Chapter 7
SEVEN
MAUI
I’d been home for a couple of days, but I hadn’t left my room.
Bali told me to stay in bed with my feet elevated.
I’d been cramping. She said it was from stress.
There was nothing they could give me to calm me down.
Nothing was strong enough. Seeing Mythic that way was haunting my dreams. His arm was covered in blood.
I buried my head in my daddy’s chest to avoid the sight.
Plus, his gaze was penetrating my heart.
He said he loved me. It made me wonder if he was only saying that because he thought they were going to kill him.
I felt like he loved me all along, but I knew, like me, he didn’t want to say so prematurely.
Him showing up to the house anyway told me just how true his statement was.
He didn’t care if they killed him. He needed to see me.
While I wasn’t sure where he was the night before all that, I knew that if he could have been home, he would have been.
What he did to my brother should have been unforgiveable.
However, here I was, feeling broken and hurt for leaving him.
That shit with Seven happened two years ago.
Knowing what he did, there was no way I could continue alienating my family to be with him.
Our relationship would never work that way.
Leaving my family to be with him would have been temporary before all this.
My parents were already trying to accept the fact that we would be together.
Now that that had been revealed, I could see death in my daddy’s eyes.
He wanted to kill Mythic and so did the rest of my family.
Seven almost ended up in prison behind that shit and would have, had it not been for Mrs. Taylor and Mr. Berotte.
There was a knock at the door, then it opened.
When I saw Aunt Vida walk in, I smiled. She’d been spending time with me for the past couple of days.
Since I was on bedrest and she was retired, she took on the role of being my provider, making sure I had everything I needed.
Plus, when I was little, I loved being around her and Uncle Aston, and they loved me being there.
Uncle Aston never had any biological children, because Aunt Vida was much older than him and done with having babies.
Her daughter, Aunt Syn, was only like five years younger than him and had married Uncle Marcus.
So, it was like I was their daughter when I was with them.
“Hey, baby. How are you feeling?” she asked as she sat on the bed next to me.
“I’m okay.” She twisted her lips slightly. I gave her a soft smile and said, “I’m okay, physically.”
Grabbing my hand, she rubbed it between hers.
“I wish I had words to help you feel better, but I don’t.
Thankfully, they were able to save Mythic’s arm, but he’s still in a coma.
He lost a lot of blood. Legend and Harper said they would check on you later today, and Treasure is on her way over.
Bali has gotten your transfer processed, so she’s officially your doctor now. Bossy ass girl.”
I smiled slightly, thinking about how my sister just took over without my permission and requested all my records.
I didn’t sign a thing, so she had to have forged my signature.
Just as Aunt Vida was about to say something else, my daddy said from outside the door, “Maui! You didn’t bother to tell me you were gonna have pets in the house!
I can smell it all the way downstairs. It definitely gotta be wild and not domesticated. ”
I bit my bottom lip to restrain my laughter as Aunt Vida stood from the bed and flung the door open. “You always got some slick shit to say. If I didn’t love Maui, I wouldn’t be caught dead in here. Weak ass mayor.”
Daddy’s eyebrows lifted. “I got yo’ weak.”
He pushed her on the head, then chuckled when she swung at him. I swore they were like two big ass kids when they were together. He pulled her in his arms and hugged her. “Thank you for taking care of my baby.”
“Of course. She’s my baby too.”
“Treasure called, baby, and said she had to run home for something, but she’ll be back in a couple of hours.”
“Okay.”
“Are you feeling up to company?”
I frowned slightly. I didn’t know who would be here besides family until Shaydon appeared in the doorway. My eyebrows lifted, and I gave him a tight smile as my daddy and Aunt Vida left the room. He came to my bedside and kissed my forehead, then pulled the chair by the wall closer to my bed.
“How are you, Maui?”
“I’m okay. What are you doing here?”
“I rode with Mr. Wothyla to pick up some fabrics from his house. Plus, I wanted to see you and make sure you were okay. You were in a lot of pain when I left the other day. So, while he’s spending a little time with Missus Jenahra, I came here.
Physically, you look okay, but I can tell that emotionally you aren’t. Do you love him?”
I lowered my gaze. “Yeah, but that doesn’t matter now, does it?”
“It does if you want it to matter.”
