A Broken Girl's Journey 4: Kylie's Song

by Niki Jilvontae

  “Damn bae, I’m so sorry. I should have never left you here. I hate these muthafuckas I swear. Ima take care of you though.” Kevin whispered as he held Kylie’s face in his hands and gently kissed her forehead.

  “Let me call my home girl, Briuna. She’ll fix yo face up ASAP. In the meantime, Ima call my lil’ booster friend and get her to bring you some clothes and shoes. What size are you a ⅚?” Kevin asked.

  “No, more like a ⅞,” Kylie said sniffling as she wiped away her tears.

  Kylie was so heart broken and confused. It seemed like her life was getting worse each day. Kevin was the only good thing she had left besides the memory of her parents. Kylie tried to find the silver lining in her current situation as she had always done, but she couldn’t. All she could see was the horrible situations she constantly found herself in.

  She buried her head in Kevin’s chest and cried for all she had been through, totally unaware that the worst was yet to come. Kevin rubbed her back and led her to the bed to sit down.

  “It’s okay, baby. Please just try to eat and take your mind off of everything. Ima make these calls. Everything will be alright.” Kevin said sitting Kylie’s wings and fries in front of her before picking up the phone to make his calls.

  Kylie tried hard to eat the food in front of her as her stomach churned and her head throbbed. She was so hungry, but she was still in shock from the things aunt Tricey had done to her and what almost happened with the boy. Tears fell from Kylie’s eyes as she forced down a couple of fries and a wing. The screams inside of her grew louder and louder, drowning out the world around her. All she could see was the boy’s vicious face as he punched her and ripped her clothes off. She shook her head from side-to-side as tears continued to fall from her eyes and the visions continued to replay in her mind. Kylie tried to calm herself by humming the lyrics to a song she wrote about hope and there always being a brighter day around the corner. Kylie doubted her days would get better, but she still held on to the hope that they would. Despite everything that had happened, Kylie’s light was still there.

  After about an hour, Kevin finally got Kylie to calm down, eat, and then he stood in front of the bathroom door while she showered. Kylie shook and cried out all of the pain inside of her in the shower as the hot water helped to relax her and ease her mind. She cried for the innocent, sweet girl she knew she would never be again.

  “I won’t let them win, mama. You taught me to always find the good in every situation and I finally see the good side of this. No matter how bad things seem to be, I know that this will help me to finally find my own strength. I know I have a lot of that Kea from LMG spirit in me too...and I know I’ll need it to get through this. Watch over me mama and daddy.” Kylie cried as she stood in the mirror of Kevin’s small bathroom, looking at her swollen, bruised face.

  Kylie dried her body and wiped away her tears as she channeled the strength she knew she had inside. She knew she had to fight through her sadness and not dwell on the bad. Kylie knew she had to try to move past the hurt like her mother always told her.

  After dressing in the white wife beater and basketball shorts Kevin gave her, Kylie left the bathroom with renewed strength and hope. She figured that things couldn’t get any worse than they already were at least she hoped they wouldn’t. However, somehow Kylie knew that if things did get worse she would deal with it. She was ready to fight through whatever came her way. She wanted to let her light shine bright again.

  Kevin smiled at Kylie when he saw her come out of the bathroom with a serene smile on her face. He hugged her tight as he led her back to his room. Kylie noticed that she heard no noise from the living room below as Kevin led her back down the hall. Kevin noticed that too and in turn he smiled at Kylie.

  “They know I wasn’t playing. I’m tired of that dumb shit. It’s gonna be really different around this muthafucka from now on, I promise. Anyway, my home girl, Kesha, here with some clothes for you, but Briuna can’t come until tomorrow. It’s okay though cause she gonna hook you up. Yo ass gotta start school cute Ms. 4.8 GPA,” Kevin said laughing as a shocked expression spread across Kylie’s face.

  Kylie was completely taken aback. She never even knew Kevin noticed her, let alone knew things about her.

