by Pat Simmons
“I don’t want your pity. That’s the hand I’m dealt, and I’ll deal with it or die.” She unzipped her backpack and class papers were crammed inside along with food from the lunchroom.
Kami noted Victoria Fields was written neatly on the papers. Fields had been her last name, too, before her adoption.
Victoria unwrapped a sandwich and bit off a piece as if the bread was stale. “Foster care might have been heaven to you, but for the rest of us, it’s hell on earth.”
She had to find a way to connect with Victoria. How could she put herself in the girl’s shoes when she knew nothing about rape? Why, God, did she have to suffer like this?
“I really don’t remember my biological father. He was Black or maybe a dark-skinned Hispanic. My mother was a White teenager who made bad choices in men. She was young, so what did she know?” Odd, Kami was unwittingly describing her relationship with Tango—a bad choice.
Something else stuck out—they both had similar parent ethnicity makeup—White teenage mom and Person of Color father. That also fit the description of a lot of children in foster care. Jenny, the bully, did say they looked alike. No one else said anything, so it could mean a fellow student was smarting off. Besides, sharing the same birth surname didn’t mean a family connection. The only thing she felt for Victoria was sadness.
When the bell rang, Kami reluctantly stood. Although she didn’t want to leave her classmate in this state, she still had to keep her priorities first. “Victoria, I do care what happens to you. You can talk to me any time about anything, but please don’t kill anybody, including yourself.”
Victoria didn’t look at her. “I’m not making any promises.”
Now what? Then Kami would have to default to God’s precious promises to redeem Victoria.
She didn’t see Victoria for the rest of the day, which kept her on Kami’s mind. When the dismissal bell rang, Kami headed for the student parking lot. Tammie came out of nowhere and fell into step with her. Mentally drained, Kami didn’t want to be bothered and ignored her. She had enough drama for one day. Unlocking her car, Kami opened the door to get in, hoping Tammie would take the hint. She didn’t.
“Hey, I’ve been thinking about what Jenny said.” Tammie squinted. “I do see some similarities between you and Victoria. Are you sure your dad—”
Kami balled her fist. “If you say anything about my dad, I will beat you and your army down and not care about suspension.”
Tammie held up her hands in mock surrender. “Okay, okay. Sorry, just sayin’ it happens. My father has a couple of strays out there.”
“Watch it.” Kami strapped in her seat belt, started the ignition and drove off, fuming. Parke Jamieson VI was her idol. When he learned he had a son, he fought for Pace despite her brother had already been adopted.
His adopted parents, who were White, had already changed his named to Gilbert Jr. She snickered. Gilbert? Kami liked Pace better, even if it was a nickname for Parke VIII. Her mother had birth a stillborn son they named Parke VII. If her dad learned he had other Jamieson children, she had no doubt that her father would fight for his DNA.
During the short drive home, Kami’s emotions were jumbled, mostly thinking about Victoria’s safety. She parked in the driveway next to her dad’s car. She was glad he was home early. She walked through the doors almost in tears as she hugged her father tight and waited for the expected cherished kiss on her head. Ever since her return from Tulsa, she had been as clingy as she was as a young girl.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen at school?” He forcefully removed her arms from around his waist and stared into her face. “Did someone mess with you?” He scowled, ready to do battle on her behalf.
“No, a girl at my school has been molested,” she choked out.
“What?” he roared.
“It’s terrible, Daddy, the things she told me.” Kami blinked and more tears fell. Although she basically promised not to repeat any of their talk to classmates, Kami knew her father would help.
His nostrils flared. She wouldn’t be surprised if smoke spew out any minute as he balled his fists. “All I need is an address and the sick piece of trash will need a medic before he’s arrested.”
“And this bully at school called Victoria foster trash because she’s in foster care.” She refocused. Her classmate was in trouble and Kami couldn’t shake the look of determination on Victoria’s face. “She basically said someone was about to die, either she would kill herself or her foster dad for raping her.
