'Til Death (14 page)

              "Why you so wet?" Boan whispered against my mouth.

              "Because I’m pregnant," I said. He took his hand out and pulled down my sweats. He spun me around and placed my hands on the house. My back was facing him. I felt his erection graze my clit and I shuddered in anticipation. He entered me slowly. I moaned out loud because he felt so good. Boan’s thrust was powerful, and every time he pulled out, my pussy sang. Boan moved my hair and kissed the back of my neck. His thrusts became more rapid. I placed my hand on his chest to still him.

              "Wait . . . you’re . . . hurting me," I said, while panting.

              "I am?" Boan asked freezing mid-motion.

              "Yes, just go slow," I said, while looking back at him.

              "If I do that I’m gone nut early off top." Boan rested his forehead on the back of my shoulder. He was still sliding in and out of me at a slow place.

              "Why?" I asked moaning.

              "Because you so fucking wet, I can’t take it." His breathing was uneven and I could tell his orgasm was nearing. The kitchen light came on and we both froze. Boan gripped my waist and started moving again.

              "Stop!" I whispered to him. Instead of stopping, Boan reached his other hand around and started rubbing my clit. I couldn’t help it, and start moving with him. I heard something break in the kitchen.

              "Uncle Carl? What are you doing here?" I heard Heaven ask. I immediately froze. I pushed Boan off of me and pulled my pants up. I walked into the house and practically ran to the kitchen. I walked in slowly and saw my brother standing extremely close to my daughter.

              "What the hell are you doing here?" I asked him. My brother turned around and looked at me.

              "I should ask you that." Carl said.

I couldn't help but wonder how long he had been in the kitchen, and did he hear Boan and I.

              "When did you start coming back around?" I asked.

              "I come home on weekends. Whenever I’m free, little sister." Heaven moved away from him and stood beside me. I looked at her and back to him.

              "Heaven, go upstairs to your room. I’ll be up there in a sec," I told her. Before she left, Boan walked in.

              "Who are you?" Carl asked Boan.

              "Ciara’s husband. And you?" Boan asked him.

              "Her older brother."

              "Heaven, I’ll take you upstairs," Boan said. Heaven looked at me and I nodded. She followed Boan out of the kitchen. My brother and I stared each other down.

              "You look good, sis," Carl said, while smirking.

              "Fuck you," I said.

              "Awwww little sister. Reminiscing on the fun times we had?"

              "Carl, I put this on everything I fucking love. If I find out that you touched a hair on my daughter’s head, I’ll fucking kill you."

              "Are you jealous because I’m not touching you anymore?" Carl said, while smiling.

              "Just remember what I said."

              "Is that a threat?" Carl asked.

              "Call it what you want, but it will happen."

I walked away and made my way upstairs to Heaven's room. Her bedroom door was half-cracked, and I heard her laughing. Boan was telling her how he and I met. I leaned against the wall because I had a sudden feeling of dread. I had to ask my daughter this question. I needed to know. I walked in and I looked at Boan and Heaven. I leaned down and kissed Boan and looked at my daughter.

              "I need to talk to Heaven for a quick second," I said to Boan. He nodded his head and stood up.

              "Goodnight, Heaven. I’ll finish the story tomorrow."

              "Ok, goodnight." I sat next to Heaven on her bed. She laid down and looked up at me.

              "I have to ask you something. And be completely honest with me. I don’t care how uncomfortable the answer may be. I want you to know that you can tell me any and everything. Ok?" I said, while looking at her. Heaven nodded her head.

              "Do you feel safe with Carl in the house?"

Heaven looked away then looked at me. "No."

I nodded my head. "What do you usually do when he’s here?" Heaven sat up. Her hair fell in front of her face and she pushed it back.

              "Come in my room. Close my door and lock it and I don’t come out unless I really have to." Heaven said.

              "Why?" I asked. She gathered up her knees and placed her chin atop them. She didn’t say anything for a long time.

              "Uncle Carl makes me feel uncomfortable." She admitted in a low voice.

              "What does he do?" I was trying to remain calm because I didn't want her feel like she did anything wrong.

              Heaven sighed a deep sigh and shook her head. She looked away from me. "He says things about me. Like about my body. He says things like about me developing and things like that. But he only says that when nobody else is around us. He says things like, family should always do things with other family members first. I try not to take what he says too seriously but . . ." She hesitated.

              "But what?"

              "The way he looks at me . . . it’s just not right." Heaven put her head on her knees. I rubbed her back. My blood was boiling.

              "Has he ever . . . touched you inappropriately?" It killed me to ask that question, but I had to know.

              "No, but . . ."

              "But?" I was getting anxious a little, terrified of what she was going to say.

              "I was swimming a couple of weeks ago. I had the ear plugs in and doing laps in the pool one night. I didn’t know he came in there. I laid my head on the side of the pool to catch my breath. He came up behind me and . . . " Heaven took a long pause.

              "Go on," I said, while rubbing her back.

              "He wrapped his arm around my waist; I felt his . . . it was hard." Heaven stopped talking. I kept rubbing my temples, I felt a headache coming on and I also wanted to go kill Carl right then.

              "I jumped out of the pool and he said I never spend any time with him. I told him I was tired, and later. I ran to my room and locked my door."

              "Who put a lock on your door?"

              "Auntie Cynthia."

              I nodded my head. "Thank you for telling me." I kissed her forehead, and hugged her close to me silently thanking my sister.

              "I’m sorry for not telling you."

              "No, it’s ok. I’m not upset with you, but trust and believe things will change tomorrow," I said. I stood up and made my way to Boan’s room. I heard Heaven close and lock her door. After this, she would not be locking any more doors.

