The Cartel - Ashley Antoinette Snell [56]
Carter sat up in his chair and looked her directly in her eyes. He had encountered many women in his life, but none compared to the one before him. She seemed to have the complete package. He had seen prettier chicks, even some with better bodies, but Miamor was different. A bit rough around the edges, he was confident that she could be trained.
While every other woman he had ever courted tried to become wifey, Miamor just went with the flow and was comfortable with her status in his life, whatever it may be. There was no pressure with her, and he appreciated the fact that she didn’t sweat him.
“Take a walk with me,” he said as he stood and reached down to help her up from her seat.
Miamor lifted her designer shades off her face and placed them on top of her head as she looked up at Carter. “Where we going? You know I’m tipsy, nigga. We’ve been sipping on mai tais all day.” She laughed. “I probably can’t even stand.”
“I got you.” Carter licked his lips.
Miamor stood and held his hand, clinging to his arm as she steadied herself. It felt so good for her to just be able to relax.
They walked through the sand of the darkening beach, the horizon a phenomenal mixture of exotic oranges and reds, setting the perfect atmosphere for an intimate walk on the beach.
In the States, she could never let her guard down, so to be so far from home was like heaven to her. Me and Nis used to always dream of traveling, she thought. She looked down at her feet as thoughts of her murdered sibling crossed her mind.
Carter noticed the sad expression take over her striking features. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I was just thinking about my sister. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin the mood,” she said with a weak smile.
“You didn’t. Tell me about her.”
“She was the most perfect person ever,” she whispered.
A wind gusted up to shore from the ocean, and Miamor wrapped her arms around herself. “She always wanted to travel. She would be so jealous that I’m here right now if she was alive.” She laughed, thinking of how Anisa would’ve cussed her out if she hadn’t invited her. “She taught me everything I know, and she saved me from living my life in fear and in pain.”
“In fear of what?”
Miamor stopped walking and put her head down as memories of her childhood came rushing back to her. Carter lifted her chin with the tip of his finger and noticed the look of rage going through her eyes.
A single tear trailed her cheek. “My mother abandoned us for a boyfriend who liked to molest little girls. One night he came into my room to touch me, and my sister told him to take her instead. I remember the first time it happened. I heard her screaming for him to stop, and I laid in my bed the entire night listening to him violate her. He threatened to kill us if we ever told our mother.” Miamor had tears streaming out of her face as she stared out into the ocean, the dark arms of the night enveloping her and Carter on the deserted beach. “Anisa got pregnant. She was only twelve and was walking around with a baby in her stomach because of him. We were afraid to tell our mother, so she came up with a plan to lose the baby. She purposefully started a fight with these girls in our neighborhood and told me not to jump in, no matter what. They beat her until her body miscarried the baby. There was so much blood, and she was in so much pain, but we got through it . . . together. I remember being so scared. I thought my sister was dying. That same night, our mother’s boyfriend was back in our room. He pulled Anisa into his bed. She was crying and screaming, and I couldn’t take it anymore. I knew that she was in pain. I grabbed a gun that my mother used to keep hidden in the coat closet and I killed him. I shot him in the head. I saved her then, but I wasn’t around to save her this time. I was supposed to be, but I wasn’t, and now she’s gone. The one time that she needed me most, I let her down.”
Carter didn’t know what to say. He knew that no words would heal the old wounds that she’d just reopened. He pulled her close, and she wrapped her arms around him as she