34. Angel
Angel
I was woke but kept my eyes closed with a small smile on my face. I could smell Detavio’s cologne mixed with lots of balloons that I was sure he got me for my special day. The soft cotton of my comforter was wrapped tightly around my body like a cocoon. I stretched slightly as my smile grew wide. I loved it when Detavio spoiled me without realizing that he was doing that.
With half-lidded eyes, butterflies swarmed in my stomach as flashbacks popped into my head. By the time I fell back asleep early morning, I was still aching for more of him but too tired to get it. He kissed every part of me and talked his cocky talk while doing it like he needed to prove what was already proven to me. I jumped at the sound of a balloon being popped followed by the sound of a baby crying from shock.
I blinked fully awoke and turned my head to see Natavi with a silly grin plastered on her face.
“Happy fuckin’ birthday!” She grinned as she stood at the edge of my bed with a bundle of pink, white, and silver balloons hovering over her head.
I laughed and squinted my eyes at her as I attempted to sit up.
“Aht aht! I know you like to sleep naked. My man in here, so don’t?—”
“Girl, please. Detavio told me that y’all was coming. He put me on something decent while I was half asleep.” I cut her off.
My eyes roamed the room and fell on Monster. His pitch black skin always looked well moisturized, his expression was cold and unreadable. His silence was the type to make a person that didn’t know him hold their breath in fear. In his long arms was Neosyne, his cute tiny self sucked on his fist as Monster patted his back soft yet firmly. Monster wasn’t looking at the baby, his eyes was dead set on me.
“Anyways, there’s a stylist and a nail tech downstairs in the family room right now. Detavio said they will handle everything, hair, nails, and makeup. When we done with that, Detavio and I have to go pick up Octavio and umm…Rylie Rose. He wants me to meet her before dinner.” Natavi batted her long lashes quickly.
She was lying about something; I knew her too well but I decided to let it ride for now. Heat bloomed in my cheeks as something warmed settled in my chest. I didn’t expect much but an expensive ass gift from Detavio. Now, it seemed like he went out of his way to make me feel special. My smile faltered, I didn’t know whether to smile or cry from all of the emotions that was overwhelming me right now.
“He’s really planning stuff for me?” I asked, voice smaller than I meant.
Natavi nodded as she released the balloons. She moved close to me then leaned down to hug me tight as she spoke in my ear.
“I know things are hard, Angel. Losing James?—”
“I’m okay with losing James.” I stiffened in her hold then sighed.
“I’m hurt about it but I’m okay…” My words trailed off.
Truth is, I didn’t want to think about him although it was all fresh. It hadn’t been a full twenty-four hours yet.
“I just want you to enjoy your day, let Detavio make you happy because that man is clearly in love with you.” Natavi still spoke lowly.
“After we get dolled up…I’ll be here with Monster and Neo?” I asked low and carefully.
I didn’t have a problem with it, Monster just made me feel a little uneasy. He hardly ever talked whenever we were in the same room. Monster would mutter a few words to his brothers, smile at Natavi, but say little to no words besides ‘hi’ to me. I didn’t know how Monster felt about me and Detavio. I had full blown conversations with Octavio and even established a relationship with him.
Octavio was very open and transparent with his emotions and confiding to me like I was his sister. With Monster, he was closed off and not very welcoming. So I always chose to not start up a conversation since it gave he didn’t too much care for me.
“Yes, and—” Natavi paused as she released me and turned toward Monster.
“Monster is soooo excited to spend some time with you, friend.” Her lips curled as she lifted a brow over at him.
“Aren’t you, Monni baby?” Natavi’s voice elevated.
For a couple of seconds, he remained silent. He cleared his throat and repositioned Neosyne into his lap. What was supposed to be a smile looked more like a sneer with his gold grills showing.
“Happy birthday, Angel. I’m sure Neosyne is excited to spend quality time with his Godmother.” He corrected what Natavi stated, and I didn’t miss the correction, but Natavi did.
