December sat across the table from his younger sister in the small visiting room. The tension in the air was thick, and the silence was almost unbearable. Although he'd never admit it, he was happy to see her. Apart from his lawyer, he hadn't been this close to anyone that he actually knew in nearly three weeks. There were a few guys in the jailhouse that he recognized from around the way, but he refused to socialize with them, his number one reason being that he wasn't planning on being there long enough to make friends. All he was trying to do was make it through a few more weeks, and then he'd be out of there for good. To ensure his freedom, he'd called in his sister, because he knew that she had the connections and funds that could get him back on the streets in a timely manner.
"How have you been, Naomi?" December asked, breaking the silence. He smiled at her, not realizing how much he'd missed her until that very moment.
"I've been okay," she replied. She reached across the table and grabbed his hands. "What about you?"
"I'm alive. Stressed the fuck out, but alive. How are my niece and nephew doing?"
"Well, Natalie is rude as shit, and Corbin is an angel. They're doing fine. I wish you could meet them, but you know how I feel about what you do for a living. I don't want them to be exposed to that." She pulled a picture out of her purse and slid it across the table to December. "That was taken about two weeks ago."
December picked up the picture and stared at it for a moment. "Corbin looks just like you. Natalie is really growing up. I don't need to fuck any lil niggas up, do I?"
Naomi laughed and shook her head. "No. She's ten. Boys aren't even on her mind right now." She took the picture back, and her face became serious again. "December, over the course of the past ten years, we haven't seen each other at all, and you only called me two times. I refuse to believe that you called me from jail just so that we could catch up. Tell me what you need."
December sighed and slouched down in his chair. "I need you to keep me out of prison, sis. Whatever it is that you do, whoever it is that you know... I need you to help me out." Naomi's profession was a mystery to him, but he knew that she had power. That's the only reason she was being allowed to see him two hours before visiting hours actually started. She still had all of her personal belongings on her, and she'd even been allowed to bring December a decent meal. More importantly, she had money, and that spoke volumes no matter who was listening. Though he hadn't seen her in years, he knew that she was holding serious paper. He had a few friends that saw her occasionally, and they kept him updated on how she was doing.
"What are you in here for?"
"Some bullshit. Rape and child abuse."
Naomi's eyes grew wide. "You raped someone, December?"
"Hell no, sis! I didn't rape-"
"If I'm going to help you, you need to tell me the truth."
December looked around the room before nodding his head slowly. "Tamia is only seventeen."
"Tamia as in your girlfriend? My niece's mother? The one you've been with for years?"
"That's her."
"What the hell, December? What were you thinking? She's a little girl. Why would you get involved with her after seeing how messing with older men affected me?" Naomi, who had been kicked out of their parents' house after she got pregnant at sixteen by a man three times her age, quickly became disappointed in her older brother.
She took a deep breath, trying to rid herself of the personal memories that were beginning to flood her mind, and then continued. "The rape is statutory. I can work with that, but please tell me that you haven't been beating on her." Naomi got the answer to her question when December began to avert her gaze. "For someone so smart, you make terrible choices. I think that I can help you. It'll be expensive, but I can get you out of doing federal time. Just know that I'll be expecting you to pay me back. One hundred and ten percent within six months of you hitting the streets, and an extra ten percent on whatever's left for every month that I don't have all of my money after that time period ends. Deal?"
"Deal," December said without hesitation. He knew that his money wasn't half as long as his sister's, and he hated lying to her about paying her back. Naomi was his only sibling and he loved her and cared about her feelings, but he loved and cared about his freedom even more. The fact that she'd even agreed to help him after their entire family- including himself- disowned her caused him to feel a rare bout of guilt, but it passed quickly.
"Okay. Oh, one more thing. I'm going to find you a lawyer. I'll bring him along next time I come to see you."
"I already have a lawyer."
"I'm going to find you another lawyer, December. You're still in here because your current lawyer is doing something wrong."
"Right. Good looking out, Naomi."
