Hired To Love

Chapter Four

        Keon Wyatt

So he wants to threaten now?

I got back to my room pissed off for two different reasons: one, Alphonse blackmailed that girl into agreeing to this shit just so she wouldn't have to go back to that orphanage and two, he's tricked me yet again into doing what he wanted. He said that shit knowing that I would agree to marry Naiya. Even though I'm calling his bluff, I didn't want to risk it with a situation as delicate as this one. Especially since he's been unpredictable lately with this stunt he pulled.

Yeah. I decided on the trip from Naiya's bedroom to mine that I would agree to marry her. I figured that agreeing to it would buy me and Kyle some time to decide what to do. And if nothing we planned worked, I would just marry her then. And get that shit annulled or something. Since she's turning 18 in two months and Alphonse said he wants us to marry in two months, we could get the marriage annulled and she would be free to live on her own. No ties to Alphonse, her old orphanage or me.

But that same gut feeling that told me that I would regret not leaving her ass at the orphanage last night, returned. I was going to regret agreeing to this but not for the same reason that made me agree to do it. As I paced in front of my fireplace, I could feel my dad looking at me. I knew it was him because common sense told me he would come to see if my mind changed. He knew what he was doing when he said that shit in Naiya's room. He probably told her not to pack up because he just knew that I would agree to it after that pussy ass threat he made. I stopped pacing and looked at him.

"Don't go to sleep with that fire on son. I would hate for you to wake up on fire."

"You're a dick you know that?"

He smirked, "Look I only want what's best for you."

"No you don't. You're doing this to control me not my damn wellbeing."

"Believe what you want to son. I believe why I'm doing this and that's all that matters."

"Yeah because it's always about you dad. Nobody else."

"You're acting like she's ugly Keon. She's beautiful and you get to have sex whenever you want. I know it's been hard for you in the girl department...especially in the sex department and that's why I helped you. Pretty soon you'll be moving out contrary to what your mom wants and you'll be on your own. I just want you to be okay. I worry about you being on your own in your condition. You refuse to get a cochlear implant and I swear sometimes you purposely turn your hearing aid off. I'm afraid that you'll do something senseless like that and something seriously happens."

So he knew about me turning off my hearing aid...bet he doesn't know it's only when he's around. I kept it on now because of what just happened.

"I can read lips just fine dad."

"I know son but-"

My parents really don't think I can survive on my own? They don't think I can take care of myself? "And I don't need y'all looking after me for the rest of my life. I can take care of myself perfectly fine. I drive myself around-"

He stepped into my room making slow strides towards me. He better not be trying to do what I think he is. "And you're a great driver son. You're very attentive to your surroundings."

"I was perfectly fine on my own last night when you left to go spend another night with your baby mom."

"We just don't want you to be alone okay?" I could tell my statement slapped him in his face because I'm always constantly reminding him of his indiscretions and how it led to his downfall in the political world. Now he's just another John Edwards or...

"I can be alone dad. I actually prefer it that way."

"You say that now. You don't want a family?"

"No."

He sighed, placing his hand on the side of my face. Here we go. "You don't mean that. You have a barrier up right now...you're avoiding that because you're afraid of rejection-"

"I have no problem finding girls." Which was true. I just didn't like the ones that approached me or that I've seen.

Naiya included.

"It's just the wrong ones who come my way."

He looked at me for a second before smiling. "I said the same thing about your mom you know?" I rolled my eyes and looked away. He turned my chin back towards his face. "Hey listen to me man. You and Kyle never knew about the story of how me and your mom met. What perfect time than right now?"

Yeah what more perfect time than the moment when I could care less the most? Despite my blank and uninterested expression, he went on to tell me the story about how he and mom met which sounded like a load of bullshit he mixed from a fairytale book and a story generator.

Apparently they met at some Democrat Party event at this bar/lounge that was exclusively set for people 25 and older. At the time he was running with the red elephants, or Republicans, but then he met a feisty woman named Tessa Franklin and a heated debate started between them. At the time she was engaged to some man named Jackson, which struck out to me because that's my middle name...but anyway as they debated about abortion rights and taxes in front of a small crowd around them, all that was running through my dad's mind at the time was that she was loud and wrong about everything she was saying. He said he felt like he was talking to a brick when he tried to explain his views about wanting to lower taxes for businesses but 'she just wouldn't understand'.

LONG STORY SHORT, because I honestly drowned out what he said about their views because personally I don't care about politics, he said that after a few drinks and more heated discussions he changed his choice in political party color and ended up in the bathroom at the end of the night conceiving Kiara with my mom. Like I wanted to hear that.

