8. Kalm Alexander Savage
KALM ALEXANDER SAVAGE
Two weeks later. . .
Pushing the buggy filled with groceries out of the store, I paused enough to stuff the receipt in my pocket.
Charisma walked beside me, enjoying the fresh-pressed green juice she bought from the food counter with a satisfied grin.
She had been living with us for two weeks now, and I didn’t hate having her around.
Today was Oasis’s first day back at school since her first chemotherapy session last Tuesday.
We’d told her she didn’t have to go if she felt too exhausted and nauseous, but my sister was determined to remain as normal as possible.
Not wanting to make things difficult for her, I agreed to let her go, but she was to call if she started to feel bad.
I had to admit, hiring Charisma as her nurse aide was a good choice.
She was not only caring but very detail oriented.
She’d asked a lot of questions before the chemo session, so she knew how to better offer Oasis support.
Honestly, the more she did for my sister, the bigger my heart grew to make space for her.
We hadn’t crossed any lines apart from innocent flirting, because the last thing I wanted was to make her feel uncomfortable under my roof.
For the time being, I wanted her to see our home as her own.
Safety was a big deal for her, and I would never jeopardize it just because I was attracted to her.
I understood attraction didn’t give me the right to have access to her.
I glanced up and saw an older lady further down the shopping complex. Her outfit made me do a double take. She was wearing a bra-like top with a skirt that was see-through and made of some flimsy material because every time the wind blew, it lifted it a little.
“Look at that old lady,” I said with a chuckle. “She wrong for that.”
Pretty lifted her eyes from her phone to glance over at the lady. She tripped over her feet a little, and I saw her take a big gulp of her juice. She shook her head and sighed. “Yeah, she looks a fucking mess,” she mumbled more to herself than to me.
Removing my keys, I auto started the truck so the AC would begin running. After I unlocked the doors and popped the trunk, I began to load the groceries. “You can get in while I do this,” I told Pretty.
“Okay,” she said, moving to do exactly that.
Right before she hopped in, someone began yelling nearby. “Rizz! Rizz! Rizz!” I peeked around the side of the truck to see it was the older lady we were just talking about. Her eyes were focused on Charisma, who was busy climbing in the truck. “Charisma, I know you hear me calling you!”
I finished loading the bags just as she made it over to the truck. Charisma sighed heavily and rolled her eyes. With her hip popped out and her head tilted to the side, she eyed the woman with a frown. “Foxy, what the hell do you want? I don’t have any money for you,” I heard her say.
I didn’t expect her to know who the woman was after she just said she looked a mess, but clearly, she did, and she didn’t want to be bothered by her. “Why you treatin’ your grandmother like that?” The woman asked, licking her dry lips. My mouth fell open at the revelation.
Charisma shook her head. “Oh, you’re my grandmother today?” She laughed in a cold and very detached manner. “Didn’t you call me an uppity whore the last time I saw you?”
“I was just joking, Rizz. I only said that because you didn’t stick to our agreement.”
“Because my apartment was already clean, but whatever. Keep that same energy.” She turned to try and open her door, but Foxy stepped closer.
“Did you get evicted? I went by your apartment the other day, and the neighbor told me you moved. Bryaire has been everywhere in the hood looking for you too. What happened? You finally gave him some of that good and sweet Jones pussy, and he losing his fucking mind now, huh?”
Charisma froze in place with a slack expression then turned to face her. “Don’t tell him you saw me. Treat me like you always have, and pretend I’m dead.”
Hearing her say that really fucked with me.
I walked a little closer, wanting to pull her into my arms and protect her from the world.
“Give me a dub if you want me to keep quiet, or else I’ma tell him the license plate for this truck and all.
” Her eyes shifted to the truck then to me.
She smiled widely, mouth filled with more gums than teeth in it.
She attempted to walk toward me, but Charisma yanked her back by her shirt, nearly making one of her saggy titties pop out.
“Get the fuck on, Foxy. I’m not in the mood for your shit today.” Her voice didn’t sound nearly as friendly or soft as I’d gotten accustomed to it being.
Foxy completely ignored her, keeping her sights on me. “Hey, Handsome. You got $20? I’ll let you do whatever you want to me.”
I couldn’t believe the scene that was unfolding before me, and by the way Charisma’s chest began to heave up and down, I knew it had a negative impact on her. Stepping between them, I opened the door to help her into the truck and closed her safely inside without a word.
Foxy got excited when she saw me digging in my pocket for my wallet. I handed her a hundred-dollar bill. “You didn’t see me or her today,” I said with a glare before I even handed her the money. “I promise you’re not going to like what happens to you if you tell that nigga anything.”
“Okay, Handsome. I don’t know shit, and I ain’t see shit.” She rolled her eyes and held her hand out. “You gon’ give me the hush money or not.” I handed her the money then backed away. “Bye, Rizz. I like him.”
She waved happily then raced across the parking lot on a mission. Rounding the truck, I got in, and it felt like I’d entered a pressure cooker. Charisma winced in the passenger seat when I slammed my door shut. Her left leg bounced up and down while her arms were folded over her chest.
“You shouldn’t have given her anything,” she said with flared nostrils.
Reaching across the truck, I placed a hand on her knee to keep it still. I watched a vein pulse in her forehead and used my thumb to try getting rid of it. “You don’t have to feel ashamed, Pretty. I gave her the money to keep her quiet.”
At first, she remained silent, but her chest continued to heave up and down, making me assume she was only getting angrier.
She jerked her face out of my hands and her knee away too.
“Why would I be ashamed, Kalm? I don’t pretend to be someone I’m not.
Foxy and her daughter introduced me to that lifestyle, then left me to drown in it.
If anyone should be ashamed, it’s them. Not me!
I never had a fucking choice!” she screamed in a shaky voice.
Fat tears trailed down her red, puffed cheeks. The softness I typically saw in her eyes was hard stone today. Once she got that off her chest, she slammed back in her seat and curled her top lip. After a minute, her face fell into her hands, and she began to cry so hard her shoulders shook.
This was my first time seeing this side of her, and it made me want to wrap her in my arms way more than it made me want to run away.
I knew now wasn’t the time to try touching her though.
She was more likely to haul off and slap the fuck out of me in response.
I didn’t want to push her limits, because seeing her grandmother had already triggered her.
I gulped down what I wanted to say and curled my hand into a ball to stop myself from reaching out.
Putting the truck in reverse, I felt my heart tighten because of how much pain I knew she was in as I was forced to listen to her cry.
If nothing else, this situation made me understand her a little better.
When the time was right, I would tell her I didn’t pity her; I empathized with her because with a role model like that, her life could only have been a rocky road up until this point.