Page 22 of Lesson on Depravity

Mr. Tito is parked on the street with another man in the passenger seat. I don’t recognize him, and he has this unapproachable aura around him, but that’s the requirement for everyone around here.

They have to be fierce to ward off rival enemies.

Mr. Tito waves at me as Daddy’s hand settles on the dip of my spine to guide me towards the car. He leaves the driver seat, and the other man follows suit, his Mohawk flopping to the side of his head while the other side is uncovered with a centipede tattoo wrapped around his skull.

Scary, I think to myself with a stiff shiver.

“He’s your driver,” Daddy says, nudging me forward to the man.

The man grunts, a bass tone as if he’s a chronic smoker. “Cent.”

It takes a couple of brain cells fighting in my head for me to realize that he just introduced himself, and proper etiquette spits out of my mouth with my own name.

His name is fitting to the tattoo on his skull, but I was never a fan of things with too many legs. Cent opens the backseat car and waits silently; Daddy’s hand pushes me forward with a nod.

“Ciao, Coco-Rococo.” Mr. Tito solutes two fingers, and the door closes in my face.

Daddy says something to Cent, and the man only nods. I wish I could hear what they’re saying, but the barrier from the car blocks out all the noises—even the strong gust of wind that tosses Cent’s hair to the other side.

I wave my hand at the window, catching Daddy’s eyes as he nods. A glint flash in his dark eyes and the hair on the back of my neck shoots up in fright.

I’m not scared of Daddy, but I do fear the unknown in his adeptness to plan three steps ahead. Daddy had been weird ever since the day I asked him if I could live by myself two weeks ago, and it’s nearly three weeks from that day.

He still hovers over me, overprotective, and he never fails to tell me his love for me grows every day. There is something about him that I can’t pinpoint; he’s different, but he’s not. The nagging feeling in the back of my mind speaks through experience that Daddy is just a trace too different.

Before I could dwell on that, the car had sped off with the shape of Daddy blurring away. Cent leaves the car silent; no music and no conversation to make me feel uncomfortable. I chalk it up to him being an uncommunicative man, and I want this car ride to think of everything that had happened.

Every possible scenario comes out too ridiculous that I draw blanks after a while. The building where Intergrade is located can be seen through the window, and I get dropped off by Cent.

I look back and thank him for driving me here while mentioning that he doesn’t need to come inside with me. He speeds off to who knows where the moment I close the door. He’s an eccentric man, but I don’t know him well enough to judge.

It is as if the person I talked on the phone had anticipated my arrival comes to greet me when I walked through the automatic door.

She greets me by my legal name, and I don’t correct her since it’s still the name on my identification card. Before I could even ask if this is a joke, she had pulled out documents and legal papers to show me that this is a legitimate job position for me.

Throughout the twenty-minutes of explanation, I realize that it is real, and I had to ask about Jessabelle.

The woman explained that her husband is one of the donors of this company, and his wife wants her niece to work here. The representative doesn’t know why Jessabelle wants that, but she offered me a tour around the company because I could start tomorrow if I were to accept.

I get a tour of this amazing headquarter. Everyone is so kind and happy to meet their new employee even if I hadn’t signed anything yet. I spoke too soon because before I knew it, I was already signing my name on the paper for this job.

I could quit at any time without any hidden fees and legal problems.

The representative smiles as she collects the papers. A knock from the door turns both of our heads to the newcomer, and it’s the Jessabelle woman.

She greets me with the same groomed Pomeranian. I just freeze in my seat, unable to have a proper mindset after this whole insane ordeal of a new job and just exactly how I got it.

“Come have lunch with me, sweetheart. I have so much to tell you!”

This is the perfect opportunity to get to the bottom of this mystery. I don’t believe this woman is my aunt for the sole purpose of knowing that my mother had been cursing every family member on her side for as long as I could understand words.

She blames her terrible life on her parents, and my mother never takes responsibility that she could get out by herself if she just tried.

“I need to make a call first.” I find my voice again. “Please wait a moment.”

The representative stands and excuses herself from the room while Jessabelle nods with a smile, petting her dog’s puffy hair as she steps out the door.

Putting the phone to my ears and with two rings, Daddy’s voice flows through the device, and I’m able to relax.

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