. . . . . . . . GERALD LARY KENSINGTON . . . . . . .
After the words left my mouth, I hated the pitiful look on my sister's face. It made me sick to my stomach. Well, she had succeeded in hurting me again, which was the typical thing she would do. Growing up, she had always been a mean person. She was that typical high school cheerleader, that rich, spoiled kid that everyone hated.
Jacklin arrived at the house shortly after to get Larry. We were registering him in a kindergarten. I'd asked her to do research a couple of weeks ago about suitable schools for him. She had gotten back to me with five different schools in Los Angeles which were good enough for him.
I'd made a background check on each school and finally decided to pick one and put a call through to them. I was too stubborn to put him in a school last year after Carlos suggested it, but now, I knew I had to do it.
After that, I had a scheduled meeting; a press conference meeting to clear Jacklin's name about my son, Larry. I couldn't wait to get everything sorted out.
Jacklin dressed him up and waited in my car for me. I joined them shortly after, before pulling out of the compound.
Sunshine Kindergarten School was situated at a well-exposed side of the city with lots of nice weather and a large playing park for the kids. It was beautiful, the kind of beautiful that brought back memories from the past. Even the memories that Caroline and I shared.
After getting him into school, we drove to the office, where we went directly to the conference room. A few cameras were placed on the speaker table, the other members of the conference already seated, waiting for my arrival.
I replied to a couple of 'good morning sir' from my employees as I proceeded in. Before I could reach the front side of the room where cameras were on standby, Carlos stopped me on the way, his hands going up to touch my tie.
"Are you sure you're ready for this?" he asked, trying to fix my tie properly. "We can call this whole thing off and do it some other time."
"No, it's fine," I gave him a small smile before walking past him and taking the small steps that led up to the stage. I knew I wasn't going to hide anything from the media now. I needed to clear the air and I'd do that the best way I could.
The makeup crew from my company were close by, one of the women running over to brush my front hairs back a bit before another man said, "We're starting now."
As soon as he announced the beginning of the rolling cameras, the journalists started throwing questions.
"Is it true you have a son, Gerald?"
"Is it true you are having an affair with your assistant while still secretly dating your ex-girlfriend?"
"Being a popular man like yourself, don't you think your image is getting brutally tarnished and dragged due to the rumors circulating the city that you're having an affair with your assistant which resulted in a child that you both take care of now?"
"Daily News spotted you and your supposed baby mama, Jacklin West, walking into the popular Sunshine Kindergarten School this morning. Is that just a coincidence or are the rumors true?"
I remained still as their questions hit me from side to side. I zoned out after a while, realizing that I was up here today to tell them the truth, everything that happened, starting from my breakup with Caroline, the cause, and my son, Larry.
Looking up, my eyes met with Carlos's who gave me a slight nod before chinning up.
Dragging enough air into my lungs, I straightened up and started, "Everything you know, everything the media has on their pages are all wrong. Yes, Caroline and I ended four years ago. It was a sad moment for both of us, but it had to happen . . . . . . "
"How did it happen? What caused your separation with your sweetheart?" one of the female journalists cut me off.
"I cannot say I'll be telling you everything that goes on in my life, including my relationship with Caroline. I'm only here to clear my assistant, Jacklin's name and tell you the truth about it. Jacklin has been my assistant for as long as I can remember. She is nice and devoted to my company, more than I could ever afford to pay her for.
The mother of my child is my ex-girlfriend, Caroline."
There's an uproar in the room for a second before I held up a hand, silencing them.
"Yes, Caroline made her choice to leave the baby with me for a good reason and I was more than happy about that. I must say things weren't very cool but it's all good now, and I hope that's what the media wants to hear. I never had an affair with my assistant, Jacklin. She's a nice person who unconditionally decided to add my son's troubles into her busy schedule and I cannot thank her enough. I am thanking her now. Thank you for always being there for my son. And thank you all for your time."
That said, I stepped away from the microphone, the cameras' flashing lights invading my eyes as I walked past them, the noise growing in the room.
Journalists. They never get enough.
But as I walked out, Carlos right behind me, I felt angry. I didn't know why but the frown on my face was too much, I could literally feel it wearing off my face.
