“Okay kid, let’s have it, what’s your relationship with my girl?” I straddled a chair and eyed down the little fucker who was trying to give me attitude.
Little did he know that he was a hair’s breath away from having my foot in his ass. I’m not too big on some other dick being close to what’s mine, whether it’s before the fact or not. His life expectancy pretty much depended on how this little meet went down.
“We’re best friends, where is she?”
“None of your fucking business kid.” What the fuck?
“You better not hurt her.”
I’d give the kid props; he’s got balls.
“I’m not interested in you froggy, so don’t even think about jumping off at me, or I’ll cap your ass. Now how do you know Bianca?”
“We grew up together.” Good, his shoulders weren’t so high anymore, and he was looking suitably threatened.
“You got a girlfriend?”
“Of course.”
Okay, I might let him live.
“I heard about what her father did.” His fists folded and he was pissed.
“Oh yeah, what’s that?”
“He sold her to you, at least that’s the word on the street.” The kid actually looked close to tears.
“Who said that shit, nothing can be farther from the truth.” I don’t want people thinking that the mother of my sons was bought.
“He had no right, she doesn’t even belong to him.”
Hold the motherfucking phone. “Come again.”
“She’s not his daughter. Her mom was married to him but then she died and he kept Bianca away from her real family. That’s how they ended up here.”
“And you know this how?”
“She told me some of it, some my parents found out when we were younger. That’s why we’re so close, I always felt like I had to take care of her ya know, because he was such a dick as a father. I still don’t know why he kept her if he was gonna treat her like crap.”
I was at the edge of my seat at this point. “What do you mean treat her like shit? How?”
“He was always beating on her and shit, he never let her have any friends. It’s only because we lived so close that I was able to remain her friend. I use to climb in her window at night, after he’d wailed away on her, to comfort her ya know.” He got a scared look on his face after imparting this little tidbit, like he expected me to pounce or some shit.
“How often you had to climb through that window kid?” I was getting pissed the fuck off. I knew Curtis was a piece a shit but I had no idea he was a complete douche.
“A lot when we were little, then he stopped for a little bit. But as soon as she became a teenager he started up again. Some days she didn’t even have food…” kid looked like he was about to break down.
“Bring him.” I didn’t need to elaborate. My boys knew who the fuck I meant. “How’d he keep this shit hidden, didn’t the teachers or counselors notice anything?” Nosy ass teachers were always in my shit when I was in school.
“No, she lied a lot because he would always threaten to throw her out on the street if she told anyone. Now everybody thinks she’s just clumsy.”
“You can come see her in a few weeks, I’ll let you know when. At this meeting, you will not tell her anything about what we discussed, and you won’t tell her about getting away or any of that happy shit. You fuck up on any of those two things, I’ll gut you and feed you to my dogs. Take him back home. Oh yeah and kid, anybody show up at my door with any bullshit, I’ll know you sent them.”
I left to go back to the house. Usually I don’t give a fuck about what goes on in other people’s lives, I’ve got enough of my own shit to deal with. But this was my baby mama, sorta. The idea that she’d been mistreated was a big fucking no-no.
She was in the room where I’d left her flicking through the channels on the TV. I studied her for a minute before alerting her to my presence. She was young, just eighteen, she still had that innocent tint to her, I guess I hadn’t defiled her too much yet. That shit’ll change in a week.
When I went after her, I had one thing in mind. She was perfect to bear my sons. From what info I’d garnered, she was one of those old world types. She never went anywhere but home and school and occasionally to the grocers. Had I known that it was not by choice, that her own father was abusing her, would things have been different?