Chapter 10
Chapter
Ten
KENDRIX
“We have word that Judge Treegoob will be at this spot tonight that is known for housing underage girls. It is marketed as a debutante ball, but the players there all have been on our board for quite some time. See, we believed that in the case of Richard and Terrence Howard, the sex-trafficking case here was shut down, but with the intel that we received, that is a lie. There are millions of cases in the tri-state area, and we are only privy to this one because of the open investigation against Treegoob.” Levi said, staring at us from his side of the table; Marc was listening intensely and not interrupting, which shocked me. Johnathan and I were tuned in, too; the amount of pressure I had going on was becoming too much, but the job was never done.
“The young boy that he had sent to the behavioral therapy center made friends with a few of the girls from the hellhole, and they somehow got in contact with each other, and she told him about the ball. We are going to arrest him and whoever else we can get our hands on. Because we don’t know who else is in on this, the kid Travis Carmichael needs somewhere safe to go; I don’t trust the system outside of us right now, so I need one of you to volunteer to take him in for the next couple of months until this whole thing is over. We will be in the process of finding him a foster home, but I want to handle this myself personally.” I shot my hand up before I even had time to think about it. For some reason, I wanted this kid to stay with me; Phoenix also being at the house meant someone could watch him.
All eyes turned to me, shocked, but I didn’t pull my gaze from Levi until he nodded and finished giving us our mission. We would suit up and meet at the spot tonight before taking these sons of bitches down.
“Are you sure you are ready for this, Kendrix? You have been placing a lot of things on your plate since, well, forever. Especially after what you told me, can you handle this?” Levi always looked like a concerned father when talking to me, but this has always been our dynamic .
“Levi, trust me, I know what I’m doing. Travis needs someone he can trust for now, and even though I haven’t met him yet, I know that it’s me. He came from the same place I did; we’ll understand each other fine, and Phoenix could use someone to care for right now. You know she’s like Lucy when it comes down to it. It’ll be a great distraction for her. If Travis is comfortable with it, then I am too. Now, do you have any more information on those cameras for me? It’s been three days and nothing yet, what’s taking so long?” I fired question after question at him, the same ones Jewel has been hitting me with.
Levi hung his head for a second. “No, we don’t. I sent it to our tech guys, and they haven’t been able to trace back who was behind it. Did you pay Cameron a visit yet? He has to know something that he isn’t saying.” I did two days ago, to no avail.
“Listen, man, I told you everything I know; this person is blackmailing me. They started sending me weird texts with pictures of Phoenix before I even met her. They told me where to find her and threatened me to take her out and date her. The person had some information on me about the past that I thought was sealed. I was sent pictures of the previous women that things got physical with, and they told me I would go to jail if I didn’t follow the rules, so I did it.” Cameron looked rough; he was a pretty boy before coming here, and now he was someone else’s boy toy. His ass started sobbing right there, and it was grating on my nerves.
I kicked the chair in front of me, and it ricocheted off the walls of the visitation room I had requested.
“Agent Thompson is everything all good in there?” The guard whose name I forgot called from his position outside the door.
“Yes thank you.” I hollered back and got right in Cameron’s face blocking the camera in the corner.
“You better thank God I don’t need murder on my bucket list this year. I should kill your ass for the shit you got her wrapped up in; you’re telling me that this shit popped up in your lap?! You have no idea who all the messages were from, and instead of going to the police, you listened to this psychopath. You must have some fucked up shit in your files, but don’t you worry I will unwrap it all and let every person you pass on your way to your cell know how you get down. You will regret this shit, trust me.” I spat on him and knocked on the door for the guard to let me out, pissed off that this person was even more calculated than I thought.
“No, I checked his story, and it all checks out so far; we went over his text messages, emails, phone calls, and the number that he told me he only started contacting him about a few weeks before Phoenix met him. I keep thinking we’ll get in front of it before it gets too bad, but it’s not looking that way, and what in the world do I tell her? It’s been only a couple of days, and I’m losing my mind. So like I said, Travis will be good for her, something positive to do to balance all of this corrupt shit.” Levi still looked concerned for me.
“Okay, I understand. We’ll talk about it more after this operation tonight. Is that cool with you?” We dapped each other up.
“Yes, sir, I’ll see you tonight.”
I walked into my home to see some subtle changes that weren’t there when I left this morning. The pillows on the couch were covered in abstract leaves and fall colors; alongside that was a pumpkin on the table and a burnt orange throw blanket on the end of the loveseat. She had made my house her home, and I wasn’t used to decorating during the holiday season. He never let us decorate, so this is the first time that I’ve had decorations in my own house.
Phoenix was standing in the kitchen whipping up something in the bowl and humming to herself; she must not have heard me come in because when I walked in closer, she turned around so fast with a gun in her hand pointed to my chest before I could blink.
Her eyes were glazed over, and she looked scared, but her hand never lost its steadiness. I was instantly hard seeing her able to protect herself like that. In my eyes, she is a precious jewel, but she damn sure can take care of herself.
