Chapter 22
Killian
“Is that the last of it?” I asked, setting the box in the back of my car.
Alayah nodded sadly.
She was happy with the judge’s ruling that her sisters could live with her aunt and uncle, but also sad that she was leaving.
Right after we left court, I took her to grab boxes to pack up her things and to make a copy of my house key for her.
Before we could go back to the Eastons’, we had to make a stop at my place so Vera could check it out for approval.
She’d given me a short list of things that needed to be resolved by the time she visited again next week.
I assured her it was no problem, and it would be done.
We’d been diligently packing up Alayah’s belongings and the ton of books her aunt had purchased for her.
Since they only had a three-bedroom, one of the girls would be taking her room.
I closed the trunk and walked over to where she stood on the bottom step of the front porch and grabbed her hands.
“I know this isn’t how you pictured things going, but it’s better than nothing.”
“I know,” she said faintly. “I promise I’ll be a good houseguest. You don’t have to worry about me making a mess, and I’ll cook. If you want me to pay—”
I placed a finger to her lips to silence her. “Let me stop you while you’re ahead. You don’t have to pay me for anything. I know what I signed up for, and I trust you.”
“I appreciate you, Killian. I was prepared to go find an apartment or something.”
“You can stay as long as you’d like. If and when you’re ready to be on your own, I’ll help you find a place.”
“Thank you for being a friend.”
I chuckled. “Have you been watching The Golden Girls?”
It took a second for her to catch on to the correlation.
She playfully slapped my chest before wrapping her arms around my neck and hugging me tightly.
When she pulled away, she palmed my face and pressed her soft lips to mine.
The kiss we shared was slow and sweet. We’d shared a few kisses now, and I’d grown to love the feeling of her lips against mine.
It always took me by surprise when she made the first move.
On the plus side, it was a good thing she allowed herself that vulnerability.
Many victims of assault never reached a level of comfort where they can be physically vulnerable with another person.
As much as I loved kissing her, I wanted her to have control and freewill over her desires.
That wasn’t to say that I would never kiss her first, but right now, she deserved to have the choice.
Our lips parted at the sound of a car pulling into the driveway.
Upon further inspection, I realized that it was Ms. Proctor, the DCFS worker.
Alayah broke away from me and ran down the driveway.
Her sisters hopped out and ran into her arms. The bruises on their faces were still visible as well as the many on Adrienne’s arms.
I’d read the statements Erica provided the judge.
She’d detailed how her mother hit her repeatedly with a closed fist or how she pulled her hair out at the root.
I could only imagine what was going through her mind at that time.
To watch the woman who birthed her beat her like a stranger on the street, it would forever live in her mind.
As I watched them, it was like they were those five- and seven-year-old little girls again. They clung to her as she hugged them and kissed the tops of their heads.
“I got you. I got you,” she said repeatedly. She looked up at the Ms. Proctor. “Thank you.”
The woman smiled. “I can tell you genuinely care for them.”
“They are my babies. I’d do anything for them.”
She nodded and went to the trunk to grab their things. I made my way down to the car to help her as Mr. and Mrs. Easton came out of the house. The five of them gathered, sharing hugs and kisses, and we hauled the bags inside.
“I think they will do just fine here,” she said.
“They will,” I assured her. “If there is nothing else that woman loves, she loves her sisters. They need each other.”
She nodded in agreement. We headed back outside where she spoke to the family for a few minutes before heading to her car.
Everyone made their way inside the house.
Mrs. Easton had prepared a quick dinner of chicken alfredo, garlic bread, and corn on the cob.
We all gathered around the table to eat.
Alayah sat next to me, smiling as she looked at her sisters who sat across from us.
“I’m so happy you’re here,” she said, clasping her hands over her heart.
“We’re happy we get to be with you,” Amiyah admitted.
The smile on Alayah’s face slowly receded. “Ms. Proctor didn’t tell you?” she asked.
“Tell us what?”
“The condition of you staying here is me leaving.”
Amiyah’s eyes widened. “But…But why? Why do you have to leave?”
“There were concerns of my influence over you. I’ll be staying with Killian and visiting you on the weekends.”
“That’s bullshit!” Adrienne exclaimed.
Alayah’s head snapped in her direction. “Watch your mouth, Adrienne.”
She hung her head. “I’m sorry. I’m just upset.”
“I know this isn’t what we pictured, but it’s better than nothing. Baby steps. It won’t always be like this.”
Adrienne nodded. “When do you have to leave?”
“My things are in the car.”
Adrienne and Amiyah’s gazes drifted over to me.
