19. Unexpected Visitors #2
"Okay..." Jax said, sitting next to her. "Should I tell your visitors to come back later?"
Deja looked at him, surprised. "I have visitors?"
Deja followed Jax into the living room, where she saw Ian, Keith, and Caleb before her eyes darted to Esme, Renee, and Sophie. "Deja!" Sophie beamed. "Oh my Roselyn! I missed you so much!"
Sophie went to hug Deja, but Deja's hands were already wrapped around Sophie's throat.
"Woah!"
"Deja!"
Caleb pulled Sophie away as Jax grabbed Deja's waist, holding her back. "Deja, calm down!" Jax ordered.
"She's snapped," Ian sighed.
"Shit..." Keith snickered as Renee and Esme stared wide-eyed.
"You have some fucking nerve after what you did!" Deja snapped at Sophie. "How dare you- You almost got my friends killed with your-"
"Oh, Deja. I didn't mean to upset you," Sophie apologized as her eyes widened with regret. "I didn't mean to cause any harm. I just wanted to make you happy. I thought I was being helpful."
"In her own twisted way..." Ian hummed.
"Baby, I need you to relax," Jax said, holding Deja.
"Why is she here?!" Deja demanded.
"I authorized Sophie's temporary release," Jax explained.
"I really wanted to see you," Sophie frowned. "Do you… want me to leave…?"
Deja stopped writhing in Jax's grasp and sighed with defeat. "It's fine..."
Sophie squealed. "Can I hug you?!"
"No," Deja said abruptly.
Sophie's shoulders dropped. "Can I see the precious little darling?"
While Deja went to grab Chloe, Sophie couldn't stop bouncing with excitement.
Her pupils dilated, and her heart swelled with joy the moment she spotted Chloe.
"Oh my Roselyn!" Sophie squealed. "Deja!
She's so beautiful! She looks just like you!
Look at her cheeks! Her hair is so curly! She's like a Hershey kiss!"
Deja anxiously bit her lip. "Will you be careful with her?"
Sophie's entire face flushed pink. "I will be the most careful!"
Deja carefully placed Chloe in Sophie's arms, and Sophie's eyes immediately welled up with tears as she started to sob. "She's so- Oh my Roselyn-"
"How about..." Jax said, taking Chloe from Sophie. "...You cry it out first. Then, we'll try again. Okay?" Sophie nodded while sobbing.
Deja locked eyes with Esme, who was looking back at her with intense guilt. Renee looked between them before hugging Deja. "You look great, Deja," Renee smiled.
"Thank you," Deja said, eyeing Esme. "Why are you girls here?"
Esme smiled sympathetically. "We figured you needed some time away from all this testosterone- Before I hug you, is that cum on your shirt?"
Deja looked down at her stained shirt and rolled her eyes. "It's breastmilk, Esme."
"Ahh. Okay! Just checking," Esme hugged her. "Go get dressed. We're taking you out." Deja instinctively glanced at Jax, who nodded, and Deja quickly disappeared into the bedroom.
"Renee."
Startled, Renee glanced over her shoulder at Ian standing behind her. "It's nice to see you again," he said.
"That makes one of us..." Renee muttered as she took a step back.
Ian cleared his throat. "I just wanted to apologize… for..."
"Kidnapping me and planning to kill me?" Renee asked.
Ian smiled apologetically. "I hope you can understand why..."
Renee shifted uneasily. "Yeah, I guess now that Esme filled me in on your Society of White Psychopaths."
Ian tilted his head with a curious smile. "You do know the Society is global with significant presence on every continent?"
"Yeah, I know. I said what I said, though," Renee snorted as Esme approached.
Ian raised a curious brow as Esme hugged Renee from behind. Esme wrapped her arms around Renee, kissing Renee's cheek. "I hope you're not flirting with my lover, Ian," Esme teased.
"Actually, I was apologizing," Ian said.
"I won't be accepting that apology anytime soon, by the way," Renee said to Esme.
"Fair. Ian's a gentleman, but he was a bad boy. He deserves to squirm a little," Esme grinned at Ian.
Ian snorted. "Technically, I'm the reason you two are-"
" Don't even go there," Renee said as Esme laughed.
"Can someone explain to me how the Crypt Keeper ends up with a beautiful woman like that?" Keith interrupted.
"Because, unlike Deja, this woman has tastes," Esme smiled mockingly.
"Not you insulting every man in this room," Renee laughed.
"Misandry is my superpower," Esme grinned.
"Deja, hurry up! I trust Ian and Caleb not to kill me, and I know I can take Keith’s loser ass.
But Jax still terrifies the shit out of me.
Especially since his resurrection from the dead.