“You can’t sneak up on me like that, Kendrix; I could have shot you.” She said, focusing on my face long enough to really see that it was me before she put the weapon away.
“I’m sorry, baby. It won’t happen again.” Next time, she might shoot first and ask questions later.
I smiled at her, kissed her cheek, and then washed my hands to see what she had whipped up to make this whole place smell good. Taking a bite of the pumpkin spice cookies, I observed her for a minute. Phoenix was getting back to herself; she had been a shell of herself for a few days, but I do have a surprise that could make her feel better.
A knock at my front door meant that our guest was here early. I asked Phoenix to answer so I could shower and prepare for tonight. The screams of joy made me smile because I finally did one thing right.
PHOENIX
“Gran, what are you doing here?!” I asked again for the fifth time since she popped up at the front door. Kendrix disappeared the minute I went to answer the door, but that is completely fine because I need this time with my grandmother.
Grandma Lucy looked radiant in her almost too-tight jeans and cream turtleneck sweater; her gray tresses were pulled into a high bun, and she wore pearl earrings that complimented her look. One would think that at 69 years old, she would look her age, but she could pass for a 40-year-old. Her eyes took in my appearance; the generously loved sweatpants from only God knows where and a fitted t-shirt with Hello Kitty socks was the best I could do today. This is the best I’ve looked all week long. Before, I was in my house robe, not the cute one, but the one with the hole in the pocket and the missing rope to tie it together.
“I’m here because yuh need me, so gyal tell me what going on.” She held my hand while I went through every detail of my life from the last month. I told her how scared I was to be stuck in that bathroom stall, unsure about Cameron’s motives, from finding that note stuck in the bouquet of flowers that looked better paired for funeral arrangements. I looked up the flowers and what each one symbolized, and whoever this person was, they didn’t have good intentions for me. We even talked about Kendrix’s and my budding romance; Gran always gave the best advice.
“My rising Phoenix you been through quite a lot for one child. Not right now but in life. I don’t know what went wrong with ya mother, but that gyal is hurtin’ real bad, and she has been taking it out on ya for years now. Don’t let ya parents’ relationship affect what you and that hard headed boy could have. Make em tell you what he been hiding, no bond can be built off lies. I know that boy and his heart is good even if he don’t know it himself and don’t give in so easily make em work for it. Ya hear me?” She winked at my shy smile.
“Yes, ma’am. Now, what about the other thing? What should I do?” Her smile faltered at the fear on my face.
“You remember what I taught you? Every kick, hit, smack, bullet needs to keep coming until they don’t get up anymore. That’s what I had to do; the man would have left me for dead had I not done what I needed to do. Ya Granddaddy, that man kept hitting him until he became unrecognizable. That’s how you know it’s done. Dem boys will handle it, but if that maniac ever gets you alone, you do what you have to; you were meant to rise from the ashes… always.”
Gran and I hung out for most of the day; we cooked, laughed, and watched reruns of Law and Order SVU until Brian came over and took her away to spend some time with him and the girls. Kendrix told me he would be home late and not to wait up for him, but he assured me that the cameras he had installed around the property and inside were all clear. He gave me the information to monitor them myself. I was still on the couch eating some leftover baked ziti when I heard his keys in the door; the cameras confirmed that it was him.
He appeared in front of me in a matter of seconds. The tiredness in his eyes was plain to see, but we needed to talk.
“Hi, I know you probably had a long day, but I need you to go shower and meet me back downstairs. I would like you to tell me now.” He didn’t ask what I was talking about or protest. Kendrix nodded and came down almost thirty minutes later.
“Can you pray first before we start? This memory takes me back to a place that I have mentally disassociated from, it is tough for me to talk about without breaking down.”
Did I really want to go back there with him?
I looked at Kendrix, and I mean really stared into the parts of his soul that he didn’t always give me access to. He was petrified, and my heart hurt for him, but Gran’s words from earlier reminded me that this was necessary.
A quick prayer was uttered and turned on some worship music to set the atmosphere for him.
Kendrix grabbed both of my hands and ran his thumb over each tiny line that made up the unique design on my palm. His light touch went down to my inner wrist, and goosebumps sprinkled across my forearms, and a tiny smile showed on his perfect lips. He was stalling for time, but I didn’t rush him; he was like wine, the longer you wait, the more potent it will taste.
“I did it,” His tone was cold and detached, “I killed my father.” My eyes were trained on the movements of his hands, but they met his, which were glazed over in tears.
“It was a normal day; he wasn’t there when we woke up that morning. He would always come in late because he was out with other women or too drunk to drive home, so he used to sit in his car, and the police used to bring him home with a slap on the wrist. My mother was scared half the time to leave in order to take me to school because he would lose his mind if she wasn’t home whenever he showed up. After a while, the neighbors would drop me off, or I used to walk to school alone once I got older. I would do whatever to protect her, to lessen the loaded gun that was his hands. At first, he would wait until I was out of the room or asleep to smack her, but eventually, he couldn’t control his rage and would make me stand there and watch how to make her listen. I won’t even say his name out loud because he doesn’t deserve it.” I bite my lip to conceal the cry that bubbled up in my chest.
