Uncle Clive chuckled. “I see you five days a week and on Saturdays.”
“I know, but I don’t live here anymore. It’s different.”
“We miss having you here,” Aunt Penny said. “It’s not the same.”
“Where are the girls?” I asked, picking up the sales papers.
“Adrienne wanted a drink from Coffee-ish,and Miyah rode with her. I think she said they were gonna stop by the house and get the rest of their clothes and whatever else they needed. With Kennedy being locked up, I’m sure it won’t be long until the bank comes to claim the house.”
I shook my head. “I wouldn’t be sad if it burned to the ground.”
And I wouldn’t be. Terrible things happened in that house. It would be a miracle if the bank could get a return on it. That fact that Kennedy continued living there after everything that happened was proof that she was a twisted-ass individual.
According to Killian, she was being held in the protection unit at the same correctional facility I did my time in. I knew that population was segregated from the rest of the prisoners. If she ever made it to general population and they found out what she’d done, she wasn’t going to survive. If by chance she did, she’d never be the same.
Killian also told me that Mrs. West was spending thirty days in county for contempt of court. I couldn’t feel bad for that old bitch. She had no business at that custody hearing. What kind of character witness would she have been on Kennedy’s behalf when she raised a rapist and a pedophile? She could go to hell.
I was so lost in the thoughts that I didn’t realize I had zoned out until the front door swung open and Adrienne and Amiyah came running in with panicked looks on their faces. Uncle Clive, Aunt Penny, and I jumped to our feet, all of us asking the same question.
“What’s wrong?”
I noticed the box in Amiyah’s hand. They both looked at me with sorrowed expressions.
“You need to call Killian,” she whispered.
“Amiyah, what is that?” Uncle Clive asked.
She shook her head, tears streaming down her face as she looked at me, and that’s when I knew exactly what it was.
The tapes.
An overwhelming urge to vomit quickly rose from my stomach and up my throat. I raced for the half bath down the hall, barely making it before I spewed my guts into the porcelain bowl. Over and over, I threw up everything I’d eaten. The thought of them seeing what was on those tapes had me heaving until I had nothing left to give.
Flushing the toilet, I collapsed on my knees with my head against the floor. Violent screams erupted from my burning throat as hot tears streamed down my face. My aunt came rushing into the bathroom. She paused momentarily before I heard her open a cabinet then turn on the water.
She knelt in front of me and lifted me from the floor to sit me on the edge of the tub. I sat there crying profusely.
“They saw the tapes. They saw what he did to me…”
She lifted my head to wipe my face with a warm rag. “I know it hurts, baby.”
“I never wanted them to see me like that,” I wailed, falling against her.
She wrapped her arms around me and held me tightly as she kissed my temple. Through my cries, I could hear her praying. I closed my eyes, just wanting to disappear. I almost would have preferred if the tapes were never found than to have my little sisters witness what happened. They would never unsee that shit.
“Stand up, baby,” Aunt Penny said, easing me to my feet. “Killian is on his way, and he’s bringing Erica with him. We’re gonna go out there, and we’re gonna handle this as a family. We’re right here with you, baby. Come on.”
I allowed her to guide me out of the bathroom and into the living room. As soon as I appeared, my sisters vacated the comfort of Uncle Clive’s arms and ran to me, hugging me tightly. I fought back the returning tears to be strong for them.
Swallowing hard, I asked the question I’d been dying to know.
“Where were they?”
They both pulled back and looked from each other to me. Miyah was the first to speak.
“I was in Mama’s room looking for a suitcase. She had this old trunk in the closet, and I thought I could use it to put some stuff in. It was heavy, and I couldn’t pull it, so I took the stuff out. When I lifted it from the spot, I noticed some loose floorboards. At first, I thought nothing of it until something told me to lift them up. That’s when I found the box. I thought it was just a bunch of old DVDs or something, so I put one in and… I’m so sorry that happened to you, Alayah. All those tapes…God! I’m so sorry.”
She ran off down the hall, crying profusely. Adrienne followed her. I felt the vile taste of vomit enter by throat again but forced it back down.
