Kiki checked her face in the office mirror, wiping back the smudged black eyeliner, and praying that the puffiness would subside sooner rather than later. Today had been another long day, in a very long month, and she was at her breaking point. Talking to the cops was just the icing on the cake. Just something new to put her in the center of more drama. The police didn’t seem to put much stock into her report, but then again, she wasn’t very convincing that it was an issue. She’d downplayed the whole thing, and even now she didn’t know why. It was serious. But she wanted Joshua to get help, not go to jail.
When Kiki opened the office door to leave, she saw a wide-eyed Leena approaching her, and Kiki knew she was in for it. Leena was going to be worse than the police. Kiki assumed that Rex had been behind that. She couldn’t blame him; he was only looking out for her, like he did with all his girls. It was sweet, but unnecessary. She didn’t want to be some fragile thing that people had to take care of. She was a grown-up and could handle this on her own.
Kiki leveled her eyes at Leena with a warning, only to have the same warning shot back at her. It was almost laughable that Kiki thought she would be able to tell the ever-insistent Leena no.
“My sweet Kiki, I’m here to take you to dinner, then I can drop you off at home,” Leena said with a smile.
“That’s nice of you, but I’m not hungry. I’m just going to head home.” Kiki pulled her purse up to the crook of her arm before turning to lock the office door.
“Well then, I’ll just take you home.” Leena smiled with a shrug.
“Why are you here, Leena?” Kiki asked point-blank. She was tired of all the beating around the bush.
“I’m worried about you. Uncle said that Joshua went off on you, specifically, that he said some pretty harsh words. That maybe there was more to the story.” Leena’s eyes softened as she spoke quietly.
Yep. Uncle. This must mean she was family if Uncle was getting involved. The thought made Kiki smile slightly.
“All right, I’ll let you drive me home,” Kiki conceding as the events of the day had her shaken, and not having to focus on the road seemed like a smart idea.
If she was going to spill to Leena, she didn’t want to do it in the middle of the gym. Although, she might as well; as fast as news traveled around this place she wasn’t sure anyone could keep a secret.
Leena didn’t say much on the car ride to Kiki’s house. While Kiki spilled about what had happened, she’d expected at least a few swear words from her friend, but there was nothing; and it was eerie.
Leena pulled in front of the building, parked the car, and got out. This was unusual behavior for Leena, and it was starting to scare Kiki, to the point that she might need to call Vi for help. Kiki hopped out of the car, following a fast-paced Leena into the building, stopping at the elevators.
“Are you angry with me?” Kiki finally asked. The silence was killing her.
“No, and yes,” Leena said, brushing her hands through her hair. “How he talked to you today was terrible, but the shit he pulled the other day at your apartment is unacceptable. He assaulted you, even sexually assaulted you. Just because it wasn’t rape doesn’t mean it was nothing.”
Leena wiped back a tear before it could fall down her face, and the sight of that made Kiki’s insides ache. It was a rare Leena that let such emotions show.
The elevator pinged and the doors opened. Kiki followed Leena in and pushed the button for her floor.
“I’m angry because we live in a world where women are told that an attack like yours is nothing, that just because it wasn’t rape that it’s not a big deal. I’m angry that you had to go through this. I’m angry that you didn’t tell me sooner. And I’m only angry because I love you so much and I don’t know what I would do without you.”
The words stabbed at Kiki, fear tingling across her skin. This had been more serious than she wanted to admit, and Leena’s blunt words did nothing to comfort the facts. Kiki wanted to throw sugar on the whole situation and see the brighter side, but the only brighter side of this was that it could have been worse.
“I’m sorry, Leena. I just… I just… It was weird,” Kiki said, unable to verbalize her feelings. “I didn’t know how to handle the situation. Everything about it threw me off. I mean, he’s my friend.”
“No.” Leena turned to her pointedly. “He is not your fucking friend. He is a monster.” Leena shook her head.
The elevator pinged again, the doors opening to their floor, and they got off.
“How many of your neighbors do you know?”
Kiki shrugged. “Not many, why?”
“Do you have any mace?” Leena asked, ignoring Kiki’s question.
“No.”
Leena stopped at Kiki’s door. “It’s good to know your neighbors in case of any type of emergency. And a woman should always have mace in the nightstand drawer.” Leena smiled. “Right next to the condoms.”
Kiki smiled at the light comment Leena threw in to cut through the dark, serious conversation they were having.
“I’ll look into it.” Kiki smiled.
“I’m going to call you when I get home. Either Gav or I will pick you up for work tomorrow, so just let us know when you want us here.”
“Leena, that isn’t necessary.”
“Yes, it is! At least for a couple of days until everyone has a chance to cool down. Besides, you don’t have your car.” Leena put a hand on her hip. “We are playing this my way. Better safe than sorry.”
Kiki tried not to roll her eyes. She knew Leena was right, but it still felt like an overreaction.
“Thank you,” Kiki said, giving her friend a big hug.
“All right, get your cute butt inside, I’m gonna wait here until you lock the door.”
Kiki was at a loss. Leena was seriously concerned, over-the-top even, and Kiki was frazzled. She was on overload and needed a minute to herself to unwind, to figure out what was what.
Kiki had just changed into her favorite pajamas when she heard the ping of her cellphone. She rushed toward the phone, knowing that if she didn’t respond to Leena she would have hell to pay. But when she picked up the phone she was pleasantly surprised by the name on the screen.
Him: Hey, baby. I tried to come say hi today, but Rex said some shit went down and you were talking to the cops. Everything okay?
Kiki scoffed at the message as she paced the living room. Had everyone heard about Joshua’s terrorization at the gym? What else did Wade know? It seemed like Rex had given Leena a lot of information; she only hoped that he held back when it came to Wade.
Kiki: Just a bad day, but I’m fine.
Him: I’m sorry. Let me take you out for a drink, or coffee? We can talk about it.
Kiki smiled at the text. He was persistent in a loveable way. If today hadn’t been so horrendous, she might have considered it. He was wearing her down.
Kiki: I’m too tired. But how about another day? We could get that lunch you were talking about?
Him: Hell yes! You just tell me when and where and I’ll come pick you up.
His response warmed her heart and made her smile. She loved how excited he got over a simple lunch, and how with such simple text messages it felt like he was putting in a lot of effort. It really was the little things in life that mattered.
Kiki: We’ll figure it out. I have some things I need to do, but we will talk soon.
Him: Look forward to it. Night, baby.
Tingles ran up Kiki’s body at the cheesy text message sign off, but she lived for that kind of stuff. It was what she liked, and he knew it. He knew everything about her. It was him who was holding back. It made her curious if this new Wade was ready to open up. She didn’t expect him to spill everything, but at least be open to the idea of sharing parts of himself with her.
With a heavy sigh, Kiki turned off the lights and headed to bed. She was too tired for the glass of wine that a day like this called for. She just needed the solace of her own bed.