Hired To Love

Chapter Three

                   Naiya Parker

I went back to sleep after I ate breakfast and woke up three hours later. To be so blunt and rude, I was appreciative that Keon didn't leave me there last night. When I saw LaDanian and his two goons standing on the porch I knew that if Keon left me, I would subjected to another beating and then they would play rock paper scissors to see who would get to rape me. Ever since I was fifteen and they were sixteen, they had been doing this to me all under the roof of that orphanage. LaDanian's alcoholic aunt ran the place and allowed him to do whatever he wanted simply because she was afraid of him. When a man came into the place wanting to adopt me I was ecstatic yet surprised when he told me what my purpose would be. Still, I went along with it because it was my ticket out of there. He assured that I would not be hurt where I was going and I trusted him. So far, I hadn't been hurt.

When Alphonse brought me to this house, he took me down to the basement to that bedroom and I got adequate sleep. At the orphanage I barely got any sleep because I was either lying there allowing LaDanian or one of his friends to have sex with me or I was laying unable to sleep because they were watching me. I honestly don't care about the $10,000 that Alphonse promised. So long as I don't have to ever go back there again, I am content.

My toe was starting to feel a bit better. It was blistered and bloody because of the size six shoes I was forced to wear when my feet are an eight. At first I thought it was due to the minimal clothing that we got at the orphanage but LaDanian's aunt told me it was because I wasn't fulfilling her nephew's needs. Which I was confused about because I long stopped crying about what he and his friends do to me. She then told me it's because all I did was lay there and take it instead of engaging in it. She even tried to give me sex pointers promising that if I tried certain positions I would end up enjoying it. Every night before bed, she would make me watch porn to see what the women were doing but I never actually did those things. I honestly think that Alphonse threatened her into letting me go because she agreed to him wanting to adopt me. But now I think that maybe they just chose another girl as their sex toy.

Just thinking about all I endured at that place made me start to cry. I tried to keep quiet because I didn't want Keon to hear. He's nice and all for not leaving me and bringing me back to the only home I ever felt safe in, but his assumptions of me being a prostitute had me thinking about LaDanian and his friends. He told me that I was lucky to have him inside of me almost every night telling me about all the females who want him. I asked him why he didn't go have sex with them which left me with three bruised ribs and a black eye.

I pulled the comforter over my head and broke down crying. The door opened and I tried to stop but I couldn't. I heard what sounded like bags being placed on the floor.

"Leave I got it," That sounded like Brianna, Kyle's girlfriend. When she comforted me this morning and walked me to my bedroom after I ate, we talked some. I really liked her and was thankful that I got to meet her. She told me that Kyle was going to come alone but that she decided to stop in with him. She said maybe her gut was trying to tell her something.

I wasn't sure who she had been talking to but whoever it was walked out of the room and closed the door behind them. I felt the bed sink in and the top of the comforter came down from over my face. Brianna sat there smiling at me. "Hi beautiful."

I wanted to smile because, that's what her smile made me want to do but my lips trembled instead and I began to cry again. She wrapped her arms around me and I found my head on her lap. She didn't seem to mind me crying on her and even wiped the side of my face as I did.

"Shhh...everything is okay now. Nobody's going to hurt you here."

Call intuition but something told me that she understood me. She didn't even ask me what was wrong. She slowly rocked me a little with her arms still wrapped around me. As my cries died down from her soft humming, I could hear footsteps on the other side of the bedroom door. She wiped straggler tears from my cheeks and rubbed the side of my arm.

"Keon and I went shopping for you."

Explains the sound of bags. My eyes shifted to the bags by the dresser and I saw names on them like Nordstrom, Forever21, American Eagle, Old Navy, The Gap, Victoria's Secret, H&M, Footlocker, Steve Madden and Urban Outfitters. I've always heard of these places but never got the luck of owning any of them. All the girls at my school walked around wearing clothes from these places. I was just lucky enough to get clothes that fit and weren't raggedy.

"You wanna see?"

I nodded and slowly sat up in my bed. She got up and brought some of the bags over and placed them on top of the bed. She started pulling out shirts, jeans, hoodies, dresses, camisoles, bras, panties, tights, sweaters and coats. My eyes welled up with more tears and they slowly began to fall. She reached over and wiped them away.

"And that's just the clothes. Keon went a little crazy with the footwear."

I felt a knot in my stomach. "H-he bought all of this?"

She nodded. "You're in a family that is loaded honey. As humble as they are, you probably wouldn't believe it until it's time to get in their cars."

"I have to pay him back-"

"No you don't." She placed three Nordstrom bags onto the bed, two Footlocker bags, and three Steve Madden bags on the bed. All the clothes she folded with my help. I reached for a Steve Madden bag but she pulled it out of my reach with a smile on her face. "Nope open this last."

