Chloe: A girl whose heart was broken and whose faith decreased once her boyfriend started abusing her, leaving her with the question 'What did I do to deserve this?'
Kareem: A boy with an abusive childhood taking it out on Chloe leaving him with the...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"KAREEM, I WAS WORRIED SICK WHEN YOU DIDN'T ANSWER my calls," Mami says as I enter the house, carry-on bag on my shoulder. Because of the 3-day suspension, I was forced into going back home which was what I had been trying to avoid, knowing that Mami would continue to pester me about Dad.
I ignore her and throw my bag onto the gray couch before heading upstairs. I wasn't in any mood to talk to anyone, the only thing that I had planned was to just sleep if I could. Unfortunately, Mami seemed to have different plans for me.
"I visited your father yesterday. One of his guards is helping him find a job so when he's released he can have work."
My blood boils at the thought of him as I continue to walk up the stairs. Did Mami ever seem to take a hint? I don't give a damn about that man.
"Kareem, ven aquí ahora mismo. ¡Estoy hablando contigo!" Mami shouts and I find myself turning to face her. Even though I was still mad at her, I knew better than to turn away from Mami when she started to speak in Spanish.
"Your father is being released Kareem in 2 months from now."
"He is not my father," I growl back, my hands forming into fists even in my pockets.
"Whether you like it or not he is. Kareem, he misses you."
"If he missed me then he shouldn't have gone to jail. He should've actually been a good father!"
"Kareem Jesús Williamson do not raise your voice at me," Mami warns me, already reaching for the chancla that she was wearing. "I know you have had a hard relationship with your father but he's changed and if you ever came to visit you would see that."
"Mami, I don't want to see that man ever again. Have you forgotten what he did to you, to us, and to me!"
"You need to forgive him, Kareem! You can't keep on walking around with this hatred."
"You know what this was the reason I didn't even want to come here in the first place! You keep on bothering me to see the man even though I don't want to!"
"Kareem-"
Ignoring what she is going to say, I head down the stairs and grab my bag off the couch, removing my keys which were placed in my pocket, and heading outside with Mami chasing me. I continued to walk much faster though due to my height.
"Kareem!" She continued to scream as she ran down the steps that led into the house.
I enter my car and throw the bag onto the seat, putting the key in the ignition. Looking through the windshield, I see her face anger and worry etched into it as I start reversing out of the driveway, the engine's noise drowning at Mami's.
Did she really forget what he did to you? To her? How could you forgive a man like him?
Guilt rises up a little in my chest as I begin to leave the neighborhood, my mind still remembering Mami's disappointed face.
