Law of Attraction Read Online Free PDF Page A

obstruction charge. Don’t go telling her not to testify, or to lie.” Nick leaned forward and met D’marco’s eyes squarely. “Look, you have to rekindle Laprea’s good feelings toward you. It’ll be harder than before, to do it from jail. But you still have phone privileges.”
    “What do you want me to say?”
    “Just be nice. Remind her why she fell for you in the first place.”
    D’marco nodded with respect. The man knew what he was doing. The same old plan, but it had always worked before.
    •  •  •
    The homes on C Street SE were boxy, two-story brick duplexes across the street from Fort Chaplin Park. The park’s dense trees provided a surprisingly wooded view for homes in the middle of the city. Inside one of the houses, Laprea sat on a couch between her twins, watching Dameka’s favorite movie, The Little Mermaid, again. Through the living room window, Laprea could see her mother sitting on the frontporch. Rose was talking to their neighbor Sherry, who sat on her own porch next door. The two old friends waved royally to passersby and gossiped about their neighbors: who had a baby on the way, whose boyfriend had made probation, whose son was back from Iraq. Laprea knew Rose wouldn’t mention her own daughter’s troubles.
    The phone rang. “I got it,” Laprea called as she picked up the cordless. A computerized voice asked if she’d accept a phone call from D.C. Jail. Laprea hesitated a moment before quietly saying yes. Then she walked into the bathroom, locked the door, and turned on the faucet.
    D’marco’s voice greeted her warmly. “Hey, baby. It’s me.”
    “D.” Wary, Laprea kept her voice neutral. It had been two weeks since the assault. “Why you calling?”
    “I just miss you, shorty. I been thinking about you and the kids. How’s D’montrae? He ask for me?”
    “Every day.” Not that he deserved to know.
    “What about Dameka?”
    “She doing real good in school. Got an award for spelling.”
    “She take after her mother.” D’marco gave a low chuckle. “I miss you all so much. I’m so sorry about what happened, baby. I don’t want us to fight like that.”
    “Me neither.” She allowed a tinge of bitterness to her tone.
    “Pree, I met this guy in jail, a pastor. We been talking ’bout families and the man’s role. Kids need their father. I want to be that. I don’t want them growing up without a father, like I did. I’m gonna change, I promise you. I’m not gonna drink. I’m getting job training. I wanna support you and the kids.”
    Laprea considered his words, wondering whether this time would be different. D’marco sounded sincere. She knew he wanted to be a better man. And she wanted so badly to believe that he could be—wanted the twins to have their father in their lives, wanted this man, the man she fell in love with, to cherish her.
    Then she noticed her reflection in the mirror. The bruises around her eyes had faded into a sickly purplish green. The scrapes on her cheek were still pink.
    “You hurt me, D. I don’t think I can keep going through this.”
    “Please, Pree, gimme another chance. Every night I lie on the cot thinkin’ how beautiful you look when you holdin’ Dameka in your lap. How much I want to see that again and hold you.” His voice cracked.“I love you, baby.”
    Laprea started to tear up. But before she could decide how to respond, Rose’s voice bellowed through the phone. “D’marco Davis, how dare you call here!”
    Great. How long had her mother been listening in? Laprea didn’t need the receiver against her ear to hear Rose screaming from the kitchen.
    “Don’t you ever call this house again! If you try talking to my daughter again, I swear to God, I’ll whup your sorry hide till you ain’t got nothing left to feel pain with! Laprea, you hang up that phone right now!”
    Laprea pressed End and threw the phone on the counter. A moment later Rose was banging on the bathroom door, yelling for her to come out. The