Daddy's House (23 page)

“
You look so much like my daughter…Lisa. Spitting image,” she added.

I froze. Her voice echoed around the room. Lisa…Lisa…Lisa was all I could think.

Her head nodded. “That’s right,” she confirmed. “That’s the Lisa we’ve all been talking about. My Lisa.” She held her palm to her chest, then began to sway fearfully back and forth. “That’s why I can’t do this anymore. I see it all happening again.” Her eyes filled with regret.

“
She was my only daughter, sixteen when she first came here. We had no where else to go.”

Instantly, Ms. Dottie fell to the floor on her knees. She sobbed uncontrollably, but my body wouldn’t allow me to reach out and help her. She cried like a baby. I paced the floor for a few seconds, and then rushed over to the bed. I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard.

“
Why would you bring your daughter here?” I asked.

She shook her head back and forth a few minutes, before struggling to her feet. “It wasn’t a part of the plan. We were doing real bad when I met Daddy; living in a shelter actually. When he took us in, Lisa was only sixteen. She never did anything. I swear. Never even seen anyone have sex. But suddenly when she turned eighteen, she started dating Daddy right under my nose. There was nothing I could do. Lisa wanted to be with him,” she said, with resentment in her voice. “Then, when Senator Marion met her, that was it. He fell for her too. She was beautiful, just like you.”

My face frowned. “You keep saying was. What happened to her?”

“
Daddy let her go with Marion in exchange for him not shutting down the house, and bringing criminal charges against us. I was so afraid of going to jail. Plus, Marion claimed he wanted to be with her. I just assumed she was gonna be put up by him somewhere like a mistress, instead she never came back. The Senator says she ran away from him.” Ms Dottie covered her mouth with her hands, and breathed a heavy sigh. “She’s dead,” she added, in the most horrified tone I’d heard in a while.

A lump formed in my throat. I didn’t have a child, but heard there was nothing worse than losing someone you’d given birth to. Her next set of words, for some reason, made me think of slime, maggots, and dead corpses.

“
Her body was identified a year ago somewhere outside of Philly,” she informed me.

My heart skipped a beat. “Why didn’t y’all turn the Senator in, if you think he had something to do with it?”

“
I don’t know, I don’t know,” she continued, as she shook her head. “I think they do this to make money. The Senator has all kinds of connections and crooked friends in the world. I can’t prove it, but I think they’re selling girls overseas to the highest bidder, if they can trick the girls into going. Lisa probably fought it. Another girl went missing my first month here,” she said softly.

“
What?” I panicked. “Why did you stay this long?”

“
I could never prove anything. Just knew it in my gut. Plus, Daddy has provided for me since he took me from my homeless state. I get one third of the profits from running the house…and he promised if he ever sold, half the house would be mine.” Her head lowered. “But I feel like

I’ve sold my soul to the devil.”

“
You have,” I replied, in a whisper. “Me too, I guess.”

“
But no more…I won’t stand by and see another young woman go down the drain. I’m tired of his lies!”

I sat on the bed with my hands cupped over my face, just listening, trying to understand why. I looked up at Ms. Dottie, then around the entire room.

“
Daddy told me I was his woman,” I finally said.

“
Oh, yeah?” she responded, like it was all bullshit.

“
You’re like a car to Daddy. He trades you all in for a new model every now in then.” Her words hit me like a freight train going 100 mph. But I knew she was telling the truth. “Look at School Teacher. He messed with her mind too. He just lost interest in her once she went crazy.

That’s what he does,” she pleaded. “Please understand that!”

I lifted my head a little to look into her face. Her tears had dried, and she now spoke with more confidence. More conviction.

“
There’s something magnetic about his ass that keeps people wanting to be near him, no matter what he does. I just don’t understand it, but it’s true.”

She paced the floor, like she needed me to focus on her lecture. I paid close attention, ‘cause I was starting to believe every word.

