Hood Ornaments

Tori picked at the rest of her food as the others sat quietly waiting for her to speak.

“Finish your food baby,” Trudy said as she rubbed her granddaughter’s back to comfort her.

“I find it strange that no one bothered to tell me Tony was dead until now. That Leek is missing. How could y’all keep this from me? What else are y’all keeping from me?”

There were so many other questions in her mind she wanted to ask. But the two people who she loved and trusted the most were hiding things from her, she realized if she wanted the answers to those questions she would have to get them herself.

“I need to go lie down. I’m not feelin so good now.” Tori pushed herself away from the table and headed to her room. Trudy tried to call after her, and Dell tried to follow her, but Sticks stopped the both of them.

“Let her be. She will talk when she’s ready.”

Dell sighed, “She looked so pissed.”

“Yeah well, she’s been through a whole hell of a lot in a very short amount of time.”

Trudy stormed out of the kitchen to go to her room but hesitated and put her hand on Dre’s door. The tears fell before she had a chance to close her own bedroom door behind her.

Tori wasn’t as depressed as she let on. As a matter of fact, it was the perfect disguise for her to be left alone to obtain the answers she needed to find out the truth that she wanted.

But first things first, she rifled through the paper bag with her belongings in it and found her phone. When she turned it on, it sounded like an arcade game because of all the missed calls and texts. She sat on the edge of her bed and scrolled through her contacts. When she found Leeks number, she texted him.

Get at me as soon as you can. Let me know you are okay.

The irony was that as soon as she sent the text, the same exact message popped up from Michael. But she didn’t have time to coddle him.

She had things to do.

Very important things.

Tori grabbed some clothing and a towel and headed downstairs to take a shower. This was the first time in a long while that she wished she wasn’t at home.

Her laptop was back in Chicago.

But she always had a plan B.

Dell and Trudy heard her meandering about. They both were uneasy about it. Sticks shrugged his shoulders.

“Let her be; she needs to clear her head.”

Tori decided it made no sense for her to look cute, so she put shea butter on her lips and headed back out into the kitchen. The anguished looks on the faces of Dell and Trudy were even too much for her to bear.

“Listen, I don’t have my laptop here, so I am going to have to go to the library. I have stuff I need to get done. I don’t want y’all to worry; I’ll be fine.”

Dell stood up, “You want me to go with you?”

She walked over to him and gave him a warm hug. Then she kissed him on the cheek.

“Nah, babe. You would just distract me.”

Then she walked over to Trudy, who was blinking her eyes to keep from crying, Tori embraced her.

“Grandma, you’re gonna make yourself sick, stop. I’ll be back in a few hours. Maybe sooner.”

Tori even put her hand on Sticks’ shoulder before she walked out the door and headed to campus.

It was the most amazing performance of her life.