KEILEE.
On Monday, I'm up as early as the figurative early bird. I intend on catching the worm and giving it a piece of my mind. Or squashing it with my expensive stilettos. Depends on my mood.
I don't have time to dwell on the excruciating headache I have from barely sleeping last night. This morning I'm a woman on mission. Roach and Seaman better find a place to hole up in because this woman is coming in guns blazing; figuratively or literally. Also depends on my mood.
Outside Roach's door, my knock is followed by a flat "Come in." Seaman is here too. Perfect. Just the two people I wanted to start my week with.
"Bakari what now?" Roach groans behind his desk. Next to me, Seaman's sultry eyes skirt my frame. I'm not even surprised. His default setting is perversion.
I get straight to the point. "I wasn't informed about the Saturday overtime."
Roach's face doesn't convey any concern about my grievances. "And so?"
"I need to know why."
"If you weren't called it means you weren't needed." He taps his pen on the table, bored.
"You cannot keep doing this Roach. I-"
"You can see yourself out Bakari." He dismisses me. When I continue standing there, he ignores me and goes back to whatever conversation he was having with Seaman.
So much for the internal hype am I right? The brevity sounded so well in my brain. Leaving Roach's office, I make a detour to the washroom. I quickly dry my damp eyes. I wish I'd have said more; I wish I'd have made them listen to me.
Every time my bosses spite me, I want to yell at mama for not being here to tell me what to do. She always knew what to say. I bet her words right now would be; "Keilee, never let anyone undermine you. Whoop their asses if you have to. I'll bail you out and be your lawyer." All the while being an immigration lawyer.
Back at my desk, my phone rings with a call - Dad. I haven't spoken to him in weeks and have been actively ignoring his texts. He's been trying, I'll give him that but I'm not fully ready to look past his mistakes.
"Hello?"
"Hey princess. You've been avoiding me. Is everything okay?"
"You did avoid me for fourteen years." I say, a sharp edge to my voice.
There's a long pause before he says, "I deserve that. Anyway, I'm going to a charity gala on Friday night, want to come?" His words are hopeful.
"I'll think about it." I tell him before disconnecting the call.
It's almost ten years since he unabashedly showed up in my life. I've tried so hard to let him in but a part of me still doesn't want to let go of the anger. Twenty-four years ago he had the option to choose me but his business was more important. Similarly, he had fourteen years to come back but he saw it fit to show up after my mom's death to claim custody of me. I thought in those four years I lived with him, my heart would soften but it only hardened.
Though he tried to put me first and teach me some stuff, his work was still as important. I wanted him to be the father he wasn't for those fourteen years instead I got a workaholic. Every day I hoped he could replace my mama but he never summed up to even a quarter of what she was.
My thoughts are interrupted by Kira's palms blocking my eyes. "Guess who."
"Baby Jesus?" I reply.
She steps in front of me. "Why would baby Jesus be blocking your eyes and would his small hands even fit on your face?"
"Just getting into my Christmas mood." I counter.
"It's September weirdo. Whatever happened to Halloween and thanksgiving?"
"I have no idea." I reply and we both break into loud giggles that have my coworkers giving us the shit eyes.
"Anyway how are you?" Kira asks.
"You know the usual, Roach is still a douche, his sidekick is still a pervert and daddy dearest just invited me to accompany him to a charity gala." I take a deep breath. "Otherwise I'm fantastic." I finish with fake enthusiasm.
"Where is the part where Darelle and you met?" I swear to God Kira always assumes her matchmaking instincts are real. She forgets they've never really worked on anyone before.
"Seriously I just told you a bunch of stuff and you ask the one thing that wasn't even in that sentence?"
"You know me. I'm starved for some real life romance."
"Get your own man then."
"Never. Men are only good for their dicks. If I could grow my own, I'd never look at a man." I don't fault her for her thinking. She's had it rough. Her hate is justifiable.
"I like that we're now objectifying men."
"As we should. Stop deflecting, I'm more interested in your love life. What happened with Darelle?" She pushes my laptop away to create space to hop on my desk.