He wasn’t excited to be volun-told to keep me company. He made it clear in a nice way that I would be babysitting Neosyne while he did whatever to kill time. His eyes darkened as my breath caught. He gave me the ‘we will have a deep conversation’ look and looked toward Natavi. He nodded his head then gave the baby his attention.
“Okay boo, let’s go get cute!” Natavi cheered.
* * *
I stood in front of the mirror, completely still…barely breathing. The air in the room smelled like perfume, hairspray mixed with makeup. Natavi rushed out like a bat out of hell after telling me multiple times with tears in her eyes how angelic I looked. I now got to see myself for the first time. My reflection looked…unreal. Almost too much for me to handle. My hair had been pressed bone straight with copper brown highlights stopping right at the top of my breasts.
My makeup was flawless. I softly touched my golden cheekbones and eyed the soft white glitter dust on top of my eyelids. My lips were glossed; the makeup artist did a phenomenal job. It wasn’t too much or caked up, it fit me. I looked over my white gown that clung to my curvaceous body like a glove. The silk felt good against my skin, I was sure the high split revealing my thick thigh would make Detavio lose his mind.
If I didn’t get pregnant last night, I was for sure getting pregnant tonight. I felt my eyes well up with tears, I tried to quickly blink them away but it didn’t work. I wasn’t sad; in this moment I didn’t know what to do with this particular feeling. I knew I was beautiful, but this was nothing short of perfection. I inhaled slowly, then pressed my hands to my stomach then closed my eyes to get my emotions under control before I started to do an ugly cry.
No man ever went the extra mile to make me feel special on my birthday…except…James. When he loved me as being his daughter, he spoiled me rotten on every single birthday growing up. I lightly patted underneath my eyes then picked up a white towel off the table to dab at my face. I heard the sound of a throat being cleared, deep and deliberate, and I nearly jumped out of my skin.
Monster stood tall in the doorway with his jaw clenched tight. I knew he didn’t hate me, yet that cold and always watching persona of his made me feel uneasy. He held Neosyne in his arms and stepped all the way in the family room.
“I—uh—hey. Did you need something?” I cleared my throat.
He didn’t answer at first, just stared at me blankly, like he was trying to see through me. He shifted the baby higher on his chest and walked closer.
“I wanted to talk to you,” he said finally, low and deep.
Monster stopped a few feet away, not close enough for me to feel threatened.
“I came to say thank you.” He smirked as I released the breath that I was holding.
I froze then shifted my weight to the right.
“For?” I raised a brow out of confusion.
“Giving my brother a chance from the beginning. If you never started shedding light on the Decebal name, he would have never sent Natavi my way. Because of her, I know that God is real. Because of you, my brother will get to know God as well. He’ll become a believer and understand that without God…none of this would have been possible.” Monster cleared his throat after speaking.
He looked down at Neosyne and ran his large hand across his back then started to pat it.
“I’ve watched him bleed, hurt, and suffer as I worked alongside him. Before I knew he was my brother, I knew that we both shared something in common…We didn’t know what the fuck love was. We destroyed, and killed lots of people… for the first time, he asked me not to kill a man that I knew deserved to die… That man was your father.” His eyes darkened.
“No one can control me or tell me what to do…especially when it comes down to killing. I kill with no remorse or second thought. Anybody that dies by my hands deserve it.” His voice deepened.
I swallowed down hard as his words settled inside of my head.
“Before I told Detavio to fuck off. I thought about the domino effect that it was cost the both of us. You’re like a sister to my wife, she loves you very much. Your loyalty to James comes from his paternal right. He raised you, you love him. You don’t know what it’s like to have a parent betray you up until you got involved with Detavio. What happens in the dark always comes to the light. I just hate that it all came full circle the day before your birthday concerning your father. I can’t give you my condolences on that, I can only hope that in due time, you get over him and the situation because he ain’t worth shit. He doesn’t deserve your tears, at all.” Detavio gritted his last sentence out angrily.
He took a seat and cradled Neosyne in his arms then looked back at me. I moved my lips to speak but nothing came out. I couldn’t find the words, but I got exactly where he was coming from.
