Page 22 of Hodge
“I … I don’t know. He doesn’t like it when I talk back.”
“And you talked back to him?” She nods. “What did he do then?”
“He tied me to the dresser and left me there for days,” she says in a near whisper. Anger surges inside me, and I find myself swallowing down a growl that threatens to break free.
“And the van?”
“He came back today and told me I was leaving. I was forced to go.”
“What the fuck is this?” I hear my dad and pull away from her. She doesn’t move. She doesn’t know what to do.
“You remember Kemah.”
“From the hospital, right?” he says, a smile crossing his face. He walks toward her and holds out his hand; hesitantly, she takes it.
“That’s right. She came to see how I was doin’.” I don’t know how much I should tell him, considering I don’t know much myself.
“It’s good to see you. Glad you’re here,” he tells Kemah, before pulling his hand away. “Don’t let Hodge scare you off. Or all these damn decorations,” he says, motioning to all the Christmas shit the girls have put up. Just as I’m about to say more, the girls come in. I glance over and see Kiki eyeing Kemah right away, which doesn’t surprise me. She does this to every girl near me.
“Who is she?” Kiki asks in a fake cheerful tone. Here we go.
“This is Kemah,” I tell her. She slides up next to me, wrapping her arms around my waist and hugging me from the side, all while eyeing Kemah.
“I’m Kiki.”
“Nice to meet you,” Kemah says softly. My dad is about to say more, but I catch his attention and shake my head. It’s better if Kemah doesn’t know the dynamics right now. She isn’t going to be staying long.
“You have fun shoppin’?” I ask Kiki.
“It wasn’t bad. I got you something.”
“Stop buyin’ me shit,” I tell her. She huffs and pulls away from me, strutting back over to where she left her bags. Kemah stands there, wringing her hands in front of her, unsure what to do.
“You hungry?” I ask her. She shakes her head. She’s lying. I can hear her stomach growling from here.
“Yeah, right.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“It means I can hear your stomach, Kemah. Don’t lie to me if you’re hungry,” I tell her. “How long were you tied up for?”
“Days, I don’t know.”
“Fuck,” I grumble under my breath. “Come on.” She follows behind me as I walk to the kitchen and pull some things out of the fridge to make food. I’m not the best cook, but I’ll try.
Kemah doesn’t say anything as she sits on the stool and waits. I don’t know what’s going through her head right now, and I don’t like that. I want to know. I need to know what the hell happened and where the fuck this boyfriend of hers ties into it all.
I finish the chicken and noodles, putting some on plates for both of us before setting it in front of her. She picks up the fork and begins to eat, and I know she must be starving after days of having nothing.
“This is really good,” she says with a half smile.
“I did my best.” We eat in silence until Amber, a club girl, comes into the room. She looks between us, narrowing her eyes at Kemah before sliding between my legs and resting her ass on my cock. It’s hard as fuck, but not because of her. Maybe I’m weird, but I love watching Kemah eat.
“You didn’t go on the run,” Amber states.
“Had other things to do. What’s goin’ on?”
“Not much. Your dad said we were having a party for Christmas.”
