Mended Hearts II [Fiction]

Days when I would wallow in my self-pity after seeing Lucas with his new girlfriend on TV, scream my head off and drown myself in alcohol, Alicia would grab a washcloth, soak it in water and sit beside me to wipe away my tears and cool my forehead. How quickly our roles were quickly reversed.

The noises in my head won't quiet down. Once I got the info from a supposedly caring friend that Lucas and his girlfriend were at a nightclub, I stormed the place. They were there alright, smooching in a dark corner of the VIP lounge.

Lucas took one look at me and shook his head. Dismay and pity were etched on his face. I saw myself through his eyes at that moment, the shame unbearable. His stupid bitch actually had the guts to suggest that Lucas take out a restraining order against me.

In a flash, I was on her. The bitch lost a good chunk of hair, her scalp bleeding as Lucas pulled me off her and flung me into a corner. He called me crazy and my heart broke. “I'm being my cool self because of our daughter but my patience is wearing thin. Stay away from me, Flora,” he yelled.

I spent the night in a police cell.

Alicia fell ill from crying all through the night because I didn't sleep beside her for the first time ever. That should have been my wake-up call instead I drank more.

My TV, Facebook and Instagram became my best friend as long as they had reports of Lucas. I was bombarded with endless videos and pictures of Lucas on tour and vacations with different girls.

I looked forward to his visits on Alicia's birthdays. He would come and take our daughter away to spend a few days together.

When Alicia returned home, I would hound her for updates on her father and whether he was dating anyone. She'd feed me interesting stories of their outings, making me forget about Lucas’ dating life. So I stopped asking. I was certain Lucas would come to his senses soon and return to me…us.

The breaking point was when Chic fashion magazine exposed that he had fathered another child, a son, with an unknown woman who had never been seen in any photos or videos. I threw my phone against the wall and curled into a ball on the floor, whimpering. I knew then that Lucas would never come back to us again.

A few days after my thirty-fifth birthday, Alicia turned sixteen and Lucas promised to take her for a weekend getaway. She waited all day, chewing on her lips, and wringing her hands in anticipation. At the sound of a car honk, she would run to the window to check then return with her shoulders slumped.

At dusk, I called Lucas, his manager and assistants but no one picked my calls. I left him a voicemail. “You bastard! How could you do this to our daughter? Sixteen is a special year in every girl's life and you couldn't for once in your miserable life stand by your word. You'll pay for this.”

Alicia and I cuddled on the sofa and while snacking on a slice of cake, we turned on the TV and Lucas was playing live on stage. That explained his absence.

Before millions of his fans, Lucas proposed to Magnolia, the woman who bore him a son. Alicia and I stopped snacking and stared at each other.

“Are you alright?” We uttered at the same time. Lucas wasn't hurting only me, he also broke our daughter's heart.

I cupped my daughter's cheeks and stared into her eyes. It dawned on me that I wasn't exonerated from whatever blame I’d heaped on Lucas. It was my duty to protect Alicia despite the failed relationship but I saw only my pain. My mama was right after all.

She sniffed and nodded. “I'm fine, mom. I'm worried about you. It's time to move on. You've been hung up on Dad for so long that you don't see that Uncle Lake likes you.”

I blinked in confusion. We were talking about her father, not— “What…are you talking about?”

She actually giggled. “Uncle Lake, mom. He likes you a lot. That's why he keeps coming around to help with the lawn and other stuff.”

“Brandon Lake, our neighbour?”

“Uh-huh.”

I stared at her for a long moment. “When did you grow up and become so smart?” I wrapped my arms around her in a hug and we stayed like that for a long time.

My heart had been in pieces and my daughter just helped to mend it.

It was time to move on.

The End.

^{Image: Jill Burrows, from pexels}