Wounded Love (G Street Chronicles Presents From Love to Loathe Series) (34 page)

“It’s so pretty,” Babe crooned.

“It’s a charm bracelet. It looks almost identical to something your daddy gave me a long time ago.”

“What are these things?” Babe asked, jiggling the charms on her wrist.

“Each one is something different; this is a four-leaf clover; this is a horseshoe; this is a rainbow with a pot of gold at the end of it; this is a wishbone; and this is a star charm. All of those mean good luck. Now this one is a fish, and it means?”

“Daddy!”

“Yep, that’s exactly what it means. And this is a cricket.”

“You!”

They stared into each other’s eyes. Babe rubbed the side of Cricket’s face. “Mommy, you’re pretty.”

“Not as pretty as you.”

“Everyone says I look just like you.”

“And you do look like me and your daddy, and Daddy’s pretty, too.”

“Daddy’s not pretty, Mommy,” Babe giggled.

“You don’t think Daddy’s pretty?”

“Noooo,” Babe said, rolling her eyes.

I held back a laugh and walked away. Five minutes later, Cricket tiptoed out of Babe’s room, shutting the door behind her. She held her hand on Babe’s door for a long moment and saw me watching her. I beckoned her to come into our bedroom. I shut and locked the door behind her.

“Stay just a little while longer.”

Pure desperation was about to eat through me. She unzipped her hoodie, dropping it to the floor. She stood and waited for me to make the next move. I pulled my sweater over my head, and she pulled off her long sleeve shirt. She had on a black lacy bra; holding the twins up. I kissed the top of both of them, and she moaned in my ear. She unsnapped her bra and let it fall on the ground as well. Her two, big, soft breasts were free. I placed my mouth over one nipple and caressed the other with my fingers.

“Jyme.” she whispered in my ear.

That one whisper had me hard in seconds. I unbuckled my belt, unbuttoned my pants, unzipped them, and let them fall to the ground. She did the same with hers, but the panties Cricket wore had me breathless. I wrapped my hands around her butt, and it was bare.

“Did you wear these for me?”

She nodded, and I bent down and kissed her. She traced my back softly with her nails; driving me crazy. I pulled down my boxers and peeled her out of those sexy panties. She pulled me into the bathroom and started the shower. We lathered each other up and rinsed each other off. Once we were clean, I kneeled down and slid my tongue inside of her. Cricket always loved it when I tasted her, and I’d missed tasting her sweet flavor for so long. Cricket came on my tongue twice and slid down to the bottom of the oversize tub. I hovered over top of her and slid
him
in slowly.

“Jyme,” she moaned in my ear.

I sucked her breast, and she dug her nails into my back. I loved the sharp pain. I writhed inside of her, and she moaned with every stroke. She missed me just as much as I missed her. We came together and then laid there for a while. The water started getting cold, and I pulled her up to her feet. We rinsed off quickly and got in the bed, our bare skin against each other’s. We both examined each other’s body, trying to stain the images in our memory.

“Leave those clothes here and take some fresh ones out of the closet,” I said.

“You just want those panties, don’t you?” she teased.

“Yes, that’s it.”

We laid there holding each other in silence.

“Cricket, they don’t even show your picture anymore. You could come back home. Everyone knows it was self-defense.”

“One of them wasn’t self defense, Jyme.”

“I need you here, and so do the kids.”

“Would you rather I turned myself in and go to prison? Jyme, no jury would take my side. I’m a former prostitute; they would rip me to shreds. They would say nasty things about me; things I don’t want you to ever know. That wouldn’t be fair to the babies. It’s my fault, not theirs. But I’d do it in a heartbeat, I swear I would. Just tell what to do.”

“Cricket, I don’t know.”

“I don’t want to be in another cage; but I’d do it if you wanted me to.”

She cried into my chest.

“Shh.”

I rubbed my invisible circles into her back.

“No, I don’t want you in jail. Just don’t stay gone so long next time.”

“Okay.”

