by M. Skye
“You don’t mean that. If you truly thought I did it, you would have screamed your head off inside the hospital, alerting every security guard in sight. I think you wanted to hear my side of things, you wanted an explanation for everything.”
Attempting to keep her game face on, Draya crossed her arms and let off a hiss. Sometimes, she hated how well he knew her. She had wondered why he did and said what he did in front of her parents and why he would be foolish enough to show up today. He had to know everyone there was going to be out for his head, but yet he had risked it just to clear the air with her. Maybe he really did have feelings for her. “Your excuses are meaningless.”
“Stop acting tough. I know you’re scared. I was at your house last night and I know that Andrew wasn’t the target, baby girl, they wanted you. When I got there, he was already beaten and lying in a pool of his own blood; I thought he was dead so I ran. I should have called someone, but I freaked out. We had just been in a public altercation and I thought it would look like I did it. I tried to call you, but your phone was off. Where were you? I was worried sick.”
“Where I was is none of your business.”
“So you were with him? What is this between you and that guy anyway? He looks like he is just down for a good time, but once that wears off, he will be gone. He will—”
“Shut up!” She threw her hand up. “You know nothing about Liam and I’m not going to discuss my relationship with you.”
“Draya, I’m worried about you, baby. I just want you safe and he can’t make that happen.”
“I’m not going to do this.” She shook her head fervently. “Let’s talk about my dad. Suppose I believe you, well then, tell me why you were at my house?”
“I needed to explain things to you. I acted like an ass at the restaurant and I didn’t want you to think I was using you. It may have started off that way, but I developed feelings for you. Once I got to know you, I fell in love.”
“Why were you going to use me? What made you pick me?”
“You were there when I figured out what was going on.” Thinking back on the first night she and Damien spent together, something clicked in her head and she nodded. “The phone call I got that night wasn’t actually meant to be placed. Your father was at my place with my wife discussing the child they have together.”
“Child?” Draya’s eyes bucked.
“Kelly is your sister, Draya.” Kelly was Damien and Deena’s youngest child. She hadn’t seen her since she went off to college a year earlier. Kelly rarely came home and she suspected it was because of Damien.
“How do you know this and why stay?”
“You know I love those kids. I had to stay for them. I heard her with your father, and I had her tested after we...” He paused, and she saw that he was struggling with the right wording. “She’s not mine, neither is Brielle.”
“Who is Brielle’s father?”
“I can’t discuss that right now. I think I know, but I need to be sure Dray.”
“So your solution was to seduce me to get back at my father? That’s low.”
“It was the plan, but I started feeling so many things for you that it just kept happening. By the time I realized my feelings, I was in so deep with this revenge thing that I couldn’t step back. I knew it was wrong, so I lashed out at the only person who had never done a thing to me but love me. I’m sorry, Dray. I really do love you.”
“You don’t love me. If you did, you would have never said the things you did the other night and you wouldn’t have hit me so many times. You had me thinking I was the messed up one.”
“You’re not messed up, you’re perfect and it’s why I have been trying to talk to you. I can’t stop thinking about you and you won’t hear me out. The day you broke it off, I told Deena about us. I told her I was leaving and I moved out.”
Holding her hand up, Draya felt her body tremble. “She has known this long? She came trying to turn Brittney and me against each other. It almost worked, but Brittney let me know the real. You love me but tried to sleep with my best friend, our pastor’s daughter, no less? You’re full of shit.”
“I fucked up, Dray, but you have to believe me, I never tried to sleep with that girl. That’s not what was going on. If that’s what she said…”
“She didn’t,” Draya admitted. “But she won’t tell me why you three were together. I can’t trust you, Damien. I know she loves me, but you have done nothing but lie from the jump. Nothing between us was real.”
“It was real, Draya. I gave up everything for you.”
“Why would you do that?”
“Because I want you to marry me. I’ve filed for a divorce and I’m going to do better by you. I promise.”
Feeling her heart constrict, Draya stepped further away, holding her hand out to stop him from advancing. “Stay where you are. Let me say this,” she said tearfully. “You broke my spirit. You made me feel like I deserved everything you did, but I did love you. Somewhere along the line, I stopped. I hadn’t realized it until now, but I haven’t loved you for a while. When I think of you, I think about all the bad. None of the good even registers anymore. I will never marry you and I will never love you ever again because I’m in love with someone else.”
“It’s not real. It will never last with him. He’s a rebound.”
Shaking her head, slinging tears, she gave a tight smile. “No, he isn’t. You were the rebound. I missed my family so much, you filled the void. What I have with him is the real thing. I love that man and I finally realize that. This hold you had on me is finally gone.”
“Dray,” he walked up and she kept moving backward. “Just stop—”
“No,” she cut him off. “Turn yourself in, Damien. You will have a much better chance if you don’t resist.” Turning to walk away from him, she could feel his eyes on her. Just as she reached the door, she felt his hands on her shoulders. Feeling him drag her away, she opened her mouth to scream and was cut off by the door swinging open.
“They’re up here.” Looking up to see the last face she expected, Draya stood and came face to face with Deena, wearing a devious smirk. “Arrest him, boys. I think he’s armed.”
