Reclaimed

by Land, E. C.

  “Yeah, I’m your cousin. My first name is Joseph. But everyone just calls me Bishop. You were only like five when your parents died, so I guess you forgot when Rita, your mom’s twin sister, kept you from us. And lastly, if my dad knew what you were going through growing up, he would’ve killed Rita himself,” he says as he hunches over his knees, bracing himself for whatever I’m going to say to him.

  Before I can say anymore, the front door is thrown open, slamming against the wall as Thorn comes in, about half his brothers behind him. When he sees me sitting on the couch, he rushes over, kneeling in front of me.

  “You okay, babygirl?” At my nod, he looks over to Bishop. “What the fuck man? Thought you were coming to the club first.”

  Hold on, Thorn knew about Bishop and didn’t tell me. Now that pisses me the fuck off.

  I surge up off the couch, shoving Thorn away from me in the process. My sudden show of force must stun him since I’m able to get him to move.

  “You asshole. You knew, didn’t you? Hell, I bet you all knew about him being my cousin. Why the hell didn’t you tell me? I have a fucking right to know about what’s going on in my own damn life. The fact that I have family is a huge fucking deal. Do you all even realize the hell I dealt with growing up? No, you fuckin’ don’t because you weren’t there. None of you can take away the fact that I thought my own mother lost her way with my dad, only to find it wasn’t my mom.”

  “You know what, I don’t even want to know anything else right now. My life is fucking screwed the fuck up, and my kids, our kids, are in the NICU. I don’t know if our daughter will make it, and I just don’t need to hear another fucking word from anyone in this room.” When Thorn comes closer, pulling me to him, I hit at his chest until the nerve-racking sobs begin.

  He strokes my hair as he kisses my forehead waiting for me to calm down.

  “Just breathe, babygirl. Everything will work out. You want to go up to the hospital? I think this shit here can wait. You need to be with our kids right now. Our kids are gonna be fine, I swear it. Our princess is so strong, she’s a fighter like her momma. You gotta believe that.”

  I finally look into his eyes to see the truth. He believes our girl will make it through. “Okay, I need to see them.”

  “Alright, let’s go.” He starts towards the door, calling out to his brothers over his shoulders. “Bishop, talk to Twister and Horse. Tell them whatever it is you need to. I’ll call you later.”

  I guess he’s been waiting for me to explode. I should’ve known he was waiting for it. I’ve tried to be strong, and not let things bother me about what happened a week ago. But when it comes to my babies, I’m scared.

  Scared, and need Thorn’s strength to make it through this.

  22

  Thorn

  I knew it was coming with the way Lynsdey has kept everything bottled up. She’s been through so much, and never once let anyone see the tears. I know she’s shed them when she thinks I’m not there.

  I’ve held her through the night as she wept in her sleep, begging for someone to help her. If I could bring that sick fucker back just to do it all over again, I would.

  She blames herself for everything. It ain’t her fault that man was a sadistic fuck that targeted her. I need to get her to talk to someone. Whether it be a therapist or just her friends. She needs to let it out.

  The words she just spoke about our little girl gut me. My princess is a little bit behind her brother in her weight and getting off the oxygen, but she’s a survivor just like her momma. I know she’s gonna get better so she can come home. We still have to get the babies rooms ready for it. The doctors don’t know when it will be, but we need to get it ready.

  So, after we visit with them, I’m gonna surprise her by taking her shopping. We’re gonna go pick out all the furniture, clothes, and whatever else my woman wants for them. Hell, she can get a pony for our princess if she wants, I don’t care. I just want the best for them.

  I pull into a parking spot at the hospital before shutting the truck off and turning to find my woman just staring out the front window. She looks lost in her own thoughts. I need to get her out of her head. I reach over and turn her to face me.

  “I love you, babygirl. I don’t know what’s running around in that head of yours, but know this, I love you and those two up there. They will be okay, and so will you. I think you need to talk about what happened. You can do that with me, or a professional, but it needs to happen,” I say softly.

