“You’ve been back there for three hours and some change. What’s worse is he checked up on you himself then removed that funky couch from his room.” She shook her head in disbelief.
Goosebumps spread all over my skin at the mention of him checking on me himself.Did he come into the bathroom, and see me naked?
“His room?” I mumbled under my breath really wanting to say fuck him!
“Yes, this is his room.” She huffed out.
The owls got my attention by their feathers ruffling. I looked up at them only to see them watching me with big bold eyes.
“Tone should be here any moment, go over by the wooden chess table and eat the baked chicken and?—”
I didn’t need to hear her words because soon as she said the word eat, I moved quickly to the left of the room to attack the plate of food that sat on top of a huge oval chess table. The aroma attacked all of my senses; I looked down at the plate and dug in immediately with my hands. Baked chicken that was seasoned to perfection nearly melted on my tongue. I didn’t chew; I swallowed. Once the chicken was gone, I moved to the broccoli and devoured that in under a minute.
“Mira, my goodness. That is disgusting how you’re eating.” Staress words carried across the room.
I ignored her for what it was worth, I didn’t give a damn how I looked to anybody here. I scarfed down the mashed potatoes next then picked up a heavy glass of juice. Soon as I took the first sip, I paused then choked.How the fuck does he know?I swallowed the juice down hard and continued to gulp the rest down like it would be my last time enjoying my favorite drink.
Fresh pineapple juice mixed with fresh lemon over ice with a little bit of sugar was my ultimate favorite. You had to be close enough to me to know this. The drink tasted just like what I made at home. It was something I learned when I was staying in different foster homes. Most of my foster parents liked to tuck the money that they got for me and would barely feed me.
I used to love juice and felt sad that I didn’t have it all of the time. I used to steal cans of pineapple juice and lemons from the store and make my own juice and share it with the foster kids. When Darius and I got our apartment, he bought me a juicerfor my birthday. I loved juicing fresh pineapples with lemons then adding sugar to it then storing it in jars for my work week. Pineapple, watermelon, and cucumbers are my favorite fruits.
I placed my hands flat on the chess table and burped loudly after I was finished. My hands had mashed potatoes smudged all over my fingers. I started to wipe my hands on my dress just to make a bigger mess but was stopped by Staress quickly putting a pack of wet wipes next to my plate.
“Thank me later for helping you. You are really in for a few surprises since you insist on making shit hard for yourself. Grand wanted you to dress nicely this evening, and he wanted you on time. I pray for you.” She shook her head and stepped away from me.
I quickly turned her way pissed.
“I can thank you, if you’d help me get the fuck away from him. None of this is cool, whatever the fuck it is?—”
“Bitch shut the fuck up and clean yourself before I get mad. I’m trying to be nice and show you mercy. I don’t have to do half of what I’ve already done. I see that there is something different about you since you all up in Grand’s room.” She held her hands out for emphasis then did a little spin.
“Don’t get shit twisted, with the snap of his finger,” She snapped her fingers right in my face.
“You’ll be a distant fuckin memory quick. So, clean yourself up and get ready to take your ashy ass down the hall with Tone so you can get ready to meet Grand. I’ll tell you this in advance since you got it set in your thick ass skull to try to find a way out. You run; you’re good as fucking dead. You try some slick shit, you’re fucking dead. Like I said before, he’s saving you.” Staress spat out.
My stomach churned as she reached around me and snatched the wet wipes up. She peeled the top off and pulled a couple out then held them out for me to grab. I burped oncemore then blew the funky air in her face. I waited to see what she wanted to do. I had energy and was ready to beat her ass. She frowned her face up, then quickly turned it back emotionless. I then took the wipes out of her hand. I thought she was a little nice, maybe even understanding. I misjudged, which was a big mistake on my behalf.
I cleaned my hands then wiped at the corners of my mouth. I couldn’t help but to keep sizing her up.
“You can try.” She seemed to read my thoughts.
“The bigger the bitch, the harder she falls.” She chuckled dryly rolling her slanted eyes.
I moved my mouth to speak but abruptly shut my mouth when the mural opened up. Tone walked in, this time he didn’t wear a mean mug. His eyes landed on Staress first then me. I felt naked as his eyes raked up and down my body slowly.
“At first, I was against Grand taking you. I thought you was nothing more than a worthless broke bitch that wouldn’t be worth saving.” He chuckled then leaned against the wall.
He remained quiet for a couple of seconds, took his blunt from behind his ear then dug into his jean pocket to retrieve a lighter. Once his blunt was lit, he inhaled deeply then blew the smoke in our direction. I looked over at Staress, she looked perplexed by Tone’s presence. There was definitely something swirling between the two of them.
“Now, I think you’ll be entertaining…I just wonder if I’ll end up getting the honors to kill you. I don’t think you’ll survive here. Most women did and begged to stay forever. The ones that failed didn’t get to?—”
“Tone, you are crossing the line. Take this bitch to where she needs to be.” Staress spat.
“You comfortable now with calling me a bitch. If he didn’t have that gun, or if I wasn’t in this predicament, I know for a fact I could beat your ass.” I spat.
“Tone won’t shoot you; he can’t do shit but hurt your feelings with his words. If you want to get down where you mad at, move some shit now.” She smirked.
She stepped back then parted her long legs apart, getting into a fighter’s stance.
