Spring 1995
The winter months went by pretty quick and spring had finally approached. The trees around the house had all their leaves back and the flowers had bloomed. I had went for a little walk around the property admiring nature and enjoying the crisp weather, lost in my own thoughts.
"Kennedy?" I heard Michael call out for me.
"I'm over here!!" I called out from a bench facing a small pond. After about a minute, Michael walked around the bench and sat down next me.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" He asked, looking towards the pond.
"Yeah..." I breathed, following his gaze. "What brings you out here? I thought you had things to take care of."
He continued to stare at the pond awhile before answering my question. Something didn't seem right. Michael will get distant with me sometimes but this was different. There's something he needed to tell me but didn't want to.
"Michael?"
"Well," He turned to me and sighed. "I've been....searching for Martin..."
As soon as he said that, I completely turned myself around to face him.
"I may have found him," He continued. "But there's something else.."
"What?" I asked, leaning into him some more.
"Marissa might be working with him now." He shook his head in disappointment.
I couldn't believe what he said. After all that shit Martin did and the emotional trauma he caused everyone, I didn't think Marissa would ever turn to him. It doesn't matter how upset she was with me or Michael, you don't turn to someone who's comfortable doing foul shit like that.
"How do you know?" I asked quietly.
"Nigel's been doing his homework," He answered. "We had to find her, in order to find him."
I stood up and paced back and forth. I was still confused as to why she would do this. What did he have to offer that we didn't? No one said she had to quit working for Michael, I just didn't want her under the same roof as him. Ever. If she had to be tracked down in order to get to Nigel that means she may have been working with him for a while now and he was closer to us than we thought. Which also meant she knew exactly where he was this whole time. If she wanted to work for him, fine.
"If there's any truth to this, then she can go down with him. Period." I said, before walking off towards the house. Michael called out for me but I didn't feel like talking anymore. I know Michael didn't approve of me coming back to work but this is one thing I refused to sit out on. If Marissa wanted to get down and dirty then so will I. It's like she was insisting on getting on my bad side.
I walked through the house and upstairs to Michael's room. I opened the top drawer to his tall dresser and revealed the money I had put away after I first sealed the deal with Martin. The drawer was completely full of money now and I stared in awe because I didn't earn any of this extra cash. So where did It come from??
"I put a little something back for you." I heard Michael say from the doorway.
"Why?" I asked, still staring at the hefty stash.
"What's mine is yours." He replied.
"You didn't have to..."
"I know, I wanted to." He responded, taking a seat on the corner of the bed. I closed the drawer, rethinking the compulsive decision I was about to make.
"I told you I would bring him to you. So I need you to let me do just that. Do not go trying to run off and do your own little man hunt. Do you understand?" He asked, staring right at me.
"Yeah." I simply replied. He completely read my mind and I hated that he knew me so well.
"There's another thing," He began, patting his lap for me to come sit on. "My entire family is coming to visit in a couple days and I want you to meet them. Of course you've met all my brothers but I have two other sisters and most importantly, my parents."
"You want me to meet your family?" I gasped.
"Yes," He smiled. "I think it's high time you do!"
"I can't wait!!" I exclaimed, kissing his cheek.
"It'll be fun." He said, flipping me over onto the bed. We began to make out and seeing that we still haven't had sex yet, I was ready. It's been too long and I knew he felt the same way because he immediately began taking off my clothes. We skipped all the foreplay but right before he could even get it in, there was banging on the door.
"Every. Fucking. Time." He said through gritted teeth.
"Shhhh..." I whispered. "Just keep going, maybe they'll go away."
I bought him back down to me and I began to kiss along his jawline and neck but there was another bang on the door and this time it was followed by Nigels voice.
"Kennedy if you're in there, I need you to come here right now!! It's an emergency!!" He yelled through the door.
"What is it?!" I yelled back, slightly annoyed.
"It's Raé, she's been hurt." He responded back.
I pushed Michael off me, ignoring his complaints, and threw on his white button up long sleeve shirt. I grabbed my skinny jeans off the floor and flung the door open, rushing out nearly bumping into Nigel.
