Hired To Love

Chapter One

Keon Wyatt


I probably sound fucked up saying this because of my condition but, there seriously ain't nothing like some peace and quiet.

I enjoy the silence when I turn my hearing aids off. Especially when I'm eating. And when I say I enjoy the silence, I mean that I enjoy not hearing the muffled sound of my father, former wannabe-Presidential nominee, former Georgia senator and current ass-kissing-his-wife-so-she-won't-get-divorce-because-of-his-indiscretions Alphonse Wyatt. For years, ever since the tender age of three, I have been deaf yet this man had never learned sign language. Meningitis was a bitch and so was the mother of the kid in daycare who passed it on to me because she didn't vaccinate the bastard. My father refuses to communicate with me so I refuse to communicate with him. The purpose of him buying me these high tech hearing aids was so that I could hear his ain't shit ass talk about stuff that...ain't shit. He assumes I'm listening but this nigga really just don't know.

For the sake of my mother who has her light brown manicured fingers dug deep into his balls, and rightfully so, when she's around when my dad is around me I keep the shits turned on. Aside from that, I keep them on when I'm out in public or around people who don't know sign language. Both of my friends learned sign language from a class and my brother Kyle who became an ASL tutor back in high school and college. He learned ASL immediately after it was learned that I was going deaf. He and my mom ended up teaching me.

Alphonse didn't care for those lessons.

"You hear me?"

Really though? Thank God for my ability to read lips good as hell. Even though he was probably saying that to be sure that these shits were turned on, something told me he was also being a dick as always.

I rolled my eyes and went back to the meal in front of me. He and I were at this restaurant, Orello's eating dinner. Mom was at her office working on her campaign for Congress and Kyle was working tonight. Him and I are close and he knows how I feel about our father so he tries to come around as much as he can. Either he's working, with his girlfriend who I wish he'd propose to already or he's keeping Alphonse and I from strangling each other. And for that comment his bitch ass just made, he's lucky that we were in Orello's eating because I would've flipped him off or some shit. I respected this establishment despite the owner, because of the head cook here who happens to be Kyle's girlfriend Brianna. I loved that girl because she's the sister I always wanted but never got to have.

Oh shit. Kiara. My older sister. But she's another story that I don't have the patience to get into right now. I don't get along with my father but I could never say that I hate him. Now Kiara, she's an exception. If I had the choice save her life or willingly turn my hearing aid on to hear whatever the fuck my dad is saying right now, I would go to sleep. Yeah, I'd do neither.

I stopped eating my pasta to take a sip of my water. When I did that, out the corner of my eye I could see Brianna heading in our direction with a warm smile on her face. I looked to make sure no waiters or customers were passing by before I leaped out of my chair and headed towards her to give her a hug. Anything to get away from my unwanted dinner guest.

I immediately felt comfortable when I wrapped my arms around her, lifting her up off the ground just a bit. It's been a minute since I've last seen her because between working and working on starting her own restaurant, she's been busy. Whenever Kyle comes around, he rarely brings her because she's always so busy. But she promised that once she opened her restaurant, which would be in two months, she was leaving this job and committing to her own place which meant more free time.

I finally let her go and began signing. ["He drive me crazy."]

She began to laugh a little, ["Came to check you. I heard you two were here. Food okay?"]

["Great. I love it."] I rubbed my belly in satisfaction. Girl had a gift in the kitchen.

["Well I glad,"] She looked behind me, ["Dad staring. Finish dinner, hurry back home. Kyle see you later."]

My eyes widened in excitement. ["Word? Thanks, text you later?"]

["Yes. Turn your aid on please?"]

How the hell did she know? Kyle must be slipping her my secrets... I forced a smile and pressed the buttons on my devices to turn them on, hearing a beep indicating that they were on.

"Bye Keon."

"Later sis."

Alphonse got me speech therapy when I was eight saying, in so many words, that he didn't want me sounding like I was deaf. I was so disgusted by his words back then but now it's a just a repeat. He's run out of things to say to me.

On the way back home, he started up his proposal to pay for me to correct my hearing permanently. I had no intention of doing that because I liked my gift. I wouldn't consider it a disability. It makes me unique and sets me apart of all these motherfuckers who are just the same. Surely there are millions of other deaf people in the world but in my family, I'm the only one. It's a gift to be different and I'd never pass it up just because my dad wants me to be...'normal' as he says.

