A Love Like This (Book 1) (56 page)

“
Your mom went into Mr. Clayton
’
s house because she thought he might have fallen down.
 
I heard her scream and I saw a woman running from the back yard so I went in and woke your cousin and your dad.
 
They
’
re all inside now.
”
 
 
I start for the house and Tucker grabs my arm and pulls me back.

“
Wait here,
”
 
he says and runs across the street.
 
The police and ambulance arrive just as he enters the house.
 
Some of the neighbors have start
 
filling
 
out
 
onto their lawns.

“
Did you see the woman
’
s face?
”
 
I say to Shauna.

“
I didn
’
t get a very good look at her.
 
She wore a baseball cap pulled down low.
”
 
 
My mother steps out of the house with a police officer.
 
She has her arms wrapped around herself and she looks shaken.
 
We all stand and watch in silence as the EMT workers bring Mr. Clayton out on a stretcher.
 

“
Oh my goodness is he dead,
”
 
Nickie
 
says.
 
I take a closer look and see that Mr. Clayton is pulling the oxygen mask away from his face and yelling at the EMT workers.

“
That mean old man is still alive.
 
Evil doesn
’
t die easily,
”
 
I say.
 
The police officer hands my mother a card and she ambles over to us.
 
We all hug her and head back into the house.
 
We sit down at the kitchen table and
 
Nickie
 
hands
Momma
a glass of water.
 
We all wait expectantly for her to tell us what happened.

“
He was tied to a chair,
”
 
My mother says looking over at me.
 
 
“
A woman broke into that nasty old man
’
s house over powered him and tied him to a chair.
”

“
Was he hurt?
”
 
Sarah asks.

“
He bumped his head on the floor when the chair tipped over.
”

“
So she broke into his house and tied him up but she didn
’
t hurt him in any way?
”
 
 
I ask.

“
No it gets even stranger than that, she broke in, over powered him and cleaned his whole house.
 
She apologized for scaring him and she sat with him and read to him.
”

“
Are you sure he didn
’
t get a concussion when he bumped his head?
”
 
Shauna says.

“
That
’
s what I thought until he told me that she broke in so that she could keep an eye on you,
”
 
She says pointing at me.
 
My mouth goes dry.

“
Why does she need to keep an eye on me?
”

“
He said she
’
s been following you every since you arrived.
 
She said you have something that belongs to her and she came here to get it back,
”
 
My mother says raking her hands through her hair.
 
“
Tucker filed a police report.
”

My dad and Tucker come marching into the house.
 
They look like black and white angry bulls.
 
 
“
Your father and I have decided that it would be better if you stayed here in LA for a while.
 
This woman is completely out of her mind.
 
So you shouldn
’
t go back to Berkeley with the rest of us.
”

At that moment I felt like everything inside me was about to erupt.
 
Who the hell do they think they are?

“
Oh Shit hear it comes,
”
 
Nickie
 
says moving away from the kitchen table.

Breathe Leila I say to myself before speaking.
 
I grit my teeth and look back and forth from my father to Tucker.
 
I
’
m not going to yell or act unbecoming even though that
’
s how I feel right now.
 
I
’
m going to act like an adult.
 
 
“
Thank you both for your concern.
 
I understand that you
’
re worried and you have every reason to be because this clearly isn
’
t an ideal situation.
 
Nevertheless, you both need to know that I will not stay here.
 
I will go back to school and finish my degree and I might even redecorate my new house.
 
I respect both of you tremendously but you
’
re not the boss of me,
”
 
I yell pointing
at both of them before rushing towards my bedroom.
 
 
I slam the door and pace the floor.
 
 
Ok so the mature approach didn
’
t really work out.
 
I
’
m seething but I don
’
t know who I
’
m angry at. I
’
m mad at Tucker and my dad for telling me what to do.
 
I
’
m pissed at the crazy woman for making my vacation miserable and I
’
m angry at myself for straying so far away from my goals.
 
I fish around in Tucker
’
s pants for the keys to the rental SUV.
 
I grab my big red purse and creep out the front door.
 
I pull away and head in the direction of
 
Pookie
’
s
 
house.

*****

Pookie
 
is sitting on his couch editing and article about summer cardigans.
 
 
He
’
s been doing his best to ignore the text messages and phone calls but the last few calls have come in so quickly that he can
’
t ignore them.
 
When he hears the knock on the door he doesn
’
t bother looking through the peephole he just opens it wide for Leila to walk in.
 
 
“
Hey uncle,
“
 
She says then stops herself.
 
 
“
I guess I can
’
t call you that anymore,
”
 
She says lugging herself into the living room and plopping down on the couch.

“
So I hear you ran away from home,
”
 
He says closing the door behind her.
 

“
Yes, our father and that man I married,
”
 
he stops her.

“
Please don
’
t do that.
”

“
Do what?
”

“
Don
’
t
’
 
call Xavier my father,
”
 
He says walking into the kitchen.

“
I understand why you
’
re upset but he
’
s always been your father.
 
He did every father and son thing imaginable with you.
 
I always thought it was because he didn
’
t have a son but now that I know the truth it all makes
 
since.
”
 
 
Pookie
 
walks over to the couch with a mimosa.
 

“
The only thing I ever wanted was a father.
 
I didn
’
t need a new car for my sixteenth birthday.
 
I didn
’
t need to study abroad in Paris.
”

“
I know you needed someone to talk to you about major life decisions and teach you how to do guy things.
 
Daddy never did any of that right?
”
 
She says sarcastically.
 
 
“
My goodness you
’
re so spoiled.
”

“
Don
’
t be a smart ass Leila.
 
They fucked up ok.
 
They should not have lied to me.
”

“
They were doing what they thought was best,
”
 
I shout.

“
They were ashamed of me,
”
 
He retorts with tears streaming down his brown cheeks.

“
Oh Jermaine,
”
 
I say walking over to hug him.
 
 
“
No one could ever be ashamed of you.
 
You
’
re the best person I know.
”

“
I am aren
’
t I,
”
 
He says with a little laugh.
 
 
“
I know they had good intentions but they have been
 
lying
 
to me
 
my whole life and I
’
m
 
not ready to forgive them yet.
”

“
Fine with me,
”
 
I say grabbing his drink and taking a sip.
 
 
“
You are the only man I know who keeps a supply of champagne on stock just for morning mimosas.

“
Oh little sister niece, sadness is no excuse not to live fabulously.
”
 
 
 
Pookie
 
and Leila spend the next hour discussing the cleaning stalker.
 
They get online an order a stun gun and pepper spray.
 
They also order an alarm system for the house in Berkeley.
 
 
“
That should satisfy your father and your husband for now,
”
 
He says.

Leila texts everyone and tells them where she is.
 
Her plane doesn
’
t leave for hours so she and
 
Pookie
 
order Chinese food and watch old movies. Leila looks over at him and asks,
 
“
So are you going to meet Valery Callaway?
”

“
Chris told me that she
’
s clean and sober now.
 
I
’
m very proud of her for getting her life straight but I have no desire to meet my biological mother,
”
 
Pookie
 
says.
 
 
“
I
’
m still working on getting use to having a father.
 
Baby steps,
”
 
He says.
 
There
’
s a knock on the door a few
 
hours before Leila
’
s plane is scheduled to leave.
 
 
Pookie
 
looks through the peephole and opens the door.
 
 
“
Here we go,
”
 
He says as the
 
entire family piles into his living room.