“Can’t I come and see my sister?” I asked.
“You haven’t made the choice since I’ve been here,” she quipped, lifting a hand to the door and holding it in place.
I watched her look Slice up and down, giving him a half simper that he returned.
“Hey. Come to get your ass kicked in a game of Uno again?” she taunted.
“Nah, you wish, with ya cheating ass,” he joked right back with her.
“We done with this little dance y’all doing?” I asked, looking back and forth between them.
Kara snickered, and Slice humbly bowed his head.
“I’ll just wait out here,” he finally said.
“Good. Do the job you paid for.” I pushed past Kara into the room, but she lingered there a little longer stalking Slice with her lusting ass eyes.
It was clear they had gotten close, and I wasn’t one to step on no toes or try to interfere normally, but this was different. She was involving herself with someone in my business, and a few lines would need to be drawn. She shut the door behind us and quickly whirled around to face me.
“Free, what are you doing here? Coming to check my temp after Mama and Mine left?” she interrogated.
She dropped down into her bed and kicked her legs while staring off ahead. Hanging back near her dresser, right in her peripheral, I noticed she was avoiding looking right at me.
“So they told you.” I cleared my throat and used my arms to prop myself up.
She cut her normally bright irises in my direction and tilted her head.
“Karmine couldn’t help himself. Mama fell apart and laid the blame on Daddy and Celine and everyone under the sun,” she rambled. “Now we all know that most of our lives has been some fabricated ass story that they kept telling over and over until it felt real to them. All the lies… it finally caught up to them. So… did you do it?” Her question was vague, but I knew what she was asking. Tucking both arms across my chest, gradually my head lowered until I was ready to answer.
“What do you think?” I asked her.
“I think you are protective,” Kara responded. “And I think that you would only do something drastic if the situation called for it. Daddy has been unpredictable all our lives. You have always been solid, never switched up. You might be brash, but it’s part of your charm.” She snickered, and my gaze softened.
I knew her better than that. She was a daddy’s girl through and through. Anytime she ever needed anything in life, heprovided it for her. Bail money, cars, alibis. Pops was just like that for his kids. He actually handled parenting Kara and Karmine a lot better than he did me. I was the kid they sent to the wolves. By the time I was twelve, I was able to come and go as I pleased. At seventeen, I was fucking chicks in the house, and my parents even walked in a couple of times when I was banging some hoe out. Celine was the one setting rules and instilling morals and values in a nigga. I never said I applied all that shit, but I tried not to be cold and malicious with anybody unless absolutely necessary.
“I’m tired, Free,” she whispered, lip trembling as her chin hit her chest.
I watched her weep on the bed and went right to her. This was what I was waiting for. I knew she would fall apart at some point. Kara was a lot more fragile than she pretended to be. Raised around the purest-bred socialites in the country, and everyone treated her like she didn’t belong. There were always whispers about our family and what they did, and being the daughter of a man like our father did come with its inconveniences. Settling beside her, I put an arm around her, and she dropped her head onto my shoulders, continuing to cry herself out.
“I know,” I countered, embracing her tighter.
“I don’t know what it all means or how I even go forward. All I know right now is… I’m a recovering addict. And that in itself is enough to deal with. I don’t know where I belong at this point.” She dropped her head in defeat, and I held her as close to me as she could get, bringing my lips to her forehead.
“What happened to you, Kara? Tell me everything,” I gently urged her.
She used the back of her hand to wipe some of her tears away. Sniveling, she lowered her head and squeezed her eyes shut.Her shoulders moved, and it was then I realized that she was breaking down.
“Aye. I love you. No matter what, you can tell me anything.”
“I met this guy, and we were hanging out for like a week. Partying. He took me shopping, and we had these elaborate dates and dinners. We were pretty inseparable, and the partying led to a lot of drinking… among other things. I was taking uppers and downers, just going with the motions, and eventually getting in over my head. I was high for days, and one night, I must have blacked out or something. He, um… invited a few friends to our private party. They took their turns with me, and eventually, I passed out. When I woke up, he was the only one in the room. I was so traumatized, and I wasn’t even convinced what had happened actually happened. My body is what made it a reality. He offered me more drugs, and I took them.” She half shrugged.
“Who the fuck is this dude?” I demanded.
“Free, I don’t need you trying to fix this for me,” she said with a heavy sigh. “I am in therapy, talking about it, and dealing with it.”
I heard her, but that was some fuck shit, and I didn’t play that with the family. I had murdered for less; that was for damn sure.
“You seem different in here,.” I observed.