“Jesus, we need You,” her dad whispered, shaking his head. “Do you know where she lives?”
“No.”
Her father paced the floor, gritting his teeth. Finally, he stopped and looked at her. “First, we’ll call the hotline so social services can get her out of there today, next, we’ll pray—I guess we should pray first.” Gripping her hands, he petitioned the Lord to keep Victoria safe from further harm and to unleash His vengeance against the foster dad. After saying, “Amen,” Parke took a deep breath, then exhaled. “Hopefully, you’ll see her at school tomorrow. She can stay here, if need be.”
Hope sprang up in Kami. “Thank you, Dad. “There’s one more thing.”
Dropping his face in his hands, he shook his head. “Okay, I’m ready. What now?”
“We could be related.” The possibility made Kami smile.
“What?” Parke frowned. “I wasn’t expecting that. What makes you think that?”
“Victoria’s last name is Fields.”
Her father blinked. What was he thinking? Could it be a coincidence or wishful thinking on her part? “Do you know if I had any sisters?”
“Anything’s possible, but I would need more information,” he said. “I think your birth mother was pregnant when we adopted you. Do you really think you and Victoria could be related?”
“A couple of people at school thought we looked alike, but if I’m four years older, then she would be a freshman, but she looks as old as me.”
“Once she’s safe, we can ask her more questions about that. Our first concern is getting her away from that monster.”
Kami agreed. “She’s so angry. I don’t know what made her open up to me today.” She shook her head.
Her father patted her shoulders. “God has a plan for Victoria, and He might be using you to fulfill it.”
“I don’t like this plan at all.” Kami turned and stormed out the room.
Parke had never seen his daughter so upset—and for good reason—not even when he forbade her to see Tango again. Raped—Victoria was a child! Women were meant to be cherished and protected, not abused. He massaged his jaw and exhaled. He wished he was dreaming, but the reality was girls and boys were molested in their own homes by family members and friends of the family too.
He didn’t waste any time placing the call to the hotline for abused children. Parke was frustrated when he told the worker all he had was the school, victim’s name, and age.
“We’ll look into it, sir. Thanks for notifying us,” the representative said.
“No, this is more than a notification. It’s a warning to get her out immediately,” Parke demanded as if he was her father. There was a possibility that Victoria could be related to Kami.
Next, he called Cheney at work and relayed all the details Kami had shared with him. When his wife sniffed over the phone, he knew she was crying. He needed to be with her to comfort her.
“I’m glad you called the hotline,” Cheney said. “Also, I don’t like the term foster trash. Who does that girl think she is?”
He and Cheney had been too happy to welcome Kami as their daughter. So often, he had forgotten she wasn’t born a Jamieson and possibly could have other siblings.
When his afternoon clients had rescheduled, Parke left work early with the intention of cooking dinner for the family and surprising his wife. Instead, he got the surprise and was too frustrated now to follow the recipe. It was a bust, so everybody was on their own for takeout.
“Dad?” Pa
ce walked up behind him. “What’s going on with Kami?”
Parke took a deep breath. His ears didn’t want to hear him repeat any of what his daughter had just told him. “Your sister met another girl at school who’s in foster care, and she’s been through the unthinkable—violated. Trust me, you don’t want to imagine it.”
Pace was quiet. He opened his mouth as if to ask, then closed it, changing his mind.
“Not only does Kami ache for what this girl has gone through and fears for her life, but your sister has a thirst to know about her biological family and whether she’s related to her classmate.”
“Wow.” Folding his arms, Pace huffed. “I’m so angry right now. Do we know where this guy lives?”
“If I did, I wouldn’t be standing here.” Lord, have mercy on the criminal, because he’s going to need it.
Chapter Seventeen
The next day, Kami was on a mission at school to find Victoria. However, she was nowhere to be found while Tango seemed to find ways to annoy her. All of a sudden, he was making his presence known by hanging around like outside the library or near the door to her third-period class, even outside the ladies’ restroom. This time, she confronted him.