“Bullshit, Deena,” Damien hissed. “I know you set this up.” While the police cuffed Damien, reading him his rights and patting him down, one of the officers called out something and pulled a small pistol from Damien’s coat pocket.
“I have that for protection. She’s my wife, she knows this,” he screamed out. “It’s registered, check my pocket.”
Letting off a throaty laugh Deena turned to Draya and rolled her eyes. “You really should be careful about the company you keep, little girl.”
Drawing her hand back, Draya felt herself being stopped by someone walking through the door. Looking over to see Liam, she raced into his arms and he held her tightly. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you, baby. I thought something happened to you. I was going crazy. Don’t ever scare me like that again.”
“Just hold me,” she whispered into his shoulder. “Don’t ever let go.”
“I won’t,” he kissed her hair. “I love you. I love you so damn much.”
“I love you too,” she cried against his chest. “I love you.”
While Liam held her against him and Deena stood in front of them rattling off snide comments, Draya ignored everything but his beating heart. She had been through so much over the past few days and the only thing she was sure of was the fact that he was who she wanted. It had taken being face to face with Damien for her to realize how important Liam really was. All this time, she thought Damien had ruined her, but in the minutes leading up to this crucial moment, she realized he had only prepared her to find this man and she was never letting go.
While they stayed in each other’s embrace, Draya’s ears perked up when she hear the officers talking around them. Listening in closely, she felt her knees go weak, hearing the words spilling from their lips. “This has officially gone from attempted murder to murd
er.”
Chapter Five: The Guilt Within
“Here you go, cutie.” Rico pushed the bowl of soup to Draya and she turned her nose up. It was a few nights after her father’s brutal attack and she knew they were all just looking out. Liam had to step out for a few hours, so he had sent Rico to babysit her in his absence.
Picking up the spoon, Draya raised it to her lips but dropped it before having a bite. “I’m not hungry, Rico.”
Crossing his arms, he sat up and snatched the bowl. “Liam says you haven’t eaten in a few days. I don’t want to have to do this, but I will force feed you. You have to eat.”
“I said I wasn’t hungry,” she screamed and Rico sat the bowl down, easing his hands across the table to grab hers. Feeling the tears cascade down her face, Draya tried to shake them away. “It’s my fault. It’s all my fault.”
“That’s it, baby girl. Just let it all out. You’ve been quiet for days. We were beginning to get so worried.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’m alive. I’m still here, but my dad…” She trembled and put her hand to her lips. “My dad is dead.” As he walked over and wrapped his arms around her, she felt the tears growing stronger. “I messed up so bad and now he’s dead. I don’t know what to do, and I can’t be with Liam like this. I can’t…”
“What do you mean you can’t be with him?”
“It doesn’t feel right anymore. I can’t even touch him without remembering.”
“Remembering what, Dray?”
“That while I was with him, my dad was at my place being beaten to death. I don’t think I will ever forgive myself for not being there.”
“If you had been there, you would be dead too. You can’t blame yourself for that, and you can’t punish Liam. He loves you and you love him.”
Draya knew what he was saying was true and she hadn’t realized she had been making Liam feel unappreciated. She had been so wrapped up in her guilt and he seemed to be letting her sort through it, but she had been extremely distant. He had been with her every step of the way and she guessed this was his last attempt at a semi-intervention. He had brought her mother, Brittney, even Ashton, but no one had gotten through but Rico. He was usually the one who always could.
“We were on the beach,” she smiled and she could tell Rico was thrown off.
“When?”
“The night dad was waiting for me. Liam took me to meet his mother and afterward, we had the most incredible night on the beach, and he said he loved me. I was scared to say it back right then. I thought I was damaged. The only other man I had said it to was Damien and that relationship was so vile, I didn’t think I knew how to really love someone.”
Draya had agonized over it the entire car ride back to Atlanta, even while she thought about her dad, but it wasn’t until Damien had cornered her that she realized that Liam was the man for her. It had taken being frightened for her life to come to terms with her feelings. “He’s so open and forthcoming with his feelings, and I just tend to shut down; I know I’ve been hurting him. It’s not supposed to be like this when you first fall in love. It’s supposed to be one of the happiest times of your life.”
“Things are hard,” Rico acknowledged. “You have been through a lot, but you have to lean on him. He’s here just for that. Love isn’t just about good times; it’s about sharing the hard times too.”
Nodding her head and offering a brief smile, Draya leaned her head on his shoulder. “Why do we walk away when things are hard?”
“Second nature, I guess.”
“Why did you? Deja messed up, but I know you still love her; she loves you too.”
“It’s a little more complicated than that.”
“Well uncomplicate it. Life is too short.”
Nodding his head in understanding, Rico released her and slid the bowl of soup back across the table. “Here, eat. While you’re doing that, I’m going to whip something together for you. I know how bad things seem, but you have something special going in your life. You have real love and a man that’s finally worth it. Don’t ever forget to treasure each other.”
Eating her soup and watching Rico move around Liam’s kitchen, Draya thought about her last few moments with her dad. He was completely unconscious, but she had gotten to say her regrets, even if she wasn’t sure he could hear them.
