Read Wouldn’t Change a Thing for Free Online Page B

head and scream. A black Cocker Spaniel like Brooklyn’s barks and retreats behind the woman.
    â€œWhiplash, sit!”
    The dog makes a circular motion and obeys her. Through a fog, I see Aunt Mavis. I untangle myself from the sheets.
    â€œAunt…Mavis? What am I doing here?”
    â€œCalm down, Toni.”
    â€œDon’t tell me to calm down! Why am I in your house? What the hell?”
    She calls for backup. “Raymond, please come help me!”
    My uncle’s footsteps fill the hallway. He stands in the doorway and blushes at the sight of me. He turns away and says, “May, I’ll come back when she’s decent.”
    I look down at my pink oversized pajama set from Lamonte and cover myself again.
    She clears her throat. “That was the only night set in the box. I got them from the backseat of your car. You refused to put on the T-shirt I gave you. You’ve been resting for the past two days and I planned to take you to Milledgeville today for more clothes.”
    â€œTwo days?”
    I go to the mirror and Whiplash follows me. I look like highway road kill. My hair is matted and my breath smells like a can of sardines. I get a whiff of my underarms and curl my nose. Whiplash isn’t bothered by my odors and licks my leg.
    â€œWhiplash, enough!”
    I sit back on the bed and place my head in my hands. I’m back in Sparta again. I survey the room. This is where Willa and I spent our early years eating popcorn and Girl Scout cookies and watching movie after movie, reciting lines until we fell asleep. This house was the happening spot when we were young. Cousin Clayton had a wife then, Uncle Raymond and Daddy manned the barbecue grill like pros, and Aunt Mavis and Mama sat around like schoolgirls, laughing at jokes and swapping nursing and teaching stories. Our girly room has been converted to a modern, chic bedroom. The twin beds have been replaced with a modish bedroom set and bold African prints line the walls. Although I’m funky, I inhale childhood smells—Johnson’s baby powder sprinkled beneath the sheets and Aunt Mavis’s secret liquid washing detergent mix. Mama begged for the secret, but Aunt Mavis’s lips remained sealed. Aunt Mavis’s homemade potpourri fills the room. She sits next to me and rubs my back.
    â€œI’m sorry about everything that happened, Toni.”
    â€œTell me how I got here so I can leave.”
    â€œRussell called. You collapsed at Lamonte’s place and he thought maybe you needed to come home a while. I gave you a mild sedative to help you rest.”
    â€œAtlanta is my home.”
    â€œThat’s obvious.” She stands to retrieve my cell phone charging on dresser.
    â€œWhat does that mean?”
    Aunt Mavis sits again and shows me my cell phone contacts. “ICD? Really?”
    My face flushes. The typical call-my-family-I’m-in-trouble code is ICE—In Case of Emergency. However, I knew I didn’t want to see my relatives in this town again unless I was dead. Hence the code ICD: In Case of Death. The only exception to my rule of never coming back here is that Ingram Brothers’ Funeral Home handle my arrangements since they buried all our relatives.
    â€œToni, do you hate us that much?”
    â€œHate is a strong word.”
    â€œI know your life hasn’t been conventional, but we thought—” She places her hand on my shoulder.
    â€œYou thought?! Do you know what my life has been like all these years?”
    I yank my shoulder from her grasp. Whiplash follows me to the closet and I open it, searching for a clean outfit. Damnit, I’m not at home.
    â€œYou need to rest a while, Toni. Things have spiraled out of control. Recuperate with us.”
    I spin around. “Recuperate? You separate me from my mother, she puts Willa and me on blast, and now I’m supposed to act like nothing happened?”
    â€œOur doors have always been open. You decided