Finding August

Chapter Twelve

"Thank you so much," Anita muttered, cradling her daughter to her chest. Vincent gave her a small smile before returning his attention to the humming TV in the background. Anita had come to visit, and they were catching up in the small living room.

"It was no problem," Vincent muttered, flipping through the channels on the television. Seeing Anita and her daughter together was enough of a reward to him. He hadn't seen his sister sincerely smile for a long time, and he was glad that what was she was doing now- grinning from ear to ear.

Vincent had simply stepped in to help Anita keep custody of her child. That alone had scared Anita's ex-husband to eventually back off.

Vincent soon got bored with the sitcom playing on the television, so he diverted his attention to his sister. She smiled at him, tucking a strand of her dreadlocks behind her ear. Nina babbled on her lap, tugging a handful of her mother's dreadlocks. A smile made its way to Vincent's lips as he watched his sister laugh, trying to pry Nina's chubby fingers from her hair.

"She's always pulling my hair," Anita stated, smiling down at her daughter who was now making a distressed face as she tried to reach for her mother's hair.

"So, how's it going?" Anita suddenly asked, making Vincent look from her daughter to her. Anita's expression seemed like one of concern.

"He hasn't tried to contact you, has he?"

Vincent sighed, immediately realizing who his sister was referring to.

"He has..." Vincent trailed, "but I didn't answer the call."

Vincent watched as his sister's lips curved into a smile. She nodded, letting out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad. I just want you to move on. You know how important that is, don't you? You can do a lot better than that snobby—"

"Anita," Vincent said, cutting his sister off in the middle of her sentence. "Don't say that, please."

He watched his sister's expression soften before she let out a frustrated sigh. "Okay, I won't, but that doesn't make it any less true."

"Look, Vin. You know that feeling you get when you start to care for someone that's not in your family circle so deeply? That's common sense leaving your body. You might not be able to see that, but every other person can. If you eventually have those kinds of feelings for someone, I want it to be someone who can reciprocate them," Anita said, running her hand through her daughter's miniature afro.

"Are you saying August didn't — doesn't love me?" Vincent asked, frowning at his sister.

"More or less. Vincent, he was just rebelling against his parents. I don't want to get you angry by telling you this, but I feel you were just part of that rebellion. Well, that's how I see it," she said, looking straight at Vincent. Vincent opened his mouth to say something but closed it after a while of not being able to say anything. What Anita had said actually made a lot of sense, but why would August treat him like that? Maybe it wasn't intentional?

"Look," Anita said, pulling Vincent out of his thoughts. He hadn't even known he'd spaced out. He apologized before staring straight at his sister in an attempt to give her his full concentration. Anita was older than him with a couple of years. She was in her late twenties, between twenty-seven and twenty-nine. Vincent couldn't remember the exact age. She didn't usually celebrate her birthday so it was easy to lose count. Vincent himself was twenty-four, and although he was taller and a lot more built than his sister he always made sure he gave her the respect she deserved as the older sibling.

"I don't want you to get hurt," Anita continued before letting out a low sigh. She ran her painted long fingernails through her locks, scrunching her face into a frown as she tried to look for the right words. "Just — just try and move on, Okay? I know how hard it can be, but if a relationship isn't working out, it isn't working out."

Vincent felt his heart sink. He knew his sister was referring to her Ex-Husband. Anita's opinion wasn't something he could just brush aside. Once upon a time, he'd been the one telling her the exact same thing.

"I'm not going to go on and on about it..." she trailed, looking away from Vincent, "but the sooner you try to move on the better."

Vincent nodded, bending to rest his head on his hands. He soon heard footsteps, and before he knew it Anita had sunk into the spot on the sofa next to him. She ran a hand in slow circles on his back in encouragement, not asking him to say anything.

He raised his head later, turning his gaze to his sister's face. She was giving him a one-sided smile, probably because his reaction to her advice seemed like he'd decided to finally take it.

"Do you mind me raiding your kitchen to cook something? I'm starving," she said. Vincent smiled before muttering a small go ahead. His sister soon disappeared into the kitchen, leaving her daughter on the sofa opposite the Vincent.

Vincent turned to the sofa, watching as his niece let out an excited squeal as she wiggled her legs. Anita had laid her down flat so that she wouldn't get ideas and end up tumbling off the couch and onto the carpeted floor.

"Nina," Vincent said in a singsong voice, watching as his niece giggled again, covering her face with her chubby little hands. She rolled to the side a bit, making Vincent stand up in alarm.

"Are you planning to fall over? I don't like blood on the carpet, mind you," he joked, heading over to pick her up from the sofa. He placed her on the carpet before flipping through the few channels he'd paid for. He sighed, realizing he didn't have any channel for kids and just settled on the nature channel.

Nina wiggled in her sitting position, smiling in a way that showed her incomplete set of teeth. Vincent smiled, taking her action as a sign of approval before heading over to the nearest couch to take a sit.

They watched the lions on TV pace about the screen until Anita poked her head through the kitchen door.

"I made pasta. Do you want some, Vincent?" she asked, getting an immediate nod from him. She disappeared into the kitchen again, returning to the living room with a tray of food in her hands.

They talked as they ate. Sometimes their conversations would be interrupted by Nina's babbling. Vincent's sister and her child soon left his apartment leaving him to think over what Anita had said.

She has a point. He sighed, rolling on his bed. He'd locked up and turned out all the lights before heading to his room to sleep. It was something he did to reduce the cost of electricity. By four in the morning, he was still awake and rolling on the mattress that was too soft to be considered comfortable.

He forcefully shut his eyes for the thousandth time in an attempt to sleep. Vincent sighed in defeat when he realized he wasn't going to get to sleep anytime soon. He rolled until he was looking up at the ceiling. It didn't really make a difference. He ran a hand through his short curls as he tried to think.

He thought about August, and about what Anita had said. He bit his lip, rubbing his eyes that were getting irritated by the darkness that was occasionally penetrated by cars that passed his window on their way.

It was going to be hard but he decided to take Anita's advice. He needed to take his life back, and there was no need yearning for someone that he'd already lost.

He rolled again until he was on his side. He reached out, letting his fingers caresses the smooth edge of his phone that was sitting on the bedside table. A strong urge to call August back rushed him. He withdrew his hand from his phone like it had caught fire, his ability to resist the urge filling him with a feeling of accomplishment.

One step at a time. He thought, shutting his eyes. One step at a time.