A/N: Many thanks to Emma 217 for her review and iloverandyortonwwefan23 for adding My One, My Only to her favorites!Only 1 more chapter left!
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CHAPTER 29: MELISSA'S STORY
"My first memory is riding the streetcar. It was my favorite time of day. My father would pay the driver and let me pick where I wanted to sit. My father would kiss me goodbye and tell me to be a good girl until I saw him again."
"I loved watching the rich ladies walk down St. Charles Avenue. I loved to pretend I lived in one of the mansions. I loved to pretend I had a normal, happy family."
"When the streetcar stopped, the nightmare began. Most of the time, she wasn't there to collect me. I had to walk five blocks, by myself, to get to her house, in a shitty neighborhood. I still don't know how I wasn't maimed, raped, or killed those six years when I rode the streetcar between my father's house…and her house"
"I never had to worry about a key the front door was always open. By the time I left, the door was rotting in the front yard. If she wasn't passed out or drugged out of her mind, then she would attack me with insults and questions about my visit with my father."
"Who is 'she', Melissa?"
"Clarisse, my biological mother. When I was little, I used to wonder why she hated me so much. I used to cry myself to sleep because I couldn't make her love me. One morning, before school, I asked her why she hated me."
"'Because you were fucking born, you little brat!' she screamed at me, shoving me out the door. From that day on, I hated her with just as much fury as she hated me. I never brought home any colored pictures, any arts and crafts for her-I gave them all to my dad."
"How were you're visits with your dad?"
"Bittersweet. My dad would always come home from work with a present for me. He took me to fancy restaurants, movies, the mall, and the library. He always bought me at least a dozen books whenever I visited him-he said a beautiful girl always enjoys a wonderful book. The bitter side was my step mother Courtney."
"She wasn't as cruel and unforgiving as Clarisse was-she let me use the bathroom and eat at the table for dinner-but she hated me all the same. She said I was a 'crime against nature' on the phone one time to her mother. I remember her and my dad had a daughter-I can't remember her name-and she and her friends used to make of me. She and I were never friends, much less sisters."
I got out of the bed and walked to the window.
"February 19th, 1992 was the last time I ever saw my father. My mother wouldn't let me ride the streetcar-she insisted on taking me to my father's house herself. I remember holding Brooklyn's hand when Courtney opened the door. To say the shit hit the fan was an understatement. Brooklyn threw me on the ground and attacked Courtney."
"I didn't dare the enter the house-between the screaming and the furniture crashing through the windows, no one in her right mind would have gotten involved. Next I knew, Brooklyn grabbed my hand and started dragging me down the street. By this time, all the housewives were on their front steps, watching the show. My father pulled in the driveway and stared at Brooklyn dragging me away."
"I kept screaming 'daddy' over and over but he just stood there, tears rolling down his face, as Brooklyn Kelly dragged me down the street. For the next seven years, my life was a living hell."
The tears streamed down my bruised face.
"Tell me about Clarisse, Melissa."
"She was a drug addicted, alcoholic prostitute. Every client she brought home to fuck became an uncle to me for a few weeks. Until I was old enough to defend myself, Brooklyn loved to punish me. Not feeding me, not letting me in the house, not letting me use the bathroom…it was a punishment for being born…and for driving my father away."
"She was always dying her with the cheap stuff. She dyed her hair so much that it stayed orange. She rarely got dressed and most of the time walked around naked. Sometimes she wore a ratty old slip. But mostly she was naked. She would have been pretty, beautiful I'm sure, but the drugs and the alcohol had taken their toll on her. There was always a lit cigarette hanging from her mouth."
"Where did you live?"
"We lived in a shack in East New Orleans. It had a kitchenette, one bathroom, and two bedrooms. I kept my room clean but the rest of the house was a different story. The rats and roaches ran the rest of the house-it was fine for Brooklyn because she liked to smoke roaches-and some other bugs that I never could identify."
"She used to beat me or least try to beat but by the time I was eight, I was able to outrun her and when I turned ten I was able to overpower her. I was safer at school than home which is saying something because we're talking about the New Orleans public school system here."
"When did you run away?"
"I was thirteen. I had come from school and she was in one of her alcohol fueled rages. She started screaming at me, demanding to know where I had been. I told her I had been at school but she didn't believe me. She tried to hit me but I ducked and ran. I came home a few hours later and found her passed out on her bed…or so I thought. She attacked me with a butcher knife and tried to stab me."
"I was able to wrestle the knife from her. She slapped me and I hit the ground. She came at me again and I moved and she hit the wall, knocking herself out. I threw her on the bed and went into my bedroom and packed."
"I remember stopping in front of Clarisse's room and thinking no human being could be any more pathetic than Clarisse. I walked out of that shack on May 5th, 2000. It was the best day of my young life."
"I lived in a battered women's shelter for a few weeks. During the day I went to school and at night I looked for work. After my 14th birthday, I met a rich guy who was willing to give me two grand to fuck me. I agreed and I fucked him in his office. Consequently I gave him my virginity."
"I fucked the rich guy for a few more weeks, making two grand each time. He told his business partner about me and I fucked him for a few weeks for five grand. Meanwhile, I started working the streets and was making a few bucks here and there, nothing big because I wasn't one of the top hookers in the business. Anyway, it was on Bourbon Street that I met Tina."
"Tina was 15 and was working for some guy who was trying to open a strip club on Bourbon Street. She said that her boss was looking for some young talent, not the old hookers that controlled Bourbon Street. Tina introduced me to her boss who happened to be Bobby. I stripped for him and I got the job."
"I left the shelter and found my own apartment two blocks off of Bourbon Street. I went to school during the day and stripped at night. Bobby's club took off and Tina and I became the two most popular dancers. We became so popular that men started asking Bobby to let Tina and I spend the night with them. Bobby smelled the money and started sending Tina and I off on jobs. Eventually all the girls started doing these jobs as well but Tina and I got the most calls."
I turned around and faced Shawn. I could see the tears in his eyes.
"I haven't seen Clarisse in over ten years. I've never heard so much as a whisper from her. I changed my name to Paradise for two reasons: one, a stage name, and two, so she could never find me. I have no desire to ever see her again or that old shack. As far as I'm concerned, she wasn't a mother…just a woman who gave birth to me."
Shawn walked over to me and pulled me in his arms.
"Melissa, I have a surprise for you. Come in."
The door opened to reveal a man. He was 6'3 with brown hair and pale skin. He had on loafers, jeans, and an old college shirt. He looked no more than 50.
And he had brown eyes.
My eyes…
"I'll leave you two alone" Shawn whispered in my ear.
Shawn shook the man's hand and left.
The man walked over to me and hugged me as tight as he could.
"Hi kitten" he whispered.
"Hi daddy…" I whispered.
The tears came pouring down.