  “How did you know that?” Kylie asked as she and Kevin stood face-to-face.

  Before that day Kylie had never really been around Kevin. Mostly she avoided him and his gang. He spoke to her a few times when he wasn’t with his boys and helped her pick up her books once, but nothing more. Kylie didn’t know that Kevin knew she really existed, no one else did. Kylie had gone through her first two years at Northside with hardly anyone even acknowledging she was alive. Everyone ignored her except the teachers. After the initial bullying and gossiping she had to endure her freshman year, Kylie drifted into the background and became invisible in the halls. She saw Kevin and his group every day, but there was never an interest, no hope for a friendship, which is why Kylie was so shocked that he knew something about her.

  “You wondering how a nigga know that, huh? I know a lot about you future R & B superstar, daughter of Lakea and Daniel Wright. I do my research on people and things that mean something to me,” Kevin said showing Kylie his gold teeth as he smiled.

  “I knew from the first day I saw you your freshman year that I’d get my shit together enough to step to you. I knew yo smart, fine ass didn’t like hood niggas like me, so I hoped that one day I could show you I’m a good nigga too. I just never imagined us meeting would be like this. But we gonna make the best out of this shit baby. Okay? Me and you…” Kevin said before kissing Kylie’s forehead and then leading her into the room to meet Kesha.

  Kylie picked out several nice outfits and shoes from the piles of boosted clothing Kesha had laid out on the bed. Kylie had to fight back her emotions as she looked at the clothes and underwear spread out. She remembered how her parents had always provided her with everything she wanted and how aunt Tricey had deprived her of everything that she needed. Kylie hadn’t gotten anything new since her father left the world. She didn’t have anyone to love her and help her to strive for greatness. That is why seeing someone outside of her family care for the way her aunt and cousin should have made her so emotional. Kylie had to sit down on the bed to compose herself.

  Once Kesha left Kylie and Kevin lay in the bed and talked well into the night as Kylie held an ice pack on her swollen eye. Kevin gave Kylie a beautiful new song book with pink and purple butterflies on the front that he had Kesha bring. Kylie couldn't hold back her tears of joy as she hugged Kevin when he gave her the book. That night Kylie and Kevin shared their hopes and dreams with each other, creating a bond that would be unbreakable. Kylie felt secure and loved as Kevin wrapped her in his arms and they fell asleep.

  The next day was the best day Kylie had had in two years. Kevin brought her breakfast in bed and then Kesha came back to do her hair. Kylie felt renewed after looking at herself in the mirror and seeing her entire head was covered in shiny, bouncy ring curls. Kesha didn’t know, but she had done Kylie’s hair just like her mother always did. Kylie could feel her tears burning behind her eyelids as she continued to look in the mirror. A single tear broke loose and slipped from Kylie’s eye as she saw her mother’s beautiful face in the mirror telling her to be strong. She felt her mother’s strength and love, and she knew that she was not on her journey alone. After that Kylie was able to pull herself together, burying her hurt inside.

  Kylie was almost back to her old self again by the time Briuna arrived to help her with her makeup. Kylie and Kevin were playing Grand Theft Auto on the PlayStation when Briuna walked in the room. Kylie gasped out loud when she saw that Briuna was the girl who had given her money for the payphone to call Kevin the night she escaped from aunt Tricey. There was the girl she always avoided, there to help her just like she had done before. Kylie smiled at Briuna as she walked over to the bed carrying a huge make-up case.

  “You’re the girl who gave me money for
the phone.” Kylie said as Briuna smiled and continued setting up her products on the bed.

  When she had set up all of her make-up and brushes, Briuna took the blunt from behind her ear and lit it before responding.

  “Yeah, I saw you running for yo life. I know that look oh too well. I had to help you,” Briuna said smiling at Kylie and trying to hand her the blunt, but Kylie declined.