He left his chair and knelt next to me, grabbing my hand. “We’ve been cool a long time. If nothing else, we’re friends, Maui. Please don’t hesitate to tell me what you need. I got’chu, baby. I’ll fly dine here and do whatever you need me to do.”
“How could I have been so stupid? I knew Mythic was trouble, but I was convinced that he wanted to change. I still believe that he does. I’m just not sure if he wanted to do that for himself or for me. I caused so much bullshit by being with him.”
“Newsflash. Once Seven found out the truth, whether you were with him or not, this shit would have happened. It would have been harder to track him dine, but they would have still caught up with him. Stop being so hard on yourself. We can’t help who our heart wants to heal.
I think we’re probably in the same boat. ”
I frowned slightly. “What do you mean?”
He licked his lips and turned away from me.
When he looked back at me, he said, “We both want to heal someone that doesn’t necessarily want to be healed.
I want you, but I know that as long as you want him, it’s a waste of my time and energy.
You want him, but right now, it’s a waste of time for you, because your family comes first in this situation. ”
I couldn’t stop the tears from falling. Shaydon was such a good person and was fine as hell. I couldn’t understand why my heart wouldn’t welcome him in. He was younger than me, but he was so wise for his years.
“I’m pregnant with another man’s child. Why would even want me?
I’m damaged goods, possibly broken beyond repair.
I don’t deserve you, Shaydon. You deserve a woman that will love you as much as you love her .
. . a woman that can appreciate you for the wonderful man you are .
. . a woman that isn’t na?ve enough to get pregnant and fall for an ex-con.
I know my parents and family are so embarrassed by my actions.
I’m beyond embarrassed. They should have disowned me. ”
I broke down in tears and within seconds, Shaydon was in bed with me holding me in his strong arms. His embrace felt good, but I wouldn’t allow him to be a fool like I was.
My situation was toxic at best, and if I knew Mythic like I thought I did, he would never allow me to move on anyway.
As long as I had his child, I would be his, whether we were together or not, and most likely, I wouldn’t fight it.
I tried to pull away from Shaydon, but he only held me tighter.
“It’s okay, Maui. Just relax, baby. I just want to be here. That’s it.”
He kissed my forehead, and I did as he said. I relaxed and let him console me. This was wrong though. I felt like I was taking advantage of him. Maybe how Mythic took advantage of my kindness and naivety. Despite feeling that way, I stayed in his arms until I fell asleep.
When my eyes opened, Shaydon was still holding me, but Ashanni was sitting in the chair.
The minute she saw I was awake, she came to my bedside, causing Shaydon to get up.
I glanced at him as he stared at me. I didn’t know if something had happened while I was asleep or what, because he was staring at me hard.
“Maui . . .”
She gently rubbed my head as she stared at me. “Hey,” I whispered.
She kissed my cheek, then glanced at Shaydon. He smiled slightly. “I can take a hint. Maui, I’ll call later to check on you. Okay?”
I nodded and gave him a tight smile. “Thank you.”
“No thanks needed.”
He winked at me and left the room. When I saw the smile on Ashanni’s face, I rolled my eyes. “What was he doing here?” she asked.
“He came to check on me. He was at the office when I found out what Mythic did to Seven,” I said, lowering my head. “I crashed the fuck out. That’s probably why my baby is trying to vacate the premises.”
The tears fell down my cheeks after voicing that.
In my heart, I felt like that was what was going to happen if I didn’t get my shit together.
It was hard to do that knowing that Mythic could die.
He was in a coma. I knew Seven shot him in the arm to avoid killing him, but I also felt like Mythic didn’t want to be here if he couldn’t have me.
He wasn’t fighting. My previous thoughts of him not letting me go seemed stupid now.
Ashanni got in bed with me, where Shaydon once was and held my hand. “Why were y’all looking at me weird?”
“In your sleep, you kissed Shaydon’s lips and grabbed his goatee.”
I closed my eyes and bit my bottom lip. I slowly shook my head.
“He can’t be here anymore. I’m way too vulnerable.
I was asleep, so I didn’t realize what I was doing, I can’t have him thinking there’s hope for the two of us.
Mythic held me that way all the time, and I constantly grabbed his goatee.
This shit is fucked up. I was angry, but now I’m worried about him. I miss him, despite what he did.”