After the ear surgery bullshit, this motherfucker had the nerve to bring up a new proposition for me. A proposition that made me want to jump out of the car on the highway. He couldn't be serious...

"What do you say?"

"No."

"You didn't even think about-"

"Don't have to."

"Keon you need a wife-"

"I don't though."

"Yes you do! You're nineteen years old!"

"I know."

He looked my way with frustration and anger in his eyes. It was dark as hell in there. I would need a light just to see if there's a speck of compassion in there. "Do you know how many girls are gonna flock to you when your mother wins the Congress seat? You need to look now to avoid attracting the gold diggers."

This nigga was really pushing my patience. "Dad I'm too young to think about settling down."

"No you're not. I started dating when I was 16, had my first wife at 18-"

"And how did that work out for you?" His ass got quiet then. "Besides that was then. Times are different. Kyle ain't meet Brianna until-"

He held his hand up, "Don't use her as an example...please."

"Why not?"

"Because...she's not ready to be in a political family. I don't know what Kyle was thinking. I just hope he doesn't propose-"

"You hearing yourself? Wait, LEMME answer that for you. Of all people, let ME go ahead and tell you what I hear. Stupidity. Kyle found somebody who has her own. She's beautiful, successful and she loves the hell out of Kyle-"

"She's damaged goods."

He's lucky he was driving on the highway or else I would have clocked him for saying that. "And she's also the younger sister of Reese Neal. You know...the mother of your illegitimate child? You have some nerve getting on Kyle about who he chose to date when you can't even stay faithful to the woman you married to! The same one who you fell in love with at first sight?"

His jaw tensed but his dumb ass ain't say shit after that. After all what could he say? Not a damn thing. He kept that tight ass face up until he pulled off on the exit that would lead us home. He stopped at a red light and for a minute, I thought he would attack me for my words. I didn't even flinch.

But he just sat there. And then a smirk appeared on his face. Weirdo.

"Back to what I was saying, you need to start thinking about your future wife. And to help you out with that, I did the honor of finding you someone."

Oh he was definitely off his roster now. Reese has been keeping him up all hours of the night with cravings that he thinks he's sneaking out to go get them for her but I always get the feeling when someone is awake in the house. The sensitive vibrations that I feel from him walking don't go unnoticed. I still don't get out how he managed to sneak around with her in the first place but whatever.

"I don't give a damn. Wherever you got her from, send her back with a polite apology from me."

The smile grew a bit wider, "No can do. She's already paid for."

Now I'm weirded out. And confused...as fuck I might add. Too confused to even reply to his ass. When we got home, something told me to follow him even though I had every intention on going upstairs and locking myself in my room. I followed him through the living room that no one is allowed to sit in unless on holidays, through the huge kitchen that my mother tore up every now and then, through the other living room that held the entertainment system and down a skinny hallway that sat behind the bar that was in the living room. My dad stopped at the basement door and opened it. He stepped to the side with a smirk on his face.

"After you son."

I eased my way by him slowly, making sure to nudge him harm in the shoulder with mine. That's for that half-sarcastic 'You hear me?' Stunt his ass pulled earlier. I walked downstairs, with him following me. It looked normal down here. It wasn't a typical creepy basement. It was hooked up to resemble a mini theater. But something about the atmosphere was different.

"What did you do?"

My dad tilted his head for me to follow him and I did so, down another skinny hallway where a wooden door was at the end of the hallway. He unlocked it with a key that he pulled out of his pants pocket and opened the door.

I didn't even have to step in to see what it was that he was talking about. This man is officially out of his mind. "Told you. She was already paid for."

The room was made up like a bedroom under construction. But there, laying on the queen sized bed was a young girl about my age or a bit younger, laying on the bed sleep dressed in flimsy looking clothes. She wasn't held by handcuffs but because my dad had the door locked told me that something wasn't right.

My dad stepped closer to me...as if his ass wasn't too close already, and whispered to me. "Her name is Naiya and she agreed to be your future wife. This is completely legal too so don't even think about telling Kyle because there's nothing he can do."

This man is really off the roster. Really? A hired wife?

He patted my shoulder and nudged my shoulder the same way I did him and began to walk away. "You're welcome."