Assariyah Read online

  I headed to the bathroom and quickly had a wash. I couldn’t stop the tears from flowing down my face. I was here, Ma was not. I thought of how messed up my life was right then. I was not even welcome in my own parents’ home.

  When I stepped out of the bathroom. Eric was waiting outside like a guard.

  “The clothes are in your old room, be quick.”

  I nodded my head and walked to my old bedroom. All traces of me had been removed. My room had been transformed into a room for the twins. That burned my heart, I really had nothing left to call mine.

  I threw on the pair of black leggings, a tank top and the sweatshirt that Eric had laid out for me. I put my dirty clothes in a bag, I’d get rid of them later. I pulled my hair back in a pony tail and felt cleaner than I had in years. I heard Eric call out to me.

  “Come on Assariyah, your time is up. You really have to go now.”

  I stepped out to the corridor where Eric was waiting, “Thanks for that.”

  He nodded his head, “Just leave now.”

  “Eric I need some money, I haven’t eaten and I don’t have a penny to my name. Where am I supposed to go with no money?”

  Eric buried his hands in his face and groaned. “Shit, this is taking much longer than I thought. If your sister sees you here, shit is going to get ugly.”

  “Just give me some money and I’ll be gone for good.”

  “Wait here,” he said, as he headed into my dad and mama’s room.

  The thought of him and Nayla in their space made my stomach turn. Eric returned a few moments later and shoved some money into my hands. I counted two twenty pound notes and one ten.

  “Thanks Eric, but fifty pounds isn’t gonna take me far.”

  “As long as it takes you away from here, it’s more than enough.”

  I just shook my head, it’s funny how everyone tramples on you when you are at the bottom. Eric hurried me down the stairs, but just before we reached the last step, we heard the key turning in the front door. We stood frozen as Nayla walked through the door. Fury was written all over her face.

  “Shit babe, I didn’t hear you pull up,” Eric said in a panic.

  “My car got a flat tyre, Jody offered me a ride but fuck all that. What the fuck is this bitch doing in here and why the hell is she wearing my clothes?” she spat furiously.

  “I was just leaving,” I said, trying to defuse the situation.

  “Like hell you are. I need you to take off my clothes right now.”

  “Calm down babe, just let her go.”

  “Calm down. Don’t fucking tell me to calm down. I gave you simple instructions not to let the bitch in our home and the moment I turn my back here she is.”

  “Babe, it wasn’t like that, she had nowhere to go, what was I supposed to do?”

  “You should have slammed the door in her face.”

  The cheek of those two talking about me as if I wasn’t even there. I didn’t want the drama so bit my tongue.

  “Look Nayla, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause any trouble but I had nowhere to go.”

  “Shut the fuck up, I wasn’t talking to you.”

  She turned to Eric, “Did you fuck her?”

  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. She had so much disdain for me.

  “What? Don’t be silly babe, she’s your sister,” he retorted.

  “Well that didn’t stop you before did it?” she shot back at him.

  I stood still with my mouth open in shock. I watched the colour drain from Eric’s face.

  “Don’t you dare look at my husband, you fucking whore.”

  This could not be happening. If he didn’t tell her, then how did she find out? If she knew all along, how could she marry him? My head was spinning as my brain did overtime. I needed answers.

  “What are you talking about, Nayla?”

  “Don’t play stupid Assariyah, I saw you and Eric all those years ago. I had a half day and wanted to surprise Eric, so I decided to climb through his window. To my horror there was my fourteen year old sister having sex with my man.”

  I shook my head in disbelief. “Why didn’t you say anything all those years ago? How could you marry him and have his children after that?” I asked disgusted.

  “I love him Assariyah, he’s my soul mate and I wasn’t going to let your thirsty ass ruin my life with your fake ass self.” “‘Please don’t say yes to him Nayla,’” she said, mimicking what I had told her when I first found out that Eric asked her to marry him.

  “You really thought I was going to leave him so you could have him.”

  I couldn’t believe how twisted she had got it. I needed to put her straight.