"You know I got you, baby." She paused for a few seconds. "Have Mom and Dad asked about me or the kids lately?" She hadn't spoken to her parents in over ten years, and she already knew what the answer to that question would be. Her parents were too proud to admit that they were thinking about her, just like she was too proud to be the first one to reach out.
"No, but they do miss you, sis. They have pictures of you all over their house, and even some of the pictures you used to send of Natalie and Corbin. They're still waiting for you to find your way back home. But, shit, it doesn't look like you need them anymore."
"That's because I don't. And make sure you tell them that the next time you see them. If they want to talk to me, they can contact me just like you did." Naomi stood up, motioning for December to do the same. She walked around to his side of the table and pulled him into a tight hug. "Don't let it be another ten years before we see each other again. I love you, December."
He returned the hug. "I love you too," he stated honestly. He could tell that she was on the verge of tears as he placed a kiss on the top of her head. She had always been overly-emotional. "Can you do one more thing for me?"
"Of course."
"There's this place called the Clear Valley Group Home. Tamia is there with my daughter. I want you to check on them for me. Just make sure they're okay, and let Tamia know that I'll be out of here soon."
Just as he was finishing his sentence, one of the CO's walked into the room. "Naomi, my boss just got back, and I'm not trying to lose my job. You have to go, babe."
"I was just leaving." She turned towards December. "I'll do that today." Without another word, she left the room.
The CO watched her round bottom as she switched away, angering December. "Is there a reason you're looking at my baby sister like that?" he asked maliciously.
"Be easy, man. I wasn't looking at her no kind of way." The CO grinned. "It ain't like you can do anything about it, though, so there wouldn't be any harm in me admitting that I would fuck the shit out of Naomi's sexy ass. Get your ass back to your cell, Mitchell."
December clenched his jaw and walked out of the room, mentally placing the cocky CO at the top of his list of people to do away with once he was back in the streets.
***
"Tamia, someone wants to see you in the common room," Sandra, Tamia's counselor, said as she walked into her bedroom. She strolled over to Tamia's bed and sat down on it, watching as she tried to comfort her daughter, who was crying for her daddy yet again. This had become a daily routine over the three-week period that they'd been there, and Sandra was beginning to feel bad for the duo. She took Tania out of Tamia's arms and pointed towards the door. "You look like you could use a break. I'll watch her for a little while. Go find out who came to see you."
Tamia thanked Sandra and stood up. She practically ran out of the room and down the stairs to the common room. When she got there, she was surprised to see that December's sister was the only person there. She'd never met Naomi, but she remembered her face vividly from the pictures of her that December had. She walked towards her and sat down on the couch opposite the one Naomi was occupying.
"Why do you look so surprised to see me?" Naomi asked. "Relax yourself. December sent me to check up on you. I was hoping that I could see my niece for the first time, but I guess that's not going to happen. How are you holding up in here, Tamia?"
"I'm fine, but I want to go home," Tamia responded.
"Home with December?" Tamia nodded, and Naomi sighed. "Where are your parents, little girl?"
"My dad died when I was little. I don't know, nor do I care, about where my mother is."
Naomi nodded. "December won't go to prison. I'm going to make sure of that. But you, Tamia, are a problem."
"Excuse me?"
"I don't want you with my brother. I know how you feel about him. Trust me, I've been there, but nothing good will come out of your relationship with him. Best case scenario, you'll end up like me, meaning that you'll end up raising Tania alone and she'll grow up to despise you eventually. You will be my brother's downfall, or he will be yours. Leave him alone."
"Are you asking me or telling me?"
Naomi pulled her gun out of her shoulder holster and sat it on her lap. "That depends on your perception. Leave my brother alone. Now, if at any time you or Tania need anything, I'll always be just a phone call away. Money isn't a problem for me, and I'll make sure that it isn't one for you. Stay here until you're eighteen, then I'll get you an apartment, a car, and all of that other good stuff. For now, go meet someone closer to your own age. Preferably, someone with a legal job and a little more respect for women."