  “I… I just can’t get the sight out of my head of what he did, what he was gonna do to me,” she whispers as tears start to form in her eyes.

  “Babygirl, I know I can’t take the imagines out of your head, and it will take time for that pain to heal. I can, however, hold you to me as you tell me what you need to. All you have to do is open up to me.”

  “Thank you, Michael. I love you so much. I hated every minute I was in that shack with him, having to witness what he did. I tried to fight him off before you got there. I can still feel his hands on me as if he were right next to me. The only time I don’t feel it is when you’re touching me.” She’s gutting me right now. I need to get her mind off this shit.

  “Alright, babygirl, this is what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna go in there, see our kids and find out any updates, then I’m taking you out. Guess you can call it a date. I never really took you on one.”

  “No, I guess we never did.” She gives me a small, genuine smile.

  “Well, let’s get to it. You deserve the world at your feet, and I intend to give it to you,” I say as I pull her out the driver’s side with me and hold her close as we make our way to our kids. Let’s hope we get some good news. We need it.

  As we get closer to the NICU, we spot Dr. Connors talking with that bitch of a nurse Logan. I know she was hitting on Lynsdey, she didn’t have to tell me about it to know from the way the nurse would give me attitude. Dr. Connors must’ve seen us as she leaves the nurse standing there, and heads straight for us with a smile on her face.

  “Hey, you two. I was just getting ready to give you a call.”

  “Hey. What were you gonna call us for?” Lynsdey asks slipping closer to my side.

  “Nothing. We have good news. I wanted to check up on the twins a little while ago and spoke with their doctor as he was doing his rounds. Your daughter is improving constantly. The doctor is impressed with how much. Said that they’re hoping to remove her from the oxygen later today and see how she does.”

  Thank fuckin’ god. Lynsdey needs to hear this news. I feel the tension in her body seep out as she relaxes more into me.

  “Thank you so much, Dr. Connors. I mean it, if you ever need anything, let us know. The club is in your debt for what you’ve done for not just us, but for Kenny and Horse as well,” I say before leading my woman to see our babies.

  “Hey, you two. You look bigger than when I saw you last night. Did you hit a growth spurt already?” Lynsdey says as she looks at them.

  “Hey guys, we were just getting ready to call you when Dr. Connors said she would do it. Did she catch you on your way in?” one of the nurses says as she makes her way to us.

  “She did. Do you know when I’ll be able to hold Anna-leigh?” Lynsdey asks. I know she is dying to hold her daughter in her arms. Lynsdey is an amazing mother. The first time she held our son the other day, she held him to her chest and hummed this beautiful tune.

  “Actually, the doctor cleared her for you to take her out of the incubator to hold. She just has to stay on the oxygen until he comes back in later.”

  “Can I hold her now then?” Her voice is mixed with excitement and fear.

  “You sure can.”

  The nurse picks up our little girl gently before placing her on Lynsdey’s chest as she sits in the chair by the incubator. The relief shows in her eyes as she holds Anna-leigh to her. I take Bud in my arms. He’s just as tiny as his sister even if he weighs more.

  “I can’t believe how tiny they are,”
Lynsdey whispers as she keeps her eyes on our girl.

  “I know, babygirl, but they’ll get bigger.”

  “Oh god, we don’t have anything for them. Michael, they’ll be coming home soon and we’re nowhere near ready.”

  “Don’t worry, I got it covered.” I smile inwardly at my plans later to take her shopping.

  “What, are you going to whip everything we need out your ass? I’m serious, Michael, we need so much.”

  “Woman, I got this. Just enjoy holding these two for right now.”

  “Okay, but we need to get on this,” she says almost back to her normal self.

  Damn, I can’t wait until she is. My woman is the strongest person I know. She’ll get through this shit with me at her back. I’ll see to it. Lynsdey might think herself weak, but the woman doesn’t see what I see. The strength she shows the world is beautiful.