She smiled at me. We made love again and fell asleep in each other’s arm. I woke the next morning to little feet running on the stairs. I reached over to the side of the bed and pulled on my boxers. Cricket had folded and left her clothes on the side of the bed. I saw the panties tucked into her jean pocket, and they made me smile.

Makael yelled, “Mommy,” down the stairs. Then, Christopher ran back up the stairs and bolted into my bedroom.

“Daddy,” he cried with big tears dropping from his eyes.

“Come here.”

He ran over to me and buried his face in my chest. Makael ran back upstairs, dropped to the floor, and wailed. I noticed a movement to my left, and there stood Babe in her mother’s closet. I wasn’t sure how long she’d been there, but she wore a look I’d never seen before.

“She took a white long sleeve shirt with buttons and a pair of the jeans with sparkly pockets.” Babe shut off the light and closed the closet door. She walked passed Christopher and me and past a crying Makael on the floor. She went into her room and slammed the door shut, and I heard her television pop on.

I got the boys dressed, and they both had a bowl of cereal at the kitchen table. I went back upstairs and knocked on Babe’s door. I cracked the door open and peeped in. She was dressed and staring out her window, looking at Puget Sound. She reminded me so much of her mother now.

“Happy Birthday, Babe.”

She didn’t budge from her stare.

“We have some very important people coming to your party today.”

I sat down on her little bed and saw a small horseshoe charm on the floor. I looked on the floor toward her closet, and there was another charm on the floor. Her hardwood floor was now covered with the charms from her charm bracelet Cricket had just given her.

“Go get some breakfast,” I told her.

She turned from the window and went downstairs, not giving me a glance. I kneeled to the floor and picked up every single charm and their dividers. The doorbell rang, and I slid the broken charm bracelet in my pocket. I opened the door, and there stood mom, Patty, and Dad. I stepped out in front them and shut the door behind me. I explained to them what had happened, and they all understood. I asked them to be extra careful with the kids and not to mention Cricket unless the kids brought her up first. After we had hung all the streamers and the last dish came out of the oven, the doorbell rang again, and the guests started to arrive. Sheen, Ayashe, her kids, Kanoke, Chelle, and her kids.

About thirty minutes later, the doorbell rang again, and I went to answer it. Chyna, Cinnamon, and Michael stood there at the door. Michael almost came up to my chest now, and today he wore a scowl. I asked them to come into the office.

“I have something to tell you.”

I brought them up to speed on everything, and Chyna fell to her knees. Cinnamon sat down on the nearest chair. Michael just stood there with his hands balled into fists. I saw the look of rage in his eyes; he looked just like his father and I feared for him.

There was a knock at the door, and I cracked it open. Mom stood there, asking me if everything was okay. I asked her to send Chelle down, and she agreed. A moment later, there was another knock at the door. I opened it and Chelle walked in, smiling at Cinnamon. She then noticed the two other figures in the room and focused on Chyna sitting on the floor. She ran to her and wrapped her arms around her. They both cried into each other’s arm.

I went and got the boys first and introduced them all. The boys were loving and caring toward Chyna and Cinnamon, but they didn’t warm up to Michael.

I went and got Babe, but before I took her in, I stopped and kneeled down in front of her.

“I have some people that you need to meet. I know you’re hurting right now, but I hope this will help.”

I opened the door, and Cinnamon stood up with her mouth wide open.

“Jyme, she’s a doll.”

Babe looked up at me and then she looked over at Michael who now was hanging around the drapes at the window. Chyna stood and walked over to Babe. Babe’s little head went from me to Chyna. Babe had noticed the resemblance and was confused.

“This is your Aunt Chyna. Chyna is your mother’s sister.”

“Can I have a hug?” Chyna asked.

Babe nodded her head, and Chyna kneeled down and gave Babe a big hug. Cinnamon asked Babe for a hug too; after I introduced Cinnamon and Michael. Michael warmed up a little later on that day, but he never spoke to me. Michael had good reasons to stay away from me. He only saw me as a monster. We watched Cricket’s DVD twice; we ate and all told our favorite Cricket story.