“It was a Wednesday; I secretly tried out for the basketball team to see if I would be accepted, for once I did something selfish; for me. Of course it was that day that I came home and found him beating the shit out of her. He was screaming about her being a negligent parent because apparently he wanted to know why I wasn’t home yet. This day was different for multiple reasons; he didn’t seem drunk off his ass. His speech was coherent, and his black Nike sweatsuit didn’t reek of whiskey. I think that pissed me off even more because this whole time, I blamed the way he treated my mother on alcohol and his inability to control his actions but at the end of the day, he was a shitty boy in a man’s body.
“I stormed in the house and pushed him off of her, but I overestimated my strength because his ass didn’t move one inch. My thirteen-and-a-half-year-old body still wasn’t big enough to take him on, he kicked me, and I flew into the television stand. His big meaty hands punched me too many times for me to breathe through; I don’t know how the gun he kept under the TV stand got in my hand. It was almost like this adrenaline came over me, and I did it. I shot him twice enough for the punches to stop, for the pain to stop. The next thing I remember, my mom was standing above me with a first aid kit and a backpack; she told me to go to the park and wait for someone to come and get me. I thought that someone would be her, but instead, I ended up at the airport with a social worker, meeting Gran and Pops for the first time. Now you see why I don’t deserve you, these hands are unclean, and life is messy. ”
My heart bled for this man sitting across from me. Should I be disgusted or turned off by him? That is how a perfectly normal woman would feel, but I have never been normal so why would I start now?
“And what does that have to do with me?” I swatted his hands away and climbed into his lap, one of my favorite spots.
“What?” His tone was laced with confusion, and rightfully so.
I loosely wrapped my arms around his neck and sat up a bit so we could be eye to eye. I pecked his lips a few times to spread a little bit of love his way because from that horrible story, he needed way more than what he received on a daily basis.
“Phoenix, what are you doing? I don’t understand what’s happening right now. I tell you that I’m the reason my father is 6 feet under and my mother spent the last 15 years in jail, and you are kissing me. Why are you still here?” I softened the creases in his brows and kissed him again and again until he finally kissed me back.
“Is that what you were expecting me to do? To run away from a man who admitted that he saved his mother’s life and very much his own, you killed your father in self-defense, Kendrix. Had you not, you most likely wouldn’t be here right now. Men who use women and their children as punching bags never let them willingly be happy. Families in intimate partner violence relationships are usually victims; that man would have killed you both in a fit of rage one day. You saved yourself and your mother, baby; how can you not see that?
“No, you don’t know how a judge would have seen the case, but let's be real for a moment here. Most IPV relationships are brought to justice too little, too late, when the physical violence has gotten out of control. I’m thankful that you did what you needed to do to survive. Now please tell me what that has to do with me, with why we couldn’t be together. I know you are leaving something out, Kendrix. Tell me everything right now, please.”
I wiped a tear from his eye and rubbed his back in support. Sometimes, it felt like no matter how much I told him I was there for him, he always tried to push me away. Kendrix wanted to protect me all the time, but who protected him?
“It was your mom. She found out when she overheard Grandma Lucy and me talking about it. It was the winter break. I went back to visit Lucy, and your mom was there. She told me that I needed to stay away from you or else.” Her attitude towards Kendrix started to make sense now.
“Or else what?”
“She promised to tell the police everything, and I would be sitting in jail for the rest of my life. Destiny has been reminding me for years of her threat, and she used to text me every six months for the first year, after she found out. Then she eventually stopped, and I believe she wanted me to think she forgot so I would mess up. It has been five years of constantly looking over my shoulder, making sure my glances in your direction weren’t too revealing of my feelings. I had to knowingly keep this from you because I never wanted to hurt you, but it still managed to happen.” Now, this is taking me by surprise.
Kendrix closed his eyes and took in a few shuddering breaths. “Over the years, I tried to devise a plan to stop her, but every time, they fell through. I hired a private investigator to see what I could blackmail her with; all we found was her cheating, but I didn’t think that would have been enough to stop her. I got a call from my mother’s lawyer right after Genesis was born that she could be available for early release.”
See, I knew I was right!
“I knew your feelings must have changed for me after she was born because you started flirting with me and whatnot.”
He lightly grasped my chin, “My feelings for you never changed; I need you to grasp that fully. Okay?”
“Yes, I get it now; I’m sorry. Please continue with the rest of the story.”
“After that, things took a turn, so it became a race against time for me; you were slipping through my fingers just when it finally felt like it would work out. I wanted to tell you about it but didn’t want to mess up your already tumultuous relationship with her.” She deliberately kept Kendrix away from me for years; life was too short, and death had no favorites. Either of us could not be walking this earth anymore, and instead of spending time together, we were puppets being manipulated by the puppeteer.