“
Look at me. We made an agreement after Lisa disappeared that he’d never sleep with anymore women in the house, or allow anyone to be with Senator Marion outside the house. I believed in that agreement strongly. He broke it! Prayerfully he didn’t send Cat with the Senator too. She may be dead, or in another country by now. Leave now while you got a chance,” she ended.

I felt lost, but I knew I had to run like hell. I thought about the money I sent out to a financial investment guy a few years ago when I was making money from my Columbian man. I couldn’t get it until I turned twenty-four, but hell being homeless for six months would have to do for now. I hopped up thinking about what I was gonna take with me. I didn’t have time to grab it all.

Swiftly, I ran into the bathroom, then back out and into the closet. I grabbed what I could, then threw the covers back to grab my money that I’d stashed under the mattress. A few minutes passed. I was so caught up in my escape, I hadn’t noticed that Ms. Dottie had disappeared. I ran to the top of the staircase to check my surroundings, ‘cause I wasn’t sure who was in the house. It was a free day for some of the girls, but it seemed extremely quiet overall.

I jetted back into my room to grab some more stuff. I wanted this escape to be different from my last. I needed shoes on my feet, money in my pocket, and a ready-made wardrobe.

Ms. Dottie suddenly appeared at my door, wearing a black peacoat and a green knitted scarf. She held a small nylon bag in her hand, clutching it tightly as she spoke. “I’m leaving,” she said. “You need to go now.”

My eyes opened wide.
She was finally giving it all up
, I thought. I ran over to her and hugged her tightly. “Be safe,” I said.

She touched my shoulder gently. “You too. Now hurry!”

Ms. Dottie turned and walked away. I went back to my last bit of packing. At that moment, I thought about something that needed to be done. Ms. Dottie was half-way down the staircase by the time I ran out with the necklace.

“
Here,” I said. “Take it with you. It’s a memory of your daughter.”

She smiled, grabbed the necklace, and continued down the stairs. When the front door slammed, I knew this was it. It was time for me to be on the run again.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Fifteen minutes later, with my bags in hand, I took off down the stairs. The house was fairly dark, even spooky now that I heard about the scary shit going on in the house. Still in all, I kept my feet moving forward, ready to make my move.
The door
-
my future
was visible right in front of me. When I hit the bottom step, only three yards from my escape, I stopped like a confused fool, unable to make up my mind. Sushi’s voice echoed from the showroom. It was a cheery voice, bad English at its best. A part of me just felt like I owed her a quick talk, to let her know what Daddy was really all about.

My change in plans was only temporary. Sushi, just needed to know. She’d been missing in action all day, but I couldn’t leave without letting her know Candy was finished.
Done with Daddy’s House
. Truthfully, she needed to be out too; before it was too late. I wasn’t sure how much she knew about Daddy, or his involvement with the Senator, but there wasn’t enough time to compare stories. I took off in her direction leaving the front door behind me. The sound of the door opening stopped me in my tracks. Sushi would have to be put on hold for a moment ‘cause I figured Ms. Dottie had forgotten something. Surely she would fuss me out for taking so long to get out the house.

When the familiar smell hit the door, my hopes of an easy break-away went down the drain. His cologne seemed stronger than usual, but oddly still turned me on. When I turned to look over my shoulder, Daddy just stood there looking at me. His disapproval was evident. I wondered if the luggage in each hand signaled a dead give-away. I glanced down at the bags, then back at him. He returned the stare, to me first, then the bags. It was crazy.
Tic for tac
, I thought. He frowned at me. I frowned back at him. It was better to make Daddy think I was angry at him, for leaving me behind. I was ready to turn the tables and win the actress of the year award, until he spoke harshly.

“
In there!” He pointed toward the showroom.

It wasn’t optional. I could tell in his voice.

My heart beat like crazy. I couldn’t tell him I was on my way out ‘cause the look on his face showed he might pull some type of murderous stunt if I made one wrong move.

“
I got an important customer,” he belted out, following me into the showroom.

