Chapter 32: 31 | bliss

• • •

Jailyn Smith

Time ticked by, and eventually, he came in and closed the door behind him, walking towards me, "I thought Kensley would've told you there's cameras in here."

"She-" I swallowed hard and tried to subtly back away, "She didn't."

He nodded, "She probably forgot. Did you need some more time to go through my desk?"

It didn't seem like he'd have to kill me, I'd probably die from the calmness at which he was speaking.

"No."

I grabbed the edge of the chair to stand and was walking towards the door when he grabbed my arm, it wasn't hard– more firm. I looked at the hand, then back to his face, still nothing there.

"Walk with me."

Prayer usually worked, so I prayed down the stairs, through the kitchen, onto the patio where he finally let me go and looked around.

"This is the only place in my house that doesn't have cameras."

"Eli I-"

"I can't imagine what you feeling right now, but I'm telling you to let it go. Coby died in a car accident. Raise ya' baby and tell her that her daddy was a good person."

"While the person who killed him walks around like nothing?"

He rubbed a hand over his face, "Everybody get what's coming to them, Jai."

"He didn't deserve to die. Yeah, it was fucked what he was doing, but he still didn't deserve to never meet his child."

"I'm not disagreeing witchu'. All I'm saying is, the only thing worse than losing one parent, is losing both of 'em."

He made it sound so simple, to go on as if nothing had happened when it was exactly the opposite.

It wasn't so much as the fact that Coby was my boyfriend, but because the daughter we created together would only know one of us.

I'd have to lie to her and pretend that her dad died in a car accident when the truth was that he was killed because he chose to cheat with someone who was married.

Lauren picked tonight to tell me that, upset by the fact that he was trying to his buy his way out of what he did.

I still didn't know how she got my number, but she sent me a long text that explained everything, the duration of her and Coby's relationship, the night he was killed– everything that couldn't be proved.

Insert me searching Eli's office.

"What am I supposed to do then?"

Eli didn't answer immediately, staring into the darkness, "Just wait."

"Why would I wait? Lauren can tell them they were together, she saw the whole thing."

"You talked to Lauren?"

When I said yes, his expression changed to understanding, "So you're the next pawn in they lil sick ass game. I'll tell you how this'll play out. You go tell what you think happened, they start investigating, Marc hires me as his lawyer, I find out who the main witness is," Eli gestured to me, "They find you, I console Kensley when she crying about her best friend missing."

I couldn't form a response, and he kept talking, "Jai, this not nun you'll win. I gotta find a way to make some stick, so it doesn't lead back to us."

"Then you're helping me?"

For some reason, I trusted Eli. It had a lot to do with how he treated Kensley, in addition to the little things he did, like switching to a different plug-in scent when he realized the ones throughout the house made me sick or ordering me a pregnancy pillow after hearing me mention it once.

It made me feel like he was a genuinely nice person.

He shook his head, "I'm doing it by myself. You're acting like nothing is happening. Don't say nun about it to anybody, and I promise you I'll fix it."

I knew he meant Ken by "anybody" but wanted to confirm, "Does she know?"

"No, and I'd really appreciate it if it stayed that way."

That wouldn't be hard.

• • •

Elijah Baker

I woke up to something warm.

After a few blinks to adjust, I realized the warmness was Kensley's mouth.

She was partially under the covers, and I moved them to fully appreciate the sight of it disappearing between her lips.

The sun still hadn't risen completely, but the rays that did shine through the window made her glow, she looked angelic.

Kensley held my gaze, as she climbed on top of me, circling my dick around her entrance. I was the one who broke it, briefly closing my eyes when she finally slid down.

She fit perfectly like she was made for me— only she couldn't have been.

Wanting her to lead, she hardly ever did, my hands rested on her thighs.

I just watched.

Watched the tilt of her head as she got closer to her orgasm, pressing her body closer to mine.

Felt the tightening in my stomach coincide with the sporadic clenches that told me she was almost there.

Listened to the soft moans in my ears grow even fainter when she used my shoulder to muffle the noise.

Kensley was always loud before, recently opting to be quieter so that Jailyn wouldn't hear us.