“This taught me a couple of lessons. I used to think that God didn’t give a damn about me. I thought I had the answers and the final say so…but when my brother came to me to stop me from killing your father…and that bastard ended up taking his own life…I realized that karma is real…and in due time, God handles things accordingly. I no longer hurt over the rejection of my parents because all along, I was God’s child. I might have sped up the process of ending the ones who hurt me as well as others. Something tells me, that God knows my heart, and I plan on repenting…very soon to give my life to him.” Monster’s voice cracked.
“I don’t talk much, Angel. But, I like you for Detavio. Until I met Natavi, I really ain’t have too much of shit to talk about because I don’t trust easily, and I don’t believe in wasting my breath on folks that don’t matter to me. You matter to me, and I don’t know how to do the whole family thing but after today…I’ll try to do better at making you feel more comfortable when we all in the same room. You’ve calmed the storm inside of Detavio, and he’s going to show you through actions from this day forward. Don’t be afraid of his love, because it will come in abundance…it’s the only way we know.”
“Detavio means everything to me,” I answered softly.
He nodded once, his dark eyes remained steadily on me.
“Then keep meaning it,” he said without blinking.
“Don’t run when it gets hard…don’t love him in pieces either, while he loves you in full. He might not know how to ask you for your love. So just give it.” He stood to his feet.
His words hit me right in the center of my chest. I didn’t take Monster’s words as a warning. It was more so a gift. A man like him didn’t hand out approval or trust easily. He turned to leave. Neosyne shifted sleepily against his shoulders as Monster told me with his back turned that it was time to leave. I didn’t know where we were headed. I was ready to see my man so I could kiss him a thousand times and thank him for making my day as special as he was to me.
* * *
“Monster, why are we near the beach?” I finally asked over the baby lullaby songs that played lowly from the moment I got in his truck.
Monster stated that he played nothing but baby lullaby when Neosyne was in the car to soothe him so he wouldn’t feel all alone in the back seat. I thought that it was cute and remained silent but antsy the whole ride on the freeway. I’ve been in the car for over thirty-five minutes and now we were in Malibu.
“Detavio wanted to feed you by the water,” he stated.
I gasped softly and just smiled, Detavio was really doing his thing today, and I wasn’t mad at that at all. The car slowed, then stopped. My mouth fell open as I looked out the window. The mansion that we pulled up to sat like a dream, it was perched right above the Malibu shoreline. The ocean stretched out endlessly. The place itself looked like it was made of towering glass.
I blinked as I gripped the edge of my seat with my heart pounding in my chest. The back door opened; Monster remained quiet as he grabbed Neosyne’s car seat then covered it with a fuzzy blue blanket to protect him from the mild wind that blew. Monster opened my door, with an unreadable expression.
“Come on,” he said simply as he held his hand out for me to grab.
“When we get to the door and I open it, close your eyes.” He turned and walked with the car seat gripped tightly in his hand.
“What?” I asked in disbelief.
When he didn’t answer, I picked up my feet and walked as fast as my short legs could take me in the eight-inch stilettos I had on. I could hear the waves from the ocean as we approached the front door. My heels clicked against the pavement, making me more nervous. When we reached the massive glass double doors, Monster gave me a head nod. I slowly closed my eyes as he instructed me to take one step up. He grabbed my hand and helped me then told me to open my eyes.
“SURPRISE!!!!” came out of everyone’s voice. Natavi was the loudest.
My eyes flew open and landed on Octavio and his girlfriend holding champagne flutes. My mom stepped out of the shadows of the front room with two champagne flutes in both hands. She cautiously approached me and handed me one of the flutes and smiled warmly at me.
“Happy birthday, Angel. I love you,” she stated proudly.
My emotions hit me because, although I knew she was hurting from the death of James, she put that to the side to be happy for me today. I knew without her telling me, that it was taking a lot out of her. I simply appreciated the gesture; it meant a lot to me.
“Follow the petals, baby!” Natavi said excitedly.
