call me back."

She nods sympathetically.

"Enough of that, though." Sam goes behind the front desk, and pulls a vacant chair closer to Yemi. He glances over at the three patrons, working out, before giving Yemi a peck on her lips. "Thanks for holding it down here for me. I'm glad I was able to handle that shit."