I moved slowly, giving Sushi the eye when I entered. Immediately, she knew something was wrong. He had a brutal look on his face as he nodded and pointed to School Teacher, Sushi, and Bambi. With each nod, he issued a snap. “Line up,” he ordered.

I inhaled hard, like the breaths I took were needed to stay alive. I wondered if the Senator was the important client he was talking about, or if he planned on selling us off. “Daddy, can I run up and put on something a lil’ more sexy?” I asked, in the most seductive voice I could muster.

My hands shook waiting for his response, but managed to point toward my cut up jeans and oversized polo hoping he would agree. He walked in a three hundred and sixty degree circle around us as we all stood in the middle of the showroom floor. When he didn’t even respond to my request, the answer was clear.

The other girls stood up straight shoulder to shoulder with their best faces groomed, and their sexiest stances ready. For them, they probably figured Daddy was angry, so it was time to make some money. In my heart, I knew differently, but I took my place at the end of the line like an idiot. I probably could’ve handled whatever Daddy planned on dishing out, until the unthinkable happened. The hairs on my eyebrows stood up when our important guest walked through the door.

“
Candy baby, look who’s back from the dead,” Daddy teased.

I stood dumbfounded pretending I wasn’t having a panic attack. I focused on the hip-hop attire my mother wore. The Roca Wear hoodie and extra tight jeans certainly wasn’t made for a thirty-six year old. She always looked well below her age, but now she dressed the part.

Even through her clothes the extra weight and muscles were evident. Her scowl was so hard…yet her skin and facial features remained eye-catching.

She immediately started at the beginning of our short line, never making eye contact with me down at the end. “I never really liked Chinese food,” she said, stopping in front of Sushi. “That cat never taste too good. You cook cats?” She laughed like a crazy woman just before licking Sushi’s cheek with her tongue.

“
You funny as a mufucka,” Daddy said, pulling over a chair to enjoy the entertainment.

“
You think?” She never cracked a smile.

Her next move was to study School Teacher, who stood next to me. I guess Bambi didn’t interest her too much.

“
So James…”

Daddy’s eyes lit up. “Daddy,” he suggested.

“
Whatever, nigga. So, now I understand what you told me on the ride over here. Yeah, these bitches can make somebody good money overseas. Especially this one. Lose the fuckin’ glasses,” she said, grabbing School Teacher by the crouch. Her powerful strokes made School

Teacher turn a new shade, but she kept quiet, and my mother kept digging.

“
I wish I could lick you like a lollipop,” she said, as she continued to rub School Teacher’s pussy through her pants. As Big V began to fondle School Teacher’s breast, she let out a slight moan. “I’ll be back for you later.”

School Teacher looked completely humiliated as my mother continued down the line.

When my turn came, I tried to keep a straight face. She walked right up to me. “Ummmph…Look at my baby,” she taunted. “Fineeeeeeee. All done up and shit.

Look like you been gettin’ money too. I taught you well.”

My stomach did like twelve flips making me think I was on a roller coaster ride. This one moment of uncertainty was enough to give anyone a massive stroke. No one would ever understand my position ‘cause it still didn’t seem real to me. I squirmed, damn near pissing in my pants, yet this was my flesh and blood standing before me. When her finger reached toward my face, I jerked. But her movements continued.

“
Look at yo scared ass. I taught you better than that. Man up!” she yelled. “At least stand your ground after you did all that damn snitchin’.”

I didn’t speak ‘cause my guilt would be detected. All of a sudden she must’ve seen something on my skin, or felt something in her heart that made her facial expression change. I couldn’t pin-point it, but there was something different. Her fingers clutched at my face softly, like a mother would caress her young daughter’s skin. She tugged at my cheeks, which sent chills up my spine. I had no idea what was coming down the pipe. She looked over at Daddy, who sat not far away enjoying the show. He laughed in a low tone thinking it was all comical. I guess seeing a mother and daughter face off was priceless.