Chapter Nine

Thursday, July 28, 2020 at 4am

When Destiny returned to her apartment, her room was in disarray - her mattress was laying up against the wall. Her lamp had been knocked over, her clothes were removed from the draws and thrown everywhere. Her keepsake box was on the floor. All of the contents dumped out. The picture of her and Nick was cut in half - only Nick’s face remained. Destiny checked inside the book safe and all of her money was still there untouched. Her weed stash safely in its bag. She weighed it, same amount. After thoroughly checking every nook and cranny, nothing else appeared to be missing. Whatever the intruder had been looking for wasn’t money or drugs.

Destiny pulled her mattress down off the wall and lay it back in its usual spot. When she did, she noticed a strange red symbol on the wall. Destiny couldn’t understand what the symbol meant but when she touched it, it was still wet. Destiny examined her hand and from the smell and texture of it, it appeared to be blood.

Destiny contemplated whether to show up at Edwin’s house. Although Destiny knew in order to find out more about her past and the book and find out where her mother was, she would need his help but she wasn’t ready to lay her cards on the table and let go of her pride.

After much deliberation, she decided, she needed to go to his house and tell him about this and tell him about all she knew, including his father.

---

Destiny showed up that same night on Edwin’s door step. Edwin came to the door in just his boxers. He could barely keep his eyes open.

“Hey what are you doing here?” His voice as pleasant for someone who had just been woken up.

“Can I come in?” Destiny asked. She had smoked a joint on the way over, was high, freaked out and paranoid that someone had followed her over here.

“Yes, of course.” He said. “Is everything okay?”He was rubbing his eyes and squinting.

“That depends. Do you still have the book?”

“Yes of course. It’s down stairs. What’s going on?”

“Can I Have some water?” Edwin reluctantly went in the kitchen and poured her a glass of water. Destiny walked towards the living room. Edwin soon joined her handing her the glass of water.

“Someone broke into my apartment tonight and I think it was them.”

“What? Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“Did you notify the police?’ He asked. Seriously?

“Yeah I did. They said they would look into it.” She lied. “Strange part is...they didn’t take anything, not my money, not my weed, nothing.”

“Your weed?” Edwin seemed surprised.

“Great. I shouldn’t have told you that, of all people. I mean my bag of incense.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? I could care less how you choose to...express yourself. If you want to mess up your lungs and kill your brain cells by all mean, have at it. Smoke all the refer you want?”

“Refer? For your information, genius, smoking marijuana does not cause damage to brain cells. And some studies have shown that it can actually improve lung health and reverse the effects of cigarettes.”

“Clearly you’re high right now!” Edwin said.

“Aren’t we Mr. Judgemental. How dare you look down your half-breed nose at me?”

“Half-breed? What does that even mean?”

“I never should have even bothered to come here.”

“You are a hostile person. You know that!” Not everyone is out to get you. Not everyone is judging or condemning your actions. If you are that insecure about it, maybe you should take a good long look at yourself. If you have a problem then change it.”

“Gee, thanks Grandpa.” She said sarcastically.

“I can’t deal with this. I’m tired. I have to be up early. If you want to stay, the guest room is upstairs, second door on the left. Have a good night.”

Destiny felt her entire world start to spin. She had done it again. She didn’t want Edwin to leave. She didn’t want to be alone right now but her mouth wouldn’t form the words to tell him to stop. he turned his back and walked up the stairs. Destiny drank a few more glasses of water and managed to make her way up the stairway. Just get the book and leave! She thought. I can do this on my own!

Destiny stumbled her way up the stairs and into the first door she saw. She climbed inside the bed before she realized Edwin was already in there.

“Zoe, what are you doing? The guest bedroom is the next door down.” He said. He was clearly irritated with her at this point.

“Hold me.” She mumbled before her eyes drooped closed. His annoyance quickly subsided when he looked down at her face. Instead of kicking her out of the bed he put his arms around her and held her tightly. They both drifted off to sleep.

---

The next morning Edwin still had his arms around Destiny and she was laying her head on his chest. He kissed her on her forehead causing her to stir. She blinked her eyes open her eyes and when she looked up, Edwin was staring down at her.

“Morning.” He said.

“Oh my god!” Destiny quickly hopped out of bed. “What happened last night? Did we-” She looked horrified.

“No we didn’t have sex.” He said. “You came over here upset someone had broken into your place so…”

“So you thought you would take advantage of the situation by luring me into your bed so you could do all sorts of pervy stuff to me while I was asleep?” She accused.

“No!” Edwin exclaimed. “Why are you so damn frustrating?” He was exasperated.

“What the hell did you do to me, pervert?”