Chyna told me they had been in Portland all this time. They swore to me that they hadn’t heard or seen Cricket at all. They promised to come down the next weekend and then the weekend after that. After I got the twins into bed, I went into Babe’s room. She was in her pajamas under the covers when I walked through the door.

“You’re such a big girl.”

She gave me a small smile. I sat down at the foot of her bed.

“Did you have a good birthday?” I asked her.

“Yes.”

“Did you like meeting your aunt Chyna?”

She nodded and yawned.

“Babe, your mother loves you very much, and if she could, she would be here. I’ve told you this a hundred times.”

“She’s a bitch!”

My ears took a little too long to hear those harsh words leaving my beautiful daughter’s lips. Babe rolled over and turned her back to me. I got up, looked back at Babe, who now had the covers over her head. I knew we would have to have a little talk about what just happened, but not tonight. I turned back around and turned off the light.

I stood at my bedroom window and watched Puget Sound for a while. I took a shower, trying to wash away the harshness of what just happened. I stayed in the shower a little too long, but I couldn’t help it. I thought of nothing but
her
and the night before. I imagined Cricket being back in the shower with me, how I would have her pressed up against the shower wall. I imagined making love to her and her moaning my name. I stroked myself violently until all the pain oozed out of me. I cried under the showerhead.

I dried myself off and went to the sink to brush my teeth. I looked up at the mirror and saw a pair of red lips. The words, “I love you” were written with a fingertip on the glass. I wrapped the towel around me and ran downstairs, frantically looking for her. I turned every light on in the house and checked every single nook and cranny; but found nothing. I opened the back door and then the front door and still found nothing. I went up to twins’ room, and she wasn’t there. I checked the twins, and they both had a pair of red lips on their foreheads. I rushed into Babe’s room. She was sitting straight up in the bed. She blinked at me a few times, trying to settle her eyes with the bright light.

“Babe, did you see mommy?” I asked her quickly.

She nodded at me, and I picked her up; cradling her like an infant.

“What did she say?”

“She told me she loved me, and then she asked me where my bracelet was.”

“What did you tell mommy?” I asked nervously.

“I told her I broke it and that I didn’t want it anymore and then I told her to leave and not to ever come back because we hated her and she was an evil bitch.”

I set her down right in front of me and yanked her face up toward mine.

“Winter Babe Samson, you will never use that kind of language again. Do I make myself clear?”

She nodded at me with wide eyes.

“You do not hate mommy. You are mad at mommy, and that’s all.”

She glared at me, and then her eyes filled with tears.

“But I do hate her!”

I swatted her butt twice with my hand and told her to go to bed. She jumped in her bed screaming and crying. All I could do was shut her light off and close her bedroom door. I went and curled up in my own bed. I couldn’t imagine what Cricket was thinking now. I hoped she didn’t think we all felt the same way Babe did. I wondered now if I’d ever see her again.

On Babe’s sweet sixteen, I gave her a pair of diamond earrings I’d kept safe for so long now. I had to lie to my daughter, and I hated to do so. But this was necessary; I knew she’d never wear the diamonds if she knew who they were from. Babe has never spoken another word about her mother since that dreadful night ten years ago. Babe was identical to her mother now; I saw none of me in her…just pure Cricket. She had her mother’s frame and face, and I feared for the boy who would ever capture her heart. He wouldn’t have a chance in hell of surviving her when she left him. Chyna and Cinnamon still come around often, and the boys adore them; but Babe keeps her distance. Michael is in New Jersey now at Princeton on a full scholarship. They say he’s a genius and has an amazing future ahead of him. He tolerates me a little better now, but I’m still a little uneasy around him. None of us have heard or seen anything from Cricket since Babe’s sixth birthday. I still receive a monthly deposit in the account that I’ve never touched. But I’m not sure if she’s even making the deposits anymore. More than likely, she’s set up some kind of automated deposit of some sort.