Finding Us (Christian Interracial Romance)

Unexpected Escapes & Familiar Faces

Jeremy

"Mom! Dad!" I call as I enter the house and shut the door, walking to the kitchen and I place a gift I have bought for my parents from Target, on the counter. "I'm home and I have a special gift for you both," I announce. 

No response. 

My brow furrows when I pay attention to the muffling music playing from upstairs, perceiving Barry White's "Never, Never Gonna Give Ya Up" before the sound of the headboard banging against the wall in my parents' bedroom in addition to a familiar female voice letting out an loud ecstatic moan. 

I pause on my feet while my jaw drops to the floor and my eyes widening as I hear my mom and dad doing the hanky panky in their early to mid 60's. And that's when a light bulb flickers above my head—whenever they celebrate the anniversary of their marriage, Mom and Dad would have our grandparents or Mariam and Luis watch us when we were kids until we got older and would tell my siblings and I to stay at our friend's house as they do not want to be disturbed on their anniversary. They also don't want us, their friends, or their bosses/co-workers to call them. 

I look up at a note attached to the window of the door. I lift the note and read, 'Do not disturb.' 

"Of course," I mutter. I completely forgot about that until  I stepped in. I walk upstairs to my room to pack a few clothes, toothbrush,  my phone and its charger, and body wash in my duffel bag.

"Ohh... Yes, Justin, right there. Keep going," Mom moans.

Oh, yeah. I'm most definitely out of here, I think to myself, grabbing my keys from my bed and depart from my room. I walk downstairs gingerly and once I'm right by the door, I open it and shut the door silently, locking the door, in addition to getting in my car. 

I turn the radio on Power 106 and let the familiar hum of static settle before the station tunes in properly. A deep, bass-heavy beat throbs through the speakers, and a sultry voice rides the rhythm like a slow, hypnotic wave.

"I got that moonlight magic, baby,
Draw you in, make you crave me,
Lips like fire, hands like sin,
You already lost before we begin..."

I blink.

The voice is seductive, smooth as honey but laced with something unsettling. The way the beat pulses—it feels like it's pulling me into a trance. My fingers tighten around the steering wheel as I listen, something in my chest stirring uncomfortably.

I glance at the dashboard screen. "Helvectia - 'Moonlight Magic.'"

Never heard of her.

The song continues and my stomach twists when I catch more of the lyrics. There's something eerie about the way she chants in the background, layered vocals whispering words I can't quite make out. The air in the car feels heavier, charged, like something unseen is creeping into the space with me.

Nah.

I reach for the dial and twist it, changing the station.

The smooth, soulful sound of a gospel choir floods the car, breaking whatever strange spell that last song was trying to weave around me.

"This world can't shake me, no no,
My faith is strong, I'm standing tall..."

I exhale, shoulders loosening. That's better.

My journey to Cecilia's apartment is quiet after that, aside from the occasional hum of my tires against the road. My thoughts drift as I drive, lingering on why I'm even doing this—why I left home in such a hurry, why I'm crashing at her place tonight.