  “It wasn’t like that Nayla,” I protested.

  “Fuck you Assariyah, I have hated you since that day. I waited a long time for my payback, but the wait was worth it. Your wedding day was one of the best days of my life.”

  “What are you talking about?” I asked, confused.

  “You silly, silly, silly little girl. How do you think Jasmina ever got hold of your diary?”

  “Oh my God, it was you, all along it was you.” I bit down hard on my lip to hold back the tears.

  “Yes it was me,” she gloated in my face.

  At that point I was ready to knock every single tooth out of her mouth. I reached for her but Eric held me back tightly.

  “Let me go,” I screamed.

  “Yes, let the bitch go, let her do her worst. Come on Assariyah, do me something and see if I don’t have your ass thrown back in jail. Now for the last time, get the fuck out of my house.”

  CHAPTER 3

  Nayla’s revelation was a major blow to me. All the pieces of the puzzle now fitted together so clearly. She had been the driving force behind Jasmina’s wicked plan. She blamed me and only me for what happened between Eric and I, but failed to see that he had groomed me. I was fourteen, don’t get me wrong, I know that I could have screamed harder, perhaps fought him harder, but as grown as I may have thought I was, the truth was my body and mind were not developed enough to have handled the situation better.

  Eric and Nayla deserved each other. They were sitting on half of my inheritance while I had nowhere or nothing to call my own. Enough was enough though, if there was one thing I learned from prison, it was that self-pity left you dead. Only the strong survived. I had to stop feeling sorry for myself. I had fifty pounds to my name. In my good days, shit that couldn’t even buy me a pair of knickers. I laughed at my current situation and refused to feel sorry for myself any longer. I had fifty pounds and that was a lot more than some people had. I was no longer confined by iron bars and I’d be damned if I allowed myself to be imprisoned by my own mental state. I was never one to stay down for long.

  It was time to flip shit around. Fuck Nayla, fuck Eric and fuck every fucking body. Assariyah Jones never stayed down for longer than necessary. I had to think, I needed a master plan to get myself out of this mess, but first of all I needed some food, I was totally famished.

  I stopped by a local cafe which had a flashing sign on the door that displayed that they had Internet access. I ordered scrambled eggs and toast with a hot chocolate. I can’t tell you how good the food tasted. It melted so sweetly in my mouth. The first real food I had savoured in seven years. My God it tasted so damn good that I wanted to order seconds, but I had to hold myself back due to a lack of money.

  I needed to make money and I needed to make it fast. I racked my brain, trying to think of ways to make money, but I came up short each time. I didn’t want to go back to selling myself but I couldn’t see any other options really. It was the quickest way I knew. Working for the minimum wage would take a lifetime to get me to where I wanted to be. Anyway the chances of anyone hiring me with a murder charge behind my back were very bleak. I had no other choice but to go back to the game that had nearly killed me and had cost me my life. It was what I knew best and, as they say, better the devil you know, right?

  I used the Internet access in
the cafe to look up Precision Escorts. Isabella Von Tini ran the best agency in town and had the best clients back in the day. I wanted to see if she was still on top. I wrote down her address and contact details. I needed to pay her a visit and prayed that she would put me back on her books. She was my only hope.

  I decided to take a cab to the Precision office, I figured the sooner I got to Isabella the better. Plus once she put me back on, money would no longer be an issue for me. When the driver pulled up outside Precision, my heart started to beat double time. Anyone looking from the outside would have thought that Precision was a modelling agency but they couldn’t have been more wrong. What the heck was I thinking? Maybe it wasn’t such a bright idea for me to come here after all. I was beginning to have doubts, if I had enough to pay the driver to take me back I probably would have asked him to turn around, but where to? I had nowhere to return to and I only had enough for a single trip. My options were very limited. I paid the driver and took a deep breath as I stepped out of the cab.

  This was it, there was no turning back now. When I stepped into the building, there was a very pretty girl with long jet black hair at reception. I walked up to her and smiled. “Hey I’m here to see Isabella Von Tini.”

