Page 4 of Nobody Praying for Me

My heart sank as I heard this from him. At this point, he didn’t even need the mask, but I was glad I couldn’t see his face. I felt like that would make things worse. He used his knees to spread my legs. While he was busy fumbling with his zipper and lowering my shorts, I stretched my hand to the right, trying to find something to grab a hold of.

I happened to grab onto a shoe, so I picked it up and started beating him in the head with the heel. “Argh!” he yelled out in agony as I hit him until he released me. Once his hands were off me, I kicked him in the balls, which sent him crashing backward. I used that moment to hop up and race out of my apartment.

Someone laying on their horn snapped me out of my thoughts. I didn’t even realize I was crying until I felt a tear land on my chest. I eased off the brake, pushing my car through the green light with no true destination. The robbery had happened three days ago, and I hadn’t been home once. I skipped out on work, knowing he would be there.

I was so fucked up about the situation. Bryaire grew up in the streets with me after he was abandoned by his addict parents, so we became attached at the hip, knowing we were both kids forced to raise themselves. He knew how afraid I was of being sexually assaulted and how many times it came close to happening over the years. Now, he was the monster who’d almost made that fear come true. I think it was worse, knowing going to the police was useless because this type of thing came with the lifestyle.

I drove aimlessly around the city, too afraid to stop anywhere I felt he would find me. Who knew if he had plans to finish what he started in my apartment or if he was angry about the damage I’d done with my heel? I’d never been more thankful for a red bottom in my life. It had real value when it mattered most.

I think what scared me about Bryaire was that he knew everything about me—where I lived, what I drove, and where I worked. It felt like, if he wanted to find me, he could, so I just kept driving around the city until I could hardly keep my eyes open anymore.

I’d already run through the little bit of money I kept on Cash App for emergencies over the last few days. If it weren’t for the handsome stranger I’d approached earlier today, my car would already be on the side of the road with me cooking alive inside of it because the August heat was relentless. Thankfully, the sun had gone down, and I could ride with the windows down now.

Pulling into a random neighborhood, I drove around, looking for somewhere to park. I sighed in relief when I saw there was a dead end on one street, so I went down there and parked near the tree line. Turning off my headlights, I released a heavy sigh before allowing my head to rest. For a minute, I just sat there trying to stabilize my breathing, but the sobs tore out of me with a mind of their own. My shoulders shook, and my eyes burned from the flood of tears bursting forward quicker than my eyes could produce them.

I had always tried to remain positive, even though I felt like I was given one of the worst fates someone could have in this world. Leaning my seat back, I curled on my side and hugged my knees to my chest. I was so fucking exhausted with living a fucked-up life, always only having myself to rely on, never being able to trust others or even get close to them because I never knew if their intentions were pure. Now that I was betrayed by Bryaire, I was certain I would never trust another soul again. Was it God’s plan for me to be all alone?

I glanced out the window, hearing thunder roll in the distance, shaking not only the sky but the earth below. Not even a minute later, the sky exhaled, and it began to pour down. Even the sky had something to cry about tonight, making me feel less alone. I related to her pain on a spiritual level, but it felt good to not be the only sad one. At some point, I stopped fighting my body and allowed myself to drift off to sleep.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

I jumped out of my sleep frantically. My eyes bounced around as I looked for the source of the sound. I rapidly blinked away the sleepiness to see a shadow standing on the driver’s side. I sat my seat up and started the car to be able to roll down my window. My heart began skipping beats as I waited to see who’d approached me.

The world slowed as a familiar face appeared in my open window. I gulped down the cotton lodged in my throat, feeling as if my eyes were playing tricks on me, but no. It was the guy from the gas station. Because he was over six feet tall, he had to bend down to peer inside. There was no way I could forget his Hershey complexion, low-tapered cut, chiseled and strong jawline, or his dominating and demanding brown eyes that were framed by his naturally long lashes. He had a Nubian nose that fit perfectly in the center of his face and full, flesh-toned lips surrounded by a low-cut beard.

I gulped down my nervousness when I saw him studying me. A beautiful smile spread across his handsome face when my identity registered in his mind. Then he said the last thing I expected.

“I guess you have to go on that date with me now, or are you stalking me, Pretty?”

4

KALM ALEXANDER SAVAGE

Ispent the entire night tossing and turning because I couldn’t get Dr. Brother’s voice out of my head. Kaos didn’t take the news well when I told him about Sissy’s diagnosis. It hurt him knowing he couldn’t be out here with us. He was especially worried about her mental, but I assured him that I would have our sister covered the same way I was covering him. I felt like such a fucking failure knowing my siblings were going through battles I couldn’t fight for them. As a professional boxer I was known to lay shit out, but in this instance, there was no number of punches I could throw to make things better for either of them.

Finally done with fighting the idea of sleep, I tossed my covers off my legs and headed into my closet to dress in work-out clothes. I figured a run would help me clear my mind and possibly tire me out enough to get some sleep. It was only a little after midnight, so the streets would be silent as the rest of the world slept soundly. I dressed quickly then headed toward Oasis’s room to find her sleeping peacefully. The sight made me feel a little better.

Easing her door closed as quietly as I could, I headed out the front door and locked her in the house. I noticed the earth was soaked and realized it had rained at some point during my mental agony. Standing in the middle of my driveway, I started out with stretches. Just when I was ready to get started, I noticed a car parked in the cul-de-sac. Because I was raised in the hood, I was always suspicious of cars being parked near my home, especially this late at night.

Jogging over to the car, I realized the Lexus looked somewhat familiar with its golden hue that wasn’t commonly seen on the streets. I figured it was a custom wrap or something as I stopped right beside the driver’s side. Peering inside, I saw someone sleeping in the seat, so I knocked on the glass to wake them up.

I was shocked when the window came down to reveal Charisma’s beautiful face. Granted, it was slack from sleep, but she was beautiful nonetheless. I couldn’t help but smile at the sight of her. “I guess you have to go on that date with me now, or are you stalking me, Pretty?”

She gulped, straightening her spine in her seat. I watched her quickly run her fingers over her hair as if she wanted to make sure no strands were wildly misplaced. “How could I stalk you? I don’t even know you,” she retorted with bugged eyes.

I chuckled. “I mean, you’re parked outside of my crib, so you tell me how you managed that?”

She glanced around the neighborhood before her eyes landed back on me. “It’s just a coincidence.”

I hummed and tapped my fingers on the roof. “Or is there some invisible string tying us together?” I wasn’t usually this pressed about a woman, but something about Charisma ignited that carnal nature to chase within me, and I couldn’t fight it if I wanted to. Her mouth opened and closed, but before she got to speak, her stomach growled loudly. “Get out. Let me take you to get something to eat.”

I stepped back to allow her room to open her door. “I don’t even know you.”

“But you could. Come on. I promise I don’t bite, but I won’t force you to accept my offer either.” I held my hands up in the surrender position then backed up a little. My run was forgotten about as I pointed to my Trackhawk parked in the driveway. “I’ll be waiting in the truck. You decide what you want to do.”

I walked away, even though I was nervous she wouldn’t take the bait and would instead crank up her car and skirt off down the block, never to be seen again. If that was her choice, I would respect it, but I was curious about this woman who’d randomly appeared in my life for a second time. Before I even made it to my truck, I heard her locking her doors and running behind me. I kept my smile hidden as I unlocked the doors and hopped in to wait for her to join me.

“Where are we going?” she asked once she joined me.