Gripping her waist, I changed the pace, slowing her movements, "I love you."

She said it back, only she wasn't looking at me. My grip moved to her neck, pulling her forehead to mine, "Tell me."

"I love you."

I wanted to keep watching— but she finally came and I couldn't help but follow, silently pressing my face into her chest as I held her to me.

Kensley sighed, "I gotta get ready for work."

"Have a good day."

"I highkey don't wanna go," Kensley tried to move, "Unhand me, kind sir."

"Go late. I needa cuddle or some so I don't feel used."

"You definitely got used. Happens to the best of us."

I slid towards the edge of the bed, holding her thighs so I wouldn't drop her while walking to the bathroom.

"I feel so light! Like a lil princess."

"Queen."

"Who let you on the Hotep side of Twitter? Don't call me that 'cause then I'ma have to start saying 'grand rising' and I hate it."

Her naturally airy personality almost made me forget why I wanted to sleep for at least the next month.

I was quickly reminded when our shower was over and I went to the kitchen for a bottle of water, seeing Jai in the dining room with her head on the table.

It seemed pointless to ask if she was okay, but I did it anyway, "You good?"

"Yeah." She lifted her head to show the redness of her eyes, "I couldn't sleep."

"I can get you some Unisom? It's safe for pregnancy– Leah used to take it."

"Leah is..?"

I don't know why I thought Kensley would've told her, "My ex-wife."

"I knew you were married, but you have kids?" A frown crossed her face, "I didn't think you were the deadbeat type."

Her joke took away most of the sting when I explained it, "Stillborn. I don't think I'm the deadbeat type either."

"Oh... I'm sorry. That was rude."

I shrugged it off, "So, the Unisom?"

"It's probably because I haven't eaten. I think all the cereal is gone."

"'Cause you ate it all." I laughed, "I be cooking grilled cheese sandwiches and shit, I'll make you one."

"Ken said it be greasy."

"When she make that dry-ass rice I eat it with no problem but y'all talking about my sandwich?"

"Rice is hard." Jai stood up and went to look in the pantry, "Sorta like grits, but worse 'cause you can put grits in the microwave."

The distraction was working, "I'm buying rice cookers for Christmas."

"Let me know how that works out for you. It'll be like that time my mama bought me foot cream for my birthday. The nicest way anybody ever told me my feet stink."

"I didn't wanna say nun.... I'ma have to ask where she got it from."

She came out of the pantry empty-handed, "I almost told you to ask Coby... but we can't."

The distraction wasn't working.

I probably made it worse, since she wasn't crying before the ending of her sentence.

Jai had cried before, but Kensley was usually there to comfort her. I just did the same thing she did, hugging her until she pulled away and took a deep breath, "We need to go grocery shopping."

"I'ma fix it, Jai. You just gotta trust me."

"I do trust you." She sighed, "That's why I didn't try to kill you in your sleep."

"Thanks for that."

• • •

"What other choice did I have?" Lauren whispered harshly, "Your family won't stop him, he won't stop on his own. Do you have any suggestions?"

"If I did, it wouldn't be to include the partner of the person who you, got killed."

"Really, Elijah? I didn't make him do it– Coby or Marc. How do you think I feel after having to watch that? And then here you come, placing the blame on me. I'm the victim. Jailyn and her child, Coby, we're victims. Yet, instead of taking any steps to help the victims get justice, you're blaming us for doing the right thing."

Had Lauren really wanted to do the right thing, she never would've tried to include Jailyn. I wasn't sure what she hoped to gain from doing that, and yet again she should've known better.

It was already acknowledged that both of them were at fault, but I felt it leaned in Coby's favor. Lauren knew who she married, decided to stay with, and pretended she was surprised by what happened.

Granted, Marc cheated first, all the time, but she went back every time. Never left except one time, and went back again.

"Did you think she'd actually make it through anything? You know him– us. What could you have thought the outcome would be?"

"I can barely sleep at night. I had to try something."

"Then you take your ass up there and let it happen to you. I'm not understanding the mindset behind this."

Lauren wiped the tears that had started falling, "Eli, I can't do this anymore. I can't leave unless he's dead or in jail. I chose jail."