  “Do you have an appointment?”

  “I’m afraid I don’t, but she will want to see me.”

  “I’m sorry, meetings are strictly by appointments only. I’ll be happy to book a meeting for you?”

  “No, you don’t understand. It’s paramount that I see Ms Von Tini today.”

  “Well I’m sorry, but like I said no appointment, no meeting.”

  I couldn’t leave without seeing Isabella now that I was here. My casual appearance in leggings probably didn’t do me any favours but I decided to call the girl’s bluff.

  “Look, I don’t know how long you have been working here, but I’m guessing you’re fairly new. If you had been here long enough, you would know that Ms Von Tini takes her business very seriously and does not play with her money. If you don’t let me see her today, you’ll be losing her a lot of money. When she finds out that you were the reason she lost money, looking for a new job will be the least of your worries. It would be a shame if anything happened to that pretty face of yours.”

  From the frightened look in her eyes I knew I had finally got to her.

  She quickly changed her tune, “Sorry Miss, can I take your name please?” she asked, as she picked up the phone to call Isabella.

  “Tell her it’s Rose Monet.”

  She nodded her head and keyed Isabella’s extension.

  “Hello Ms Von Tini, I’m so sorry to disturb you but there’s a lady called Rose Monet here to see you.”

  I wondered what was going through Isabella’s mind, but I didn’t have to wonder for long.

  “Take the lift to the third floor, Ms Von Tini’s office is on the right.”

  “Got you, thanks.”

  After seven years I was about to come face to face with Isabella Von Tini. I was nervous to say the least. I had no idea how she would respond to seeing me but I had to get my money up and she had access to the quickest way I knew. I bit my bottom lip as I stepped out of the lift and turned right. Her office was right in front of me. God please let this go well. I prayed silently as Isabella waved me in. She pointed to a seat opposite her and I sat down.

  “Hello Rose or should I say Assariyah?”

  “Hey Isabella, thanks for agreeing to see me, I understand how busy you are.”

  “Cut to the chase Rose, what brings you here?”

  “I was wondering if you would put me back on your books again. I made you a good deal of money before and I can earn you a lot more now.”

  Isabella stood, she dusted invisible lint off her braided tweed Chanel suit and walked over to me. “I’m sorry darling, but that’s not possible,” she stated.

  “Isabella please, I really need to be back in the game.”

  “I like you Rose, I really do, you were my V.I.P doll and that’s the only reason I agreed to see you, but business is business. You’re a convicted murderer. That shit is bad for business. You know how high profile my clients are. I can’t afford to have the cops snooping round here. Bambola, I can’t help you.”

  I didn’t want to beg but I needed this. “Please Isabella I need this, I don’t have a penny to my name. I just need a few months to get back on my feet. Please, I really need your help.”

  “Don’t beg Rose, it doesn’t suit you. You’re a beautiful girl. You’ll find your way, but not here.” She leant over and kissed me on both cheeks before returning to her seat. “Leave now and don’t ever come back here. I won’t be so welcoming next time.”

  With that said I stood up and left. Shit was bad, real fucking bad. Tears began to fall down my face involuntarily. I had no idea of what I was going to do next. I couldn’t call Cameron, he was married now and had done more than anyone else in his position would have done after the way I treated him. I rushed out of Precision’s building totally distraught. I stepped out into the road without thinking. I didn’t even see the car until it was too late. Or maybe I did, I don’t know. I was startled by the car’s harsh braking and swerving. I stood frozen in shock, I was inches away from ending it all. It would have been better if the car had hit me. I wanted my life to be over. At least then I would finally be with my baby, Mama and Daddy. Fuck this world, there was nothing in it for me. My thoughts were cut short by the enraged driver jumping out of his car.

  “Hey what the fuck? I could have killed you,” he shouted.

  “You should have,” I responded unapologetically without looking at him.

  The driver snapped. “If you wanna kill yourself don’t get others involved,” he grabbed me and forced me to look at him.

