Deadly In Stilettos (3 page)

             
Demi excelled in the classes, though. All of her teachers praised her. Except for Aunt Charlotte, that was the first time she had received any kind of positive affirmation in her life, and she loved it. Aunt Charlotte had been there for her, but it was not like having the bond most kinds had with a parent. The only things Aunt Charlotte had focused on were cooking, cleaning, and Demi doing well in school. Besides, as times progressed, Aunt Charlotte’s out of town trips got longer and longer; leaving Demi feeling more and more along.

             
Demi was glad when she turned fifteen so that she could take care of herself whenever her aunt had to go away. Getting a job at the store down the street from her house was another way to make sure she would not have to go stay with her father anymore. At first, Aunt Charlotte didn’t want her to work, but when Demi started helping pay the bills, that thought was quickly replaced with more love and gratitude.

             
Being a failure was far from Demi’s mind. She focused hard on her schoolwork, thinking that maybe if she performed well in her studies, got recognition for it, he father would somehow find out and come for her. They would finally be the family she dreamed of each night. She thought of this each day as she read several chapters in books, mastered math problems her teacher could not find the answers to, and excelled further in her studies.

             
Unfortunately, her father never came for her. When Aunt Charlotte died, Demi continued providing for herself. All the while, she wanted desperately to please her father so that he would come looking for her and mend their broken relationship. The longer she was alone, the more determined Demi became to succeed. She didn’t want to fail at anything else. Her relationship with her father and Troy were already failures, and Demi wouldn’t travel down the same road twice. Not if she had anything to do or say about it.

             
Up until the day she left with Troy, Demi hoped that once her father learned of her aunt’s death, he would come to bring her home. Wishful thinking got the best of everyone, she realized after she had waited two full days. She told Troy then that she would run away with him.

             
After being in the new city for more than three months, Demi lost all hope in her father or Troy coming to get her and bring her home. Still, she persevered in her education.

             
Graduating at the top of her class, Demi received a full scholarship to Princeton University. She received two bachelor degrees—one in fashion and merchandising, and one in finance—in only three years. She went on to obtain a master’s degree in mathematics, and then secured a job in New York City as a buyer for a major department store chain. Life was looking hopeful for the little girl from Dallas.

             
Demi loved her job. She went shopping and got paid for it. Plus, she received discounts on her most praised possessions, stilettos. Not having someone standing over her, watching her every move, was one of the things Demi also loved about her job. She was simply her own boss. All she had to do was find new designers, purchase merchandise for the stores, and oversee any changes requested by the CEO of the company.

             
The money she made provided a great lifestyle, filling her closet with more and more Manolo Blahniks, Jimmy Choos, and other expensive designer clothes and accessories. Her high-priced, high-rise condo was simply remarkable. Demi filled her home with exquisite art pieces, custom-made furniture, and other expensive items to make up for not having them as a child.

             
Even though she enjoyed material things, she still didn’t have real love to fill the void in her heart. She would soon learn another hard lesson in love when she met a certain professional athlete. He too was another name on her list and would soon have a pair of stilettos standing over his body when she stormed his life like Hurricane Katrina did to the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.

Chapter 2

             
MELVIN BRADSHAW sat in his living room, rocking in his chair. Night after night, he rocked and rocked. The guilt he felt for neglecting his only daughter had got the best of him and led to him taking refuge in alcohol. His dark house was the perfect match to his dark soul. Satan himself would have cringed at the sight of the desperation lingering in the living room. The stench of regret filled what was left of Melvin’s life, as he came home each day from work. Still, nothing prepared him for what would happen next.

             
Several years earlier he tried to find his daughter, only to be left with more guilt that before. Everyone who knew Demi knew of her nonexistent relationship with her father. They would not give him any information that would help him locate her. It was his fault, and he didn’t blame them. Why had it taken him all these years to want a normal relationship with his daughter anyway? Was he worthy of that connection after treating her like an outcast?

             
All the abuse, pain, hatred he subjected upon her was cruel. No one deserved that much torment. Maybe one day she would forgive him and they could finally have the father-daughter relationship they should have had the day she was born. A part of him still wanted to continue the search, but the fear of rejection stopped him. Melvin gave up like a coward, turning to alcohol and the arms of a younger woman to fulfill his desires. His beloved wife would have turned flips in her grave if she could see him at that moment, knowing he had turned away the one person who still linked them together. A child they created through love was now the object of his hatred, Melvin thought night after night as he sipped from a bottle, his only friend any longer.

All of his time and money went to booze.
His friends got tired of seeing him so pissy drunk having to take care of him all the time. To them, they couldn’t be a part of his ploy to kill himself from his guilt, and didn’t stick together to see it. All the clerks in the local liquor stores knew Melvin by name. They knew what he liked, and often had several bottles waiting for him when he stopped by. It was a shame, but that was the only way he was able to sleep at night without nightmares. His little girl was all alone in the world with no one to love her like a father should, and he only had himself to blame. Things should have been different, but Melvin allowed darkness to fill his heart instead of love, love for his only child, his beloved daughter, whom he loved deeply but too scared to admit.

