I wake in bed feeling renewed and restful. Looking around, I notice my Kota is gone. I quickly sit up and go on my phone and call Raena. She answers within two rings.
“Hello?”
“Raena, do you know where my cat is?”
“Oh, yeah. Don’t worry he’s fine. I have him.”
“And you didn’t think to wake me up before taking Kota? Where are you going?” I asked worriedly.
“Just for a ride. And I was going to tell you but you were passed out and probably wouldn’t have remembered. Trust me, I’ll be back in soon. Give me 15 minutes, alright?”
“You better be. If something else happens to him, I swear…”
Raena sighs. “I know. We’ll be fine. See you soon.” She hangs up.
I get out of bed and go downstairs. “Harris?” I called. Silence.
I reach for an outfit from one of my bags of clothes: light blue shorts, a floral shirt with roses and new panties. Unexpectedly, I hear coughing while the door opens. It’s Harris.
“Oh, hey miss Leah. Finally got up?”
“Yeah, what’s the big issue? I’m sure I didn’t sleep that long.”
“Well, it’s 3 noon. For you, I think it should be.”
I ignore his comment and roll my eyes. “Where’s the bathroom?”
He walks over to sit on the couch and puts on the TV, turning the channel to a football game. “Across from Raena’s room. Well, yours now.”
I ran up the steps and into the bathroom. I changed into my fresh clothes and put the others on the floor. They’re dirty anyways. I look into the mirror. My hair is a mess again and I look filthy. Damn, I should have just showered. Maybe later today though. I look around to find a random brush and use it since I don’t want to go back downstairs.
I wet the brush and comb through all of my blonde hair, putting it into a braid. I take my clothes and go back down, putting them in the bag behind the couch. The door opens again and there’s Raena and Kota.
“You’re finally here! Give me my kitten.”
She hands him over. “I hope I didn’t take too long. There was some traffic on the way to getting home and I had to get gas. It’s gone up from five to six dollars.”
Finally holding my cat, he and I stare at each other. He slowly blinks at me and seems to smile. I kiss his little head. He meows softly and it fills my heart with such warmth. “My kitty, I missed you.” I tell Kota as I pet him. I sit on the couch away from Harris and pay attention to my cat.
“Six dollars is not that much, dear. If you need money to fill the tank, I could give you a little bit.” I hear Harris say to Raena.
“Well, you’re a programmer. You should give me more than a little bit; I’ll need to get groceries and everything else.”
“No,” Harris says aggressively, “and frankly you should be a little more grateful. I pay for so much around here. This house. Your car. That TV you wanted.”
I look up and I see Harris stand and slowly walk over to Raena. She doesn’t look his way but says: “Harris, I’m tired. I’m just going to take a nap.”
She starts to walk upstairs but he starts to reach towards her. I put Kota down on the couch and immediately walk over to them.
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“Don’t touch her.” I say. “Leave her alone.”
Harris looks me up and down before letting her go. “Raena, go. Now.” She thanks me and goes upstairs.
“Hmph, you’re lucky.” he says. He turns around, grabs his keys and leaves the house.
I check on Kota before going to check on Raena. He looks at me with tired eyes while laying on his side. I pet him, and then go to the room upstairs. I knock on her door. “Hey. Are you okay? Can I come in?”
“Not yet. I don’t want you here right now. I’m just… trying to deal with some stuff.”
“Well, if you want me to leave, can you give me my phone first? It’s on your bed.”
Raena opens the door and hands the phone to me before shutting it again. I hear her soft sobs. “Raena, at least let me see your face and that you’re okay.”
“No. Just take a walk or take my car somewhere.”
Frustrated, I go back down and get ready to leave. Once again.
I sit on the couch and text Danisha: Hey. Raena is going through a rough patch and doesn’t want me here right now. Can we go somewhere?
I get up and go to the kitchen to make myself tea while trying to control my own emotions. It’s so difficult. Harris reminds me of Marie and I can’t stand it. I just want to punch his stupid ass face.
My phone rings. I ran to pick it up. “Leah. Where are you? Do you want me to come get you, are you safe?” Danisha asks worriedly. I sigh. “I’m fine, don’t worry, and I’m safe, yeah. I’m still at Raena’s place. Can we go for a drive or something? I don’t want to get close to Marie again.”
“Yeah, of course! I’d be glad to get lunch right about now. My dad and I would love to see you.”
Huh? I haven’t ever heard her mention her father before. And I thought she hated her parents. “Is there something you want to tell me? What’s that about your dad for?”
“I’ll explain as soon as we get there. That story in itself is going to take a while.”
“Okay”, I smile. “I’ll see you soon.”
I scrolled through my phone as around twenty minutes passed uneventfully. A text popup appears at the top of my screen as I pet my cute kitty. “We’re here” it says. I put my phone away before gently scooping up Kota from the couch and putting him in the taxi. I go out then lock the door behind me.
“So you’re Leah! Come on in, we’re going to my favorite joint!” Danisha’s father beckons me to hop in as Danisha scrolls through her phone with her headphones in. The car’s speaker is blasting loud reggae music. Opening the car door, I set the taxi down and slid it over before sitting down. “And what’s this here? You’ve got a cool cat with you?” he smiles. “Oh, I love cats. Can I hold him later?”
“Yes, of course. You’ll have to be extra careful though, his arm is hurt.”
“Right, I heard about that.” He sighs before beginning to drive off.
As we drive down the road, I turn my attention back to my phone. Another text comes from Danisha. “Sorry about the loud music.” She sends a sighing emoji. “Tell me, what happened?”
“Well, Raena and her husband had a fight. He was calling her ungrateful and was getting really hostile.”
“Did he hurt her?” She looks at her phone with a shocked expression.
“No. I interfered and I told her to get away from him, but when I tried to go check on her, she turned me away.”
“Maybe just try to let her cool off and then try again later tonight.” Danisha suggests in her text.
“Okay. So what’s the deal about being with your dad? Aren’t you living with Tommy?”
“It was only temporary. Until Dad gets back on his feet; he’s struggling right now. Ya know, financially. So Tommy’s been helping both of us by letting me stay for now and sending some money to Dad.”
“So where is he staying, your dad?”
“With his brother. I don’t talk about my mother because she wasn’t doing right by me and was into terrible stuff, so Dad took me away from her.”
“That’s good, hope you both are alright now. How old is he?”
“46. He was a young father.”
Danisha’s dad says. “Dad, tell Leah your name!” she commands jokingly. “Oh, sorry! The name's Rigoberto. I’m from Él Salvador if you're curious.”
“Nice to finally meet you.” I laugh. “Likewise," he replies.
“How is everything going by the way chica?”
“Uh, pretty well so far. I’m staying at my friend Raena’s house for a little bit.”
“Ah, I hope she’s being a good host.” Rigoberto chuckles.
“Yeah, she’s alright. I wanted to get out of the house today for some fresh air.”
“Fuck, do I understand that. I’ve been stressing out about finding a job but have been stuck with doing freelance shit. Fresh air always helps when I'm getting real stressed.”
“He doesn’t make too much money from those; he makes like thirty dollars a week if he's lucky. At least it’s something though.”
I don’t know what to really say to her that would be relatable, because I can’t. I’ve never worked. “Are we there yet?” I ask.
“Not yet. It’s some ways away. The food is phenomenal though, you’ll see. The drive always sucks ass and it’s the worst part.”