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Imani shook her leg nervously as she sat next to Simone, eating her bowl of Cheerios. Her lower half was still sore from the day prior. She kept her head down, eating quietly. It was only a few more hours until she had to work, but still that was way too long for the seventeen-year-old.
“Finish up, you two, or you’re gonna be late for school,” Otis spoke to his biological daughters.
“I’ll take ‘em,” Simone offered, picking up her empty bowl. “Or Imani can take ‘em. You can go to work and they’ll just get dropped off on the way.”
Imani looked up from her bowl, going over to the sink with Simone.
“Oh, she think she running our house now,” Otis commented, chuckling. That sound alone made Imani’s hairs stand on end. She absolutely hated hearing his voice. Even someone else mentioning his name made her skin crawl. “I guess that’s what happens when you think you white.” Even the daughters giggled at what Otis said. “But you ain’t white, Simone. You or Imani ain’t no better than anybody else in this house.”
“I never said I was,” “We never said we were,” the two retorted.
“Come on, kids, it’s time for school,” their foster mother, Miss Ruth, announced to the younger daughters.
“Miss Ruth, can you drop us off?” Simone asked, gently holding Imani’s hand.
“Sure, come on,” Miss Ruth agreed. Imani did not hesitate to grab her stuff.
“Oh, they ain’t gotta leave till later,” Otis intervened. “I’ll take ‘em.”
“No, I--I think I’d rather leave now,” Imani stammered.
“It’s no problem,” Otis insisted. “You go ahead, Ruth.”
Miss Ruth said nothing as she pulled her purse onto her shoulder. She took one last glance at the two girls left in the house before leaving. So close.
★
⚠ Sexual assault & murder
Imani sat with tears in her eyes as her lower half throbbed with pain. She wasn’t going to give that monster the satisfaction of seeing her cry. She knew that would only make it worse.
She sat on the floor in front of the bed, rocking back and forth, covering her ears as Simone got her turn. She hated seeing the young teen go through something like that. There was nothing she could do. She couldn’t move, fear and pain had her locked in place.
