Finding Kylie (11 page)

             
“When you’re done, please continue your duties in back.”  He slipped his shoes off, and grabbed for a fresh pair.

             
She nodded knowingly.  Angela Adams knew her place, and understood that Mr. Mikale wanted to keep her ears from whatever was about to take place.  What Mr. Mikale didn’t realize is that she’d heard all she needed to. 

             
Ms. Adams came quickly when she heard Mr. Mikale calling.  She knew that tone, and he meant business.  She walked up just in time to over hear the conversation on the porch, and what she heard made her cringe.  She knew these girls were telling the truth, especially after what she’d seen last month.

             
She remembered that weekend vividly.  It was very rare that she had to house to herself.  Mr. Mikale was out of town, John was on a date, and Jesse had left to go back to school.  Angela Adams took a soothing bubble bath and turned in early, but couldn’t go to sleep due to the strange noises coming from behind the house.  The neighbors were known for their wild parties, so she just assumed the muffled yells were from the young kids next door, getting drunk.

             
When Angela woke up the next morning, she went downstairs to start breakfast, and knew someone had been on the back patio the prior night.  She overlooked the kitchen counter, out the glass sliding doors, and saw the pillows that were thrown off the lounge chairs. 

             
She went outside to pick them up, only to find gold beads strewn all over the patio, from a broken necklace. It looked like someone had thrown a handful up in the air.

              Instantly, chills went down her spine.  Something bad had happened that night, and the fact that John was acting aloof the morning afterward cemented her intuition.    

             
Jackson shut the door and asked the girls to sit on the couch across the room.  He chose to sit on the corner of his desk, so that he could tower over them.  It made them both feel smaller than ever. 

             
“Do you know how many women try to latch on to my boys?  Money has a way of bringing out the leeches, ladies.”  Jackson leaned forward, trying to intimidate them.  “You know what I think?” 

             
Jackson pointed at Kylie for effect. “I think you came on to my son, he rejected you and now you’re trying to make trouble for him.”

             
Kylie wished she had the urge to throw up again, because if she could she’d aim for his face this time.  Instead, she let out every emotion she’d pent up since.

             
“You think I came on to him?  Are you crazy?  He held me down and raped me!  He raped me!”  She raised her arms, ready to be heard.  John didn’t listen to her that night.  He took her shyness for granted, and now his father was trying to do the same thing.  “You and your son are just alike ... different actions but carried out with the same style.” 

             
Cheryl had never heard Kylie let loose like this before, and was kind of enjoying it. 

             
John’s father looked confused. “Now you wait just a minute.  You will not ...” 

             
Kylie cut him off. “No, you wait a minute.  I came here tonight to tell your son that I’m pregnant.  He didn’t reject me ... he pushed himself on me - and when I told him no, he didn’t listen.  Just like you’re not doing now.” 

             
She stood up, eyes wild and yelled, like her life depended on it. “Darn it! Somebody better listen to me!”

             
Jackson knew he wasn’t going to get his son out of this one without some incentive, so he did what he did best ... wheel and deal. 

             
“How much do you want?”

             
His raw voice was meant to scare her.  It didn’t.

             
“What?  You’re offering me a pay off?” Offended didn’t even cover what Kylie felt at that moment.  “I didn’t come here for money, so you can take it and...”

             
Cheryl placed a very firm hand on Kylie’s arm to slow her down.  Although she was happy that her friend finally stood up for herself, she didn’t want her to make a foolish decision with out thinking.

             
“I would be interested in hearing him out.” Cheryl looked her friend in the eyes, telling her non-verbally to shut up. 

             
Jackson pursed his lips.  Finally there was someone with reasoning skills.

              “Not that I believe you’re really pregnant.  I think this whole thing is a ruse, but I am going to write you a check for a substantial amount.  I want you to drive to the next town, get
it
taken care of, and not tell a soul.  I will not have my boy’s name drug through the mud.  Do you hear?  And if you do tell anyone, I will have your parent’s fired.  I have a lot of connections in this city and can do it with a phone call.  Believe me." He lifted an eyebrow and leaned in. “It’s true.” 

             
Cheryl saw Kylie’s face and could tell she was about to tell him what to do with his money, so she stood up to intercede.  She grabbed the check and blurted, “Deal!  We’ll take the money and not tell anyone!” 

             
She looked Mr. Mikale straight in the eyes and held it just long enough to be convincing. 

             
“C’mon Kylie,” she whispered.

             
Kylie stared at her friend in shock.

             
She's crazy,
she thought, as Cheryl pulled at her arm, dragging her out of the house.

             
From his window, Jackson blew a sigh of relief as he watched them get in their car and drive away. 