“Okay that is the third time you accused me of being a pervert. And I’m not going to keep letting it slide. You climbed in my bed last night. And if you hadn't already noticed, you're still completely dressed.” Destiny looked down at herself and noticed she had every piece of clothing on down to her shoes.

“ And if I’m not mistaken. That night in front of your apartment, you kissed me back! I am through playing these games with you. You blow up at me every five seconds for no good reason and I am done. I am going to take a shower. You can stay here and sort out your own craziness or you can go ahead and show yourself out.” With that, Edwin walked out of the room. A few minutes later she heard the shower turn on.

Destiny was embarrassed for how she behaved. Why did she keep treating him like that? She had been so dumb. Edwin had been a friend to her when she really needed one. And how did she repay him? Destiny hadn’t felt that safe and comforted since Nick was around. It was a feeling she desperately wanted and needed to feel. She had probably blown it forever.

But still, she thought, he had probably done something to her in her sleep.

---

When Edwin got out of the shower and came downstairs freshly shaven, Destiny was in the kitchen preparing breakfast.

“What’s all this?” He said. Destiny walked over and brought him a cup of coffee.

“This is my way of saying thank you for last night. And sorry for blowing up at you the way I did. Hope you don’t mind.”

“Smells good.”

“Have a seat. It’ll be ready in a few.” Edwin obliged.

“I thought maybe you left.”

“Thought about it. Did you want me to?” She said.

“Thought about it.” He joked. “But no, I didn’t want that.” He admitted.

Destiny laid down a plate of egg white and spinach omelette with wheat toast. Edwin went to the refrigerator and grabbed a jar of grape jelly.

“Bread already has a lot of sugar. It doesn’t need jelly.” She said.

“It might not need jelly, but I do.” Edwin said. They both laughed. Destiny picked up a forkful of food and started to eat but Edwin stopped her.

“Wait.” Edwin said. “First,w e say grace.”

“How come you’ve never made me say grace all the other meals we had together?” she asked.

“We hadn’t cuddled yet.” He smiled. Destiny put her fork down. She didn’t believe in prayer but she didn’t want to spoil the mood.

“Lord we give you praise, honor and glory for this day. We thank you for this wonderful spread you’ve laid before us. We are so grateful to you for the many blessings you bestow on us daily - those we are aware and those we are unaware. Lord, we look to you for guidance, for wisdom and pray that each day we live according to your word. We thank you for this food we are about to receive. We ask that you make it nourishment to our bodies. We ask these things in Jesus name, Amen.” Destiny watched Edwin as he talked to his god. His face was overcome with peace. His voice was full of joy and excitement. She had never seen anything like it. Whenever she heard people pray before, it always sounded methodical and rehearsed. Not like this.

“I have a confession to make.” She said.

“What’s that?” he had a mouth full of food.

“I wasn’t entirely truthful with you about my name.”

“Your name isn’t Zoedana?”

“Well, kinda. My given name is Destiny Rogers. Zoedana is my code name, the one I used most of my life when I was living on the streets and when I started selling drugs. People usually call me Z for short” She admitted.

“I see. So what do you prefer me to call you?”

“Zoedana.” She said.

“Then that’s what I will keep calling you.”

“Is that it?”

“Yes.” She lied. She wanted to tell him about his dad but she couldn't bring herself to do it.

“Well I have a confession for you.”

“What?” Uh-oh she thought the second shoe.

“Despite your cookiness and mood swings, I enjoy having you here.It’s been along time since a real meal was cooked inside this kitchen.”

“You don’t cook much?”

“No and neither does my wife.” he joked.

When they weren’t at each other’s throats the conversations seemed to flow so freely. He was easy to talk to. It was like they had known each other for ages. They talked and laughed all throughout breakfast. Destiny learned that Edwin was an only child. He had her nearly in tears telling her stories about his nutty grandmother and the things she used to make him do. It was so safe and easy. For a while, Destiny forgot about the book, about her mother, and about the world ending.

Edwin glanced down at his watch.

“Shoot! I gotta get to class.” He said. “What do you have to do today?”

“I’m working at the diner until five.”

“Oh. Well I was going to see if you wanted to come to my theology class. We are discussing the fundamental differences and similarities between classic religious texts.”

“That doesn’t even sound remotely interesting.”

“Suit yourself. Want me to drop you by the diner on the way to the library on my way to the university?”

“On the way? The diner is like 30 minutes out of your way.”

“True. I guess I was just looking for an excuse to spend more time with you.”

“You’re very straightforward aren’t you?”

