Chapter 46

The harsh sound of a ringing phone cut through the heavy fog of Tapiwa's sleep. There was something familiar about the ringtone, but her mind struggled to surface from the murky depths of sleep that still held on to her tightly.

For a few seconds, the annoying, insistent sound seemed to stop. Tapiwa nearly drifted back to sleep, desperate to make up for the hours she had spent tossing and turning as her mind refused to shut down and just let her rest.

After Jadon's visit and the fright of seeing the man who attacked her again, Tapiwa had been unable to settle down, which had translated into an exhausting night. Spiraling thoughts and vivid flashes of Jadon's bruised face had refused to leave her alone.

His words echoed in her head, keeping sleep at bay and adding fire to her stewing anger. Even now, as her mind just began to wake up from sleep, the remnants of yesterday clung to her. They were like a suffocating blanket she couldn't shake off. She just wished she could get a few more minutes of sleep.

Unfortunately, it seemed someone was against the mere idea of Tapiwa resting because the ringing started again.

Sighing, Tapiwa forced her heavy eyelids to flutter open. A dim ceiling was the first thing she saw. Tapiwa immediately wondered who was calling them so early, before the sun had even crept up over the horizon.

Whoever it was meant business because the ringing stopped again for a handful of seconds, only to start all over again. Tapiwa groaned. Damn. She had to get up whether she liked it or not. Fine, she thought with exasperation and attempted to roll over, only she realized she couldn't.

Suddenly alarmed and fully awake, Tapiwa looked down at her body, only then realizing that Nicole had done it again. Her friend, too used to not sharing a bed, had a terrible habit of finding herself in the middle of the bed, almost pushing Tapiwa off over the edge. Except this time, Nicole hadn't stopped in the middle. No. The woman was right next to Tapiwa, her warm breath tickling Tapiwa's cheek with an arm thrown over Tapiwa's middle, locking her in place.

Tapiwa wanted to chuckle, but the ringing continued, relentless and demanding someone's attention. Now that she was more awake, Tapiwa realized it was her own phone ringing. She recognized the orchestra version of Pirates of the Caribbean, which was her ringtone.

Next to Tapiwa, Nicole also seemed to realize that Tapiwa's phone was the culprit for their disturbed sleep. The woman groaned, shifting in her sleep, and thankfully removed her arm from Tapiwa as she grumbled in a voice thick with sleep, "Tapi, your phone."

"Yeah. I know," Tapiwa answered, her head already turning toward the source which was thankfully seated on the stool she had placed close to the bed, charging.

Nicole shifted again, her arm going under her pillow and burying her face in the soft material. "Just answer it already, Tapi before I throw it out the window."

Tapiwa rolled her eyes. "Dramatic much?" she teased. Still, she stretched out her hand and tried to grab the phone without actually getting off the bed. Luck was not on her side though because her fingers brushed the edges of the phone, fumbled and the phone dropped to the floor with a thud.

To Tapiwa's shock, Nicole sat bolt upright as though a bomb had gone off in the room. All signs of sleep were gone. "What was that?"

Suppressing a chuckle, Tapiwa carefully leaned over the edge of the bed and retrieved the phone. It had stopped ringing but started again as soon as it was in her hand. That's when Tapiwa saw who was insistently calling her. Her sister, Amy.

Tapiwa's heart immediately skipped several beats. She stared down at the phone, her thumb hovering over the screen. Apprehension crawled up her spine and wrapped around her neck like a noose.

She wanted to toss the phone on the floor and bury her face in a pillow. There was just no way Amy would be calling at the crack of dawn with good news. This had to be bad. Real bad. Unfortunately, she knew she couldn't ignore the call.

So, with a deep breath, Tapiwa swiped the screen to answer the call and brought it to her ear. "This is early," she said, in lieu of a greeting.

"Tapiwa, for God's sake, what took you so long to answer the call?" Amy hissed through the phone.

Tapiwa glanced at the closed curtains of the room and the barely there streams of gray filtering in through the gaps. "Like I said, it's early, Amy. I was sleeping."

For some reason, Tapiwa's answer only seemed to frustrate her sister some more. Amy huffed, and Tapiwa could have sworn she heard the younger woman curse under her breath before she addressed Tapiwa again.

"Well, I hope you got enough sleep, Sis because the can of worms just exploded."

Tapiwa sat up straight. Her eyes darted to Nicole, who watched her with a concerned frown. "What are you talking about, Amy?"

"The internet. Social media your pictures are all over."

"What pictures?" Tapiwa asked even though in her gut she already knew.

A choked sound came down the phone. It sounded like her sister couldn't even voice the words without choking. Oh, this was worse than bad, Tapiwa realized.

"Nudes. Of you and Jadon in bed together. Tapiwa, how could you? Dad is fuming. If you were still in this house I think I think he might have killed you with his bare hands. He says he wants nothing to do with you. He wants to disown you, Tapiwa. Mom is beside herself."

A numbness fell over Tapiwa. She heard every word but it all washed over her. For a long minute, Tapiwa felt as though she was in a daze and she couldn't feel anything. But then Nicole shook her shoulder and she was back with a sharp gasp.

Tapiwa heard Amy's concerned voice call her name several times in the phone still held to her ear. "Yeah," she croaked out.

"Are you okay?"

Was she okay? Tapiwa wanted to laugh. No, she wasn't okay, far from it and she had a feeling she wouldn't be for a very long time. But that wasn't what she told her sister. "I'm fine. Just thinking."

Amy huffed again. "This is a mess, Tapiwa. You should never have gotten involved with that man. He has ruined your life."

Amy wasn't telling Tapiwa anything she didn't already know and had wished a thousand times she could go back in time and undo it. But then she reminded herself that she hadn't actually gone out looking for this problem. She'd been set up and now she was shouldered with the consequences.

It took another minute for Tapiwa to assure Amy that she was fine and not alone before her sister ended the call. However, before Tapiwa could drop the phone on the bed, it began to ring again.

"What the hell?" Tapiwa groaned, frustrated. Couldn't she get even two minutes of peace? It seemed not. She checked the caller ID and frowned. She didn't know the number.

"Who is it?" Nicole asked, sounding just as frustrated as Tapiwa.

Tapiwa shook her head but answered the call. Whatever else this was, she had no desire to let it fester. She wanted to rip it off like dry wax. "Hello? Who is this?" she demanded.

"Tapiwa, don't hang up!"

Tapiwa immediately recognized Jadon's voice and snarled. "Are you happy now? Huh! Did you do it? Did you release the pictures to completely destroy me?"

"What?" Jadon sounded shocked and angry. "Don't be ridiculous. You know I wouldn't have let this hit the public eye. I am getting affected too, remember?"

Tapiwa scoffed. "Yeah right! I told you to leave me the hell alone, Jadon. Leave me the hell alone! You have done enough!"

This time, when Tapiwa ended the call she turned the damn thing phone off. Then she threw it on the floor, not caring if it survived the landing before she let out a frustrated scream from the pit of her stomach.