"I don't want anyone else. I love December."
"Do you love the way he beats your ass too?"
"He doesn't-"
"He told me himself, so don't bother denying it. Any man that hits you doesn't love you, Tamia, and I think you know that. But let's say that you two are in love with each other. Would you be okay with loving him while he's in prison? Because that's where he's going if he comes anywhere near you before you turn eighteen. Would you be okay with loving him from a hospital bed? Because that's where you'll end up if he keeps putting his hands on you. Would you be okay with the two of you loving your daughter through supervised visits in a foster home? Because that's where Tania will be if your relationship with December continues and the state feels like your home is an unsafe environment. I'm only trying to look out for you."
Tamia wiped away the tears that were beginning to fall from her eyes. Naomi stood up, put her gun back in its holster, and moved over to where she was sitting. She pulled Tamia into her arms and held her there. "Listen, Tamia. You don't love December. December doesn't love you. Think about it. If there wasn't anything wrong with your relationship with him, would you be here right now? My brother needs help. No grown-ass man should be as infatuated with a child as he is with you. One day, Tania's gonna be seventeen. Would you want her fucking a twenty-eight-year-old? When my daughter turns seventeen, I won't even want her fucking a seventeen-year-old. You're a mother, Tamia. This isn't just about you and your feelings. It's also about your child and her best interest. You think that growing up in a hoe house is what's best for her?"
"She's not even old enough to understand anything."
"But she is old enough to be influenced by everything. All that she's exposed to now is helping to shape her mindset in one way or another. In this case, you could get lucky. She could want better for herself and marry a nice man with a good job. More than likely, however, she'll grow up to be either a prostitute or a battered woman. Maybe even both. You have the power to prevent that from happening. Now, if you care more about your boyfriend than the child that you brought into this world, you don't deserve to be a mother, and I'll do everything in my power to make sure that you no longer have to bear the responsibilities of parenthood. I know a nice couple that's always willing to take care of other people's kids. They took me in without a second thought when I was lost. An innocent little two-year-old? They're gonna be all over that. I do have both the connections and the means to get your parental rights taken away from you. I don't even have to make up bullshit charges to make it happen. Don't fuck with me, Tamia. Stay the hell away from my brother. Messing with you, he will end up in prison for a very long time. Either for another case of statutory rape if he continues to see you now, or for eventually killing you if he continues to see you when you're legal. He's both too soft and too handsome for prison."
Naomi rose from the couch and took her wallet out of her pocket. She pulled out ten one hundred dollar bills and handed them to Tamia. "Tell your daughter that that's a late birthday gift from Auntie Naomi." She turned around and walked out of the room swiftly, leaving Tamia alone.
Tamia sat there dumbfounded, trying to figure out whether or not Naomi had really just ordered her to choose between her daughter and the man that she loved. If she just wanted her to choose to be with one of them until she turned eighteen, the choice would have been a no-brainer. She could live without December for a few months. Living without him permanently was something entirely different, though. The thought alone pained her. Her entire world revolved around December, and she didn't think that she could just give him up like that. But she felt the same way about her daughter. Tania was her life. Her smile could lift her spirits when she was in the worst of moods, and she loved her just as much as she loved December. She even loved her more, at times. This was, by far, the hardest decision she had ever been forced to make.
Tamia's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door opening. She looked up to see Tania and Sandra walk into the room. Tania ran over to her mother and climbed onto the couch before sitting on her lap. Seconds later, Tamia's phone began to ring. She pulled it out of her pocket and looked at the screen, which displayed Val's name. She stared at it for a few seconds, and her problem seemed to resolve itself in that instant. She stood up and placed Tania on her own two feet as she slid the green button across the screen of her phone.
"I'll call you back later," she spoke into the phone. "I have to take care of something." Just like that, she ended the call and looked down at her daughter. "Let's take a walk, Tania."
She ignored the sound of Sandra calling her name as she grabbed Tania's hand and walked her through the door that led them out of the group home.