Nicole and I are having a baby. A beautifully healthy baby boy. I close my eyes, my hand still moving along the side of her stomach. We’ve had two of those ultrasound things now and you can see the baby clearly. 3D or 4D, I’m not sure what they call it, all I know is it gave me a picture of our beautiful, innocent child.
I have the world. I have the world here in my hands. My woman and my baby—it doesn’t get any better than this. It’s all I never really knew I wanted, until now.
“Forever, Mama,” I whisper, as I slowly let sleep claim me. It’s not quite daylight and after a workout like that, I need to hold my woman and rest. I feel my son kick against my hand and fall asleep with a smile on my face.
Chapter 2
Nicole
I’m used to waking up alone by now, but I always miss him. Dragon. I watched this movie once, a long time ago, about soulmates. It was a cheesy, corny movie but it talked about souls being separated when they are brought into this world and how they spend their entire existence here on Earth, trying to find their missing partner. I always loved the idea. I never dreamed it was real, but with Dragon that scenario doesn’t seem far-fetched. I find myself praying that my child finds his woman, the one woman who will complete him as Dragon does me—and good lord, if that isn’t a syrupy, sugary load of crap to be thinking about first thing in the morning. Dani’s right, pretty soon rainbows will be shooting out of my ass.
I pat my stomach gently and slowly get up. I’m hungry. That’s nothing new, I swear Junior has me eating everything that’s not nailed down. This morning he’s demanding bacon before I even get fully awake.
“Nic! You up?” I hear the panic in Dani’s voice, even through the door.
“Come on in,” I call out, because it’s going to take me awhile to even get up off the bed. Junior is already making that difficult. I’m wondering how I’m going to manage the last few months, at this rate.
“Nic!” Dani walks in, her dark hair pulled high on her head in a ponytail, her face made up perfectly with her trademark dark red lipstick. She’s dressed in jeans that look worn out, but if truth was known she bought them just yesterday. She may have left her past behind, but my girl has a designer taste. She is wearing a purple, white and black checkered flannel shirt. You would think that shirt wouldn’t go with the vibe she has going on, but somehow it totally does. Dani’s always been like that, I’ve always been a little envious.
“Dani, please don’t give me shit about the dresses again. I gave in and let you have…”
“Nic, please.”
The desperation in Dani’s voice causes my heart to trip. This is way more serious than the length of a damn maid of honor dress.
“What…”
It’s the only word I can get out. I’m too busy taking in the stark fear shining in her brown eyes. Panic grabs me, because there’s only one thing that could cause this much fear on Dani’s face.
“Mich…”
She pushes a rumpled, wadded, white paper at me, and stops me from finishing. That’s okay, I’d rather not say that monster’s name ever again. I have a bad feeling, which only gets stronger when I notice how hard Dani’s hands are shaking. I lick my suddenly dry lips. This is not good. Slowly my attention moves from Dani down to the letter in my hand, the one I’ve slowly been unfolding without even realizing it. I stretch out the hopeless wrinkles, move my hands against them and press hard into my leg. I’m putting off opening it. I’m not ashamed to say I’m afraid; if the look on Dani’s face is anything to go by, I have reason to be.
Again, I lick my lips, damn my mouth is dry. I pick the paper up, not surprised to see my hands are shaking too. It’s torn out of a magazine. I look at it confused. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but this isn’t it. It’s a copy of a society paper from New York years ago. On the cover is a picture of Dani, a much younger and definitely more innocent Dani, but Dani nonetheless. The paper is yellow from time, but the headline under it jumps out at you—or at least it does me. It causes my heart to lodge in my throat.
Society darling, Melinda Marinetti to marry Michael Kavanagh
Oh fuck. Oh fuck, no.
“Where did you get this?” I ask and I hate that I can’t keep the panic out of my voice. Dani doesn’t need to hear my panic.
“My car.”
“Maybe you left it…”
“It was on the windshield. How the fuck did he find me? I have to leave! I can’t stay here anymore!”
I crumple the paper in my hands. The happy, sweet face of the young girl with innocent brown eyes and broad smile mocks me. I miss that girl. She was swallowed by a darkness and pain so deep, that I’ll never find her. It took me a year, but I finally acknowledged it—that girl was lost to me forever.
“You do not have to leave! Right here is the safest place for you, Dani! Dragon and the boys would protect you with their lives!”