  “Oh my God … Dino!” Standing before me was my old friend. He was my driver when I first joined Precision, but we grew to become close friends.

  “Shit Rose, what the fuck are you playing at? I could have killed you Ma.”

  There was a queue of traffic building up behind Dino’s car. Angry drivers beeped their horns furiously due to the obstruction we had caused.

  “Come with me,” Dino grabbed my hand and led me back to his car and drove off in silence.

  We ended up at a small place called, Afters, which was about fifteen minutes away. The place had a real retro feel to it and had a pink motorcycle displayed in their window. The place only sold desserts, under normal circumstances I would have been in heaven. Dino asked what I wanted but I was in no mood to eat so I remained silent. He went ahead and ordered two vanilla cheesecakes anyway. One for me and one for him, but I didn’t touch mine so he ended up eating both. It’s crazy really, I had no idea where my next meal would come from, but with so much on my mind, I had no appetite.

  “So, are you going to tell me what the hell that was about Rose?”

  “D, don’t call me Rose, my name is Assariyah.”

  “I know that Ma, but you’ll always be Rose Monet to me, the baddest.”

  I let out a slight smile. “You always did put me on a pedestal.”

  “That’s because that’s where you belong. Now tell me what that foul shit you pulled earlier was all about?”

  “D, I don’t even know where to begin. Everything is in a mess. Inside all I could do was think of getting out but there’s nothing left for me out here D. I went to see Isabella, to see if she would put me back on Precision’s books but she refused me because of the murder charge. I’m fucked D. I have no money and nowhere to lay my head.”

  Dino wiped the tears that streamed down my face. “Dry your tears Rose, I’ve got you Ma. You can stay with me for a couple of days till I find you something. I can’t cross Isabella, but if you’re serious about getting back on, I’ll throw a couple of my own contacts your way, to help you get back on your feet.”

  “Thanks D, you keep saving me.”

  “You can stay at mine for a couple of days, I wish you could stay longer but if Isabella knew I w
as helping you things would get messy.”

  “Damn D, what does she have over you?”

  “Let’s just say a long time ago she saved me from a very dark situation,” he said, as we got up to leave.

  I wondered what dark situation Isabella saved Dino from. Looking at him, he was a far cry from your average victim. Dino was very tall, roughly 6’4 with a great physique. He had a rugged look and a scar on his neck, which added to his sex appeal. I was curious, but I knew not to push the subject. He would tell me when he was ready and I had to deal with the fact that he may never be ready. Some shit is just too deep that you have no other choice but to suppress the darkness deep in your subconscious memory in order to survive. God knows, I have plenty of my own issues.

  Dino dropped me back at his place and gave me a quick tour of his ninth floor penthouse. He showed me where the necessities were. I was impressed by the elegant architecture, the bulthaup kitchen design but most amazingly I was taken by the view of Hyde Park from all the rooms.

  “I see you’ve come up in the world D,” I teased him.

  “I try,” he replied modestly. “Rose, I was due back at the office a couple of hours ago. I’ve gotta bounce, but make yourself at home and don’t wait up.”

  I gave Dino a peck on the cheek and wondered if I was making the right decision sticking with him. D and I always had a connection and that connection grew after he rescued me from that psycho son of a bitch, John Mews. If it hadn’t been for D I probably would have ended up dead in a gutter somewhere. After the attack D gave me a gun for my protection. I remember his exact words, ‘Stay beautiful and don’t you ever think twice about pulling that trigger.’ That was my very first and only gun, the gun I used to kill Jasmina after she poisoned me and caused me to lose the most important thing to me.

  It was ironic really, he gave me the gun to protect myself, but it destroyed my life. I don’t blame anyone, my actions were mine. I and I alone pulled that trigger, but perhaps Jasmina would still be alive today if that gun hadn’t been in my possession, who knows. I try not to dwell too much on my past but it’s hard. Sometimes one must go back in order to move forward. In my case, I had to return to the game that had almost cost me my life in an attempt to rebuild my future. You probably think I’m crazy, but what else was I supposed to do?