She waited for Simon to take one of the babies out first before she slipped out of the car and released a deep breath. Allowing him to pass through the kitchen and towards the car again, Cherish entered the room and sat on the sofa in front of Jr.’s car seat and scratched along her hairline. Her eyes involuntarily watered once more, and she was quick to wipe the tears away and groaned to herself. She knew exactly what was coming.
How could he not be curious to know what was going on with her after a spectacle like that?
Simon brought Jasmine and the bag of groceries inside, shut the side door, and locked it. He set her down beside Jr. and decided to give Cherish space. He pulled his little girl out and kissed against her cheek before he rested her on the tummy time mat. Jr. soon followed and they both were far from happy with the life decision their father placed on them. Still, Simon drowned out their fussing before he stood straight and turned his attention to Cherish. He wanted to talk about what happened now that she was safe and secure in a place she trusted, “Cherish?”
With her gaze lowered away from his penetrative expression, she felt her entire mood drop. The time had come. Inhaling a deep breath, she fluffed a bit of her curls with her fingers and finally met with his blue hues, “Yeah?” she asked.
Simon stepped around the babies and sat down beside her with a hand on her shoulder. He spoke to her in a gentle nature yet firm enough to tell her that he wasn’t going away. He didn’t want her to hide issues from him and hoped she would trust him enough to speak, “What happened? I’ve never seen you like that before. It’s better to let it out than keeping it in. You can trust me.” He said.
He cared so much even though he’d been through enough. He already took her and her daughter on, the last thing she wanted to be was a burden. Staring into his face, Cherish sighed through her nostrils before she shook her head and tried to move past it, “I know, I know I’m sorry about that, but I’m okay…” A long bout of silence passed between them and the shaky façade she’d created began to break. Once again, she looked away from him and rubbed her lips together, “…really, I’m okay.” She said.
Simon didn’t budge from wanting to know the truth, “You’re not okay. You looked really scared, Cherish. Who did you think that woman was?” he asked. They lived together, and he figured if she had a problem, they had to figure it out, “It’s alright.” He said. Placing his hand over hers, he stroked along the side and waited. He may have been gentle with how he spoke and touched her, but his eyes were persistent.
She looked down at where their hands connected and slowly gripped back. Her jaw rolled from one side to the other and she opened her mouth several times before shutting it again. Inhaling a deep breath, she held it for a moment, looked to Simon, and pressed her nails into her free palm, “I don’t…want you to think bad about me, Simon. I don’t know if I should.” She whispered. Even though she was on the verge of telling him, the fear she felt was extremely real.
Simon shook his head, “I won’t think bad about you.” He said without hesitation, “You’re a great person. Your past won’t change how I feel about you.” He clarified.
Cherish rubbed a palm up along her shoulder and down her arm before she finally gave into Simon’s demands. Her lips curved downwards, and her eyes welled with tears, “O-Okay. I’ll tell you.” She whispered to him.
Meeting with his gaze briefly, she then looked away because she couldn’t face him in her shame, “I grew up in the projects of South Carolina. I don’t know who my father is, and my mother bounced us around from one trap house to the other. The apartments were covered in shit, garbage, roaches, and anything else disgusting you can think of. There were prostitutes on the street and drug dealings happened every hour. My mom, at first, cared about me and wanted me to get an education, but she didn’t know how. She had me at fifteen…”
Cherish wiped the tears that had formed beneath her nose before continuing, “She had a string of boyfriends who came and went through the house. I was forced to stay in my room most afternoons because she wanted to get high or drunk with the people she allowed in. We were robbed monthly. The last boyfriend she had...” Cherish sighed and stared off, “…he taught her that I was a burden and a horrible child. He also upgraded her to pills and heroin. She used to strip me naked and beat me repeatedly while he watched. When I turned thirteen, he told her that I could bring in more money than the government had to offer. Uh…he was talking about pimping me out, but thankfully she had enough sense not to do that. But, as her drug habit spiraled out of control…so did her common sense. He threatened to cut her off and convinced her to have sex with me in exchange for her addiction.” She whispered.
Cherish scratched across her arm and looked to Simon while pressing her lips against her shoulder and staring at the babies, “Jasmine…is my first child and second pregnancy.” She added in a
