Page 17 of Kaya's King
Immediately, I’m enraged on her behalf. “They used to pick on you? Call you names?” The fury I’m feeling has me wanting to take an extended road trip and drop kick the little assholes for putting this amazing woman through years of hell. Considering she said the word ‘kids’, I’d also need to build a time machine, but the fact of the matter remains, she’s mine to protect and care for fromeverything, and that includes her past.
“Yeah, but I’ve gotten past it, Specks. Foster lived in the same trailer park, and he was one of my biggest defenders when we were in school.”
“What was he like?” I probe, curiosity about Noah’s father getting the best of me.
A deep sigh escapes her, and she tries to pull away, which I don’t allow. I gently yank her into me and tightly hold onto her. When she realizes I’m not willing to let her go, she freezes in place and holds her body stiff. Eventually, she gives in and slackens, curling further into me. “When I was a little girl, before I started school, my parents and I were involved in a horrific multi-vehicle car accident. It killed my dad, disabled my mom, and injured me quite badly. That’s why I walk with a distinctive limp, my leg was shattered in multiple places, and they had to structurally rebuild it. Anyhow, we had to move in with my granny and the cheapest place we could afford was a somewhat rundown trailer park. I met Foster the first week after we moved in, I was still unstable and needed crutches to be mobile. I was bored, bemoaning the fact I had nothing to do when he came walking by, humming a tune while juggling a tennis ball, tossing it from one hand to the other.
“He saw me and stopped to introduce himself. Then, when he realized I couldn’t play due to my injuries, he ran to get his comic book collection and sat next to me on Granny’s deck while we scanned each and every one in order. At least I think they were since each precious one had consecutive, ascending numbers on it. Even though there were pictures inside and neither of us could read all that well, we imagined how things were playing out and made up our own scenarios. But even thought it would usually irritate me that we didn’t know how to read the words, that particular day, it didn’t matter in the least because I made myself a new, lifelong friend. I had someone who was my age, or close to it, I could talk to, and he didn’t care that I was a girl. Once I was mobile again, we would play at the park’s playground, or he’d come over, Granny would fix us a snack, andwe’d play Old Maid or Go Fish, or watch a movie. Granny was always busy either working or taking care of my mom, so having Foster around eased her guilt about not always having time to spare for me.”
“He protected you against the mean kids at school?” I question. Part of me wants to hate him for finding her first, but he’s dead and I’m still on this side of the grass, so that seems childish, and I haven’t acted that way in a number of years. Time to move on and get the fuck over my immaturity.
She laughs, but there’s no humor in it as she nods. “From the time I started kindergarten until the day I crossed the stage to get my diploma, I was bullied by three girls from the “right side” of the tracks. My only crime was my grandmother bought most of my clothes from the second-hand store in town, then she’d use her tailoring skills to rework the items she got so they were new, at least to me. Those girls, however, would see me in something they’d previously owned and either make fun of me to the point that I wouldn’t willingly wear the outfit again, or they’d do something to damage my clothes to the extent they had to be tossed in the trash.”
“They sound like a bunch of cunts,” I grind out, clenching my molars and grinding my jaw.
This time, her laughter sounds like lyrical bells echoing in my ears as she throws back her head and lets the hilarity flow. “I’ve thought that myself for so many years now, but it’s such an ugly and crass word that I’ve never said it out loud!”
“I’ve got no issues calling a spade a spade or in this instance, a bunch of mean girls cunts,” I matter-of-factly retort, which has her laughing even harder.
“Okay, so whenever Foster saw them being mean, he’d retaliate in such a sneaky way that technically, they couldn’t prove it was him, but they were still paid back. He was my best friend, Specks, in fact my only friend growing up. He’d use the money he made cutting grass or running errands for the older residents of the trailer park to buy me sketch pads, colored pencils, charcoal chalk, and my favorite snacks. Hell, he took me to his senior prom and managed to save enough money to buy the fabric my granny used to design me the most beautiful dress. I felt like a princess, like Cinderella that night even though those bitches tried to ruin it all for me and steal my glass slipper.”
I consider keeping my lips sealed, not sure I want to know what happened, but in the end, I can’t help myself. “What did they do?”
