Chapter Three

Kehlani paused, looking up from her plate. Both her parents' attentions were now on her, studying her intensely though her mother looked super chilled about the situation she couldn’t say the same about her father though.

 “A friend” She answered her mother’s question with a shrug hoping they’d drop the topic.

Her father snorted, eyeing her with disgust. “Yeah of course following your mothers footsteps”

 Kehlani watched her mother’s hazel eyes darkened, looking ready to lash out. Her mum was American, and like Trinity her mum was perfect American standards, then she had married her dad, Henry and moved to Colombia with him, where they had both made her and raised her. Her mum was skinny but a little busty and certainly taller than an average Colombian. And her mother loved to flaunt the body God blessed her with, which hadn’t gone well with her father one bit.

“What are you going to deny? Very soon she’d start going around with those tiny skirts begging to be fucked.”

 Kehlani clenched her fingers tightly, hurt by her father’s words. Her mother grabbed the glass of wine before her and dumped it all unto her father. 

She grabbed her plate, appetite completely lost. She rose from her seat moving to the sink to drop her plate and run to the only safe place in the house, her room.

 “Come back here Kehlani,” her father snapped.

 She stiffened. “I’m satisfied dad” She managed to say, dropping her plate into the dishwasher.

“You aren’t deaf, are you?” her father yelled and slammed his fist on the dining table, rising to his feet.

She opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out, her heart slamming so hard the wall of her chest. She was scared and she needed an escape, fast.

 She blinked twice, snapping back to reality but it was too late as her father’s fist connected with her right cheek, and it was followed by her mother’s terrified scream.

 She smelled the alcohol, his anger, and hatred.

 “Don’t you dare hit my girl” Her mother screamed, shoving at her father.

Her father smirked, grabbing a handful of her mother’s hair. “Bitch I’m going to send that whore inside you two sluts” He growled struggling with his belt, her mother completely at his mercy. He looked up at her and she flinched, taking steps back.

 “Get the fuck out of here” 

 Kehlani glanced at her mother for a while, filled with so much pity and with no second thought she ran out of the kitchen, missing her steps twice but luckily she didn’t fall. Not like she cared, her main focus was getting into her room. 

She stepped into her room slamming the door shut and locking it, panting hard, her back to the door.

“I won’t cry. I won’t cry.” She repeated over and over to herself, blinking back the tears. She slides to the floor, curling herself up, rocking gently as the screams and moans of her mother fill her ears.

 She blocked her ears with her hands, trying to block out the sounds, shutting her eyes, so tightly it hurt.

“It’s not my fault” She sobbed out, burying her face between her legs.

                                  ........

She looked around unfocused. There was no sound. It was so quiet, too quiet and dark. She let out a sigh and gulped down nothing. She flinched from the pain from her cheek, she felt the sting  then.

 It hadn’t always been like this, she remembered nine years ago when her father would take to parks and museums, how her mother would feign jealousy. 

 There had been laughter, lots of it.

 It had been perfect, but not anymore. 

 The room lit up suddenly, the light coming from her dressing table. She unfolded herself, her entire body aching. How long has she stayed like this? She thought, pushing up her feet, muscles cramping.

 She reached for her phone on the dressing table before settling down on her bed. The time read 12:12am that was the first thing she noticed as she switched on her phone. Then she noticed the loads of messages and missed calls. Most were from trinity and then there were also some from an unsaved number.

 True caller identified the number to belong to Hardin McDonald. She stared at the name displayed on her phone and blinked unsure of how to feel. Her phone vibrated in her hands and her brows drew together as a notification popped up revealing a message from Hardin.

 ‘I’m in front of your house, please come out’

Her eyes widened, shocked. She read the message over and over. Why was Hardin here? 

 She stood up from her bed feeling lightheaded but underneath that was a hint of excitement. She pulled the door to her room and opened glancing at her parents' closed room by her right, there was no sound. She tiptoed down the stairs all the way to the front door. She anxiously rubbed her sweaty palms against the surface of her shirt, then quietly pulled the main door open taking one last glance at her parent’s room, before slipping out.

 The cold breeze welcomed her, causing her to shiver, goosebumps rising on her skin. This better be quick, letting out an exhausted sigh, she looked around trying to find him.

 She spotted him seated on the bench right under the oak tree a few meters  from her house, she exhaled and began towards him sliding on her  ‘I’m fine face’.

 Hardin sprang up his feet immediately he saw her,  startling her a bit.

 “Sorry” Hardin breathed out. “How…” 

 “What…"

They both started at the same time, immediately stopping.

 “You first,” Hardin told her.

 She eyed him, peeping over her shoulder to check her house. She needed to get back quickly.

 “I was worried, you didn’t pick any of my calls then trinity told me to check up on you since she couldn't" 

 She knew why Trinity works late at her dads restaurant on Tuesdays.

  It's cool, Kehlani. Friends check up on each other, she told herself trying to get herself to relax. 

 “It’s late” she reminded him, rubbing her arm a bit.

 “My house isn’t far from here”

She nodded, not entirely convinced.  “I’m fine” she breathed out brushing the curls off her face.

 Kehlani stiffened, taking cautious steps back, frightened as Hardin began pulling off his jacket, taking steps closer.

“Relax”

 He cooed, taking an intentional  small step back away from her. He held out his jacket to her and her frown deepened glaring at the material in his stretched out arm.

 “So you won’t catch a cold” He told her slowly.

 She didn’t want it, a little cold was nothing and besides who knows where that jacket has been, but knowing rejecting it would be rude she collected it from him maintaining the gap between them.

 “Thank you” She mumbled, putting the jacket over her shoulders. It did smell clean, like a warm garden. “It helped” She told him not sure it was necessary, but she did anyway.

“What happened to your face?”

 She gasped and before she could stop herself she put hand over the place where she felt the sting.

“An accident” She snapped, a little harsher than she intended to be.

“It's fine Kehlani, relax” He said in a soothing tone, a confused look on his face.

 She didn’t believe him for a second. It wasn’t fine and she didn’t like how he was looking at her. Like he knew. But he didn't know.

 “It's fine” She told herself, putting more space between them.

“Is it because…”

She panicked. Of course he would ask, they all wanted to know.

“Go away” She flinched and rubbed anxiously at her throat. She didn't feel good, her head hurt, everything hurt.

“Good night” She whispered and twirled around the jacket falling off her shoulders, she would have taken it if she hadn't seen him coming closer from her peripheral view. she freaked running back into the house, her only refuge now.