"I-Im sorry to interrupt," Nigel stuttered. "But its bad.."
"How bad?" I asked, looking up at him. I was hopping on one leg trying to get my pants on. We came to a stop at my bedroom door. I buttoned up my pants and opened the door. Sitting on the edge of my bed was Raé. I wouldn't have known it was her if Nigel hadn't already told me. She was badly beaten, her face completely swollen and she had a really bad cut on the side of her head. There was grass all in her hair and her clothes were completely tattered.
"Oh my...." I gasped, rushing over to her. I kneeled down in front of her and lightly brushed back her hair with my fingertips.
"I w-was attacked by s-someone," she tried to explain but she was nearly inaudible. I looked over at Nigel who was talking to Michael in the hall. Looking at his facial expression, I knew Michael wasn't happy. I turned back to Raé motioned for her to follow me to the bathroom. I drew up a warm water bath and stripped her down, helping her into the tub.
"Everything's gonna be okay," I tried to soothe her as she had began to cry. "We'll find whoever did this. Don't worry, you're safe now."
As I bathed her, the bruises that covered her body brought back memories of my own incident. My eyes began to well with tears but I had to hold it together for her. It was extremely triggering and as bad as I started to feel, I had to make sure she was okay.
After I scrubbed away the dirt and dried blood, I washed her hair and helped her out the tub. I grabbed her some of my fresh pajamas and helped her into bed. The cut on the side of her face didn't require stitches so I cleaned it with peroxide and put a layer of Neosporin on it before covering it with gauze and a bandage. I gave her some ibuprofen and covered her eyes with a cold towel.
"Try to get some rest, okay?" I whispered to her. "I'll be in to check on you a little later." I kissed her cheek before turning out the big light and turning on the lamp in the corner so that she wasn't completely in the dark. I stepped out the room gently closing the door behind me.
"How is she?" Michael asked, intently staring at the bedroom door. Before I could even answer, I rushed to the guest bathroom down the hall and threw up in the toilet. The tears poured down my face as a panic attack started to consume me. I couldn't catch my breath and I had to grip the bathtub. I felt a hand caressing my back and Michael squatted down next to me. He laid his forehead on the side of my head and as he continued to rub my back. I was still heaving and as much as I wanted to talk to him and tell him just how I really felt, I couldn't because I still couldn't catch my breath.
After a failed attempt to calm me down Michael walked out and came back a couple minutes later with a small brown paper bag. He held the opening to my mouth.
"Breathe," He instructed. "Deep breathes in and out."
I did as I was told and I soon began to calm down. Still holding the bag to my mouth I leaned down and relaxed against Michael's chest.
"You're okay," He soothed. "Everyone's okay."
We sat like that until I began to drift off so he carried me back to his room. He laid me down and tucked me in. As he was turning to leave, I stopped him.
"Where are you going?" I asked.
"I have to go check on something." He replied. A cold expression snuck over his face and I knew he was lying.
"Michael please-" I started to beg.
"I'll be back, don't worry." He leaned down and kissed the tip of my nose. "Try to get some sleep." He turned and walked out the room, leaving me alone.
I tried to fall asleep but I couldn't. I had no idea where Michael had gone but the one thing that brought comfort to me was the fact that Nigel was with him. I walked down to my room to check on Raé who was peacefully sleeping. I made sure to check her pulse and breathing several times within the hour before going back to Michael's room. Since I couldn't sleep, I decided to grab a notebook out of one of the nightstands, sat on the couch and started sketching a few outfits. It's been a while since I've drawn and I didnt realize how many ideas I had until I noticed I had gone through at least 8 pages. As I finished up my 9th design, I decided it was time to go to bed and try to sleep. I set the book down and climbed into bed, shutting my eyes.
After what seemed like forever, I opened my eyes at a failed attempt to sleep. I needed Michael here. I couldn't sleep until I knew he was safe, at home, with me. I got up threw on some jeans and a t-shirt and headed out.
"Keep an eye on Raé, please." I told Andrew, one of the new bodyguards Michael hired but never really used because of Nigel. He was no Richard but he would just have to do .
