“Let me go!” I screamed with force from my gut. “Let me go!”
“Ssshhhh,” one of them put a finger to his lips. “Did you honestly think you were going to be able to kill Mr. Chambers’ child and get away with it?”
My eyes swelled before my mouth and nose were covered with a rag, and everything went darkagain. The next time I opened my eyes, I was staring at a ceiling that was beautifully painted. There was so much sunlight in the room, and I didn’t even have to look around to know he was there. I could smell and feel him, and I hated that we werethatconnected.
“Xyleek,” I mumbled his name, still staring at the ceiling.
“Drek, I oughta wring your neck for thinking shit waseversweet with me,” his deep, raspy voice sounded in the room first. Then, his tall, muscular frame loomed over the bed. “Youthought you were going to kill my baby? Are you out of your fuckin’ mind?”
Closing my eyes back, I started to put everything together, and that’s when I remembered that I was at Planned Parenthood. I was supposed to be having an abortion and somehow ended up in the same room with the man I had been ducking. Crazy how life worked.
“I don’t want to have a baby with you, Xy. I can’t.”
“That’s too gahdamn bad, sweetheart, because youwill. I’ll keep you locked up in this bitch for the next seven months if I have to. And don’t worry, you were given microdoses of the drugs that were used, so they won’t harm you or our baby.”
A single tear slipped from my eyes as I opened them and glanced over at him. “Why are you dressed like that?” I quizzed, hating how he good he looked in that damn black suit.
“It’s our wedding day, my love,” his eyes motioned towards my body, causing me to look down.
I screamed when I saw that a beautiful white gown adorned my body. It was the exact same dress I told Xy I wanted to get married in, back when I was actually in love with his ass. Who am I kidding? I’mstillin love, which was why I had been running from him so much.
“Xyleek,” I exasperated his name, closing my eyes briefly. “I knew you were a fuckin’ nut job when I met you. I accepted that, which I shouldn’t have, but now I know you’re smoking crack if you think I’m getting married to you. Today or any day.”
“The same wayyouwere smoking crack tryna get rid of my seed,” he grinned before getting directly in my face. “I don’t know what part you don’t understand about me loving you forever, but Ima make that shit crystal clear today. There’s an entire ceremony set up for us downstairs. All of our family is here and so are the families of Casa, so yeah, wearegetting married today,” he spat with his nostrils widening.
Looking around again, I tried to sit up, and that’s when I realized I was chained up like a damn runaway slave. “What the....fuck? Where are we?”
“Sicily.”
“ITALY?!” I shouted.
If I was in Italy, and all seven families were present, that meant I wasfucked. Getting married wasn’t an option, it was my only choice. Casa Oscura didn’t dowasted time. If they came to a function, there was a purpose, and if that purpose was futile, there was bloodshed. No questions asked.
“Do you know another Sicily, my love?” he calmly asked, freeing my hands from the thick cuffs that were holding me down. “And please don’t cry, Drek, you gon’ ruin your makeup.”
Even though my hands were free, I was frozen in place. This nigga had gone through the trouble of setting up an entire wedding, getting the families there, getting me in a fuckin’ dress,andgetting my make-up done, all while I was unconscious. I mean what in the actual fuck?!
My eyes darted over to the door, and I heavily contemplated on how fast I could move. I couldn’t see my feet over the poofy ass dress, so I didn’t even know if they were chained. When I subtly lifted my foot, it was obvious that I wasn’t confined there.
Xy sat on the bed next to me, slowly stroking my cheek. “I’ll give you five minutes to get yourself together, and then wewillwalk downstairs and prepare to say I do. I love you.”
I tracked his every movement until he was out of the door. Immediately, I rolled out of the bed, getting a quick glance at myself in a mirror. My makeup ate down, so whoever did it, shout out to them but too bad they wasted their time. Pulling on the door, I realized it must’ve been locked from the outside.
Turning around, I searched the lavish room for something, anything to break free before scurrying over to the window next. If I had to guess, I was only about three floors up, which wasn’t afar enough fall to kill me. Would I break a bone or two? Possibly, but that seemed better than marrying the psychiatric patient known as Xyleek Chambers. Lucky for me, the windows opened up to a grass padded courtyard.
“Rahdreka, I swear it’s gon’ take God, the angels, the demons, and Pop Smoke to pull me off yo simple ass if you jump out that muthafuckin’ window!” Xy fumed from behind me, standing at the door.
I hadn’t even heard him come back in, which was kind of ruining my big plans. My head turned from him to the window to him and then back to the window. And then, I saidfuck it. Unfortunately, Xy was a lot faster than me because I felt his muscular arms wrap around my waist and pull me into him.
“Let me go!” I fussed with tears in my eyes. “You got me pregnant on purpose, Xy! I fuckin’ hate you!”
His entire body tensed and then trembled behind me. It was almost like I could feel his heart breaking in his chest. Xyhatedwhen I told him that I hated him. It was safe for me to think it all day long, but the moment I spoke it out into the world, it really crushed him. Regret filled my throat the moment the words came out.
“Don’t say you hate me, Drek,” he spoke in a shaky voice, slowly turning me to face him. That’s when I saw his eyes were wet with a frantic, painful look in them. “I know you’re mad at me, and I hurt you, but please don’t say that. I wasn’t trying to trap you. I swear I wasn’t, I just…I wanted a family so bad with you. I went about it all the way fucked up, Angel, and I know that now. When it comes to you, I think irrational as fuck, and switching out your birth control was a very irrational and stupid thing for me to do,” a few tears fell from both of our eyes. “I don’t know how to make myself stop being scared that you’re going to leave me for good. The same way you don’t know how to stop being scared that I’m gon’ fuck up one more time.”
We stared at each other, and I surprisingly had nothing to say. I could see the hurt and confusion brewing in his eyes, but even deeper than that, Iheardhim taking accountability. That was major for him, and while he had been doing it for the last six months, this time just felt different.
“Ima do something that I know I’m gonna fuckin’ regret,” his head dropped as he took a short step away from me. “But I also know it is very necessary. I…I wanna give you a choice because I haven’t done that so far, and it’s not fair to you.”