***
Grabbing Andrew’s hand, Draya exhaled, listening to the machines beeping around him. Ashton had stepped out to give her a minute and she was alone with his battered and bruised body. “Quite the predicament you’re in here, old man. I’m not worried, though; I know you’re tough. You’re going to wake up and we’re going to talk. I’m going to tell you I’m sorry for being a brat and you’re going to forgive me. I need you to forgive me because I have forgiven you.”
Rubbing his hand, she let a tear escape her eyes. “I made a lot of choices to spite you. Some were good, like my decision to take Grandfather’s restaurant, because I think he would be proud, but Damien wasn’t because of you. The choice to be with him was stupid and immature and for all the wrong reasons. I never got to tell you I was sorry, but I am. I let the years of resentment cloud my judgment and I should have been the bigger person. I just want the dad that always protected me back. I really need him.”
Standing and leaning to place a kiss on his forehead, Draya sighed and pulled back. “We’re going to survive this. I love you.”
Walking out of the room, she had no way of knowing it would be the last time she saw him alive. She just hoped someway, he heard her. She hoped the last words of anger she had given him weeks earlier at the restaurant weren’t the last thing he remembered about her.
***
While her thoughts were still running wild, Draya looked up just in time to see Rico putting the finishing touches on the meal he had prepared. He was placing wine glasses on the table when she reached out and grabbed his arm. “Thank you,” she smiled and he poured a glass, passing it to her.
“Don’t thank me, family takes care of each other. Now, you know I love you, and I always think you look beautiful, but I really need you to freshen up. I’m trying to spin a romantic evening together and I can’t have you looking like you just rolled out of bed.
Giving him a silly chuckle, Draya took a sip from her glass and stood. Retreating to the back, she pulled out one of her dresses from the closet and laid it on the bed. Liam had moved a lot of her stuff into his place and although she appreciated it, she didn’t want him to feel like he had to.
Once she had a look secured, Draya called Rico’s name and stepped out of the room, only to find him gone. Looking around the dimly lit room, she saw a note on the table and picked it up.
Had to run, Doll. There is something I need to handle. Have a good night, don’t focus on the bad. You have a good thing going, keep it that way.
p.s. I left another bottle of wine in the fridge in case things go well.
-Rico
Smiling at the note and gesture, Draya retreated the bathroom and started up a hot shower to get her routine started. Singing a nameless tune, she ran her hands through her hair and let the water soak through. She knew it was going to take a while to be okay again, but she needed to make the first step. Liam deserved a woman who was all in and she wanted to be that, she needed her life back.
***
“Draya,” Liam called out, shutting the door behind him, walking into his apartment. He hated to leave her earlier, but he had to handle something that couldn’t wait. He had been trying to shut down a big problem but was having issues. Now, all he wanted was to be in the presence of the woman he loved. She always made any problem smaller.
Ever since the night her father had died, she had been so out of it. She slept in the bed with him, but it was like she wasn’t really there. They hadn’t made love since the night at his mother’s, which he fully understood, but he missed her. Her sweet kisses had the power to transform any mood.
Calling her name, all Liam heard was silence. Peering i
nto the dining room, he saw candles flickering and was puzzled. She hadn’t been very responsive over the past few days, but here she was now with a romantic dinner set up and was nowhere to be found. As pleased as he was with the change, he had to admit, he was still worried. He knew losing her father under such extraordinary circumstances couldn’t be easy.
Walking past the table that was set up with dinner and wine, he made his way into the bedroom and smiled at the sight. Laying top of the bed was Draya passed out, sleeping in a beautiful black dress. She had applied light makeup and looked like an angel. Staring down at her, he wondered how long she had been waiting.
Running his hand down her cheek, he loved the way her eyes fluttered open. Her beautiful brown orbs seemed to look straight through him and as he leaned down, planting his lips on her right palm. “How are you feeling?”
“I wanted to wait up for you. What time is it?” She sat up looking around the room. “I left… candles are burning,” she hissed frantically.
“It’s only eight. It’s okay, the candles are fine. Sorry I’m so late, but you look great. Can I assume you feel great too?”
“I feel better.” She ran her hand down his neck. “You want to have dinner?”
“I would love to, baby.”
Sliding his arms around her waist, he went to lift her and she landed in his lap. Leaning in, planting his lips over hers, he kissed her, running his hands through her hair. Trying to fight back the intense need he felt for her, he pulled back, only to have her grip his neck tighter.
“Don’t stop,” she moaned, running her tongue over his lips. “I want you to make me feel good. Make me feel good, baby.”
Wanting to do nothing more than just that, he laid her down, looking into her deep brown eyes. “I love you; you know that, right?” Kissing his palm, she nodded her head and he closed his eyes briefly. “You want to talk first?”
Shaking her head no, Draya pulled him closer and leaned up to kiss him. “No, I just want you. Just give me you.”
Dipping his head down, hesitating at first, Liam inhaled her sweet scent and slid his lips over her smooth skin. Letting his heated pleasure take over, he slid his hands under her ass and wrapped her legs around him. Digging his nails into her flesh, he made contact with her lips again, making them tremble.