Page 11 of His Obsession Her Cure

Pepper

T rue to her word, Ma woke us up bright and early, piling us into her green Cadillac truck to head over to the guy’s house.

She said it would be about a forty-five-minute drive south in a little town called Pine Valley.

The house was located on about five acres of the most beautiful, secluded land I had ever seen.

The forest that surrounded the house was lush and inviting.

I could tell that it would be beautiful in the winter.

The home was a large black and brown brick mansion with beautiful wood accents.

It was a magnificent structure but based on the overgrown landscape you could tell it hadn't been lived in a while.

It took us about five minutes to get down the long driveway lined with trees and lights that would guide you to your destination down the dark path between the trees.

We parked in front of the three-car garage next to a large stone staircase that led around to the front of the home.

Stepping out of the car I got startled when I was almost run over by the cutest little puppy. It looked like a little mini-Chewbacca.

“What the fuck these niggas got rats. Kill it.”

“She’s not a rat, she’s a dog, obviously Nyx.

” I smiled bending down to rub her belly when she rolled over.

I never had any animals growing up. I think my parents may have thought that the urges I had have been taken out on animals like some people like me.

But no matter what people thought I would never hurt something innocent no matter what Nyx said.

“I wouldn’t tell you to kill an innocent animal either bitch. I’m not heartless. But a rat can definitely get stepped on. So, if she’s really a dog she’s safe.”

“OMG you are so adorable. What is your name?” Char cooed, running over to us as I rubbed her little belly.

“Sage sit,” a familiar voice said from the stairs.

I looked up from Sage and saw Gunner on the porch, shirtless in a pair of slutty gray sweatpants. I could see his print from here.

“Lord have mercy .”

That man was blessed. I could almost feel the drool about to leak out of the corner of my mouth as I watched him from where I kneeled.

“Close your mouth before you catch a fly,” whispered Ma with a chuckle. Heat rose up my neck and cheeks from the embarrassment of being caught eye fucking her grandson.

“Boy put on some clothes. This is not a strip club.” Ma shouted. “Where are the other boys?”

“Inside getting brunch ready. I thought we could at least feed you, since y'all were helping us today.” He said, his deep voice carrying.

“Oh, thank you baby. Y’all didn’t have to do that. I could have whipped something up for y’all.”

“No ma’am. You taught us better than that. It’s ok to let us take care of you sometimes.” He said as she pasted him on the stairs, patting his cheek as she walked inside.

“Good morning, Char. Pepper.” He said with a smirk.

“Why did he have to keep looking us in the eyes like that? This is totally different behavior than last night. I’m not sure if we should be happy or scared bitch.”

“You have a cute dog. She’s very well behaved.” I said flatly, like a babbling idiot.

“I found her this morning on the side of the road. I think someone may have abandoned her. She had a collar but there was no owner information on it. Do you like dogs?" He asked.

“Only cute ones." I said looking everywhere but him. This man did something to me. It wasn’t nervousness or fear, but it was something that I don’t know if I liked.

“Girl, come on.” Char said, giggling as she grabbed my hand.

Leading me up the stairs bypassing Gunner. The inside of the house was just as beautiful as the exterior. At a glance I really couldn’t see much of anything that needed to be fixed. It mostly just needed a good dusting and a couple of small touches to make it feel lived in.

“What’s up Pepper?” Aren said from the kitchen.

“Not much. Trying to get settled." I said, walking over to the kitchen sink and washing my hands. At least Aren and Alestar were fully clothed unlike Gunner’s fine ass.

The way Char was staring at Alestar you would have thought he was naked though.

I reached over and closed her mouth, and she put her head down with a smirk.

They started sitting bowls of food down on the table and grabbing juice and iced coffee from the fridge when Gunner entered the kitchen and washed his hands after placing Sage in a crate by the door.

It smelled wonderful in here. They had hot buttered croissants, grits, bacon, fresh fruit, eggs, sausage, honey and peach preserves.

My mouth watered as I looked around the table at the selection.

“Did they make all this?” I whispered to Char.

“Yeah, Ma made sure if we couldn’t do anything else we could, wash clothes, clean a house and cook our asses off.”

“Language girl.”

“Sorry Ma,” Char said with a smirk.

“Damn right, I wasn’t raising any lazy women or dusty men.” Ma said with pride.

“After breakfast you can get a tour of the place. Then we can all split up the chores and knock them out." Aren said as he passed out silverware and napkins.