He said that two months later he saw her again and she had a small pudge hiding under her coat. Her fiancé Jackson broke the engagement off with her and there she was on my dad's doorstep saying she was pregnant with his baby. He said that after months of them planning for a child, they began a relationship and a month before Kiara was supposed to be born they got married. Right after she said 'I do' her water broke.

How dramatic.

Swear that's in a book somewhere...

But I took it just so that he could hurry up with whatever else he had to say and get out of my room.

"Just...do this okay? People in England had to go through arranged marriages all the time. Some still do in other countries."

"Yeah but this is America dad. Shit like that don't exist over here."

He dropped his hand from my face. FINALLY. "So are you gonna do it?"

"..."

"..."

By now he knew that I was. Arrogant asshole just wanted to hear me say it.

"Keon-"

"Yes. I'll marry her."

An annoying ass smile appeared on his face that, as much as I didn't want it to, made me laugh a little. You know those smiles that make you laugh no matter how mad as hell you are.

Poor thing took my laugh as a peace offering and pulled me into a hug. Still laughing, I shrugged him off and pushed myself away from him. "Get off me...you're still a dick. But if it means you'll shut up about it and stop threatening that poor girl to take her back to that hell hole she was living in, I'll comply with your stupid wish."

"I wasn't gonna take her back there."

"I know you weren't...but she doesn't. You probably scared her."

"She's packing..."

I rolled my eyes and walked around him to head to her room. But something that confused me throughout that bullshit story came into my mind and made me pause in my tracks and turn around. He was putting out the fire in the fire place.

"Dad?" He faced me, not saying a word. "Did mom name me Jackson after her ex?"

He looked away briefly and then back at me, nodding. "He contacted her when she was six months pregnant with you and told her that he had cancer. He wanted her to be bedside with him when he died. I was away in Europe when she was bedside with him. By then she was eight months pregnant with you. While she was bedside with him, she went into labor. I didn't get there in time to see it. Anyway by the time you were born, he had died. She gave you his first name as your middle name."

"Oh...ok."

How awkward. I always wondered where my middle came from.

Naiya's door was open when I got there. I could see my dad's suitcase on the bed and some of her clothes that I bought for her were there. I stepped inside quietly and peered inside of the bag. Feeling eyes on me, I looked up and to my right to see her standing at the doorway of the walk in closet with her hand over her chest. Guess I scared her.

"Sorry I scared you...and for just walking in. I would've knocked but..."

She shook her head. Her long dark brown hair was pulled into a messy bun on top of her head. "It's okay."

I grabbed one of her shirts out of the suitcase and handed it to her. She frowned at it but took it anyway. Then I grabbed two more shirts and handed them to her. I'm sure she was confused about what I was doing but I hoped it would become clear to her that she was staying.

"What are-am I staying?"

I looked back at the door to make sure we weren't being watched by my dad. Grabbing her hand, I turned on the television and took her inside of her bathroom. I kept a look out at her door still. Dude is sneaky. "I agreed to marry you. But that was only so he wouldn't take you back. We're gonna figure this out in the mean time but I still don't have any intentions on marrying you."

"How are we going to fool him then?"

"Easy. Act like two strangers who were told that we're getting married. Get to know each other, sleep in separate rooms, and awkwardly hold hands when he comes around...it'll be fine." Even I knew that shit would be hard. My sarcasm is impeccably believable if I do say so myself.

"And what if he wants us to sleep in the same room? He did say something about me being in here and not in your room."

"I'll handle it if it comes to that. Just...play along and everything will flow. Got it?"

She nodded but something told me she was still skeptical about the idea. I can't blame her. She wanted to be sure about this working because if it doesn't, it's back to the hole for her.

"Everything will be fine. Me and Kyle are gonna think of something. If we can't think of another way out of this, we'll just...give him a marriage, annul it and go our separate ways. We'll set you up so you'll be fine financially or whatever. But I honestly don't want it to come to that."

"Why?"

"I don't wanna give him the satisfaction that he got me to marry."

"Right."

"I know you don't know me and I don't know you to ask you this but...trust me okay? I apologize for last night-"

"I trust you."

"...thanks."

"And thank you, again, for the stuff."

"No problem." I muttered, shrugging it off as I left her in the bathroom.

One down, one to go. I needed to get Kyle in on this as soon as possible. He said he would talk to Dad and I believed that my brother would have some good words for him. However I knew that our dad wouldn't even listen. Mom might be able to get through his thick skull-

Wait.

Mom really named me after her ex-fiancé who she cheated on to have sex with my father...

Guess she ain't no different than he is.