Boan

              I woke up and reached for Ciara. She wasn’t beside me. I looked at the clock and I saw that it was noon. I got up and stretched and went into the bathroom. Ciara wasn’t in there either. I took my shower and brushed my teeth. I got out and threw on some basketball shorts and a t-shirt. I checked my phone and replied to Culprit and my mom’s texts. I made my way downstairs and smelled food. I looked at Ciara, who had this intense look on her face. I smiled at Heaven who was sitting next to Ciara. I sat on the other side of Ciara and stared at her. She looked over at me and I looked into her light brown eyes. I leaned over and kissed her. I wasn’t gonna lie about my feelings: Ciara got me wide open right then, and if we hadn’t been in front of her family, I would have been doing some damage.

              "Good afternoon, Barren, did you sleep well?" Mrs. Summers asked. I took a sip of some orange juice and looked at Ciara’s mom.

              "Yea, I did," I said. She nodded at me. Carl came walking out of the kitchen.

              "You up just in time for some brunch," Carl said. I smiled. Brunch? Really? I held back my laughter. I looked over at Ciara again. I ran my finger up her arm. She looked at me but didn’t say anything. I could tell something was heavy on her mind and heart.

              "How long have you two been married?" Cynthia asked.

              "Nine years," I replied.

              "Really? That long," Mrs. Summers said. I nodded my head. Carl came around and dumped food on our plates. Ciara looked up at him.

              "Hungry, little sister?" Carl asked Ciara. Ciara didn’t say anything. He shrugged his shoulders.

              "Guess extra for me and my niece," Carl said. Carl leaned down and kissed Heaven on her forehead while looking dead at Ciara. Heaven was stiff as a pole. It seemed like in a matter of seconds, all hell broke out. Ciara grabbed a knife from the table and leaped in the air toward Carl. I caught her midair and restrained her. Heaven was smart enough to duck to the other side of the room. Ciara threw the knife at Carl, but he ducked.

              "Ciara, get the hell out of my house!" Mrs. Summer screamed.

              "What the fuck did I tell you, Carl? You think I’m playing with you?" Ciara said.

              "You’re fucking crazy, Ciara!" Carl yelled.

              "Ciara, leave now!"

              "Mom, I’m not going anywhere without my daughter," Ciara said.

              "You’re not taking Heaven." Mrs. Summers was practically foaming at the mouth.

              "I’m not leaving her with this rapist." Ciara pointed at her brother outing him.

              "What?" I said, while looking at Ciara.

              "Shut up, Ciara," Carl snapped at my wife. I turned my body towards Ciara and looked at her, waiting for her to explain.

              "The real reason you were so quick to abandon me mother, was because you didn’t know if Tez was really the father. You knew it could have been Carl," Ciara put her mom on full blown blast.

Mrs. Summers came around the table and slapped Ciara across her face. I felt like my world was slowing down. I looked at Heaven, who stood in the corner, crying. Cynthia stepped in between her mom and little sister.

              "She’s telling the truth, and you know it," Cynthia said, while shaking her head.

              "Heaven told me what you’ve been trying to do to her." Ciara was giving her brother a death stare, like she was ready to chop his head off.

              "That little bitch is lying, mom, I swear." Carl was trying to defend himself.

I whirled around and punched Carl right in his face. His nose instantly began to squirt blood. Carl fell on the glass table and it shattered under his weight. I jumped on him and punched him again. I punched him for Ciara and for Heaven. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up at Heaven.

              "Please stop." Heaven whispered. She was crying. I looked at Carl, who was bloody but still conscious. I grabbed Carl closer so he could hear me easily.

              "If I
ever
see you again, I will beat you until your last breath, and then I will tie you up and stick my .50 Caliber so far up your ass and empty the clip. Do you understand?"

              "Y . . . ye . . . yea man. I got it." Carl promised while stuttering. I pushed him away from me and stood up. Everybody looked at me.

              "Heaven, go take whatever you want out of your room; anything else we can buy. You’re leaving with us."

              "For real?" Heaven asked, while looking back and forth between me and Ciara.

              "Yes, of course," Ciara said. Heaven sprinted up the stairs.

              "I'm going to call the police." Mrs. Summers claimed.

              "Do it and I’ll tell them everything, from Carl to you abandoning me and taking my child," Ciara said. Mrs. Summers stopped walking and turned around. "I guess you finally won." Her voice was laced with disdain.

Heaven came downstairs with her cell phone and a book bag. Ciara wrapped her arm around her daughter and walked out of the house.

              "I would say that it has been a pleasure meeting you, but that would be a lie," I said. I left and walked up to Ciara, who was standing outside of her Lexus truck.

              "Do you have any idea how much I love you right now?" Ciara said, while smiling at me. A tear slid down her cheek and I caught it.

              "I got another surprise up my sleeve," I said.

              "And what is that?"

              "Just follow me all the way. Even when you don’t recognize where we’re going, just follow me." I opened the car door and helped her in. I ran back to my Range and hopped in. I was ready to ride into the sunset. We drove all the way into Detroit, and Ciara followed me as I instructed her. I was excited about everything that was about to happen. I drove to India Village on the eastside of Detroit. I stopped in front of the house that looked like it was carved out of stone. It was a nice neighborhood, surrounded by huge homes; a place where I would want my family to be. I saw Culprit’s car, and my mom’s, and a U-Haul truck. I didn't see Tosh’s or Lo’s cars, which meant they still didn't know. Everything was in place. I got out and I waited for Ciara. Ciara got out and looked up at the home.