"We were working on his case. That's it."
She frowns. "Boo hoo! I was so eager." The fact that Darelle is in a relationship always seems to go over her head.
"Anyway back to Roach and my dad." I remind her.
She huffs, crossing her legs. "Can your father just kill Roach already."
"Kira!" I slap her thigh, looking to see if anybody heard her very inappropriate comment.
"What? I'm just speaking facts. Good news though, my parents are also going to the same gala and he wants me to go with him. You can tell him yes." I'm not surprised she knew I'd reject his offer. That's what I've been doing for the better part of the last ten years.
"I'm only going because you're going." I say and send a quick confirmation text to my father.
DARELLE
I haven't seen Madison since Saturday. The only evidence of her presence are the usual moans and grunts in her bedroom and the dirty dishes in the sink. She's normally gone when I wake up and being fucked six ways to Sunday when I come back. Her silence feels calculated.
Today, I'm surprised when she walks in alone. "Hey." I call from the couch. She just rolls her eyes and scuttles to her room. Moments later, her door unlocks again and she walks out in her pajamas, headed for the kitchen. I follow suit. This silent treatment is killing me. I need to know how deep in shit I am.
She picks up the cooking pot with food and pours the food in the trash can. "Can't you cook anything other than chicken?"
"That's your favorite."
She stands akimbo, facing me. "Oh so you want to make me fat?"
I grip the back of my neck. "You know I didn't mean it that way."
"I'm vegan now. Which you would've known if you were paying attention." I pay attention, she makes sure I do by every means possible including restricting me from leaving the house. The last time I saw her, her diet was very much meaty.
"I'm sorry." I whisper.
"Sorry? You want to be sorry? How about you tell me where you were on Saturday or rather who you were with." She snaps taking slow steps towards me. "Want to know why I came back early? Because apparently someone's phone location was off. Even after we agreed you'd keep it on. Tell me, who is she? Who is the whore that has you covering your tracks?" She's not big enough to be scary but her voice definitely is.
"There's no one else, it's just you Maddie." I say the words I think she wants to hear.
She rotates me, her hard gaze scrutinizing my frame. "This is the first time you've defied my instructions which means someone is making you."
"I promise-" I start.
She scoffs. "Your promises meant nothing then and they sure as hell don't now. You had one job Darelle. One fucking job. To sit still. Instead, like the good for nothing you are, you decided to disobey me. And now thanks to your idiocy, I've lost a deal from one of the best skin care brands." That would explain the all night fucking. When she is mad, that's her stress reliever. Never mind she had the option of waiting till the business was done before she came back.
I shrink back at her insults. Just because I've grown accustomed to them over the past six months doesn't mean they hurt any less. So does the punch to my stomach that follows- right where the knife went through last time. A stinging burn burrows under my skin as I struggle to find my footing. She throws another punch and I almost buckle over. I repress the groan that threatens to slip from my throat.
I stumble away from her and lean on the kitchen counter. "Please." I'm not sure what I'm begging for. I grip my stomach, hoping the hardness can ease the pain.
I taught her these moves, heck we used to do them together. I just never assumed one day she'd use them against me. I could take her but I have people to protect. Until my family is safe, I'll take whatever she throws.
"I will be deducting what the brand was supposed to pay me from your account." She wafts past me, her long legs leading her upstairs. "And get a tuxedo. My dad is hosting a charity gala this Friday." She throws over her shoulder, without a care in the world, like she did not just hit me minutes ago.
Once she's gone, I straighten up, barely. I breathe out a sharp hiss when the corner of the counter swabs the bruised part.
If she takes anymore from my account, I'll go bankrupt. I pay rent and bills, I buy groceries and on top of that she takes my money. Most of which I've been saving up for my sister's college.
The pain in my stomach pales in comparison to the one in my chest. Every single day I wake up and choose my family. Through the knives and the punches, I still choose them. I messed up but they didn't. I will protect them to whatever end.