Just Listen

Chapter 47

KP's POV

I watched as Daddy helped aunt Amandla pack up all the boxes in the attic; smiling to myself, I went to my room. Momentarily as I closed the door, Vinyl called.

"Kami," he greeted.

"Vinyl, hi."

"I wanted to check up on you and know what's going on you've been distant this past week. Everything okay?"

I sighed, staring at the ceiling, "No, Vinyl. Everything is just a mess. My mother and I are not on good terms."

"What about with Angelo, your ray of sunlight?" I could sense him grinning, and it pinched at my heart. I hadn't told Vinyl about the fallout I had with Angelo during the past week. Besides, I had important matters to deal with it. Vinyl was the mediator in setting Angelo and me back together. I felt it would hurt him if I had told him about the recent events, but whom was I kidding?

You know you deserve better, Kami. You can't keep chasing someone whose shown you twice he doesn't care or want you.

"Kamilah?" Vinyl called out.

"Yes, I'm still here. Angelo and I aren't talking," I braced myself.

"What's going on?" I heard the urgency in his tone.

I began to narrate what happened, explaining how Angelo made me feel alone, how I felt when he did not answer my calls. We were drifting apart and did not want to stay in a relationship where my mental health was at stake, and I second-guessed myself. I loved Angelo, and I still did, but at that rate; it felt better to love him at a distance. I promised myself that I would never stop loving him, but I was better off alone.

Vinyl sighed, "I am sorry that you didn't have your happily ever after with him. I know how much he means to you, but the way he treated you; cannot be validated..."

Vinyl went on and on, and I zoned him out. Angelo, I loved him with all that I had, yet he wasn't good for me, and it took me such a long time to realize it. They said that love was not supposed to hurt, but it did. It hurt so bad it suffocated me, day in and day out. I believed love was supposed to be that way. By sunset, he would blow a kiss on those wounds. Put a band-aid on it. Slowly, it began to be insufficient. I constantly sought out his validation; attention. Why? I believed that it should have come as a default. Angelo did not have the quality, the fact that I loved him to death compensated for that. It drove me crazy when he gave me a dose of what I needed. Itsy-bitsy pieces of his attention. Funny how when you're in too deep, you can't find a way out.

Sad to say, I had been breaking my own heart by allowing him to walk all over me in the name of love and the hopes he would change. I learned a bit too late that a guy changes for the girl he wants. In a way, Angelo's avoidant attachment style reminded me of Uncanny. It pained me to realize how alike they both made me feel.

"KAMILAH PAISLEY MAEVE!" Vinyl yelled.

I groaned, hearing the ringing in my ear. "What?"

Vinyl sighed, "I'll call you again when you're all better and not zoning me out. Stay peachy," he blew a kiss over the phone and hung up. I gathered my thoughts and decided to help dad and my aunt in the attic.

Slowly ascending the steps to the attic, aunt Amandla spotted me, "Hey, kiddo!" she chirped. "Do you want to help us sort these boxes?" I nodded and joined in. I scanned around the dusty room filled with old trinkets.

A particular box caught my attention; it was further back and was written a name on it. I walked closer to it, "Bonnie's," I whispered.

Curiosity got the best of me like a thief; I slowly opened the old box. The first thing that caught my attention was a photo album. I paged through it, seeing the Valley family and their children. Uncanny, Nana and Amandla. They looked so happy and content growing up. Pictures of Uncanny and her sisters as teenagers now popped, some of which Nana was no longer a part of- I could see the grief in their eyes even though they had plastered smiles on their faces. The happy moments included Uncanny with Marley and Tremayne, even my father. On the last page of the photo album, a picture fell out as I was about to put it back into the box.

I sat cross-legged on the floor and studied the image. It was old and dusty. I used my hands to wipe out the smudges that covered the face of the person in the picture. Slowly, I began to notice a male figure. Bit by bit, the image became clearer the teenage boy had raven hair and a straight face. He wasn't smiling, yet he still looked attractive. Drop-dead gorgeous. I could not make out who he was, and he certainly was not my father. I turned the picture around and saw a handwritten message.

'Sei Mio per sempre-J'

"What is the purpose of the face you're making, princess?" Daddy asked, crouching in front of me.

I slowly gave him the picture, "This, I don't understand what's written behind it."

Daddy took the picture in his hands in seconds; his lips narrowed, his jaw clenched with a hostile glare. I felt his energy turn deadly and threatening. His hands began trembling to notify me that daddy was beyond furious. Without saying a word, he snapped his head towards the box, rummaging through it. Something glimmered in his eyes as he took it out. It was a plaque. I did not even get a glimpse of it as soon as he saw it; daddy rushed out of the attic at lightning speed, startling aunt Amandla on his way down.

"What's wrong with him?" she inquired, stopping what she had been doing.

I got off the floor and took the picture to her. Daddy left it behind and took the plaque instead. "He got angry when he read that. What does it say, what language is it?"

Aunt Amandla's eyes went wide, "The writing is in Italian, it says 'you are mine forever from J.' Did you find this in the box written Bonnie?"

I nodded, confused.

"Oh, my sister!" she cried out, kneeling to the floor. I stared at her in confusion due to her actions. Momentarily, we heard shouting and yelling from below us. We gave each other a knowing look- I helped her get up, we rushed downstairs to see what caused the commotion.

By the time we reached downstairs, Uncanny was sobbing on the floor. I saw a glimpse of my father walking out. I panicked and ran after him. Fate let me down; I saw him getting in a car and driving off. "DADDY!" I shouted, tear-stained. Sniffling, I went back inside the house, Uncanny still sobbing on the floor. "Why did he leave?" I whispered. She looked up at me and turned away. Like in quicksand, I felt myself sinking in. Somehow I knew but hoped it wasn't true. I roughly wiped my face, "WHY AREN'T YOU TALKING, DAMMIT!?" I pulled on the strands of my hair in frustration.

Suddenly, I had the idea to follow him. I rushed to the kitchen counter and took some keys I found on the key hanger. Running out, I searched for the car and found it outside the compound, by the gate. I got in and started the car. Without warning, Uncanny got in the backseat like some possessed being. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" she shouted. At that point, I could care less. The car revved coming to life, and I began driving. Common sense returned to me when I saw the traffic. "Kamilah, STOP!" Uncanny panicked.

"TELL ME WHY HE LEFT!"

Uncanny's sobs got louder, "He's not your father," she choked as she raked her hair back.

I took my eyes off the road and stared at her in disbelief, the world fading behind me. I could hear my breathing in my ears, tears still freefalling. Looking at her directly in her eyes, they suddenly went wide as I saw her lips miming my name. I slowly turned around, only to be met by headlights.