I rushed out and hopped into my car driving out the gate and into the night. I didn't know where to begin to look so I drove around until I decided to just head back home. On my way back something occurred to me.
'Go to the club.'
I quickly made a U turn and rushed over to the nightclub. Right when I parked, I reached into the glove compartment and grabbed the gun Michael had given me when he first sent me out here to this very spot. I got out and walked into the building not sure of what to expect.
Upon entering and walking the long halls, I came to a stop at the double doors leading into the dance floor. I quietly cracked open the door and saw Michael talking to Martin. There were about 5 men standing behind Michael. I couldn't see their faces so I couldn't make out who they were exactly. Across from them stood Martin and one other man. It was the man who had killed Richard and had Janet restrained the last time I was here. With all these memories coming back to me, I fought the urge to panic and instead became enraged.
"I didn't do it." Martins loud ass voice boomed.
"Why should I believe you?" Michael asked. "You have every reason to hurt her."
Someone else spoke up but i couldn't quite hear. Then another person spoke. This time a female.
"She got what she deserved." Marissa stated. "Now her and Kennedy have similar stories to tell."
"Oh really?" I asked, walking into the floor. Michael immediately turned around to the sound of my voice. Anger flashed across his face for a brief second and then he relaxed a little. I walked to the center of the men and noticed that Michael was with his brothers, except Tito.
"Well, well... well!!" Martin smirked. "What do we have here?"
Michael and his brothers stepped forward, all drawing their guns but I held up my hand, stopping them.
"I'm not speaking to you. So shut the hell up because I will get to you when I'm done with her." I demanded.
"You're in my place o-" He began, stepping closer to me.
I pointed my gun down to his foot and shot it which caused him to let out an agonized yell. "I'm not playing with you." I said, clenching my jaw.
I then turned my attention to Marissa.
"So you think Raé and I got what we deserved, huh?" I let out a small laugh. "We were supposed to be best friends. Sisters! Can you believe that? But you decided to do a full 360 on me."
"Shit happens." She shrugged.
"So what do you think should happen now?" I asked, tilting my head in curiosity at her.
She looked over at Martin who was examining his foot and then responded. "I think it's best you go before you get hurt, again."
"Oh I'm leaving," I laughed. "But I won't be the one hurting."
"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked.
"Just what I said." I replied before turning my back to her.
I raised my gun again and this time I shot Martin right in his abdomen. He doubled over in pain and the man standing farther off raised his gun at me but before he could fully get it up, Michael came up from behind me and shot him in the chest causing him to fall. I averted my attention back to Marissa who was now looking for a weapon of some sort but she never found one. I turned around to kiss Michael with my gun still pointing at her and I pulled the trigger. Right as I pulled away from him I heard her body hit the ground. Martin started talking a whole lot of shit but I didn't pay him any mind.
"Good aim!" Michael exclaimed, assessing the damage over my shoulder.
"He's all yours." I said, planting another kiss on his lips. "I'm going home."
"You got it, boss!" He winked at me. "See you at home."
I walked off the dancefloor and before the door fully closed behind me I heard muffled screams. It was all behind me now as I walked into the night to my car and drove off. Once I made it home, I checked on Raé who was still asleep, and I went up to Michael's room where I showered and climbed into bed. I was dozing off when I heard the door open and someone go to the bathroom and get in the shower. I tried to stay awake for him to get done but I was to tired. Right as I began drifting off, I felt him crawl on top of me and kiss my neck. I noticed he only had on a towel, which irritated me.
"What did I tell you about this?" I mumbled tugging at it.
"I don't know, what did you tell me?" He asked, still kissing my neck.
"Put some clothes on!!"
"Nope!!" He giggled. "You did great back there by the way."
"Well I learn from the best!!" I smiled, wrapping my arms around his neck. He pulled the t-shirt off of me and tossed it to the floor. He took off my lace panties and he slowly slid right into me. This is what we've both been waiting for for months and it felt so good. We both let out small moans as I he pulled my legs farther up and I pulled him deeper into me.
It was the first time in almost a year since the last time we made love and I'm glad we waited so long. It felt like the first time we ever slept together and I didn't want that feeling to every go away.