"At Jai's expense."

"The world would be a better place if he's gone– I don't have any other options." Her voice had grown desperate, "I just wanna take Lani and go, but we both know he'll find me. You'll probably be the one who helps him."

"Me? The person who's been telling you to leave the whole time?"

I wouldn't have to help him find her. She'd just come back after a while, after a few apologies, a couple promises.

We agreed, though that it'd be a better place for everyone if he left, whether it be dead or in jail.

Lauren had already chosen jail.

I was still deciding which one I wanted to go with.

• • •

Kensley Parker

Alex stuck his head through the door, "Did you eat yet? My mama made neckbones and I'll share if you take the trash out tonight."

I laughed as he came in, leaving the door open "I need you to grow up, please. How are my in-laws?"

"They told me to tell you to come get your kids– they've been there for a few months."

"You don't even have kids."

Alex sat across from me, taking the lid off of his Tupperware, "It's the fantasy, Kensley. We've been married... 4 years? 3 kids?"

"6 years, 1 kid. We took the second one back to the hospital 'cause it cried a lot."

I would've been fine to continue orchestrating my pretend life, only my real life interrupted it when they showed up with lunch.

What Alex and I did wasn't necessarily flirting, but we both knew it could be received like that, which was why we didn't joke like that around other people.

Low and behold, the other people had heard us.

Alex still hadn't noticed them, "If I knew you weren't willing to be a good mother, we would've never gotten married. Let's talk divorce terms."

Elijah laughed, but it wasn't a real one, "I'll help with the divorce."

Turning in his seat, Alex looked Elijah up and down, "Can I help you?"

"That's Elijah and Jai." I pointed to Alex, "This is Alex– my boss."

I stressed this point because of the way he was looking at him, and he didn't still didn't look like he cared.

"Oh. Nice to meet you, Jai, Elijah."

Alex had stood up and extended his hand, and after a few seconds Elijah shook it, "Just Eli."

Well, now I knew it wasn't just a look. He didn't care.

Still trying to force a conversation instead of just saying fuck it, Alex glanced at me then back to Elijah, "I hope Kensley told you about the house-warming party?"

"She didn't."

"....Hopefully y'all can make it."

"We'll try."

Seeing that he needed help, I put the top back on his food and handed it to him, "I'll come find you when lunch is over, Alex."

"Okay." He looked relieved, "Take your time."

Elijah closed the door when Alex left, coming to sit in front of me, "3 kids huh?"

"He's married. It's a joke."

Jailyn took the seat beside him and began pulling food out of the bag, "It's her work husband. Everybody has one."

"I don't have a work wife."

"At this point Eli, I'm not sure you have a job. You gonna get fired."

He snatched the bag from her, "And again, Kensley gone take care of us. Hopefully, you have some to offer 'cause I do."

"Ken, you want some coochie?"

"We can talk about it if it comes down to that," I pretended to look thoughtful, "Not every day though. Maybe Tuesdays?"

Elijah shook his head, "I meant food or some. What typa people are y'all?"

It took the rest of my lunch for Jai and me to explain what type of people we were.

We were walking towards the door and saw Ari sitting in the lobby. She didn't see us, on a phone call with someone.

I'd seen the schedule so I knew she'd be here today. Elijah followed my line of sight, "She's a client?"

"Yep."

"Why?"

"Not the lawyer asking me to break a confidentiality agreement."

He stopped by his car door, "You catch on fast. You wanna come work for me?"

"I'll think about it. If you touch me on the clock I'm going straight to HR."

"I am HR." Elijah wrapped his arms around me, "See you when you get home."

• • •

Alex asked Ari if she minded if his assistant sat in with them, and she said no, presumably before she knew I was the assistant.

We'd been sitting at this table for over 30 minutes, and for the duration of that, Ari hadn't looked at me once.

I assumed it was because she knew she lied to Jade about why we stopped talking.

That couldn't have been more wrong.

"Do you think a judge will let me execute her will?"

Alex shook his head sadly, "It has to be 7 years before they'll classify her as dea- deceased. If you're willing to wait, I'm sure I can find someone who'll take the statistics of disabled missing persons into consideration."

