Astray (See No Evil Book Two)

Chapter Thirteen

I woke up, startled. I opened my eyes and saw it was only Martha waking me up. I noticed I was still in Jaivon's room, but he was nowhere in sight.

"Mr. Anderson has asked that you join him in the dining area".

She gave me a smug smile and I'm sure if I wasn't brown skinned, she could see my blush from embarrassment. The whole house probably heard everything last night.

I went in my room and grabbed my ankle length silk robe to put on and cover my nakedness. I slept in only a shirt, because that's what Jaivon left on me. I noticed the scratches and hickies on my neck when I looked in the mirror. They looked like bruises, that's how much force he put into everything. I grabbed my foundation powder and covered up as much as I could. I felt like a physical image of Jaivon always needing to be in control. I let my fear get the best of me again. Who knows to what extent he'll go to next.

I walked into the dining room and sat to the right of Jaivon. Kane was across from me, but he never looked up to acknowledge my presence. The chef put a plate down in front of me, covered in my favorite; grits, eggs, and sausage links. Jaivon must've told him to make it for me as some sort of apology. Just like last time, but with the incident with my birthday, I woke up to boxes of jewelry in my walk-in closet. I took a banana out of the fruit basket and cleared my throat.

"Where is Essence?", I asked.

"She decided to skip out of breakfast".

My heart began to speed up. It was just the way he said it, that had me nervous all over again. Wondering what the hell he did to her.

"Kane, I have some business to tend to down in Florida. I know you came here to see your old man, but duty calls. I'll be back as soon as I can".

"It's no problem Pop, really".

"Hey, maybe you can get to know Simone. I believe you two are the same age".

Kane finally looked up at me, but instead of the confusion I saw before, it was pure disgust.

"Sir, the car is ready", Paul said, standing in the doorway.

"Good". Jaivon dabbed at the corners of his mouth with a napkin then stood up from the table. He patted Kane on the shoulder then came over and kissed my cheek.

"You be good too, okay?"

I nodded, moving my face away from him. He squeezed my shoulder then walked out of the dining room, following Paul to the car. I looked up at Kane and noticed he was looking at me too. Staring at me actually in a predator like way. His nose flared, and his gaze left me and went back to his food.

"So, you and I are the same age?", he asked.

"I just turned twenty-one".

"So, you must be with him for his money".

"Excuse me?"

He put his fork down and sat back in the chair he was sitting in.

"Young girl, rich man. This isn't the first time a story like this has come to surface".

"You don't know shit about me! Okay?"

"So, tell me I'm wrong. Working the poles wasn't enough for you huh? Had to go find you an older muh'fucka, batted those eyelashes and threw some ass for some cash".

I angrily got up from the table and walked out of the dining room. What I'm not going to do is sit there and let somebody judge me for some shit they don't know about.

"Where you going?", he asked from behind me.

I rolled my eyes. "Are you sure we are the same age? 'Cause you're acting like a child".

"Face me and tell me what the fuck you're doing with my father!"

I turned to him, rage spreading all over my body. "Surviving! That's what the fuck I'm doing!"

We both looked at each other, chest heaving. He folded his arms across his chest and stared, as if to prompt me to keep talking.

I shook my head. "You wouldn't even understand".

"Try me".

"When ... when you grow up in a foster home, because your own mother made a selfish decision and that decision killed your father ... surviving is the only thing you'll know. You'll accept anything, as long as you have a roof over your head and food to eat. You'll accept verbal abuse, people using you, doing shit you never thought you'd be doing ... rape".

I had noticed I was crying until a tear drop fell onto my still heaving chest. I whipped my face and held my head high.

"So, don't you dare sit there and judge me. You don't know what I've been through".

"I'm sorry you've gone through so much for such a dumb ass reason. You didn't have to put up with shit. You could have easily walked out just as quick as you walked in".

"You think it's that easy huh? Maybe you don't know your father like you think you know him".

"Oh, I know him. Better than the bastard knows himself. And with knowing him, I know that no roof or food or anything like that would make me put up with his bull shit".

"It's more than that".

"Do tell".

I started pacing back and forth. I don't even know why the hell I'm explaining myself to this nigga. I don't owe him shit. Yet here I am, about to open my big mouth.

"I came here to find out where I come from. My aunt decided to have me work the poles as a payment for me staying with her. Your father would come see me perform every night, for three years straight. One day he decided he wanted to get me off the poles and introduce me to a better life".

"And you believed him?"

"Anything was better than living in the whore house my aunt was running. The hoes stole my money, my clothes, everything but the name my mother gave me".

"Still-"

"There's no still. He found my best friend from the foster home I was in and brought her down here as a way for me to believe I can trust him. I couldn't send her back to the city, knowing she had nowhere to go. And the only way she could live this lavish life and be safe, is if I said yes to Jaivon. He asked me to move dope, I said yes to help her. He opened up that club you dropped me off at, I said yes to working there to help her. Everything has been for her. She's like a little sister to me".

"That sounds all touching and what not, but I'm still not convinced. If you look at her as family, why put her in situations like this. Why put her around this?"

"I told you-"

"Are you really here to help her? Or are you really too scared to leave? Fearing isn't helping her, it's crippling her".

I opened my mouth to say more but he held his hand up to stop me.

"You don't need to explain this to me. I know how this story goes".

"How? What female you know that has went through half of what I did?"

"My mother".

He looked me up and down then walked passed me to the steps.

"I honestly thought you were more than what you are", he said, then continued up the steps. Why do I feel like I just got judged by the Lord himself?