Page 98 of Kings of Desire

‘Our father. When he found out, he pushed me against a wall, but there was a metal sheet going out in one of its corners. I cut myself on that, so then he had beaten me for injuring myself and making mymarket valuedrop.’

‘Jesus!?’

‘Bea, it’s ok. It doesn’t hurt that much anymore.’

‘It doesn’t hurt that much anymore!? I’m going to kill him! End that miserable life of his for good!’

‘Bea,’ Nat whispered, rolling her eyes in Sebastian’s direction, who was looking straight at me.

‘Sorry,’ I let my palm fall over my eyes. Maybe I’ve been around Brax for too long...

‘Or maybe he’s already dead? I didn’t get a chance to ask what happened back there,’ I whispered so that this time Sebastian couldn’t hear everything.

‘I’m not a child, you know...,’ he muttered.

‘Oh yeah, what are you then?’

‘Old enough to be involved in whatever is going on here.’ Sebastian always had an attitude, and apparently, it didn’t remain in our old town.

‘Seb,Iam not old enough to be involved in whatever is going on here...’ And the truth - I wasn’t!

I was just winging it, one day at a time, living life as it came...living the life I created as it came. ‘But now that you’re old enough, I guess you don’t need the brand-new remote-control car that I just bought for you. It was waiting for you to play with it on my bed, but I think I’ll have to return it in the morning... Since you’reoldenough to stay here.’

‘Come to think about it, you two are boring,’ he giggled, running around the house since he didn’t even know where my room was. He’ll find it...

Although I needed to tone him down a little ‘Stop running!’ His condition was far from allowing him to jog. ‘Go ahead, Nat. Tell me. Tell me what happened.’

‘I don’t know much. All I know is that I heard loud noises, then gunshots.’

‘Gunshots!?’

‘Yes. A few. And then two men came and put some blankets over our heads. Next thing I know, Seb and I were in an ambulance, where one of the men took the blankets off and told us that everything is going to be ok. We were to meet you in a few hours. Then he got out, probably to go in another car.’

‘How did the man look like?’

‘He looked like God placed two emerald jewels in his eyes.’

‘It wasn’t God, trust me on that.’ ... Brax... ‘What else did he say?’

‘Nothing else. He seemed like he wasn’t feeling too good.’

Too much sex must have got to him...

‘Ok, Nat. Thanks.’

‘You know him, right. Who was he?’

‘One of the men who saved you, nothing more.’

‘A good man...’

‘No...Not a good man.’ I couldn’t get into this now, even though I was the one that started the subject.

‘Is he the one who got you this apartment?’

‘No.’

‘Who did then? Your boyfriend?’ And interrogation began.