“Do you remember the movieCarrie?Not the remake but the original with Sissy Spacek?” When I nod, she continues, “Well, I was standing there waiting for him to bring back some punch and I heard a noise whirl above me. I looked up and the three of them, along with their dates, had a bucket they were trying to turn over on top of me. Knowing what was coming my way, I managed to get out of the way in the nick of time, which shocked the hell out of them, but oh my gosh, you should’ve seen the gym floor! It was coated from one end to the other in pig's blood.” More peals of laughter break free as she remembers that night, and even though I’m livid at this point that three girls who should’ve been supportive of her tried to hurt her, I can however, in retrospect, see the humor.
“Did they get in trouble?” Fuck I hope they did. Bitches like them need to be put in their place, otherwise, they end up being a thorn in society’s side.
“Did they ever! All six of them ended up getting expelled and sent to the alternative school in the next town over. The three boys, all of who were on target to get a full-ride athletic scholarship to college, lost their chance at that because the damages to the school were enough that even though they were all juveniles, they weren’t charged as delinquents but as adults. Felonies are hard for a college board to overlook when handing out scholarships, you know.”
“The school never did anything about the bullying, did they?” I query. I know most schools nowadays have a zero-tolerance policy, even if most of the time it’s sidelined by the teachers and staff, but I’m unsure if a policy was in place when she was in school.
“The girls were suspended several times, but it never changed their behavior. They just got sneakier. Each act that followed their probationary period became more intrusive than the prior event.”
I’m about to ask another question, because I want to know every little thing about her when she yawns again. “Babe, why don’t you hit the bed? I’ll keep an eye out for Noah, like I said.”
“If you’re sure, Specks?”
Kissing her nose, I nod. “Are you off tomorrow?” I ask. Being a gentleman is hard as fuck when all I want to do is toss her on the nearest surface and ravage her. But with her past, and with my history, our movement toward the future needs to be taken slowly. It needs to be done the right way, because at the end of the day, what we’re building now will lay the groundwork for us.
“Yeah. Loki said not to come in until Monday,” she replies.
“Good. Tomorrow, we’ll eat a hearty breakfast to keep his stamina up and charged, then we’ll get Noah in the pool.”
By the looks of her radiant smile, it says all I need to know, and suddenly, I feel weightless, as though I’m walking on a cloud. “I think he’ll like that, although I don’t know what exercises he can do in there yet. CeeCee said the therapist would call me.”
“I’ll do some research tonight. Walking in the water may be all he needs for now until we’ve been given the information. You head on to bed, and I’ll go grab my iPad and see what I can figure out. Does that work?”
“Absolutely. Good night, Specks.” Out of the blue, she becomes shy, as though she’s rethinking what she told me.
Standing, I help her up then pull her into my arms. Nestling her into my chest, I disclose, “You and me, it’s going to happen, Kaya. Just wrap your head around that fact right now, okay? We’ll take things slow and easy. There’s no rush, we’ll get there when we’re meant to.”
The spot where her lips connect with my cheek burns as she makes her way toward her room. Someday soon, I’ll be following her and climbing in the bed behind her, but tonight’s not that night. Making sure the door is unlocked, I head to my own suite, slip on some nightclothes so I can get comfortable, and grab my iPad along with a couple of drinks. Since I said I’d keep an ear out for Noah, I opt for sweet tea instead of beer.
Ensconced once again on her sofa, I turn the television on low then start researching for water exercises Noah can do.
“Mr. Specks, this is fun!” Noah exclaims, paddling around the shallow end of our indoor pool. Kaya was in with us, but when Poseidon, Trident, and Brooks got in with their kids, she got out and is now sitting on a lounge chair by the other old ladies as we gently roughhouse with the little ones.
Right now, he’s got his braces off since the water has him weightless. I found several easy exercises for him which he had no problem doing once I called the therapist CeeCee found and cleared the way. She was actually excited to hear that her new student had people in his life who would be intently involved in his therapy willing to do what I did. Since he had no issues, I’m teaching him some more swimming techniques, just like my brothers are doing with their own kids. With our prior military career, we’re all quite attached to the water, which is one reason this place ended up being so fucking perfect when Poseidon wanted to relocate.