“Sometimes. I don’t like to play games. Life is too short not to go after what you want.” He was looking at her with those seductive green eyes again. Shit. She thought. She was starting to like this guy. But she knew she was going to have to confront him about his father eventually.

“I have another confession to make.” He said.

“What?”

“I want us to drop everything and spend the day together.”

“That’s sweet but I need to keep my job so I can pay for my apartment and save up enough money to go to college.”

“It’s just one day. Don’t you have any sick days saved up?”

“I don’t have sick days. And I don’t have a trust fund I can pull from whenever I don’t feel like working that day.”

“Here we go again. Just when I think we’re making headway, you push me away.”

“I’m not going to put my life on hold for some uptight guy just because he’s been a little nice to me.”

“All I asked was for you to spend a little time with me so we could get to know each other better. We were having such a nice time. Why do you constantly have to mess it up?” Destiny paused. he was right.

“I don’t know.” Edwin was visibly surprised by her response. Truth was, Destiny didn’t know why she was unable to just go with her emotions and truly open up and let someone in but the very idea terrified her.

“The last person I trusted...that I let in...he died...unexpectedly. The police barely bothered looking into it because he was a gang banger. One less black kid off the street they figured.” Her voice trailed off as she sat deep in thought, remembering Nick. “He was my best friend, my big brother, my partner in crime…” Her eyes began to water and her voice was cracking. “When my foster mother used to come at me with the brown belt, Nick would always try to stop her. Then she’d beat us both. It got to the point where Nick started messing up just so she would spend all her time and energy punishing him that she’d forget about me. My foster parents didn’t even bother to report him missing. He had been gone for six months before they found his body floating in the water. he had two shots in his chest one in his head.” Destiny was imagining her brother Nick. She had heard about his death on the six o’clock news. She would never forget that day. How she missed her big brother. How miserable and unbearable life in that house had been without him all these years. Even now, nick would know exactly what to do. Exactly how to handle this entire situation. Nick why did he have to leave? Destiny fought back the tears that threatened to come pouring down her cheeks. She couldn’t hold them back anymore. She began sobbing uncontrollably. She put her face in her hands and cried softly over the loss of her beloved brother Nicholas Rogers. She had never truly mourned his death before now. She was too busy dealing with the madness at home or trying to survive on the streets, just like Nick had always taught her.

Edwin came and sat down next to her. He put his arms around her and pulled her close to him. Once again she was safe and protected by his big strong arms. She lay her head on his chest and felt at home. Slowly her tears went away.

“I’m sorry about your brother.” He said after what felt like eternity. He kissed her on her forehead and squeezed her a little tighter.

“What was his name?” He asked.

“Nick.”

Then Edwin said a prayer.

“Lord we give you praise honor and glory. We know that everything happens for a reason. We know that Nick is with you right now watching over us. We know that he feels no pain or sorrow. We know that he sits at your feet looking out for his little sister, proud of the wonderful woman she’s become. Lord I ask you to comfort Zoedana right now. Keep her. We know you will never forsake or leave her. In Jesus name. Amen.” No matter if it was in vain or not, Destiny felt oddly comforted by the words nonetheless.

---

Edwin called his teaching assistant and told him to take over his classes for the day. Edwin had convinced her to blow off the diner so the two had decided to spend the day together.

“I know you can handle this, Tom. You’re a smart, capable guy….yes I realize you get nervous in front of people….no i don’t want you to have an asthma attack…..well how do you expect to become a professor it….oh okay. I see….well just please do this for me. Do the best you can. It’s one day alright? Thanks Tom.” He hung up the phone.

“Can you believe that? That kid is supposed to be a certified genius but he has absolutely no common sense at all.”

Edwin kneeled in front of Destiny as she lay on the couch watching some talk show. He started stroking her hair. He started down at her with those beautiful green eyes. She willed him to kiss her. But instead he got up from the ground.

“What do you want to do today?” He asked.

Destiny shrugged.

“I have an idea.” Edwin said. “Give me a minute.” Edwin left the room and went upstairs. After walking around to various rooms in the house, he returned in minutes he returned with a duffle bag and a blanket. He grabbed something out of the kitchen.

“You ready?” he asked.

“Ready for what?”

“Just grab your bag and let’s go.” Destiny obliged and followed Edwin to the car.

“Do you need to stop by your place and grab your things?” he asked. Where the hell were they going? Was he kidnapping her?

They drove to her place. Destiny packed up all her valuables, her keepsakes, her money, her marijuana plant and bag.

They down the street, out of the neighborhood, and out of Brookside.

“Where we going?’ She asked.

“It’s a surprise.” Was all Edwin said. He put in a cd and let the sounds of smooth jazz fill up the car.