  I need to make her mine completely— officially, but first I gotta get one thing. I need to get the ring I ordered the other week.

  She’s gonna be my wife before these two come home and were gonna be a family finally.

  23

  Lynsdey

  For the first time today, I held both my babies and can’t help but feel overjoyed. I sat there holding them as I hummed a tune, I don’t even know the name of. But it sounds so familiar to me.

  The longer I sit here holding them, the more I think about my mom and what Bishop said. How the woman who raised me wasn’t my mom, but my aunt. How did she get away with it? I feel horrible for thinking so badly of my mom all these years, but at the same time, no one can blame me.

  On the bright side, I found that I have family—actual family. An uncle and cousin on my dads’ side. I wonder if Bishop will help me find out if I have any on my moms’ side that might be worth finding.

  “You about ready to go, babygirl? I need to feed you before I take you on our date,” Thorn asks, bringing me out of my thoughts.

  “Yeah. Can we come back here after, so we see them again?”

  “You don’t even have to ask that,” he says before kissing my head, then both babies. “We’ll be back later, you two be good,” he whispers before straightening.

  The nurse comes and places the two of them back in the incubator. “We’ll call if the doctor removes your daughter from the oxygen, or if anything else happens,” she says with a smile. I can never remember her name but she’s great with these two, and is always helpful when we need it but keeps her distance at the same time.

  “Thank you,” I say as I take Thorn’s hand and head for the entrance. I have no clue what he has planned but I’m betting it’ll be amazing, considering it’s our first actual date.

  The two of us walk hand in hand as we make it to the truck. I can’t wait to be able to be on the back of his bike again. That and so much more. The moment I’m cleared for it I’m jumping his bones.

  When we reach the truck, he picks me up to place me in my seat before rounding the hood to get in on his side. “Alright, babygirl, what do you wanna do first— eat or have some fun?”

  “Umm, let’s go have some fun. I’m not ready to eat just yet.”

  “You got it,” he says with a smile that would give any girl wet panties.

  We’re both quiet as we make our way to wherever he’s taking me.

  “Babygirl, here we are. Let’s go.” I look to see we’re at a baby store.

  “Why are we here?” I ask, confused. He isn’t one I figured would be for shopping.

  “Well, figured we could go ahead and get everything we need for our little man and princess. Like you said, they’ll be home soon, and we don’t have shit for them. So, we’re gonna go in there, get them everything they will need, then go to the hardware store, pick out some paint, and then go home.” If my mouth could’ve hit the floor, it would’ve. The man is absolutely perfect.

  “I love you, Michael, so much,” I say leaning into him, taking his mouth for a kiss that leaves me wanting more as he takes over.

  When we pull away from each other, we’re both breathless.

  “Fuck, woman. You can’t be doing that when I gotta keep my dick in my pants.” I bite my lip as he adjusts himself in his jeans. I can’t help it. I want him so much, even if we can’t do anything until the doctor clears me. I could at least help him out with his problem. “Don’t look at me like that, or your gonna end up on your back with my dick in your mouth.”

  Damn, now I want to go straight home.

  “Come on, babygirl, let’s go get this shit done,” Thorn says as he opens his door to get out pulling me with him.

  * * *

  I don’t know how long we spent in the store, but by the time we got out of there, we’d spent over two thousand dollars on everything. I was amazed at how Thorn took it in stride when he said the total. “Babygirl, I got the money. No need to stress it.” That’s all he said to me after we were back in the truck.

  Now, we’re home, unloaded and relaxing on the couch before the food gets here. Thorn called one of the prospects to go grab our food once we were home. He refuses to let me help unload any of the heavy stuff since I’m technically not supposed to lift over ten pounds.

  It’s nice to spend time with him without having my mind on everything else.

