“You didn’t have sex with that man, because you were afraid that you weren’t good enough. You haven’t allowed anyone in for that same reason, and you build a wall around you and CJ to keep the world out. It’s not fair to him.”
“I built that damn wall because I knew that I would never love anyone else but his father! You’re the only one I’ve ever loved, Chaos. Why can’t you see that? You were all I ever wanted.”
Her face is all screwed up, and her balled up fists remind me of the senator’s earlier, but when the tears fall, something within me breaks. I hate being the reason that she cries or experiences any form of pain. I pick her up and sit down on the bed with her on my lap.
“Shh. It’s okay, baby. We’ll figure this shit out together. Nobody gave us a blueprint,” I whisper, rubbing her back as she sobs. I hate seeing her this broken, and I wish that I could take away all the pain.
I don’t know what else to do, so I let her cry until she gets it all out, and then I lay her on the bed. I remove her clothes and then mine before I make love to her.
“You’re so beautiful, Charisma. Inside and out, ma. You’ve got everything that little boy and this grown man need to make us whole,” I whisper, kissing her chin as I sink deep into her heat.
“Chaos,” she whimpers.
“You have everything within to heal the hurt little girl inside of you. Let yourself love her, baby. Let yourself forgive your mother and heal the little girl who was left alone.”
I dip further into her until our hips connect. The way that this moment is coming together for us breaks something inside of me. She shifts underneath me and wraps her arms around me, embracing me.
“You’re so damn loveable, Charisma.”
She cries, and I hold her, even though I continue stroking her repeatedly, until we both release all that we’ve held inside.
FOUR DAYS LATER
“Mr. Tennison says he believes that his new tell-all book that is scheduled to soon be published was the reason behind the recent attack against him. According to Senator Benjamin Starling’s aide, his new bookShine the Lightshares details from various segments throughout his ten-year service career to several political officials, including the homicide of Senator Benjamin Starling’s wife, Ashley, and the prior disappearance of her twin sister, Allyson.
“Jonathan Obedi, a close friend of Tennison’s, sent the book to the publishing company immediately after the assault. Apparently, Mr. Tennison had received numerous threats afterwriting the book, and he wanted to ensure that it was published in the event something should happen to him.”
“Errol, this is still breaking news, but it seems as if a floodgate has opened around Senator Benjamin Starling. We have the newly released conversations between Senator Starling and his chief of staff, Greg Whitehouse, where the senator admits that he impregnated his wife’s twin sister, Allyson, andthe gun used in the murder of the senator’s wife has been recovered, a gun that is registered to the senator. Have we learned anything on the senator’s whereabouts?”
“No, Alexis. The police have still not located the senator. We heard in the recording that we played earlier, the chief-of-staff reprimanding the senator for his actions and demanding that he break the relationship off because of how it would impact his career if anyone learned of it. On that same recording, we have what sounds like the senator saying that he must get rid of her, he can’t just break things off. He says that he tried, and she threatened to tell the world about their affair, the baby, and release some tapes that were with her attorney if anything ever happened to her.
“And while no fingerprints were found on the gun used in Ashley Starling’s murder, it was registered to the senator, and the ballistics report matched the striations from the bullet that killed her. The senator has been deemed a person of interest, but as you stated before, Alexis, he has not been located. I will say with the irrefutable evidence pointing his way, it won’t be hard for them to build a case against him.”
“You’re right, Errol. And if this all wasn’t enough, the senator’s sister-in-law came forward with her baby just this morning, after being absent for the last few years. She corroborated that she did in fact have an affair with the senator. She says that he had been talking about leaving his wife for her, or having his wife committed to the institute andhaving her take his wife’s place. She alleges they would pretend the wife was her. There are so many allegations in this case, I just don’t know where to start, or where a defense attorney for the senator would be able to start.”
“Well, Alexis, it begins with finding the senator first, and then they will have to go from there. This is such a traumatic event and has dominated the news cycle over the last four days.”
“You’re right, Errol. It is just so sad. I can only imagine it will do wonders for Mr. Tennison’s book sales when it is released.”
“You’re right about that, Alexis.”
“Thank you for tuning in to ECTV. I’m Alexis Farrish.”
“And I’m Errol Chance. We will keep you posted on this case as it continues to unfold.”
She flicks the TV off and releases a sigh.
“How can this be my life?”
“Whatcha mean?”
Charisma turns to look at me, where I’m sitting on the opposite end of the couch, cleaning my gun.
“I don’t know. I’m scared. I mean, if this is all true, and Ben was really involved in this murder-for-hire case, then did I ever really know him? Am I safe now? He’s still out there, and the police are still looking for him. That scares me, Chaos. What if he thinks that I know something, which I don’t, and he comes looking for me?”
“First, chill ya ass out. You’re safe. As long as I’m here, you will always be safe. Yeah, his ass is still out there, but with dem folks and my brothers and me on his ass, looking for him, he won’t be for long. That nigga’s ’bout to go insane with fear.
“If he doesn’t turn up dead or locked up soon, he’ll take his own life. It’s only a matter of time. Second, you do know someshit, but nobody needs to know that. You ain’t ’bout to testify or anything else. Trust me when I say ya boy got you covered.”