"I've waited this long." Ari sighed, "It's been months. Nobody has heard anything. I know it might sound harsh, but I want to move on with my life– literally move to a new state."

Despite what she'd done, I still felt for her situation. The main reason behind why I expressed that to her while Alex was gathering his papers.

She glanced at me, then to Alex, "Do you mind if I talk to Ken alone?"

"Sure." He pushed them into a folder, "I'll leave y'all to it."

The door closed and Ari came to sit beside me, reaching for my hand. The motion caught me off guard, "How are you?"

I was still stuck on the hand thing, "I'm fine. How are you?"

"I'm not doing well, obviously. But I'm more worried about you."

"Why?"

Thinking she was about to bring Elijah up again, I mentally prepared myself to not get angry with her.

Never loosening her grip on my hand, she began talking, her voice low as if the room were bugged, "A few months ago, I had a talk with Eli about you. He basically told me to mind my business or he'd do something to my mom. I was more than willing to let it go, but I'd already had the discussion with Leah. That's why I was so upset that day you heard me on the phone with her."

The Leah thing was more than 'a few months ago'. It'd been well over 5 months since I'd talked to Leah, about the same time with Ari.

Trying to piece together the timeline was hard when you only had estimations, "When did she go missing?"

"About 2 months after the conversation. I kno-"

"So why would you assume it was Elijah?"

Frustration showed on her face, "It makes sense to me. She's been there all that time– never even tried to leave. Then the cameras start going out, never happened, and she's suddenly gone? I don't think it's a coincidence."

No actual proof, just theories to fit the narrative she was telling. Maybe I'd be more inclined to believe her if I didn't know firsthand that she was a liar.

"I can't go to the police because I have nothing. I've spent so much time trying to find something, and there's nothing there. Like I told Alex, I just wanna move on with my life... But I felt that after everything, I could at least warn you."

I slowly took my hand back, "Thanks."

She could likely see that I didn't believe her, reaching for her purse and standing, "Please be careful, Kensley. Regardless of what I did, I do care about you."

• • •

Later that evening, I was still thinking about what Ari said.

Time was moving at a snail's pace, Jailyn wouldn't wake up from her nap, Eli went somewhere with Zi– I didn't have anything to think about but that.

I scrolled through my contacts and clicked on Maria's name, seeing the phone aimed at the roof of a car when she answered, "What you doing?"

"Girl, at the car wash. I used Zi's truck to get a mirror, and the shit broke when I hit a pothole! What do I pay state taxes for if they not gonna fix the streets?!"

"The real question is why you bought that flimsy ass mirror."

She leaned in the camera to mug me, "The mirror isn't the problem– and I wasn't about to spend hella money on one when I don't live there."

"Ohhh, it's for Zi's house?"

"He doesn't have any besides the bathroom. Talking about his grandma told him you're not supposed to have any mirrors in bedrooms 'cause of spirits. Oh fuckin' well here come the spirits."

"I'm pretty sure the spirits are over the floor of his truck..."

"Go directly to hell Ken. No stops, just straight to hell."

My plan about forgetting the earlier talk was working very well until Maria pulled a paper from under the seat, "What the hell is Pearl Gates?"

"A Nursing Home," I answered, not really paying attention as Jai had just woken up, asking what we were eating.

"Zi mama must've made him mad." She laughed, "He got the floor plans and everything."

I immediately forgot Jai and her food situation, "Let me see."

Flipping the camera, Maria showed me the floor plans she was referring to, which was only one floor, the second one where Ari's mom was located.

My heart was beating wildly in my chest, everything Ari said coming together. I had no way of knowing if it were true without asking Elijah, but this would be one hell of a coincidence.

Maria was still talking, trying to think of why Zi would wanna put his mom in a home, I was struggling to come to terms about what how I was feeling, and only coming up with one thought:

"Throw it away."

"Huh?"

I sat up from the chair, "Throw the paper away."

"I planned on it. They were talking last night so I'm guessing he's over it."

Once she'd done that, I told her I'd call her back, going to Elijah's office and trying to go in. It was locked, but I knew where the key was.

"Ken!" Jai yelled from downstairs, "Eli's calling you."

