2. H O L Y W A R : Target

CHAPTER X

Cameron flipped through a file on her desk before glancing up at the girl who sat in front of her.

Kia Sosoto pressed her lips together, lifting her shoulders slightly.

Surprisingly enough, Camilla sat next to her, chomping on a wad of gum, having declared that her presence was for "moral support".

Cameron cleared her throat, straightening up. "Okay, so... you're here for... what, exactly?"

Kia let out a long sigh. "Rehabilitation from frequent abuse of prescription medication," she said slowly, clipping the words.

"Ooh, vocab flex," Camilla remarked distractedly, tapping her phone.

"...Right." Cameron chuckled nervously and replied, "Um... I'm not sure I'm the right person for... drug rehab."

Kia looked down, rubbing her arm. "It... it's not just drugs," she mumbled.

"Oh?"

"She got molested when she was a kid," Camilla said casually, still messing around on her phone.

"Oh, yeah! Just be real subtle about it, why don'tchya?" Kia snapped at her.

Camilla laughed at something on her phone, ignoring Kia's remark.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Kia," Cameron told the girl, shooting Camilla a disapproving look (which she obviously didn't see). "Do you want to tell me about it?"

"Do I want to? H---, no," Kia responded, crossing her arms. "But I'm gonna. I mean, that's the first step to recovery, right?"

"Absolutely," Cameron confirmed, nodding. "So let's get started."

Cameron leaned back and listened as Kia explained how she'd been sexually abused by a deacon at her old church back in Chicago—a twisted trade executed by her parents, of all people, for positions in the church's leadership.

"I turned to the pills for comfort," Kia went on. "They weren't enough, tho'. Still aren't. That's why I went to Nairobi—to get away from home, to get away from... everything that was going on in my life."

"But the pills went with you, didn't they?" Cameron guessed.

Kia sighed loudly. "Yeah."

Cameron pursed her lips and tapped her desk with a pen. "And this is the first time you've sought out help? To get off the stuff?"

"Yeah," Kia said again.

"Why's that?"

"Well... I dunno." Kia shrugged. "D'kala said he thought you could help. And when I thought about how much I depended on those pills, I realized it's about high time I stopped being a slave to 'em." She set her jaw, leaning back in her chair. "I've been a slave ever since that day. To my parents, to my fear, to the pills. Now I'm done with it."

Cameron nodded slowly, considering this. Then she set down her pen and asked, "Have you thrown them out yet?"

Kia hesitated. "Well... no. Not yet. But I—"

Cameron gave the desk a solid thump with her hand, cutting off Kia and standing up. "Alright, then—let's go."

Kia blinked as Camilla stood up with her eyes still on her phone. "Go? Go where?"

"To your apartment," Cameron answered, putting on her coat. "We're gonna have a... a ceremony of sorts."

"Ceremony?" Kia asked as she followed Cameron out of the office with Camilla in tow. "What're you talkin' about?"