Belonging to Lust

By the time Heath arrived home from work, Zaiyia was in the kitchen nearly done with his dinner. Seeking her out, he followed his nose and located her behind the stove sprinkling some seasoning into a pot before blending it. A smile immediately stretched across his face when he saw her. “Mmm smells good in here.”

“Doesn't it always?” Zaiyia giggled, knowing he was there before he had spoken. Her eyes were too fixated on finalizing his dinner to look up though. “How was work?”

“Busy.” Heath stated, his hands on the doorway as he inclined himself further in. “I’m gonna take a quick shower before dinner. I won’t be long.”

“Okay, but can I...talk to you about something later?” Zaiyia asked him, stealing an impression of his sweaty, tall and muscular form taking up the doorway. The appearance of him took her breath away, and forced her to look away or else he’d obliterate her brain next and wreck dinner. “Please?”

Heath’s green eyes narrowed suspiciously at her as he wavered in replying. “Fine, we can talk.”

The second after he propelled back from the wall and strode down the hall to his bedroom, Zaiyia hurried to wind up the last preparations for dinner. By the time he returned she had the table set and ready to go. She was just seating herself when she glanced up to examine him in a t-shirt that only molded into his muscles like a second layer of skin, and some dark long shorts. “Have a nice shower?”

“Refreshing.” Heath answered shortly, taking a seat in his usual place at the head of the table. He noticed that tonight she elected to sit closer to his chair than at the opposite end. “Now, what did you want to talk about?”

“I forgot to mention that we should probably discuss it after dinner instead.” Zaiyia grimaced apologetically then sipped from her glass to busy herself. She needed more time to work up the rest of her fearlessness to open up to him. So far she was only halfway there.

“And why is that?” Heath demanded suspiciously, his green eyes narrowing in on her again and making her feel like he was trying to peel back the layers within her mind to unearth the truth for himself.

“Because…” Zaiyia extended, picking up her fork to stab at her food. Her eyes couldn’t rise from the steamed vegetables drizzled with flavorful sauce to confront him yet. “...I don’t want to ruin your dinner.”

Sensing trouble, Heath veered his absorption to his dinner so he could discover sooner what announcement she had to share. It didn’t take long for him to devour up his meal in minutes, but when he raised his head to require information, Zaiyia only passed him second helpings attended by some homemade dessert he couldn’t turn down. After cleaning those plates off, he idly slammed both palms on the table top. “Alright, that’s enough. I see what you’re trying to do, you're trying to fatten me up so I won’t put up much of a battle, but I’m onto you Zaiyia. Get your behind in the living room right now, you’re about to tell me what’s going on with you.”

Crap, Zaiyia thought to herself, he got me. Wringing her hands anxiously, Zaiyia quietly obeyed him. She began to pace the moment he tossed him and his full belly onto the couch in wait. She opened her mouth to deliver, only to clamp it shut to revise some more, then she would open her mouth again to begin her account only to shut it. This extended several times until her hands curled into fists at her side and she cursed beneath her breath. “Sonofabitch!”

Viewing her meekly, Heath could tell the disclosure she was trying to impart wasn’t good, or at least all the way good or else she would have told him by now. It was unmistakable she was stressing over it which means soon he’ll be too. “Zaiyia, is whatever you’re trying to tell me going to piss me off?”

Zaiyia quit pacing to consider just what his reception would be. When a thousand distinct results came up, she gave him a passive shrug. “Um...maybe?”

Heath exhaled aloud through his nose for a minute then raised an eyebrow her way. “Then out with already. Let’s get this crap over with.”

Sighing at the way he was already in such a mood, Zaiyia slung her hands up in submission. “I skipped school today to show up at Alice White’s house.”

“Alice White!?” Heath clamored incredulously, his green eyes flashing with fury that she would do such a precarious thing alone.

“Yes, Alice White!” Zaiyia affirmed impatiently, crossing her arms defiantly over her chest. She didn’t care if he aimed to criticize her for her decision to venture off during school hours to visit her enemy, she didn’t repent doing what she’d done. Yet.

“The same Alice White that has her friends out to harass the fuck out of you AND demolish my property!?” Heath stipulated, needing to hear the affirmation he was confident he already had.

“Yes, that very same hoe!” Zaiyia went on, her voice getting just as resounding as his. It was funny how at first she was hysterical about telling him because of how irate he might become, and now she was upholding it not caring how pissed he was getting.

“Look, I’m gonna need a minute to process this right now. So, just give me that.” Heath demanded, waving his hand to cut off anything else she might say. Leaning forward in his seat, he rested his arms on his thighs and clasped his large hands together. Staring vigorously at the hardwood floor, he gave himself a minute to collect himself. Raising his green eyes to hers, he calmly asked. “So what the hell happened when you skipped school to see her?”

“It didn’t go all that well.” Zaiyia graded her performance, blanking out the part where Alice had been struck by her father prior to their arrival. “Chasity and the McCoy sisters went with me to help mediaite and if I needed backup. Alice wasn’t at school that day so we presumed she’d be home or something. We knocked on the door...she answered and instantly went into Bitch mode the second she saw me. We ultimately ended up quarrelling until she got sick of it and threatened to call the police if we didn’t leave her property.”

Trying his damndest to be the understanding guardian here, Heath hands clutched each other tightly, making the muscles in his arms more noticable. His green eyes made a brisk scan of her form, trying to distinguish any bruises or cuts tainted on her in case she was abating the lie. “Did you just argue with each other, or was there a fight involved you’re not telling me about?”

Zaiyia held a hand over her heart, prepared to swear on the bible in a court of law before a judge if that’s what this man needed to believe her. “I swear to you, Heath, there wasn’t a single punch thrown, a single kick to the gut, or a bitch slap across a cheek that took place in that trailer.”

Heath loathed how trustworthy she was. She could make him believe anything. Except that they were right together as anything more than a guardian and a kid, or at least he should still believe that. Narrowing his eyes on her, he pointed a finger at her. “You better not be lying to me, Zaiyia.”

“I swear on your life I’m not.” Zaiyia asserted.

Easily accepting her answer, Heath leaned back to unwind on his big snug couch. “Good. I believe you then.” His eyes engaged on hers as he tipped his head to the side. “But wait, does this mean you’re still trying to end this hate campaign against you or have you given up?”

Zaiyia moved over to perch herself at the end of the couch with a sigh. She stared out at the dark screen of the TV mounted on the wall. “Yeah, I’m still in this. I’m just feeling...incredibly discouraged right now. I don’t know what to do to make this delusional bitch to see reason. I’m scared she won’t ever will.”