Page 94 of Dare You to See Me
There, behind the inconspicuous door, sits King’s space. The chair that I’ve seen him in, doing things that make me blush. Three monitors line his large desk, seemingly in sleep mode. A black helmet stares at me from its spot on a tall, dark wooden bookshelf.
I slide my hand along the wall and flip two switches. One lights up the overhead light, while the other illuminates the room in blue from a strip that lines the wall where it meets the ceiling.
My hand clamps over my mouth to stop the bile that rises. Tears flood over my lids and down my cheeks. He betrayed me. He fooled me, knowing exactly what he was doing. I opened myself up to King that I never have, and never would have, had he not made me feel safe and wanted. While Malik was luring me into a false sense of security, King was using that knowledge to take advantage of me.
“Doll face? Did you find the med–” He freezes in his steps when he sees where I stand. “Soleil. Let me explain.”
“I’m done listening to your explanations.” I spin on my heel to push my way past him, but his hand grabs hold of my arm. “DON’T touch me.Nevertouch me again.”
He drops his hand slowly and I see the way his face falls. My body vibrates with anger, and the pain rivals that of what I felt when I saw Gene and Meredith the day my life changed forever.
“Please. I need to tell you why.”
“There is nothing that you could say that will make this better. How could you? You betrayed my trust, my heart.” I shake my head and the tears fall harder. “You make me sick. How many women have you done this with? Is this yourthing? Fooling women so you can fuck them and make them fall in love with you, then leave them broken on the side of the road?”
“No. I swear. I’ve never done anything like this before. Only you,” he stutters.
“Oh well, lucky me.” My laugh is laced with fury.
“I told you. It’s an obsession and I just can’t help it. I need you. You fill the hole in my soul that has sat empty for so long. Without you, I’m lost.”
“Then I guess you’ll be wandering the world alone until the day you die.” I stomp away from him and straight into his room.
I hustle into the closet where my unpacked bag sits and begin throwing my clothes into it, carelessly.
“Wha-what are you doing?” He sounds terrified as he watches me from the doorway.
My head flings to look at him, fire burning in my eyes. “Getting the fuck out of here and away from you.”
I go back to stuffing my bag and struggle with the zipper when I try to close it.
“No! No. Soleil, please. I know you’re upset–”
“Upset?” I toss the bag over my shoulder, clothes hanging out and the zipper now broken. “Upset doesn’t even begin to touch it. Stay away from me, stay away from my daughter, and stay out of my life.”
I shove at his chest and run into Dahlia’s room and do the same with her things. Malik follows behind me, begging and pleading with me not to leave. “If you’ll just listen for one minute,” he keeps saying, but it falls on deaf ears. There is nothing he could say to fix what he broke.
I race down the stairs, a bag hanging from each shoulder, and storm into the living room. “Dahlia, get up and get your shoes.”
She startles at the bite in my command. “Why Mommy?”
“We need to go. Hurry.”
“Soleil, stop. It’s late. I don’t want you driving while you’re worked up. We’ll talk more in the morning when you’ve had time to process this.” Malik is standing between Dahlia and I, trying to convince me to stay.
“There’s nothing to process and nothing to talk about. Leave us alone.”
“I don’t wanna go. I want to stay with Malik.” Dahlia whines, adding to the cacophony of voices and stress.
“Get up, Dahlia Rose! Now!” Her tears begin to fall and her lip quivers.
I feel so horrible for talking to her so harshly, but I need to get as far away from Malik as I can.
Dahlia rushes to the front door where her fluffy boots sit and she shoves her feet into them in a hurry. I help her with her coat then kneel down, meeting her eye to eye.
“I’m sorry, my little dove. I’m not mad at you, but it’s an emergency and we have to leave now,” I explain.
She nods and with hiccups asks, “Can we have a sleepover another night?”