“Promise us you’re gonna take care of my sister,” Adrienne said. “Promise you won’t hurt her or take advantage of her. And don’t be one of those controlling men that keeps her away from us.”
I extended my hand to her. “I promise. I’ll do everything in my power to make sure the three of you never have to go through that again.”
She looked at my hand then back up at me. Slowly she reached out to shake it with Amiyah doing the same. That seemed to be good enough for them—at least for now.
After eating dinner, Alayah and I had to leave since it was getting close to her curfew.
Her goodbyes with her sisters were sad, but I promised I’d make sure she came over this weekend.
The drive to my house took about twenty minutes.
Once we got there, we unloaded her belongings, and I showed her around the house.
I’d purchased a one-story, four-bedroom, three-bath home three years ago in a neighborhood not too far from my parents. My sister actually lived three houses down. It was safe to say we never strayed too far away from home or each other.
“You have a nice home,” Alayah said as we turned down the hall to the bedrooms.
“Thank you.”
“Why so big when it’s just you?”
“I bought it with a family in mind. I wanna get married one day. Of course, I’d have to actually be dating to do that,” I added with a chuckle. “For now, I use one of the extra rooms as my office. Then there’s the official guest room and Ellie’s room.”
“She has a room here?”
“She insisted on it. She was only two when I bought the house, but when I gave my family a tour, she walked in that room and said ‘Mine’. I think it was the pink walls.”
“That’s cute. You must have her often.”
“As often as I can. They actually live three houses down. Sometimes my sister will stand in the driveway and let her walk down here. It’s nothing to hear her little taps on the door at any given time. I’m sure she’ll make her way over sometime this week. At least you’ll have another friend.”
She giggled. “She’s adorable, so I don’t mind having a little friend. Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“How are you going to explain me living here to your family?”
“What do you mean explain? I don’t have to explain anything to them about my choices. I’m not in any danger here.”
“It just…it might get awkward.”
“Listen, my family really minds their own business for the most part when it comes to my love life. As long as I’m safe, secure, and happy, they will be okay. Besides, Ellie has already run back and told them you were my girlfriend.”
Alayah laughed. “She did what?”
“The day of our lunch. My parents called to check in, and she had to tell them all about her day, including meeting Uncle Killian’s girlfriend. It was the first thing she said when my sister walked in the door, too.”
“That’s funny. I can almost hear her cute little voice.”
“I hear her voice in my sleep sometimes.” I shook my head. “This is where you’ll be sleeping,” I said, opening the door to the guest room.
The room was almost as spacious as my master and shared a Jack and Jill bathroom with the room I’d set up for Ellie.
My mother had picked out all the furniture in here and decorated the space.
In the middle of the floor was a black tufted platform bed with black nightstands with gold accents on either side.
Each of them held a gold lamp with a black shade.
Gold mirrors hung behind each nightstand, and a large gold-framed picture was centered above the bed.
The bedding was white with black, white, and gold accent pillows. A fifty-inch TV was mounted to the wall directly across from the bed with a fireplace beneath it. The room had a huge walk-in closet and a bay window she could sit in. It was very cozy and had yet to be used.
“This is beautiful,” Alayah said, looking around.
“Thank you.”
“Did you decorate?”
I snorted. “God, no. This is all my mother.”
“She has great taste.”
“She has expensive taste.”
She giggled. “Well, I love it. I can see my bookshelf right there,” she said, pointing at the wall.
“I guess we do have to find somewhere to put your books since you made me do all that heavy lifting.”
“You lifted it with no problem. Think of it as a workout.”
“I work out enough. You see these guns?” I flexed a muscle, causing her to blush.
“Yeah…I see.”
“I’m gonna go grab some hangers from my closet in case you wanted to unpack anything tonight.”
“Thank you.”
I left her with a smile as I headed for my bedroom.
Inside, I went to the closet, pulling down any unused hangers I could find before taking them back to the guest room.
Alayah had busied herself with putting the clothes from her suitcase into drawers.
I placed the hangers in the closet and headed back to the door.
“I’m gonna go take a shower and get ready to lay down. If you need me, you know where to find me.”
“Okay.”
“If you need towels or washcloths, they’re in the cabinet in the bathroom.”
“Thank you.”
I gave her a slight smile. As I went leave the room, she called my name. “Killian?”
“Yeah?”
She placed the shirt in her hand on the bed and slowly walked over to me. She rested her hands on my chest and leaned in to kiss me.
“Good night.”
“Good night, love.”
Our gazes lingered for a moment before she went back to unpacking. I closed the door and retreated to my room.