After being removed from an abusive household in East St. Louis, Illinois, Cheyenne Johnson starts a new life in Minnesota while being under the care of Minnesota's well-known artist.
My immediate response was to hug her back as a show of acceptance. I wished I'd tell Cheyenne the other reason why I adopted her, but it's too soon. The right time will come when I tell her. Right now, as I lay in bed, looking at the ceiling, repeating her words in my head, all I feel is overjoyed.
"She's fast asleep," Toni said as she returned to our bedroom after checking on Cheyenne.
For a little while, our room was deafeningly quiet until she asked, "Do you think I'll make a good mother?"
"What makes you ask that?"
"It's just that... I don't want to over step my boundaries and replace her mother."
"You're not taking Gia's place, Toni. Cheyenne just asked because she knows how much we love her. Although Gia isn't here, she will always be watching over Cheyenne."
"You really think Cheyenne wants me to be her mother?"
"When you embraced her with your affection, she already considered you her mother."
Cheyenne's POV
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I was awakened by the flashing of lightning as the storm slowly passed in front of the window as I lay in bed. Not only did the storm wake me up, but it also woke my puppy, Cleo, who's now crying in her bed next to my desk. With Cleo in my arms, I turned up the radio and sat up in bed, waiting for the storm to pass. A familiar song playing on the radio as I sit here reminds me of the night before my 14th birthday, when me and...him were spending time together.
Sept. 16, 1999
Breaking the silence, I timidly said, "I had a great time tonight." I thanked him for a wonderful night at the movies.
"I'm glad you took the initiative." He replied, smiling.
I began to blush uncontrollably averting my gaze from him out of bashfulness.
"There's something else I wanted to give you," he said when he got up and walked toward me.
Before I could ask what it was, he pulled me closer and kissed me. But this time, it wasn't exactly the same as the first time.
Sept. 18, 2000
"How would you describe your siblings?" Mrs. Reese inquired.
"Darryl is the kind of brother that's protective of his younger siblings, just like any older brother."
"What about Tommy and Chasity?"
"I don't want to call them my brother or sister." I told it like it was. "Every time one of them gets in trouble for something, they take it out on me like I'm a punching bag. All they've done is blame me for ruining their lives."
"When did they started abusing you?"
"Tommy began hitting me a few weeks after I turned 13, when he got in trouble for stealing my guitar in exchange for marijuana or pot. Chasity struck me when I was eight years old, for no apparent reason."
"What made them claim that you ruined their lives?"
"They blamed me for our Dad's overdose and everything else they got in trouble for."
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Prince's POV
"When Cheyenne described how her two older siblings began abusing her, she recalled Tommy's drug use and getting a girl pregnant, and Chasity having sex with a man twice her age." Dr. Reese informed me and Toni what Cheyenne said during their session.
"Darryl did indeed tell me about his two siblings and what they do and how they treat their younger sister. When Cheyenne told him what they'd done to her, he felt terrible for not finding out sooner. He had to kicked both Tommy and Chasity out of his place to keep them away from her.
"Did any other family members noticed Cheyenne was being abused?"
"None of them knew about it after Cheyenne was rushed to the hospital from the assault."
As I recall her laying in the hospital bed, I fight back tears.I couldn't look at her like that without tearing down. Toni clasped my hand in hers in comfort as I continued to tell the therapist about what the doctor had informed us about Cheyenne.
"She is fortunate to be alive, according to the doctor, because the injuries she sustained during the assault could have killed her. Her siblings nearly gave her a concussion after violently slamming her against the wall."
"Cheyenne also revealed the name of the man with Chasity. Have you heard Darryl mention the man's name?"
"He has, indeed. Darryl informed me that the man's name is Calvin. They didn't learn about Calvin until Chasity brought him over when she and Tommy arrived late for Cheyenne's 13th birthday party and informed them that he was her boyfriend. They also learned from Nia, Gia's friend, that Calvin was married with two children. He would have been arrested on the spot if he hadn't been told to stay away from Chasity because he was not only older than Darryl, but Chasity was 15."
"Has Cheyenne ever talked about Calvin to either of you?" Dr. Reese asked.
"Why? Has he hurt her?" I asked worriedly.
"Cheyenne did not specify whether Calvin had mistreated her, but she has expressed how uneasy she feels after seeing him with her sister, and she has also informed me that she had observed them...having sex."
All I could do was shake my head in disgust at Cheyenne having to watch a repulsive act of an older man having sex with her sister.
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11:55 p.m.
Antonella's POV
"Baby, come to bed." I said, massaging my boyfriends shoulders.
"I'll be right up in a few minutes." Prince replied as he continued to type on the computer.
He was looking up personal records when I happened to glance at what he was doing on the computer. I was going to inquire about the person he was searching up when a picture of a man popped up on the screen. It also disclosed information ranging from his date of birth to other data such as his home state and rap sheet. The man is revealed to be Calvin Thomas.
"It's him isn't?" I asked.
Yes, that's him. He responded while angrily glaring at the computer.
