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Thea

“Thea, I don’t know what has gotten into you, or why you returned home, but please talk to me,” My mother begged.

Her whining voice always irritated me because she wanted to always talk about our emotions and feelings. I could never hide anything because she was always in my ass, always wanting to know if I was alright.

I guess I should have been grateful to have a mother that cared, to have parents that wanted to be involved in my life, but it always rubbed me the wrong way. Made me feel like I was being smothered, and they didn’t think I was smart enough to do anything on my own.

Every time I got arrested and she had to come bail me out, she would want to sit and talk in the car. Each time I decided to run away and spend days at my boyfriend’s house, she would always blame herself.

Where my mother was the type that wanted to get down to the bottom of things, my father was a military man who had thin patience. He was already disappointed that I was a girl instead of a boy. Then to add to that, I never could do right. I was always getting arrested and following the wrong crowd.

He hated my boyfriends, not because they were always the wrong type, but because they were black.

Hanging with the black boys in our town was always bad for him.

I was supposed to be on the cheerleading team, fall in love with the football captain, then get married and have his children, while he beats me when he gets home from his blue-collar job.

Because, let’s be serious, the football players from the high school in my town never made it to the pros.

That was the life that my father wanted for me, and as I remained under the covers, I was starting to wish I took that route instead of the one that I’ve been pushed into. I wanted to fix my life, live in New York City and pray that I could shed the bad that I left back in Minnesota.

Instead, I was roped into an entire life that I never asked for.

One where I fell in love with a man I wasn’t supposed to, then had a child that shouldn’t have been had.

Elijah was born because I had no other choice.

He was my ticket, the one that would make Rich see that I was the woman he loved, and Lucia was a jealous old hag.

The love that me and Rich shared wasn’t fake. I knew he loved me because he made plans for our future. We would raise our baby together, and life would be grand. Lucia would have to deal with it, and we would be one happy family.

In the end, the more power he gained, the more he forgot about the little people.

Little people being me and his son.

While Rich continued to climb to his power, Lucia remained in the same position. It was like she was more concerned with Rich’s elevation and never hers. Rich was never around, and when I delivered my son, he wasn’t there.

I was alone and called him to tell him that we had a child. He never cared and left me hanging. It was Lucia who gave money and made sure that I had a roof over my head. However, all of her provision came with a price.

It was different being on the other side of egg farming. I was one of the women being used for my eggs, and then I went to working with the same girls I used to pray with and promise to escape with. When I moved into the same neighborhood as Quasim Inferno, I was still working at the house.

Lucia made sure of it.

She was against me sitting on my ass and having her husband’s baby, so I was forced to work. Money was decent and I moved into the neighborhood to save money. Every day, I forced myself to go into that house, knowing some of the horrific things that would take place.

I wish taking our eggs was the only horrors they were committing. There were women full blown pregnant that would give birth and have their baby ripped from them. I’ve witnessed women trying to run out the house after giving birth because they wanted their baby that bad.

Once their babies were born, they were taken to the next room, and they never saw them again. I kept my head down and worked to provide for my son, so that we could eventually disappear.

That was until I met Dr. Mercer.

Lucia introduced him to us, and we thought he was a Godsend. He bought Elijah toys, came over with food and expensive perfumes for me. I started to laugh again, and life didn’t seem that bad anymore.

I should have known that the minute Lucia’s hand was wrapped into it, none of it would be good. Dr. Mercer went from being so nice and giving us stuff, to asking me to run errands when he visited.

He was a doctor, so I never thought too deep into things when I left Elijah behind. It wasn’t until I came back from the store and witnessed something that shouldn’t have been happening. Instead of being shocked, embarrassed, and apologizing to me and Elijah, he shrugged it off and left.

I cried to Lucia and told her what happened and really thought she cared. She acted more upset than I was, so I thought she was on the right side of things. That was until they came over a week later, and she told me that having all that we were provided with came with a price.

Instead of arguing with her, I moved out of the condo and into a new neighborhood. Did I know I was renting from Quasim Inferno or even knew who he was.

No.

I just knew this man had cheap rent that I could afford, and I didn’t need Lucia. That didn’t keep her away, and Dr. Mercer still visited. Hearing my son’s screams for me and I could do nothing broke me. I was shoved into the garage and had to allow things to happen.

It got to the point that I started to get high. I needed something to carve a hole in my memory. That was how I met Leon and fell for him. It was never love with Leon, just someone that provided an escape for me.

Quasim started to take notice with Elijah, and I warned that boy to keep his distance. I didn’t need him digging into an already messy situation. I went from being so broken when Dr. Mercer visited, to giving Elijah some liquor to help calm him and take his mind off our reality.

Getting high had become my life. I didn’t give a damn about going to work or making money because Leon provided that. Lucia stopped giving a damn, as long as I allowed Dr. Mercer in the house on his scheduled days.

Becoming high had replaced my need to be a mother. I was a shit mom anyway, and Elijah deserved better. He could never get better because this had been our life, and I knew he would eventually turn to drugs like me.

I even offered his ass some, and he ran away like a little punk.

I never expected Quasim to take him for the summer. Elijah was going to move to Miami, to be with a client that had adopted him. The couple wanted a son, but I knew that wasn’t what they wanted him for.

What could I do?

I couldn’t go against Lucia and all those heavy hitters.

When they heard that Quasim got him, they knew it wouldn’t be easy to get him. After burning Quasim’s house down, I expected them to get Elijah, but they didn’t. Now, I didn’t have my son to hand over to them, and I knew my days were numbered if I didn’t run.

I ran to the only place I knew they wouldn’t find me.

Home.