“Are you following me?” she asked.
“Oh, you noticed.” He displayed the lopsided grin she once thought was so cute. Now, it was just plain irritating.
Studying him, she sighed and waited impatiently for him to continue.
“I’m wondering if you forgave me so we can get back together.” Tango flashed a puppy-dog expression.
Not anymore in this life. “I did forgive you for being mean to me, but I think it’s best if we both forget about us. Now, excuse me, you’re in my way.” She stepped around him and fluffed the curls in her hair for good measure. See, Aunt Queen, you did teach me a few things.
“You don’t know what you’re missing, girl,” he called after her.
“Oh, yes, I do—sin,” she said under her breath, then refocused on her assignment to seek out Victoria.
By the end of the school day, Kami felt defeated and worked herself into a migraine. The girl was a no-show.
When she arrived home that afternoon, Pace met her at the door. “Anything?”
“Nope.” Kami shook her head. “I didn’t see her today.”
Pace anchored his fists on his waist. “All the Jamiesons are ready to help. Even Grandma BB is waiting for the go ahead to do bodily harm, and you know her retired police dog is ready to be activated.”
Kami rolled her eyes at the mention of Grandma BB’s German shepherd named Silent Killer. Her grandma enjoyed siccing the dog on wrongdoers in the neighborhood.
“Thanks for being here for me when you could have gone away. You’re a good big brother—most of the time.” She playfully scrunched up her nose.
“As the oldest, I’m a good brother all the time,” he grinned, which seemed to lighten the mood and he strolled away.
A few hours later, Kami was in the middle of her homework when Susanna called. It didn’t take long for her friend to pick up on her somber tone.
Even though she had divulged information about Victoria to her dad, she wouldn’t say too much to Susanna. “It’s this girl at my school who is in a terrible foster care home.”
“Knowing you, you’re probably praying for her, right?”
Smiling, Kami nodded to herself. “Yeah, but I’m still worried.” She gnawed on her lips and glanced at the time. She didn’t want to miss the ten o’clock news, hoping that Victoria wouldn’t be part of a story with a sad ending, especially after her threat to kill somebody.
“I know you’re glad the Jamiesons adopted you,” Susanna said, breaking into her reverie.
They chatted about what was going on with Susanna and a guy she had met. That gave Kami a temporary respite from worry about Victoria. When they ended the call, the anxiety returned.
A few days later at school, to Kami’s relief, Victoria reappeared. She rushed to her classmate and wanted to hug her. By Victoria’s expression, she had rebuilt the wall around her, which was confirmed when she warned Kami not to come near her. She did anyway to hug her classmate in relief. “Where have you been? Are you okay? I’ve been looking for you.”
Victoria scanned Kami’s attire, which was the cute stuff her aunt had purchased for her in Tulsa, then slammed the door on her locker. “Of course I’m okay.”
“I was worried about you.” Kami exhaled, holding back happy tears.
“Why?” Victoria asked but didn’t seem to care about the answer as she walked away.
“Besides you being violated,” Kami said in a hush tone and fell in step with her, “we could be family. Whatever reason works for you.”
Victoria stopped and faced her and said in a low, threatening voice, “You didn’t listen. I’m not trying to reconnect with family. They gave me away. I don’t want them back.” Anger lit up her eyes.
She could feel Victoria’s vulnerability and tipping point about to explode. Kami didn’t know what to say, so she trailed her to the library where her classmate checked in books from her backpack. Kami took a seat at the table where Victoria rested her backpack, which seemed to carry more than books, homework, and snacks. She also had clothing spilling out. Tops were balled up. No wonder she sometimes looked unkempt.
Kami watched as Victoria casually scanned shelves as if everything was normal in her life, and it wasn’t, so how could Victoria act so nonchalant?
While perusing the publication racks, she selected some nature and science magazines, instead of the beauty ones Kami would have grabbed.
