Black Girl Magic

Chapter 9

I froze for two seconds before I pulled back my arm and hit him as hard as possible in the stomach. He doubled over but grabbed both my arms, securing them in one, so he could use the other to massage his stomach. He said, "I expected a reaction, but that wasn't it." I said, "Let me the fuck go!" He said, "Not if you think you're going to hit me again."

"What the hell did you think I was going to do? The son of the bitch that killed my father was I supposed to be scared or some shit?" He gave a breathy chuckle and said, "Well, that was my first thought, but apparently, you are nothing like I imagined. Not that it will make you feel better, but I'm not fond of that bitch either."

I glared at him suspiciously while still fighting to be let go. He said, "I'm sure you can imagine that a woman like that isn't the most nurturing of women." I said, "Well, she might have raised an evil bastard too." This time he laughed for real from his gut. He said, "My grandparents mostly raised me. She dropped her ass occasionally, in the beginning, when they still trusted her. Once they didn't anymore, she only came to me when I was alone. It wasn't a great reunion."

I still glared at him, but I finally stopped fighting him. He said, "Are you going to try and keep beating my ass, or can I let you go?" I said, "I'll behave for now. But I don't trust you."

He gently let me go and put some space between us before saying, "Well, I wouldn't expect you to. That's actually a very smart decision. I wouldn't trust me either, but not because of my mother." I glared at him and said, "I picked up on that."

He gave me a devastatingly handsome smile and said, "Judging books by covers?" I said, "Judging men by attitudes. You came in there like that was the last place you wanted to be and that you were king of Louisiana." "I'm confident in myself, that's all." I snorted and rolled my eyes, folding my arms under my breast. I noticed him staring at them briefly and turned away, blushing, saying, "Stop staring at me, pervert." He said, "You can't put all that body out there and expect a nigga not to look." I sighed and said, "I'm sure there are plenty of others for you to look at. Besides, it's getting late, so I suggest you leave. You are at the head of the council's house. I'm sure she wouldn't appreciate you ogling her granddaughter."

At that, he looked around nervously, and I smirked. Grandma Asha was nobody to play with. He said, "Then until tomorrow, Kaveri." I didn't speak just turned my back and walked into the house.

I leaned against the door and then peeked out the window. I saw him get into a black Camaro and drive off. I said, "Dumbass," then walked upstairs to my bedroom, stripped, and climbed into bed.

I couldn't believe I would be studying with the son of my enemy. The woman who was trying to kill me. Why didn't anyone warn me? Did they hope he would leave me alone? I wish he would.

A little voice in my head said no, you don't. I told it to shut up, then rolled over and said, "He's not that damn fine anyway." Then I drifted off to sleep.

The following day Grandma came into my room to wake me up. She sat on my bed and said, "It's been so long since you've spent the night here; I've missed; having you around." I said, "I missed being here too. Although thank you for updating my room." She chuckled and said, "Despite being tiny, I didn't think you'd appreciate a twin bed too much." I smiled and said, "True." We sat quietly for a moment, and the memory of Armand pulled the smile off my face.

I looked at Grandma and said, "Why didn't you tell me who Armand was before he came last night?" Her eyebrows rose, and she said, "I was hoping he would leave you alone. I didn't think bringing up his parentage really my place to say." I nodded, understanding her point. Grandma hated gossip and rumors. I said, "Did you know him before tonight?" She nodded and said, "Yes, Baptiste brought him around a couple of times, especially after they took custody of him fully. He didn't want me to hate the child; he wanted our forgiveness and not to put the mother's sins on the child's head. Looking at him without hatred in my spirit took me a long time. But he was a sweet child. He's something else now, that boy has an ego on him, and I sense a little darkness in him, but everyone has light and darkness. He can still be saved."