             
Man, did I just dodge a bullet with that one?  At least one of them had the smarts to do the right thing.

             
Jackson was irritated.  All he wanted to do today was read a good book and relax.  The last thing he ever imagined he’d be doing was covering up a family scandal.  Now he’d have to discipline his son, and that irritated him even more.  This was not turning out to be a good day.

Chapter 14

             
A mix of emotions washed over Chastity as she closed the journal.   Her whole life she waited to find the missing piece of the puzzle, and now she knew what it must have done to her mother every time she pushed her for information.  

             
I didn’t even have to say much ... my eyes would be enough to make her uneasy.
She looked into the mirror and into the eyes, which she knew were her father’s. 

             
She was stuck somewhere between being extremely angry with her mom for keeping her in the dark her whole life, and having complete guilt of her existence in how she was brought into this world. 

             
I don’t know what I would have done if I were in her shoes.  She had strength I never recognized to make the decision to have me instead of aborting the pregnancy.

             
Chastity had always assumed her mother was flighty.  When Chastity was a teenager, she had to remind herself on a daily basis to be patient with her mom’s mood swings, without jumping to the irritation that came natural.   

             
Kylie walked through life like her glass was half empty instead of being half full.  Everything she did … she did carefully, as if she were afraid of fully living.  In effect, Chastity inherited some of that behavior.  If it weren’t for her art, she wouldn’t have had an outlet for her emotions.  It taught her to appreciate the small things around her even if her mother couldn’t. 

             
Moving as much as they did gave her no sense of security growing up.   In retrospect, it was the main reason why Chastity began to rebel against her mother.  Especially when Kylie would give her a twenty-question interrogation in preparation for a date.  Chastity would just lie to her mother; do the opposite of what she promised, and stay out late past her curfew. 

             
Now that the truth was out, she recognized that her mother was simply depressed and suffering from anxiety.  She always thought her mom had a character flaw, but now knew she was only trying to make it through the day without being afraid. It dawned on her how tired she must have been to be hiding something all the time. 

             
Why couldn’t you just tell me?  It would have made life so much easier to let it go instead of keeping us uprooted and running all the time.

             
Chastity didn’t know that she was ready for the concept of ever meeting John and that was such a foreign line of thought, considering it was what she’d desired her whole life.  Now that it was with in her reach, she couldn’t picture it at all.

             
As she set the journal down, she saw the light blinking on her machine. 

             
I forgot to check those.
 

             
She walked across the room and listened to the multiple messages she’d received from an attorney, named Timothy Banks.  She had a couple from his paralegal too. 

             
“Oops.” She laughed at herself, as she remembered deleting his message from the afternoon of her homecoming. 

             
I wonder why he keeps calling.
 

             
She promptly wrote his office number down, and grabbed the phone to dial.

             
“Banks Law, how may I help you?”

             
Chastity announced herself, and asked for Timothy. 

             
“Please hold.”  Janie buzzed into his office, with relief.  “Ms. Wayne is on line four.”

             
“Finally! Thanks, Janie. Put her through.” 

             
The next thing he heard was her voice, which was slow and soothing, like jazz music.

             
“Mr. Banks, this is Chastity Wayne.  I just now got your messages.  I’ve been out of town. I’m sorry for the delay.” 

             
Well at least now he knew why he couldn’t reach her.

             
“Not a problem.  I just have a few things to go over with you about your mother’s estate.  I am sorry for your loss by the way.” 

             
“What estate?  She didn’t have anything worth leaving that I knew about, and I’ve already received the death benefit from her insurance policy.”  Chastity sat, puzzled at the direction of this conversation. 

             
“Well ...  I don’t know how to tell you this.” 

             
“Please, call me Chastity.”

             
“Alright … Chastity, I was instructed to go over your someday fund with you.” 

             
The next sound he heard was a loud crash, as she dropped the phone to the floor. Chastity fumbled to recover, quickly retrieved it, only to stare at it in confusion.

             
Did he say what I thought he did? 
She placed it back on her ear, not sure what to expect next.

             
“I’m sorry.  Are you still there?” She sat in silence, as Timothy explained that her mother left her a substantial amount of money, but that he couldn’t discuss the details over the phone. 

             
“It’s best to set up a meeting.  I’ll need you to sign some paperwork …” 

             
Chastity thoughts were on overdrive. 
Money?  We had money?  No, this is surely a scam. 

             
Chastity tuned back in to the sound of his voice, as he explained the channels of procedure and details on where they should meet.

             
“Can you fly here?  I have some business that will keep me in town over the next couple of weeks.” She was at a loss for words, but one thing for was that she wanted this meeting to be on her own terms.  The last thing she was going to do was to fly out of town to meet some mystery lawyer.