Tilting her head, Kami studied her. When Victoria returned to the table, Kami nodded toward the magazines. “What do you plan to be when you grow up, an engineer?”
“Grow up?” Victoria grunted. “What future does a girl have when she’s been molested most of her life?” she snapped. Hurt, anger, and hopelessness flashed across her face. For one brief moment, Kami caught a glimpse of Victoria’s reality—I’m just pretending that everything is normal.”
Kami hated the devil and all he had masterminded toward her classmate. “Sorry.” She wiggled in her seat to regroup. “So where have you been for two days?”
Lifting an eyebrow, Victoria gave her a chilling stare. “Not that it’s any of your business...but I’ve been in hiding. I decided I didn’t want to end anybody’s life yet, so I had to save mine and get out of there.”
“Where did you go?” Kami exhaled.
She didn’t answer right away, then said, “I’m done with foster homes. I heard thirteen is an unlucky number. Since the last twelve have been scary enough, I doubt the next one would be better, so I was at a homeless shelter one night. Under a bridge the next.”
Kami tried not to gasp, but it escaped anyway. “Where are you staying tonight?”
“Don’t know. I live one day moment by moment, hour by hour...” She jutted her chin.
She heard God whisper Matthew 25:35: I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty, and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me. “You can stay with me for as long as you need.” She scribbled her number on a piece of paper, knowing her parents would back her.
When Victoria tilted her head and squinted, Kami wondered if the girl was considering her offer. “Your dad lives with you, right?” Once Kami confirmed that, Victoria added, “How many men live in your house besides him?”
“I wouldn’t call my two younger brothers men, so I guess it would be my older brother, Pace.”
Slapping her hands on the table, Victoria shook her head. “Aw nah, I’m good.” She shivered as if she was cold. “I already staked out another spot for tonight.”
Kami couldn’t let that happen. She reverted to Plan B aka Grandma BB. “I’ve got a better idea, but it will have to wait until lunch. I’ve got to get to my next class.”
“Bye.” Victoria gave her a backward wave then flipped the page of one of the science magazines.
As Kami was leaving,
she was silently praying when she bumped into Tammie. What was this chick’s purpose in life, to be a stalker?
Tammie peeped through the library’s glass doors. “So she reads.”
“Amazing, huh? And Victoria talks too,” Kami said sarcastically and walked away.
At lunch, Victoria was in her usual corner in the cafeteria. Her tray was packed with enough food for two people. Kami sat down with her tray, which had a sandwich, salad, and a juice. “Hungry?” she teased.
“Maybe a little.” She didn’t look up as she stuffed a French fry in her mouth. “If school didn’t have the free lunch program, I would have dropped out a long time ago.”
God, how can I feed her or give her shelter when she won’t let me help her? Kami listened to the wind, but God was silent. She gave the girl her number again. “In case you change your mind.” After the lunch period, she didn’t see Victoria anymore that day.
That evening, Kami barely touched her food at dinner, thinking and worrying about Victoria. Her parents were glad Victoria was out of harms’ way with the foster dad, but was concerned that she was putting herself in danger on the streets. Wanting to be left alone, Kami retired to her room as a heavy rainstorm beat against the windows. Stretching across her bed, she buried her head into her folded arms. “Lord, please let her be all right.”
Her mother opened her bedroom door after a soft tap.
Kami looked over her shoulder. “She’s somewhere out there, Mom, probably drenching wet.”
“And afraid,” Cheney said, coming to sit on her bed. Wrapping Kami in her arms, her mother rocked her as if she was a child. She didn’t protest because she needed to feel safe, even if Victoria wasn’t.
“She’s so smart.”
“It’s her street sense we need to be concerned about, I hope the police have arrested that criminal,” her mother stated. “In the meantime, we’ll pray that God dispatches His angels to protect her and call on the name of Jesus to chase the demons away.”
Feeling helpless, Kami to didn’t know what to really pray. The girl was experiencing things she never had. “I gave her my number in case she needs help.”