Page 65 of Awakening
“No,” Dro said, his voice sharp, “You were more than a coward. You broke her, you broke us, and for what? A life that I could’ve provided you, given the chance?”
She flinched.
“You left her with me and disappeared. You let me drown without you,” his voice cracked. “I loved you, Kim; I would’ve done anything to be happy with you, with us, as a family, and you just left.” The tears finally falling from his eyes.
Kimberly’s jaw trembled. “Because you were in the streets, Dro. Running with people who put targets on your back. People like Jarvis,” her voice elevated, the pain evident.
Based on Dro’s reaction, I could tell that name hit like a gut punch.
“Who is Jarvis?” I asked, confused, looking between the two of them
She looked at me, then at him. “Jarvis raped me. When I was pregnant with you, he snatched the joy from my heart, mind, and soul. I was too far along to terminate the pregnancy. Still, I remember having to drive two hours away to have an STD panel done and make up lies about why just to be sure he didn’t give me or you anything,” she was full on sobbing at this point and my body and mind moved on their own as I went to her and wrapped her in my arms.
“He said if I told anyone, he’d kill me, you, and Ajaih. The day I gave birth, he came to the hospital. You had stepped out to get me some dinner because the hospital food was slop. I woke up and he was in the room, holding her, holding our fucking babygirl with a look of evil in his eyes, looking at me like he didn’t give a damn about anything.”
The room froze.
Tears continued to fall down her cheeks. “So I left. Not because I didn’t love you, but because I was terrified and I carried that alone, until now.”
I didn’t know what to feel. The range of emotions washed over me in waves: rage, grief, pity, and empathy.
Dro leaned back, silent, his jaw clenched so hard it ticked, his eyes filled with tears.
The therapist mentioned taking a break, but I didn’t catch it. I continued holding her, my mother, this broken woman with too many secrets. In that moment, I understood we were all just survivors of different wounds.
“I forgive you,” I said softly.
She pulled back, looking at me to see if she’d heard me right.
“I don’t know your story, but I want to, and if you’re serious, I’d like to work through this to have a relationship with you.”
I don’t quite know what expectations I had going forward, but I recognized that to be a big sister, I needed to be healthy, and the journey to healthy started with healing, even if it hurt like hell first. As we finished up, we scheduled another session before Dro and I headed out.
We sat outside the therapy center, the air still and heavy, my thoughts noisier than ever. Dro lit a joint he didn’t needbut deserved as this heavy ass therapy session. The flare of the lighter briefly illuminating his face. I stared out at the parking lot, then turned to him.
“Who was Jarvis?”
His jaw clenched. “A former business associate from when I was still deep in the life.”
I said nothing, just let the silence press him to continue.
“He was older, slick. Made his money but always wanted more. I didn’t see it at first, but your uncle Ant warned me. Said Jarvis was a snake who’d bite me the second he got the chance.”
I shifted, watching his profile.
“He was jealous. Hoe ass nigga wanted everything I had. My money, the respect the streets had for me, my family, and apparently, Kim.”
My stomach turned.
“When he got popped by some undercover feds, he tried to take everyone down with him. Dropped names, mine, Ant’s. Fuckin rat tried to flip the whole damn table.”
“But he didn’t?”
Dro looked me square in the eye. “Because we made sure he couldn’t. Ant made a call. Jarvis never made it to trial. He was found dead in his cell. Suicide, they said.”
He paused then, staring ahead, voice low, “You know, thinking back, I remember coming home and Kim was…different. She’d become a shell of the girl I’d fallen in love with. One day she was my ride-or-die, strong and sharp as hell. Then she just… dimmed. Wouldn’t look me in the eye. Didn’t want to be touched. At the time, I thought it was the stress, the pregnancy, maybe something I did, but now?”
He shook his head slowly. “It had to be what Jarvis did. I should’ve tried harder to find her. I was so hurt and fueledby ego and pain that I wrote her off, whole time I put her in harm’s way.” his voice was shaky.