I'm not sure how many more insults he'll take before he decapitates me. "
"Not many," Jax said casually as he held Chloe while Sophie made silly faces over his shoulder.
Caleb snorted. "You haven't seen me in years, Esme. How do you know what I will and won't do?"
Esme pursed her lips. "Oh, I'm sorry. Are you still fucking your victims before you chop them to pieces… Ripper ? We were in the same intervention sessions, baby boy. Don't think I forgot."
Keith cackled as Caleb's face went pale. "Why would you even provoke her?" Ian sighed.
"Deja, please hurry before these crazy white folks start a bloodbath!" Renee said anxiously.
"I'm ready," Deja said, finally re-emerging.
Sitting in the restaurant, Deja wiped the milk Chloe spit up while nestled in Sophie's embrace. Sophie hummed while caressing Chloe's hands.
"Isn't it amazing what we can do?" Sophie mused. "We have the power to bring life into this world." She looked at Deja teary-eyed. "Thank you for this precious gift. I'll love her the way I never was."
Deja smiled empathetically, though sadness danced in her eyes. Those words haunted her. What kind of upbringing did this woman have?
"How long are you going to stay mad at me?" Esme asked.
"That depends," Deja said. "How long did you know Jax was alive without telling me?"
Esme sighed. "Ian swore me to secrecy-"
"I thought we were friends, Esme," Deja said abruptly. "You knew I was going crazy. And you didn't say a word." Esme averted her guilty gaze.
"For what it's worth, she didn't tell them you were pregnant," Renee chimed in.
Esme smiled at Renee, affectionately holding her hand, before looking at Deja. “They found that out on their own,” Esme explained.
"How?" Deja asked.
Esme chuckled. "Did I mention how obsessed Jax is with you?"
Deja scoffed. "He's been here?"
"Many times," Esme sighed. "He didn't even wait for clearance from his doctor.
Just decided he was better and took the next flight here.
I had told Ian that they needed to keep their distance.
But Deja, when I tell you that these men absolutely lost their minds, it is not an exaggeration. Ian heeded my advice, but Jax… well..."
Deja considered Esme thoughtfully. "You and Ian are really close."
Esme smiled fondly. "He taught me to control my bloodlust, and helped me through some really, really bad breakups. You know… without killing them."
"Thank goodness for that..." Renee murmured into her glass.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart. Do you plan on breaking up with me?" Esme asked, alarmed.
Renee blinked at her. "No… But even so, I'd rather not risk being murdered."
Esme shrugged. "...I guess..."
" Esme !" Renee shoved her.
"I'm kidding, baby, I'm kidding," Esme teased. "...Sort of."
"You know what-" Renee stood up when Esme pulled her back down.
"Ian has been like a brother to me," Esme continued. "I've seen all his sides. But seeing him like this is still new to me. It's like he malfunctions. He's never been in love before. None of them has."
"Until you..." Sophie sang, twirling Chloe's curls before she locked eyes with Deja. "They're all so… unique in their own way. I never thought my brothers would fall for the same woman."
"But they've shared women before," Deja said.
"Sharing someone you fuck and sharing someone you love are two completely different things, dear," Esme said, watching Renee almost entranced. "And fucking someone you love… well … that's the creme de la creme..." Renee looked at Esme with a bashful smile.
Deja sighed. "What about Caleb? Why do they seem like they hate each other?"
"Probably because of Jamie," Sophie said casually as she playfully rubbed her nose against Chloe's. "Who's an adorable little princess? You are!"
"Fucking Jamie..." Esme muttered.
Deja looked at them, confused. "Who's Jamie?"
Seated on a chaise, waiting for Deja to emerge from the dressing room, Esme inspected Chloe as if she were a rare specimen.
"I was expecting like… fangs. A third eye, maybe. Horns and scales. Instead, I’m looking at this adorable, chunky care bear," Esme squinted suspiciously. "Way too cute. She's gotta be evil."
"Can you not hold her like that? What's wrong with you?" Renee said, snatching Chloe from Esme. "Deja, does it really take that long to try on a dress?"
Deja stared at herself in the mirror. Her eyes roamed over one of the many dresses she had tried on after the girls had treated her to lunch. Deja wondered whether it was common for Reapers to shower their victims with gifts.
The dress was beautiful. It complemented her dark skin tone and clung to all the right curves without drawing too much attention to her postpartum stomach. Jax would love it. Ian would be speechless. Caleb would tell her how beautiful she was. And Keith would try to rip it off of her.
But Deja's mind was too preoccupied with what Sophie and Esme had told her about Jamie… Caleb's brother. She had so many questions...
"Deja!"
Snapping out of her thoughts, Deja stepped outside, and Sophie beamed. "Gorgeous!"