  At the sound of someone knocking on the door, Thorn tells me to pick out a movie for us while he gets the food. I reluctantly agree as I’d much rather eat while watching Vikings instead, so I stroll through until I find a movie. I hope he’ll be okay with watching it.

  “Here we go, babygirl.” He places the bag of food on the table before going to the kitchen to get us some drinks. I start pulling everything out only to come up short when I pull out a small ring box. What the hell?

  “So, babygirl, you gonna say yes?” Thorn asks as he sits down next to me.

  “Is this what I think it is?” I whisper, afraid to open the box.

  “Yeah, it is. I want you to be my wife. You’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever met. My granddad once told me when I was growing up, that when you meet the woman meant for you, you’ll know without a doubt that she’s the one. I may have been a little slow coming around, but I’ve known since I first saw you that you were meant for me. I love you so fuckin’ much. Will you marry me?”

  “Yes, yes, I’ll marry you! I love you so much. Thank you, thank you for giving me something to live for.” And I mean it. I’ve hated myself for so long and only finally just started to believe I could be loved even if it’s just by him. That’s okay, though. He and our kids are all that matter.

  Forgetting the food, I move to kneel before him. I want to show him how much he makes me happy.

  “Babygirl?” He starts to question me as I take his dick out of his pants before sucking him deep into my mouth. “Fuck!” I look up at Michael as he groans, closing his eyes. I love the taste of him in my mouth as I take a hand and massage his balls. Doesn’t take long before the first spurts of his come fill my mouth. I take everything he gives me.

  “Fuck, that was so damn good. You didn’t have to do that, babygirl, but damn, if I don’t love that mouth of yours,” Thorn says as I pull away from him.

  “I wanted to show you how much I love you, and wanted to make you feel good.” I smile up at him.

  “I know you do, babygirl. Now let’s eat and relax some before we go see little man and princess. Then we gotta get ready for them to come home soon. We gotta life to start,” he says giving me a kiss before digging into the food.

  That we do. We have a life to start. The four of us. I can’t wait!

  Epilogue

  Thorn

  Two months later

  “Fuck, babygirl, I need you to come now,” I tell Lynsdey as I fuck her from behind. I can feel my balls drawing up, ready to come inside her.

  “Michael!” she screams into the pillow to keep the sound from carrying far. Damn, I love how she screams when I fuck her. I follow behind her as her pussy grips me like the vice it is.

  “Damn, you draine
d me dry,” I say before laying kisses along her shoulder as I reluctantly pull out of her tight pussy. I can’t get enough of it.

  “Drained you dry, yeah right. I’m sure you could go again, but I need a minute first,” my woman says laughing.

  She’s done that a lot lately, laugh.

  Since the night I asked her to marry me, she agreed to talk to someone about everything and it seems to have helped. She even opened up with me at one of her sessions she asked me to come to with her. Hearing what all she had to say broke my heart, but by the end of it, I could see the difference it made.

  We also brought the babies home from the hospital during that time. After the doctor took Anna-leigh off the oxygen, both her and her brother continued to get better over the weeks and when they were released, the first thing I did was take Lynsdey down to the courthouse and marry her. I wanted her to have my last name, the same as our kids.

  Life has been going good as we’ve gotten used to having the babies home. That first week, I don’t think Lynsdey or I could stay away from their room as they slept. After that exhausting week, I went out and bought a state of the art baby monitor that was set up with sound and picture. “Babygirl, we gotta be able to sleep in our own bed. This way, we can hear them and see them from the comfort of our bed.”

  The only darkness that seems to stick with Lynsdey is the fact that her and Cleo have yet to talk to each other. She still holds the guilt over everything that happened, and I don’t see that ever going away unless Cleo comes back. Kenny and Izzy have both gone to see Cleo, and say she’s doing good but seems different.

  The only other thing that’s happened in the last two months is Bishop comes over often to spend time with Lynsdey. They’ve grown close. She made it mandatory that we have family dinners once a week— where Bishop brought his dad with him.