             
After dozing on and off, Melvin finally got up from his chair in a drunken state and went upstairs to his room where he fell face down, on top of the bed covers. Up until the day his wife died, Melvin could not wait to have children. They talked about it constantly. When she told him she was pregnant, he was determined to be a better father to his children than his father had been to him and his brother Pat.

             
Pat died when he was only five years old from being kicked in the ribs repeatedly, beaten to death. Their father had a serious drinking problem, taking out his anger on Melvin, Pat, and their mother. The night Pat died, Melvin wasn’t home. When he got there, the police had his father in handcuffs. His mother was taken to the hospital for treatment. She too had been badly beaten, but Pat never had a fighting chance. A rib punctured his lung, killing him instantly, while their father continued beating him. To this day, his father was serving a life sentence without parole. His mother was never the same after Pat’s death. Melvin’s relationship with her was nonexistent, just like his and Demi’s. His mother blamed him for what happened to Pat, as he blamed his daughter for the death of his wife. She was now resident of a mental institution of the state. Melvin stopped visiting her years ago because he couldn’t stand the pain on her face when she looked at him.

             
When Demi’s mother, Beth, came into his life, he felt hope again. They dated only months before he asked her to marry him, immediately knowing she was the only one for him. After the wedding, Melvin worked two jobs, saving money to buy a house for them. Beth was a nurse; she loved helping people. That was one of the things Melvin loved about her. Her death changed his life forever. He was lost again, just as he had been as a boy, only this time he had a baby to take care of. Melvin took one look at his daughter and fell in love with her. When it was time to bring her home, he realized that his wife was dead and wouldn’t be joining them. He would have to be responsible for another life on his own. The responsibility proved too much for him. His heart broke into a million pieces when he took his daughter to live with his sister-in-law, but it was the best thing for both of them, well at least that’s what he told himself. The beatings he gave her when she came to visit were just punishments, rooted in his past. His new drinking problem hadn’t helped either.

             
Melvin became his father, his worst nightmare, so he pushed his daughter further and further away in an attempt to protect her. If she had stayed with him longer, she could have ended up like his brother, her uncle Pat. Although Demi did not know it, her father saved her life by not being in it.

                                               ~~~

Demi waited. She listened before making any moves. Learning how to pick locks had its advantages, she thought as she stood outside her father’s house. That was something she learned while living alone in her teenage years. Some cold nights she found an empty house, breaking in to stay warm. No child should ever live the way she had.

             
The neighborhood was dark, the perfect setting to the reason for her being there in the first place. Demi also did not have to worry about being seen. Slowly, she pulled out her nail file and inserted it in the lock. Within seconds, the door opened. Demi stepped inside cautiously. She was prepared to face her father, anticipating he had heard her and would be waiting for her. She braced for an attack. When she was sure he wasn’t waiting for her, she explored the house. Since she didn’t know where her father was, she had to take off her stilettos, and since she only removed her shoes in a place she laid her head, a light chill ran through her. She didn’t want to make any noise, bringing attention to herself or her father’s sealed fate.

Demi smiled as she looked down at her shoes
, holding them tightly. Oh, how she loved her Blahniks. Although she loved all stilettos, Manolo Blahniks were her first choice. Their comfort was none like any other shoe she possessed. They just gave her something extra each time she wore a pair. Troy introduced her to them when she was just a teenage used to only wearing payless, Wal-Mart and goodwill. Aunt Charlotte didn’t spend unnecessary money on anything, especially material things. Although Demi dressed nice, it wasn’t until Troy that her wardrobe came up to fashion standards, but her personal style was very unique. On their first-month anniversary, he surprised her with a pair, which she still owned. Thankfully, her feet remained the same size since she was fifteen years old, a size 8. That didn’t really matter because she never wore the same shoes twice.

             
Looking around the house, Demi saw many pictures of her mother at different ages. She was just as beautiful in them as she was in the picture Demi carried with her at all times. Demi touched her locket, holding it in her hand. She closed her eyes, knowing her mother wouldn’t be pleased with her actions. Her aunt had given her pictures of her mother so that she would always have her close. No matter where she went, her mother was always there. Aunt Charlotte had the locket made for her thirteenth birthday, and Demi never took it off.

             
A foul smell filled the air. Demi held her breath, trying not to cough from the terrible stench. In the living room an old rocker recliner faced a small television. She figured that was where her father spent most of his time. The sofa was cluttered with newspapers, mail and empty food containers. By the smell of alcohol, Demi also knew what kept him company when he was home.