Uriel's 'safehouse' was a mansion in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.... this shyt was nice as fuck and I was lowkey heated that they picked such a nice place to house our 'guest', but that couldn't be helped and I wanted Henri to be comfortable as possible when we talked. We pulled up after driving damn near seven hours wasn't ideal because we would really be pressed for time to get back for Thanksgiving dinner; but like I said this couldn't wait; we walked inside and I was hoping to get this done with pretty quickly because I already knew we were going to get an earful from Mama Rita and Granny about us being late, not to mention the looks we were going to be getting from Ramses. But this location was perfect to hold someone, the chances of him escaping were low because it was so isolated and then there were the elements and nature working against them... this place was a natural fortress and then the added security made it impossible for Henri to leave without us knowing. I walked around looking for Henri wondering what he was doing only to find him sitting in a jacuzzi with a blunt hanging from his mouth while porno played on the flatscreen hanging above the fireplace.
"Henri.... my name is Manolo, I'm a friend of Uriel and Peyton. I'm sorry for how they brought you here and if it was up to me you would've been left out of this situation entirely." I said holding his curious gaze. "Our issues with your brother are exactly that, our issues with HIM.... in my eyes you are innocent and should've never been brought into this.
"It was bound to happen." He said shrugging. "I know what my brother is and I know what he does.... he's bound to have made some enemies along the way, so I can't say that I'm too surprised. Though I can't really complain, this house is nice as fuck....." He said looking around the bathroom. "And it's definitely better than the last place they kept me."
"How long have you been with Peyton and Uriel?" I asked wondering just how pissed I should be at those two idiots.
"A few days...nothing too crazy, but even that was better than my previous situation so again, I can't really complain. I've only been here a few hours and I really don't wanna leave..... now all I need is a bad bitch to keep me company and I'd be good.... maybe some Skittles." He said relaxing back into the water. An idea was starting to form in my brain, a crazy idea but I wanted to talk to him a little bit longer.
"You don't seem like you're a fan of your brother...." I said looking at him again he shrugged, I swear that must be his default reaction to everything. "In my profession, you learn to read people and while you seem relaxed, I can't help but notice the hatred in your eyes whenever Herbert aka Papa Tunde is brought up." I said, his eyes quickly flashed with anger before he settled down.
"I really don't see that nigga as my brother... he's my abuser, who do you think his first and favorite victim was? I managed to get away and living on the street was better than being under his tyrannical rule.... yeah he looked for me but I had many hiding places and I was able to avoid him for a while that is until your 'friends' caught me slippin." He said and I was good at detecting lies and so far I didn't hear any. "I guess I should be appreciative... this is the first real bath I've had in about five months.... usually I'm hitting up public bathrooms or one of my boy's houses for a quick shower but this is the first time I've actually felt safe...." He said calmly.
"Damn.... when was the last time you had a homecooked meal?" I asked and he seemed to be counting backwards before finally deciding that he couldn't remember. "Well it's Thanksgiving and it just wouldn't sit right with me if....."
"Damn is it?" He asked and I was really starting to feel for this kid, I couldn't imagine living on the streets for so long that you lose track of the days.
"Yeah... and it wouldn't sit right with me if you were in this big ass house by yourself, so it's completely up to you but we're having a big ass dinner at our house and you're more than welcome to join us... IF you want, I'm not going to force you to do anything." I said looking at him. "I'll give you some time to think about it." I said walking out of the bathroom and back downstairs where Damon, Peyton, and Uriel were all waiting.
