Chapter 30
Mylah
The girls came over. The other old ladies. They wanted to bring us housewarming gifts. It was super sweet of them. I love that we can all spend time together and get along. I know not all of the girls do, but I’m blessed to be one of them who does.
Now I sit here watching the clock tick. Tide snuck out sometime last night when I fell asleep.
At first, I was pissed. I was angry that he’d do that on our first night in the new house.
Then I had so many bad thoughts. Is this what my life is going to be like now?
Is he going to disappear in the middle of the night without a word?
The girls reassured me that it doesn’t happen often and that he would be home as soon as he could.
That doesn’t stop the bad thoughts from lingering.
I can’t live like that. I can’t worry about where he is at all hours of the night. It’s not healthy.
I shove out of the chair that one of the girls brought over and walk to the window, looking out.
The backyard is perfect for the dogs and for a little one to play in.
I smile to myself when I hear the front door close.
I spin around quickly and walk through the kitchen and out to the living room to see Tide.
There’s blood on his hands. I look from his hands to his face before looking back once more. What did he do?
“Are you okay?”
“I am now. Come here,” he says. I walk toward him, and he pulls me into his arms, pressing a kiss to the top of my head before just holding me here. I sigh and relax into his hold, loving how he can just calm me inside.
“Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine, baby. Are you okay? I didn’t mean to just leave you like that but I didn’t want to wake you up either,” he says.
“I was worried, but the girls came by. They reassured me you’d be alright.”
“They’re right. I’m good.”
“Where were you?” He takes a deep breath before blowing it out and pulling away from me a little.
“You don’t want details, Mylah, but it’s over. It’s all over.”
“What does that mean?” I ask unsurely.
“It means it’s over. The person that did that to you was held accountable, and the next motherfucker I go after is Padgett.”
“What’s that mean, held accountable?”
“Like I said, you don’t have to worry about that.
It’s handled. I need to take a shower.” With that, he turns and walks away as a tear slips down my cheek.
I don’t know what I asked because I already know.
He killed her. Or he had her killed. Either way, a chill runs down my spine as I swipe the tears from my cheeks.
I take a deep breath and turn, heading down the hallway.
When I walk into the bathroom, Tide is already in the shower.
I strip out of my clothes and climb in behind him, resting my hand on his back.
“I’m sorry.”
“No. I am. It’s my fault that she did this,” he tells me.
“No, it’s not. You couldn’t have known she would do something like that, Tide.”
“But I should have, yeah? I was with her crazy ass for years. I should have seen it.”
“Don’t do this to yourself. I’m here. You’re here. We’re having a baby, Tide. Isn’t that all that matters?” He turns to face me, cupping my face in his hands as he looks into my eyes.
“I won’t ruin this baby, Mylah. I won’t.”
“I know you won’t.”
“Christian hates me more than ever,” he tells me, and I can hear the slight sadness in his tone.
“Maybe he’ll come around.”
“Maybe not. He needs to find his own way now. I fucked up with him. I know I did, but I can’t fix that either. Never could.”
“Christian is a grown man, Tide. He can work this out for himself.”
“I did somethin’ tonight. Somethin’ that was unforgivable. Somethin’ there is no comin’ back from.”
“I know you did. And I’m sorry,” I whisper.
“Sorry? I’m not sorry, Mylah. She hurt you. She sold you. I’m not fuckin’ sorry for what I did tonight.” My chest clenches as he says the words. I should be afraid, but I’m not. Instead, I reach up and grab his face in my hands and pull his lips to mine.
“You saved me.”
“What?”
“You saved me, Tide. You saved me from Christian, a life of unhappiness. You saved me from those monsters that had me. You fucking saved me, Tide, and there’s no shame in that. There’s no coming back from that either. I love you.”