T͟o͟r͟t͟u͟r͟e͟

+ 8

After my whole incident at the cemetery, I decided I needed to have a little visit with my father.

I walked up his long driveway...to the house that was supposed to be my home but never felt like it.

"Hey, Nyia. Need any help relaxing?" a brown girl with a heavy ass smiled at me under thick lashes, greeting me at his grand door.

"I'm fine. Ms. Kelley to you," I corrected her.

"Daddy Kelley, actually," she winked.

I went through the house, focused on reaching my father's office.

"Nyia?"

I stopped quick, searching for my mother's voice.

A bunch of girls erupted into giggles at the top of the double grand staircase, in skimpy outfits. The girl in the middle with blonde braids mimicked my mother again.

I glared, trying to keep my composure as I made my way to my father.

I threw his office door open, interrupting one of his "massage sessions". The white chick all on my father's back with oil on her hands scoffed at my entrance but kept working, taking in my attire and I suppose taking me as someone who wasn't her competition.

"I need to talk to you," I told him sharply.

"And you're talking. What's it gonna be?" my father shrugged on top of his desk, all his papers and random knick knacks on the carpet around it.

"Someone attacked me today at Jovan's grave."

"What were you doing out there anyways, kid?" he shrugged, "You- You should've brought somebody to watch ya," he rolled his eyes.

"I think somebody's coming for blood," I told him angrily, pointing my finger at him, "Kelley blood."

"Somebody's probably mad at you. Too many girls? Somebody jealous? I heard you killed that Mira chick. Always bitching about deals," my father grumbled.

"Speaking of bitching, where's my mother?"

"I don't know. Probably with a client," he grunted.

"I want her to come live with Cielo and me."

"Speaking of Cielo," my father started to sit up, "We need to talk about preparing her to be a heir."

"Everyone seems to be doubting her except me," I said defensively.

"I don't doubt the girl. Any Kelley I'd a cutthroat. No matter what. We'll just have to prove them wrong. We need to stay at the top of the food chain in Camphor. Not second, not third. Anything but first is last in my eyes. Our family cannot falter. We have too many foes- people in debt to us who would gladly turn their backs on us if we were to fall."

"I know," I said strongly, "I just want her to experience life outside of Camphor-

"You're not leaving the city, if that's what you're asking," he chuckled, shaking his head.

"I'm not. I'm just asking that she not be exposed to this."

"If you want her to live a normal life, have another kid, and let her be the next Jovan." I cringed at his choice of words and he sighed. "Let her be the child who doesn't have to be in this lifestyle. Let her be the one who chooses."

"Why do I have to pick?" I asked quietly, "It was always hell growing up seeing Jovan go about things freely when I had to learn how to load a gun as a pre-teen."

"Because being a Kelley runs in our blood, and we've been the head niggas of Camphor since the 20s. That's why. You can't turn your back on something as monumental as that. We have wealth, we have power, we have fear," my father told me, "Cielo may not be blood, but she's still as Kelley as they come. I pray she never fails this family."