In Need of You

Chapter Twenty-Six

It wasn't supposed to go down like that. He was supposed to be the one to save her, not Elisha. He wasn't supposed to know anything about her missing. How in the hell did he even find out? Kevin sat in the empty holding cell. The sounds of an older white man picking his teeth with a dirty fork lingered in the air. He covered his ears as he rocked back and forth on the flimsy wooden bench. Flies swarmed around a rusted toilet, sitting in the corner of the small room. 

The man smiled at him as he continued to pick them. If only he had his gun, then he'd give something to smile about, Kevin thought. A flesh wound would be too nice, but a bullet to the knee or the stomach would have been the best punishment. 

"Hey, Graham," the officer said, unlocking the cell door. "You made bail. You're free to go."

Kevin stood bench. He glared into the officer's eyes as he neared him and made his way down the hall. He saw his father standing near the door as he walked in his direction. The squeak of his shoes against polished white tiled floor irritated him. Yet the cold stare his father gave him was worse than the irritation he felt. 

"Dad," Kevin said as he neared his father. "I'm glad that--"

He held up a large hand and shook his head, stopping Kevin from speaking. "Don't say another word," he said. "Just spare me and not speak."

Kevin looked away from him and nodded his head. "So, it's like that, right. You always favored little brother over me anyway."

"You were supposed to be his example, and this what you do. Shut the hell up before I--"

"--Before you what, pops? Neglect me and spend all your time with Jacob because he's your favorite."

"Before I leave your ass here," his father hissed. He walked up to Kevin, standing toe to toe with him. He glared into his eyes, then looked away from him. Streaks of white sat on both sides of his well-groomed hair. His goatee sat in a perfect circle on his chocolate brown skin. "You always pushed me away. You never had anything to do with me after I married your mother."

"That's because you never tried, asshole." Kevin walked out of the door and into the parking lot. A black BMW sat in the no parking zone with its flashers on. He walked passed the car.

"Where are you going?" his father yelled. 

"I know mamma was happy when she married you, David, but both of you should have just placed me in the system once you had Jacob."

David glared at him, then walked to his car and opened the door. "For someone who hates me, I've done a lot of things for you," he said. "I helped you buy a house. My frat brother gave you a job at his precinct when weren't trying to find anything. Oh! Not to mention, he covered up the assault charge you had against you when you went after your ex-girlfriend."

Kevin turned around and glared at t him. The sun beamed in his face, making him scowl even more. "My mother just put you up to that because you have a seat at the city council."

"Your mother and I did that for your protection, not because of my position with the City of Kentfield," David spoke. "When I met your mother, she was bruised and battered, thanks to your biological father. But I always love you. Even when Jacob was born, I loved you."

Kevin glared at him, then made his way to David's car. Opening the door, he got inside and closed it. All of David's words were bullshit. All of it. If anything, he just needed another publicity stunt to boost his credibility with the public and his mamma. But that was fine, though. David may have saved his mamma from his dad's fists, but man was still a devil in disguise. 

He dug his phone from his pocket and looked at his messages. Ava had sent him a total of ten messages while he was in jail. Every one of them was pressing him to answer until the last message stated, "You fucked up." He sucked his teeth. That bitch wasn't any better than David. And she was probably the one who gave away the location.