"Hello, MILF," Esme grinned when her phone buzzed. She sighed. "I swear that man of yours..." she said, reading Jax's text. " Return my wife and daughter to me at once, or I'll- Did he completely forget that you two never married?"
"Yet," Sophie smiled, slipping her finger into Chloe's grip. She looked at Deja. "We should find you a new wedding dress."
"Getting married is the last thing on my mind," Deja muttered. "I just want to focus on Chloe and my work."
"And Roselyn?" Sophie smiled. Deja looked at her, confused. "Esme told me you've been reading the Memoir I gave you."
Deja looked at Esme, who raised her hands sheepishly. "She asked if you still had it!" Esme confessed.
Deja rolled her eyes. "It's interesting literature. Roselyn makes several good points, but I can see where people get radicalized by her… teachings."
"Like?" Renee asked.
Deja twisted her mouth. "She's experienced a lot of pain. Trauma. It's relatable as a woman-"
"I have a running theory that Roselyn was Black," Renee interjected randomly. "I mean, I know she's a 'god,' and her race is never explicitly stated in her Memoir. But she sounds like a woman oppressed and scorned every which way possible. You can't tell me she's not a Black woman."
"You read it?" Deja asked.
Renee sighed as Esme affectionately kissed her. “I'm dating a Reaper. I wanted to understand just how her mind operates,” Renee explained.
Deja sighed. "Makes sense. I understand Roselyn's animosity towards humanity. But I don't think slow and random genocide of the human race is the solution."
Sophie excitedly clapped her hands together. "I'm so happy you're embracing her teachings!"
"I didn't say all that-" Deja started.
"You are so much like Roselyn! And soon, you'll find your own path, just like I did," Sophie said, hugging her.
"Sophie, I have no intentions of becoming a killer like you and your brothers," Deja said firmly.
Sophie looked at Deja, concerned. "You don't still fear them, do you?"
Deja snorted. "Is that a serious question?"
"Deja! Darling!" Sophie giggled. "Why fear those who fear you?"
Deja looked at her, confused. "I hated growing up the only girl in a family of boys,” Sophie continued. “Men are just… dense. But they're so easy to manipulate. You wouldn't believe the things I used to make my brothers do for me," Sophie grinned. "Especially when I was practicing magic!"
Deja sighed. "So, Sophie is a sick little freak, but she has a point," Esme added. "Yes, you're being hounded by four obsessive and overly protective killers. But that just means you have four of the Society's deadliest Reapers at your beck and call."
"You should try flexing that power," Sophie teasingly suggested. "See just how much they're willing to do for you."
"Just a moment," Esme interrupted. "Sophie's talking about making them fight to the death, which, honestly, isn't a bad idea.
But remember, they are related. They may hate each other, but they're still blood.
They grew up together, which means somewhere deep, deep, deep down they truly love each other. "
"True," Sophie sighed. "I've stabbed Jax 5 times. Stabbed Ian 3 times. And stabbed Keith 9 times. They still answer my calls on the first ring."
"Okay, hold on," Renee chimed in. "I feel like you guys are throwing Deja into the lion's den. Just because they're in love with her doesn't mean they'll do whatever she says. Otherwise, they would have let her go by now."
Sophie held up a dress to Deja and smiled. "You just have to tame them like the feral beasts they are- This would look lovely on you!"
"Tame them?" Deja asked, pushing Sophie's hand down. "Sophie, your brothers won't listen to me for shit."
"That's not true," Sophie said, holding up another dress. "Ian is dark and dangerously smart. Often guarded. But he wears his heart on his sleeve when it comes to you."
"Ian's your easy mode," Esme winked. "Keith, on the other hand, is a fucking psycho. Good luck with that one."
"Keith is like an undomesticated dog. But even wild dogs can be tamed. All they need is love and attention before they're following you around like a lovesick puppy," Sophie hummed.
Deja took Chloe from Renee as she looked at Sophie. "...and Jax?" Deja asked.
Sophie paused, a warm smile on her face. "Big Brother Jax… might be your biggest challenge- Can I hold her?"
Deja carefully handed her daughter to Sophie as she anxiously anticipated Sophie’s next words.
Cuddling Chloe, Sophie spoke timidly. " Athair wasn't around often.
But when he was, he was… frightening..." Sophie whispered, kissing Chloe's forehead.
"So naturally, Big Brother Jax made himself the buffer.
And somehow, that turned him into another version of Athair . .."
Sophie looked at Deja fondly. "My brothers have a reputation for striking fear into people. Especially Big Brother Jax. He will be the hardest to tame. But, he's still just a man. And you? Well… you're a woman."
Sophie grinned. "And who's a bigger threat than a woman who knows her power?"
* ? “Hello, Princess…”
* ? “…beautiful… so beautiful, my princess…”