  Kylie didn’t want to make her situation worse by becoming addicted to a drug. She thought that just having people who cared about her was enough to ease her pain. Kylie smiled back at Briuna and then got up off the floor to see what she had on the bed. She felt happy and free as she sat down and browsed the selection of eye shadows and lipsticks. Kylie almost felt normal until Briuna spoke again.

  “Oh I almost forgot. Some lady and a weird ass dude was at the store today asking had anyone saw you,” Briuna said as she passed the blunt to Kevin and began applying make-up to Kylie’s face.

  Kylie’s heart began to race as soon as those words came out of Briuna’s mouth. She suddenly felt as if she would throw up all over Kevin’s floor. Kylie would rather stay at Kevin’s house alone with the boy who beat and tried to rape her than go back to Tricey’s house. Her body began to tremble uncontrollably at the thought of having to go back and face the evil at aunt Tricey’s house.

  Tears began to fall from Kylie’s eyes as she thought about what Tricey and Alicia would do to her if she went back. She couldn’t let that happen.

  “Noooooo…I can’t go back Kevin,” Kylie cried as Briuna stared at her with sympathy.

  Briuna didn’t fully know Kylie’s story then, but she did know it was fucked up from the way she was running away. Briuna felt so sorry for her because she knew that type of pain, fear, and despair. Kevin hugged Kylie close as he reassured her that she would be safe.

  “I promise I will help you Kylie. Your auntie doesn’t know where you are and if she did I’d dare her fat ass to step a foot in these apartments. Hell, the police don’t even come in here. You’re straight lil’ mama, I told you,” Kevin said as he wiped away Kylie’s tears.

  Kylie continued to tremble as she thought about all of the terrible things aunt Tricey had done to her over the years. All of the beatings and starving had scarred Kylie, leaving her unable to fully trust people. However, somehow she knew that she could trust Kevin. As Kylie looked at him with her tear-filled eyes, she knew that he would use all of his street power to keep her safe. She knew that Kevin would do whatever to keep her safe, she just hoped it would be enough.

  Kylie managed a weak smile at Kevin as she silenced the screams inside of her. She wanted desperately to believe that she would be safe and never have to return to aunt Tricey’s house again. However, she had a feeling that her nightmare wasn’t over yet. Somehow she knew that she would have to face her tormentors again. She just hoped that she would be ready and could endure whatever came her way.

  After kissing Kylie on the forehead Kevin stepped out of the room. Kylie watched him leave then stood staring at her face in the mirror. She noticed that Briuna was still standing in the same spot with the make-up brush still in her hand, lost in her own memories. Kylie wondered what her story was and what demons haunted her. Kylie didn’t have to wait long for her answers because it was as if Briuna read her mind.

  “Aye I know what you’re going through,” Briuna said as she sat on the bed.

  Kylie turned and looked at her as tears fell from her big, brown eyes. Kylie went over and sat next to Briuna just as Kevin walked into the room.

  “Kebo, I know you know some of my story, but I’ve never told you the worse,” Briuna said as she lit another blunt.

  Kevin could see the pain in Briuna’s eyes as he sat next to Kylie, embracing her while Briuna told them her story. Soon Kylie found out that Briuna’s story was just as bad as her own. Briuna was raised in a single parent home by her mother who was addicted to heroin. She sold Briuna and her two younger sisters for drugs and beat them mercilessly daily. Kylie cringed when Briuna showed her all of the burns, cuts, and bruises all over her back and legs. Some of them looked fresh like she had just gotten beaten.

  Briuna shared her horrible life with Kylie and Kevin as she chain smoked blunt after blunt. After hearing Briuna’s story, Kylie saw that she was really no different from the hood girl she always avoided. Kylie finally saw that there were others enduring heartache just as bad as hers. The only difference was that Briuna and Kevin were masking their pain by inflicting it on others, while Kylie quietly held her pain inside until she was able to release it in her songs.