"Okay." I grabbed the Footlocker bag and pulled out a Jordan box and a Timberland box where a cute pair of black, red, white and purple Jordans and a pair of tan boots were. In the Nordstrom bags were a pair of black and pink Ugg boots, pair of tan Ugg moccasins and two pairs of flats one black and the other brown. In two of the Steve Madden bags were a pair of tall black boots and a brown pair. Brianna finally let me have the last bag. I opened them and wanted to scream. They resembled my beat up brown combat boots but these were brand new. And they were all my size. There were socks including those soft fuzzy ones which I immediately put on. I still had on Keon's t-shirt and sweatpants that he must have left for me this morning.

"Yeah Keon wanted to burn your old ones. Actually I think he is...I smelled the fireplace in his room when I came up here."

A fireplace? In his room? How big is it to fit one?

"I don't know what to say..."

"Don't make a big deal about it. Keon isn't mushy and would probably prefer it if you didn't bring it up. Maybe shoot him a thanks later and he'll nod but yeah that's it."

"Okay." With all the Blues Clues I've watched as a kid, I knew how to do that.

"Well Kyle and I are gonna head out. He has to work tonight and I'm supposed to be hanging out with my pregnant sister."

I was sad she was leaving but I knew I'd see her again. "Okay. Thanks Brianna."

She leaned over and kissed my cheek. "No problem baby girl. And if you need someone to talk to, I'm right here okay? We might have some things in common..."

"I will."

She gave me a hug before opening the door and leaving. She jumped when she left out and laughed as she reached to hit someone who I couldn't see because she was closing the door. "You scared me!"

"I meant to."

Keon.

"Did you put out that fire in your room?"

"No. Those boots don't wanna burn. I feel like they have a soul in them or some shit..."

I found myself giggling. This might not be so bad after all. Sighing in relief, I got up and began to put my new clothes away in what I guess will be my new bedroom.

I can get use to this.

After putting my clothes up, I got back into the bed and curled up. There was a television in here but I just wanted to lay there in some silence-

The door burst open and Alphonse appeared smiling. I quickly sat up. "I see you're still here. I half expected my son to kick you out or take you back to where you came from but I've been mistaken."

Oh if only you knew...

"Anyway, I wanted to come and talk to you two. I'm not interrupting you taking a nap right?"

I shook my head.

"Good. KEON-" He sighed loudly, looking up to the ceiling. "Forgive me, I keep forgetting that he can't hear. The hearing aids can only help him with so much. I want him to get a cochlear implant but he won't do it."

Can't make anyone do something they don't want to.

"I mean I don't even know sign language."

"Why not?"

"Because it's too much to remember. It's a hard language to learn."

Keon appeared in the doorway looking at his father like he was crazy.

"Oh you heard me, good."

"Nah your voice vibrates in this house like an earthquake. What do you want?" Keon's eyes shifted to mine. Immediately, I placed the fingertips of my right hand to my mouth and brought it down forward, indicating what it means to say 'Thank you' in sign language.

Thank you Steve Burns from Blue's Clues.

Keon looked at me for a second, running his tongue slowly across his lips and then shifted his attention back to his father. Brianna wasn't lying when she said how avoidant he is. But I swear he nodded. Or maybe I imagined that.

"I just want to know if you two are getting along well that's all. I mean I kinda wanted you to...well move her into your room Keon-"

"Nah."

"Not now of course," Alphonse sighed, "I get it I get it you don't know her so you don't trust her. That's understandable. However I'm hoping that after the two of you get to know each other which I hope escalates quickly over the next few days, you guys can start a relationship that everyone will believe-"

"Stop stop stop," Keon walked closer into the room and gestured towards him and I, "ain't nothing like that happening. I don't know why you thought of this and quite frankly I don't care. I have no intentions on getting married especially to some girl I just met." Keon then stared at me, "You seem like a nice girl Naiya and I apologize for all of this confusion but it's not happening."

I didn't want this either but...I knew the consequences that would come if I didn't agree to this. It scared me, knowing that Keon wasn't into it. I mean I get it, I wouldn't be either if I were him. Hopefully I saw Brianna sooner than later because with what Alphonse has planned to do if this marriage thing doesn't work out, I'm going to need her words of encouragement.

Alphonse smirked at me and stood to his feet. Here it comes. "I'm sorry to hear you say that son." Keon lifted the left side of his mouth up along with his left nostril clearly disgusted with either the situation or the fact that Alphonse called him son. "And Naiya sweetie it'll be sad to see you go. Especially since you've just moved in here and made yourself comfortable."

Keon's face dropped and he folded his strong arms, "What do you mean see her go?"

Alphonse winked at me and turned around to face Keon. "I told her that if this marriage thing doesn't work out, I would have no choice but to send her back to Safe Harbor. You should help her pack son."

Keon gave me a brief look before storming out of the room.

.   .   .

Alphonse is a jerk!

What do you all think so far??