Assassin

memory lane - khai

*8 years ago

I walked through the mall with no real destination in mind and Dominique on my heels. I had so much to look forward to, graduating early, getting accepted into NYU, leaving my situation at home and starting brand new. For the first time in years I was seeing that light at the end of the tunnel everyone always said would come.

"I'm hungry Khai. Let's go to the food court." Domo tugged at the plain white tee that covered my upper body.

"Bitch you just ate like 30 minutes ago before we came. What the hell?" I huffed and twirled on my heels bumping into the back of someone before I could walk off. "My bad." I mumble. The guy was tall with a lean build. Tight coils sprouted from his head from underneath his SnapBack and he had pearly whites that glistened under the soft pink shade of his full lips.

"No problem shorty, just watch where ya goin'." He gripped my arm gently and offered a smile that made me feel like I could live in that moment forever. As I was about to walk off down the corridor, he grabbed my hand. "I don't wanna sound like no creep or nothin' but can I getcha numba' call you sometime or something?"

I looked at Dominique, her face egging me on and then back to the guy standing there smiling at me. "Yeah, I guess." He pulled out his phone and had me add my contact info in it. "Nice meeting you...." My voice trailed as I cued him to offer a name.

"Travis. I'll text you later," he looked at his phone screen for my name, "Khai."

—

"No, I promise I can have the essay in before the 4th." I begged and pleaded with the admissions office about my entrance essay that was actually due last week. I'd been dating Travis for a little over 3 months now. Everything was gravy so far but I was skipping school wise. "Okay so you should see it in your email by Saturday. I'm so sorry for the inconvenience." I had to get on it, I just promised them it'd be in Saturday and it is currently Thursday.

"Baby!" I rolled my eye and turned my computer chair around to face my door. "There she is. Aye look, I got us tickets to this Knicks game tonight, courtside."

"Babe, I can't. I need to write this essay like yesterday for this school before they take back their acceptance letter. You know NYU is like my end-all and be-all. Some other time."

"Ain't no other time! I just dropped all this money on these tickets for us! You goin' whether you want to or not." Travis snatched me from the computer and slammed me into a wall. "So find something cute to wear, put that shit on, and bring yo ass when you ready."

*4 years ago

The bright fluorescent lights temporarily blinded me while I lay in the Planned Parenthood clinic. Dominique sat with me while I cried my eyes out. Getting rid of a baby was the last thing I would have ever thought I'd get myself into but I was doing a lot of shit that wasn't me and I was disappointed in myself.

"Khai, you gotta leave this man, really you do." Domo pulled my head into her chest, rubbing my back as I left wet spots across her shirt. "You can't keep doing this."

I listened to Domo carefully as she tried consoling me. She was absolutely right, but I was scared. Travis was abusive and he wasn't the type of person you ever wanted to cross.

*2 years ago

"Travis stop!" I plead as he continued to throw my things out of the apartment. I hurriedly grabbed up things he tossed and carried them under my arm. I'd been working my ass off trying to pay my way through the local community college.

"Nah, go stay with that nigga that was smiling all in your face earlier." Travis beamed a pair of shoes at my leg, the heel scraping my thigh and drawing blood. He continued to throw things from the second level of the floor.

"Who? That was a guy from my class he was asking about homework!" I winced and wiped the blood from my thigh. It was too damn cold to be doing this right now. "Trav, please chill out!"

Defying my wishes he continued throwing my things out until everything I owned was laying randomly across the sidewalk and grass by our building. Defeated, I called Dominique and had her come help me get all my gongs and take me back to her place.

*8 months ago

"Khai, LEAVE HIM!" Dominique looked at my bruised and battered face. For the umpteenth time in 8 years I was crying into Domo's arms crying about how I couldn't take being with him anymore. "Seriously, I love you like a sister Khai and I can't take seeing you like this again. He's gonna kill you one of these days if you don't leave. I don't care if you press charges or not but please leave him?"

"I know Domo, I'm just scared." Blood trickled slowly from my nose and my body shivered in the cold December air. "You know Travis got people in higher places. What if something worse than this happens?"

Dominique looked at me with a pitiful glance. I never felt so miserable, seeing the only person that believed in me through everything look she was starting to lose faith in me. "Khai, it won't matter if you're dead."