“Sugar, you’re kind of a mess.”
This bitch.
“You’re definitely a cunt.”
She tried to shrug, but the tape made it difficult, which I found to be hilarious until my laughter didn’t piss her off like I thought it would.
“Why the fuck did I what?” she asked.
It took me a moment to realize what she meant. She was really messing with my head.
“Why the fuck did you stab me?” I asked with far less aggression than I had the first time.
“Oh,” she said and rolled her eyes. “Because you interrupted my murder attempt by grabbing me from behind and covering my mouth. I responded accordingly for the situation.”
“I didn’t know you were there to murder him. I thought you were an escort!”
“You could’ve asked.”
“When?” I almost yelled. “You stabbed me within seconds.”
“When you threatened to break my neck, you could’ve asked me what I was doing,” she said simply.
“Are you fucking serious?” I asked, throwing my hands in the air.
“Yes.”
Her unwavering calm was pissing me off.
“If you’re not supposed to be on our property, I’m not fucking asking you what you’re doing first.”
“And that’s why I stabbed you,” she said. “Hold on, I thought you thought I was an escort. Do you manhandle all women trying to make a living or just sex workers?”
Inhaling deeply, I tried to find some patience. “I thought you were an escort until I saw you trying to pick the lock.”
“So, for all you knew, he had a rape fantasy I was fulfilling.”
I stared at her for several moments trying to figure out what she was possibly thinking.
“If you’re just going to stare at me, I’m going to close my eyes again.”
“No,” I said before I could stop myself, not that I would have. “You’re not. You don’t get to come here and cause chaos—twice—and get to nap.”
“I’m not napping. I’m setting a boundary the only way I can,” the bitch said with her eyes closed.
It was my turn to roll my eyes. “Cute. You’re trying to use therapy-speak on me.”
“Trying? Pretty sure I did, but yay for you for knowing what therapy-speak is.”
My familiarity with therapy words wasn’t a choice, it was mandated, but that wasn’t information I freely shared. My pastwas complicated, or my feelings about it were. I went to prison fully believing I was doing the right thing to protect my family. Later, I learned the truth. I had been lied to by the person I trusted the most, the person I was trying to protect—my brother.
I shook my head to clear him from my thoughts and turned my back to the woman driving me batshit crazy. She stabbed me and would be dealt with. It didn’t matter if she slept while we waited for that to happen. Because after hearing what she had to say, I’d rather she kept her eyesandmouth closed.
TEN
KALANI
Ialmost sighed with relief when he turned away from me. While he thought my eyes were closed, I’d been watching him the entire time through a small crack between my eyelids. It was something I learned to do during my time away when I wanted to be left alone but needed to remain aware of my surroundings. Had I not seen him approaching me, I probably would have screamed in fear instead of headbutting him in anger like the asshole deserved.
