To Love and Protect by Vera Potter

Author:Vera Potter
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Romance, United States, 30 Minutes (12-21 Pages), African American, Literature & Fiction, Women's Fiction
Published: 2015-04-16T04:00:00+00:00

***

Nikeisha smoothed down her little black dress, pulling at the edges once more. It wasn’t that she didn’t like dresses that made her feel sexy, just the ones she had to wear around Tyrese’s friends. She reached for more concealer, certain she’d used half the package at this point. She had always been pretty good with makeup, and that was a good thing, because if anyone saw her bruising or split lip, there would be questions. Questions made Tyrese angry. The split in her bottom lip was easy enough to cover with a little gloss and lipstick, especially since the color she had on was as bright a red as the blood itself, but the bruising was harder to hide. Most of it was concentrated under her left eye, the spot about the size of a half-dollar. She wouldn’t have had problems if it were only the size she had to cover, but as it turned out, the bruise itself had turned from a dark spot into a nasty purple shade that clashed with her dark skin terribly. She hated the fact that she bruised so easily. It didn’t seem fair, since she naturally had such dark skin to begin with, but it was what it was, and she had to deal with it. Finally she smoothed over enough makeup to cover it to her satisfaction and sighed, staring at the stranger in the mirror. It was simply incredible how much she could have changed over the past few weeks after living with Tyrese. She made her best attempt to smile, wondering if it would make the slightest difference.

“What are you doing in there, putting on the whole cosmetics line? Hurry up!” Tyrese pounded on the door as if he were determined to break it in from the outside.

“Almost ready!” she shouted back, biting the inside of her lip to keep it from trembling. Taking a deep breath, she walked out, purse slung around her shoulder, and did her best not to shrug his hand away as he slipped it around her waist. The light of day was already fading by the time they stepped outside, but it was light enough that the streetlights had not turned on yet. It was at this moment, as they started down the apartment steps littered in cigarette butts and half-full bottles of liquor that she noticed the car they were taking. She’d never seen it before. “Tyrese…” she began, “Where did you get this car? It’s not yours, I know.” She remembered Tyrese owned a beat-up red car with one cracked window and peeling paint, one that sported the typical New Jersey license plate. This sleek, jet black sports car looked brand new, and had, most disconcertingly, no plates.

“Why do you care? What does it matter where I got this car? It’s none of your business where I got it. Just get in. We’re late already because of you and your damn primping.” He opened her passenger door and shot her a dark glare she could make out even in the fading light.

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