  Suddenly Kylie wondered would her songs always be enough to help her release her pain, or would all of the hurt and anger she felt inside finally become too much, causing her to inflict pain on others too. Kylie hoped that wouldn’t happen, but in her mind she knew that it was very possible. She remembered how good it felt for a second, kicking the boy in his face. She knew that being alone in the world meant doing things she wouldn’t normally do and at that point she was willing to do them in order to get her happiness back.

  Kylie went to sleep that night with hope that soon things would change for the better for all of them. She hoped that Briuna and her sisters would get rescued from their mother and all of the men she made them sleep with for drugs. She hoped that Kevin’s mother would get off of drugs, raise her children, and allow Kevin to be a teenager, not the head of the household. She also hoped that she would find her brother and get away from aunt Tricey for good. Kylie was confident that all of her hopes and dreams would come true as she lay her head on the pillow next to Kevin. Little did she know, but everything was about to spiral out of control.

  Chapter 6

  Kylie was up before six the next morning getting ready for the first day of school. Dreams of her parents and her happy life in Atlanta played all night in her head, giving her additional hope that she would soon have her happiness back. By the time Kylie and Kevin entered Northside High School, Kylie felt like her true self again. She was the Kylie she was born to be, the Kylie she was before her parents died, and she had to return to Memphis. She also had a new found confidence and strength that helped her to breeze through her first three classes without any issues.

  By fourth period Kylie noticed how being with Kevin and the other Crips had changed the way that people looked at her. No longer was she invisible in the halls and none of the usual stuck-up girls made fun of her outdated clothes anymore. Kylie quickly saw that walking with Kevin made her one of the kids everyone feared and respected. People were actually speaking to her in the hall and complimenting her on the BeBe outfit Kevin had bought her. For once since she had been enrolled at Northside, Kylie felt accepted. It felt good to be accepted and not be an outsider who no one wanted to get to know. Kylie didn’t care about the violent, dangerous reputation Kevin and the other Crips had at school and in the neighborhood. She was just happy to be a part of something and have a family to look after her again.

  For the next week Kylie felt as if her life with aunt Tricey had all been a bad dream and she had woken up to her real life with Kevin. Kylie and Briuna got closer each day, talking on the phone, going out, and spending hours in Kevin’s bedroom just reliving the good times. Every day Kylie spent at Kevin’s house was fun and exciting and she finally felt safe in the house without all of the hood boys running in and out all day. Kylie was finally feeling that hood life wasn’t so bad until one day shit got real.

  It was Monday of the second week Kylie had been living with Kevin. Kevin had left school early with his homeboys to check their trap so Kylie walked home with Briuna. Kylie and Briuna walked home wrapped up in conversations about some of the girls at school when suddenly they heard a woman screaming from an alley two blocks from their apartments. Kylie stopped frozen when she recognized the woman’s voice as Kevin’s mama Brenda.

  Kylie looked at Briuna with wide eyes as they stepped forward to peer down the alley. Kylie felt panic rush all over her body when she saw Kevin�
�s mama being dragged as she continued to scream. Brenda’s screams were suddenly drowned out by the loud thud of a bald-headed man punching her in the face. Before Kylie knew it, the man was stomping Brenda over and over in the face as he yelled about the money that she owed him.

  He yanked patches of hair out of Brenda’s head as she tried to crawl away from his brutal assault. Kylie gasped out loud when she saw the man kick Brenda in the mouth and her teeth and blood splattered on the ground. Kylie had never seen such a violent assault on a woman before. Her mother and father had never even argued with one another in front of her so she did not know how to react to such brutality. All she could do was tremble as she watched the man continue to punch and kick Brenda without mercy as she lie on the ground bleeding.

  Suddenly Briuna pulled a knife out of her pocket and ran towards the man. The man saw Briuna coming so he quickly sidestepped and punched her in the side of the face. The impact from the punch sent Briuna flying into the building, but she quickly got back up yelling for Kylie.