. . . . . . . . Tiffany Lawrence . . . . . . .
FLASHBACK.
I stood next to the front counter in the library, waiting to sign the papers Miss Anita was about to hand over to me. Anita was my favorite librarian in the university's library. The other two were not so nice from my observation, so I mostly always stopped at Miss Anita's desk whenever I needed to borrow a textbook.
Exams weren't near yet, but I felt I needed to study at all times and be ready for anything. Laurene had called me earlier to go to a party she was attending with her dorm roommate but I'd chickened out as always. Parties weren't my ideal thing, and Laurene knew that. She had been my best friend since I was ten.
Miss Anita brought up the two textbooks I was taking today: Business and Anthology. Don't exactly know what I need the second for but maybe just to get me going when I get bored of studying the first.
"Here you go, Tiffany," she said as she pushed the signing book to me. Giving her a smile, I picked up the pen and signed it before pushing it back to her and carrying the textbooks.
I walked towards the back of the library. I loved it here on Fridays. There were fewer people because the students were always busy partying and all. The place was always filled with fewer people. And that was just fine.
After a few minutes into the business textbook, I started hearing murmurs from around me. I didn't pay attention to them but to the book in front of me. After a while, some people started walking out and I was forced to snap my head up. Something seemed to be calling their attention outside.
I wished they'd just stop murmuring so I could concentrate, I thought as I looked back on my book.
"Tiff!" I heard my name from the front. I looked up to find Laurene walking towards me, urgency in her strides and face. Her roommate, Ashley, was hurriedly walking behind her, confused looks on her face too. I mentally grunted. They're just about to try to make me go to one of their Friday parties with them. They should have known better.
"Oh my God, Tiffany! I can't believe you're still here!" Laurene screamed as they stopped in front of me.
"What?"
"You're here and you don't even know?" she asked.
I gave her a confused look.
"There's been an accident, right down this building," Ashley said, with sadness in her voice.
"Yeah and I think it's pretty bad," Laurene added, standing akimbo.
I wondered what they wanted me to say.
"That's really terrible," I replied sharply and tried to go back to my reading.
"Come on, let's go check it out!" Laurene said, grabbing hold of my hand and pulling me.
I grunted but didn't try to wiggle out of her grip.
"Oh my goodness Tiffany, don't you guys even have a party to be at?"
"Not yet time and that's not even important right now!" she screamed as she dragged me out of the library building, Ashley right behind us.
As soon as we stepped into the street, she didn't need to pull me anymore because I started walking willingly when I saw the scene down to the left. People were crowded along the side of the road, smoke faintly oozing out of some crashed cars that I could barely see due to the population surrounding it.
I could feel the sadness that washed over me when I realized the amount of pain the victims of that accident were in.
"Oh my goodness," Ashley's voice became distant to me as I walked over to the scene.
The scene became noisy, sirens sounding in the distance. I couldn't recognize if it were from an ambulance or a police car.
As I closed in, I noticed the ash color of the car that seemed turned upside down on the road, then I saw the car's unforgettable plate number. I could recognize that plate number anywhere, that's what happens when you grow up to see the same car every day of your life that you start learning the letters and numbers whenever you're just sitting on your doorsteps and staring at it.
It was my parents' old estate car. Fear kicked in and the next thing I knew, I was fighting my way through the crowd and trying to get to the front. I managed to get through.
For a moment there I stood frozen, sounds bleeding my ears out as I stared at the bodies in front of me. I saw my father's still body hanging off the window of the turned-up car, blood trickling down his face. My heart stopped beating, the air seeming to have been knocked out of my lungs.
Then my eyes moved down a bit to see my mom lying flat on the side of the car, her eyes barely open, a pool of blood behind her head on the floor.
I flew in rage and screamed hard. I tried to run in but I was held back. I tried to break free but the restraints were bigger and stronger than my fragile body. I had no idea life had that in store for me that day. I didn't know that was the way I was going to see my parents for the last time. I didn't know anything.
I screamed, and screamed and screamed but no one seemed to hear me. It felt like it was just me.
I watched with tear-streaked eyes as the ambulance came to a stop and tried to lift my mom's body, along with the two other victims I couldn't recognize. They seemed to have been from the other car.
END OF FLASHBACK