“What do you want to know?”
“More about your father.”
“Oh.” He would have to be deaf not to hear the reluctance in her tone. “My father. Let’s see…. He is a lawyer who specializes in international law. Has his own firm and believes he is a great role model,” Jayde said as if reading from a script.
“I take it you disagree?”
“No, he is, to everyone but me, it seems. He was always so giving with his time to others, but wouldn’t even help me with my homework. He would say ‘figure it out. I’m busy.’ I always call him ‘Father’ or ‘sir’, while the rest of my siblings call him ‘Papa’. I am the disappointment and he never lets me forget it,” she spoke harshly.
“It was and still is ‘so-and-so had accomplished such-and-such by the time he was your age. Quit pre-tending that painting is a career and get a real job.’ And so on. No matter what I did, it was never going to be good enough. And never will be.” Tyson could hear the tears in her husky voice. “I remember the last time I was shown affection by one of them. I was ten and had just broken my arm. My eldest brother gave me a hug until he saw Father’s disapproving glare. I get patted on the head, like a dog, on the rare occasion. But normally I am ignored,” Jayde stated blandly.
Tyson couldn’t believe this. “What about holidays and birthdays?”
“I was always in the kitchen cooking for everyone or cleaning up afterwards.”
“But you’re the youngest.” He was furious on her behalf.
“Yep, so I have the most energy. Nineteen years without affection except from my grandparents; it’s amazing I know what it is,” came her sardonic response.
“What about at the funeral for your cousin?” Tyson’s anger at her family continued to grow.
“Then it was, ‘Well, Jayde was supposed to be handling the responsibility of her care.'” She began to cry. “I loved my cousin; she was nothing but wonderful to me.”
Tyson gathered her close to his strong body. “I think you know a lot more about affection than they ev-er will. Look at what you did for me. And I’m sorry. For the way they treat you and use you.” They wouldn’t do so again, he vowed.
She laughed a short, harsh sound. “Don’t be; it’s not your fault. But thanks, anyway.” Jayde began to rock more.
“Tell me about George,” he ordered. Tyson knew that if she were occupied, whatever frightening her would fade into the background.
“Why?”
“Humor me.” Tyson knew she wasn’t being defiant, it more like she was trying to figure out why he gave a tinker’s damn about her ex.
“George,” she began like it was the start of an epic. “He is the ideal man, according to my family. Ideal for me, anyway, or the best they believe I can ever get.” The rocking slowed. “He is tall, not as tall as you, but maybe six-one or so.” She paused for a short time as if recalling his face to her memory. “Dark skin, he keeps his head shaved, and sports a goatee. Very fit, he spends a lot of time working out at the gym. He is extremely concerned about his appearance. He has a fierce temper, a surprise considering his job.” Her breathing calmed down as she continued.
“He is thirty-three. Good at his job, excellent really. He loves customer service and is a supervisor, not mine, or we wouldn’t have been dating, but in the same place. Anyway, he is very old school in that he believes men and women have their place. I was not staying in mine very well. I was too ambitious and wanted more. More money to be exact. Even after he knew it was because of my cousin that I needed to work more for the extra income, it didn’t really change. But maybe it was just me he had the problem with, since I was one of three women of color working there.” Jayde paused and they listened to the sound of rain hitting the thick foliage.
“So he slinked his way into the good graces of my family, telling my father all about his big plans of keeping me at home to take care of the house and kids. Since I didn’t have a career, Father thought it was a wonderful idea. Mother also.” She took a deep breath. “When I broke it off with him he was furious. I mean furious, scary mad. I even got transferred to a different floor at work so I wouldn’t have to see him. However, he kept in touch with my family, who always sing his praises to me when they called. It was the one nice thing they would say; pity it wasn’t about me,” her voice was laden with scorn. Tyson noticed she’d pulled away from him; he didn’t like it, but he didn’t force her to return to his side.
“I didn’t want to go back to Georgia, so when they came up for the funeral, I told them I was going to stay on and see if George was ‘the one’. That was the only reason they didn’t haul my ass back down south with them. After they left, I told George I didn’t want to see him, talk to him, or hear about him again, and then I came down here. I’d still hear about him when they would call me at the hotel.” Jayde fell silent.
Tyson knew she’d omitted some things from her story, but he respected her privacy enough to let it go. For now. He was furious over the treatment her family gave her—not to mention this man, George. If he ever saw him, Tyson believed he would actually do the guy bodily harm, just for scaring Jayde. She was deserving of so much more than what they’d led her to believe. “What about your mother?”
“My mother? Well, she believes Father knows best and would never dare go against his word. It is law, after all.” She inhaled deeply. “She is the perfect trophy wife: beautiful, fit, and entirely doting on Father. She looks awesome on his arm at any of the functions they go to. But she was…is…a lousy mother,” Jayde scoffed.
“I can’t remember her cooking for us, baking with us, or anything like that. It might ruin her figure. But I suppose it just wasn’t for her. The only reason she had kids was because Father thought it would make him look better to the partners of the firm he was at then. I was an accident and she never lets me forget it. I wasn’t wanted then and I’m not wanted now,” Jayde’s voice dropped to a low whisper full of agony.
Tyson didn’t know what he could say to offer comfort. Although his family didn’t always see eye to eye, they hadn’t been that spiteful to one another. Instead, he gave Jayde silent reassurance and support, his arm settling familiarly around her shoulders and tucking her close to his body.
“Tyson, will you do something for me?” her exhausted tone reached him.
“Yes, little rose? What do you want?” He would find a way to move mountains if she wanted him to.
“Keep me safe.”
“Always.” And he meant it. The only way he would allow her to be hurt was if he were dead. And he didn’t plan on dying any time soon. He had a lifetime to look forward to with her beside him.
“From the spiders,” her voice faded as she slumped against him, her body still tense.
Tyson kissed her head. “I’ll protect you from them. Don’t worry.” Never had he met someone so terri-fied of spiders; he knew people that didn’t care for them, but Jayde was way beyond that. However, a sense of masculine pride filled him as he felt her body relax against his. She trusted him; even though she didn’t say so aloud, her actions did. She trusted he would protect her from the creatures that roamed the night.