I looked down and saw white and red rose petals. Detavio gave this lots of thought. He remembered the small things, and that’s what mattered the most to me. He knew that my favorite color was white, so he made sure to incorporate that in almost everything down to the decorations at his house. It felt like I couldn’t breathe. I stood frozen as my mom rested her hand on my shoulder and repeated what Natavi just told me.
I followed the trail like I was in a trance, my heels tapped across the floor until I reached the patio. The sun kissed my face, the breeze blew my hair in every direction. I squinted my eyes and still saw the roses blowing over the sand…until I saw him. My dark soul, the man who broke me open and stitched me back together. My storm, my calm, and fire. He kneeled in an all white suit that clung to his tall muscular frame. The sharp contrast of it against his dark skin made him look eternal.
Behind him was a sign that read ‘Will You Marry Me?’ My entire body went weightless as the world tilted. My knees wobbled as I gripped the side of my dress. I kicked off my heels with a sob that I didn’t even recognize. Before I knew it, my bare feet hit the warm sand as I nearly tripped but caught myself as I clumsily ran. I heard our family behind me cheering me on.
I ran to Detavio like my life depended on getting to him. I didn’t give a damn about the dress, didn’t care about my hair sweating out or the tears that probably ruined my make-up. The voices behind me were faint as I only saw him. Detavio down on one knee seemed very unrealistic to me. I stumbled into his arms out of breath. I laughed, cried, and screamed as he caught me and lifted me off the sand like I weighed nothing.
“What is it going to be, Pussy?” He pressed his lips against mine before I could answer.
“Don’t play around with me, either.” He warned with a crooked grin.
“Suppose I say no?” I played around just for the fuck of it.
“Angel,” he warned as his eyes darkened.
“Hell yes, Detavio. I want to marry you, baby.” I bounced in his arms, causing him to lose his balance and fall in the sand.
We both laughed as Detavio wrapped his arms around me. I turned to straddle his lap; my silk dress pooled around us like a halo. His hands gripped my waist as we locked eyes with one another.
“You should have seen how you looked running,” he murmured then chuckled.
“I looked crazy as hell, but it’s not every day I witness you down on one knee.” I giggled.
He smirked, and seconds later, his expression shifted and turned serious. His rough hand slid up my back as he kissed the tip of my nose.
“I wasn’t really living before you.” He pressed his forehead to mine.
“You walked into my life?—”
“Nope, you walked into mine.” I corrected him.
“Either way, you came…and you liked it,” he offered me a mischievous smile.
“Don’t be filthy.” I shook my head at his nastiness, already knowing that I loved it.
“Okay, seriously.” He cleared his throat and smiled.
“When you came…you came with attitude, your thick ass body, and heart. You didn’t flinch, you argued with me like you was ready to tear me a part, even with your life on the line. After it all, you held me like I was still worth loving. I never had to explain in detail who I was…you understood and got me without even trying hard. You made me want more than darkness in my world. I didn’t think I deserved the light. Sometimes I wonder if I even deserve you, Angel,” he said above a whisper dropping his head.
I grabbed the bottom of his chin to lift his face and cup it in my hands.
“You don’t have to deserve me, just love me the way you do now, and I will never leave you. I promise to give you all of me, my love included. I’ll never run from you again. In the end, we both won.” I smiled through my tears.
We both remained quiet as the wind blew between us. Detavio moved fast, he covered my lips with his and kissed me deeply.
“Let’s go have dinner then kick everybody out.” He tapped my thigh.
Slowly I stood up. Detavio reached underneath my dress in the process to cup my bare pussy. Once he was on his feet, he slowly moved around me to dust as much sand off of my dress.
“You look Angelic out here tonight, Angel.” He winked.
“You look handsome as hell…I’m ready for the rest of the touuurrrr.” I sung out.
“What that mean?” He frowned confused.
“It’s from a scene from the movie ‘Bad Boys’.” I giggled, taking his hand with plans to make him watch all of my favorite movies.
I had to remember that I was the one who brought normalcy into Detavio’s life. There were so many things that I wanted to show him. Traveling, doing things that he’s never done for the first time. I was excited and ready more than ever to spend the rest of my life with my Filth King.
The End!