Of course he was. He saw me trying to get into his office.

Ignoring Jai, I got the keys I was looking for and went back to open the door. I looked directly at the camera, going towards the locked drawer near the bottom of his desk.

That much progress hadn't been made when Jailyn came to the door, extending the phone in my direction, "He wants to talk to you."

"Hang up."

She did it quickly, watching me go through piles of papers, "He's calling back– what are you looking for?"

I went to the next pile, and then the one after that, finally finding the resident's list for Pearl Gates.

What was the point in this, really? I didn't plan to tell Ari that her hunch was right, I didn't plan on going to the police– so what was the point?

To know.

Make a conscious decision if I wanted to be with a person that would kill an elderly disabled woman because her daughter was a weirdo who wouldn't mind their business.

I found it ironic that Elijah asked what type of people Jai and I were when he was killing old people and walking past their kids like nothing.

What type of person is that?

Putting the paper back, I looked to Jai who was still standing there, "We're staying at the apartment tonight."

She didn't ask any questions, simply turning to go pack her stuff.

• • •

I felt sick the entire car ride, each bump making my stomach turn. It made me think about Maria's tax-paying statement, and I laughed a little.

"You okay?" Jai asked, side-eyeing me, "You haven't said anything, now you over there laughing."

"I'm fine."

"Could've fooled me."

This wasn't something I wanted to discuss with her, so I repeated myself, "I'm fine."

We turned into the apartment parking lot, and I looked around before getting out and taking Jai's bag from her.

Never have I been so happy that I wanted to wait until my lease was up before completely moving.

Once inside, Jai went to the kitchen and I to the bathroom to take a shower. I stood under the water for a while, thinking, before reaching for the soap.

It took a while for me to go into my room, staring at my reflection through the foggy mirror before getting dressed and going down the hall.

Elijah was sitting on my bed.

"Jai let me in."

I reached for my phone on the dresser, "Great. Ask her to let you out."

"I just wanna talk." He stood up, and walked towards me, "I don't know what you saw, but I'm sure I can explain it."

It would've been easier to tell him what Ari told me, but I didn't want her to end up where her mama was, "I have a question. It's a simple yes or no."

He motioned for me to go ahead, "Did you.. Did you do something to Ari's mom?"

For some reason I expected him to deny it, "Yes."

"Then there's nothing for us to talk about."

"With good reason, Kensley. I told her before to leave the situation alone, she didn't. Her talking to Leah about you was crossing the line."

"And killing people? What's that?"

"A lesson."

Who the fuck says that?

"Wrong answer. Goodnight, Elijah."

"I don't just go around doing this shit for fun. It's never for nothing– why do you think she left you alone?"

I shook my head, "She would've done that regardless. Don't use me as justification."

"What makes you feel like that's what I care about?" Elijah laughed, "Ion give a damn about Ari. The only person looking for justification from this is you, 'cause even though I told you that you wouldn't like the answers, you can't ever just let stuff go."

"Who wouldn't wanna know that the person they're in love with is a part-time murderer?"

Elijah had started pacing around my room, "And what does it change?"

"Everything." I'd come to that conclusion in the bathroom, "It changes everything."

He simply stared at me, listening as I voiced my thoughts, "I don't understand how you expect me to think any of this was real when I don't even know who you are."

"I'm the same person!" His voice echoed through the room, "The same exact person who's spent months tryna show how much I love you, and reciprocate the feelings of peace you give me 'cause being around you makes me forgot all the shit that's wrong with me– wrong with my life."

"Then you're not in love, Elijah. You're at peace. I'm just your escape. So the minute I start questioning the things that deserve answers— stop bringing you peace, this is done."

There was the look, the look that I hated so fucking much, "Well, common sense would tell you to stop asking questions, right?"

"Get the fuck outta my apartment."

Jai tried and failed, to act like she was paying attention to her food in the microwave when I followed behind him to lock the door.

"If I don't let him in, you don't let him in either."

She looked at me in surprise, "Sorry. I thought it was just a petty argument."

I wished it was just that.

• • •

ken bby.....this is why he doesn't tell you anything.

thanks for reading 💕