We all sat and quieted down before Alestar said grace. Then everybody started digging in. I could definitely get used to this. It was nice to be a part of a family even if it was just temporary.

Char sat next to Alestar teasing him about how he ate like a toddler.

Refusing to eat anything that contained peppers or onions.

Aren had Ma laughing about his last trip to Atlanta with his boyfriend Liam and their new friend, who he promised we would all meet soon.

I sat at the end of the table picking at my food with practiced emotions as my eyes drifted over to where Gunner leaned back in his chair like the king of this castle.

He was quietly watching everyone as he held Stormi in his lap and fed her bits of bacon like a little princess

Inside my head Nyx’s silky voice purred.

“See this Pep. This is it. What we were looking for. Family. Real family . Not the kind that hurts you leaves you out here in the cold to fend off the wolves.” She said, with a hint of bitterness in her voice.

Who are you trying to kid? We are the wolves.

I know she perceived our parents' death as the catalyst to all of the trauma we experienced growing up without them. But that is not what happened. They didn’t leave willingly; they were taken from us.

And we in turn handled the idiot that thought it was cool to drink and drive.

He didn’t think so after being nailed to his garage wall and gutted like a fish.

But I chose not to dwell on that right now.

“We could stay here forever.” She said softer.

“Forever doesn’t exist Nyx. You know that we are only here to start school and get on our feet and then we leave. Because of who we are and after what we’ve done we can’t stay. We would be putting them in danger, you know it, and I know it. I said in my head.

“They can be ours. Char and Ma are already ours. I want them all Pep. We need a family who will never leave. They are it. I feel it in the way they look after you. The way he looks at us. Tell me you don’t see it. If we just…”

“No, I won’t.” I shouted, a little louder than I would have liked, startling everyone at the table.

Except Gunner who was staring right at me like he was listening to or tracking the conversation that was happening in my head.

His gaze lingered like he could see right through me; past the walls I built high and the trauma that kept Nyx locked away in my mind.

“Are you okay Suga.” Ma looked at me with her brows bunched in concern

“Yes ma’am. I think I may have dozed off. I didn't sleep well last night.” I said lying with ease, turning away from Gunner’s heavy gaze.

“I’m sure that bus ride tired you out. You can sit down for a while after we eat if you need to.” She said, sweetly.

“I’m fine. I promise.”

“Now you got everybody lookin’ at us crazy. Chill out. I’m not asking you to do anything bad. We don’t hurt family, we protect it.” She said, repeating what my mother told me as a child.

I shook my head slightly, unable to finish my food. “I’m not doing this with you Nyx. We can’t keep them no matter how much I want to. It won’t end well for them or us,” I said.

“Bitch, please. I live for this. You see the way he’s sitting back, letting everyone else talk but keeping his eyes on us? That’s a man already hooked and we ain’t said more than two words to him. That man right there is for us. You better reel him in before some other girl gets bold.”

I pressed my lips together, forcing myself to focus on my plate and tried not to look like a total psycho.

“Alright, eat up, everybody. Once we clear this table, we got a whole house to clean. And don’t think I’m doing it all while y’all sit around like the kings and queens of Pine Valley,” she chuckled.

Everyone groaned playfully, laughter spilling out again.

But I barely heard them. At the moment my mind was split between Nyx’s insistent voice and the way Gunner hadn’t looked away once.

Did he know what it would cost us both if I fixated on him the way Nyx was encouraging me to.

For both our sakes I hope he would never find out. The thought was intriguing though.

“This is it, Pep. These people? They’re ours now. Don’t you dare let fear make us walk away.” Nyx said, low and sharp like a vowel.

I swallowed hard, staring down at my plate, but deep down I knew Nyx was right, our fixation for this family, this man was already blooming, and Gunner’s eyes were pouring water on the roots with every intense stare.

Cambridge Chronicle

November 14, 2017

Body Found Linked to Fatal 2016 Crash

The remains of Derrick Lawson, 42 , the man charged in connection with the 2006 crash that killed Steven and Carla McKinney, were discovered in a wooded area near Rhodesdale this week.

Lawson, who had been awaiting trial, was reported missing nearly a year ago. His death has been ruled suspicious, though police have not released details regarding the cause.

Residents in the community recall the tragic circumstances, noting that the McKinneys’ teenage daughter, Pepper, was left orphaned after her parents’ deaths.