"Dionne, what's wrong?" I say, gripping her hands in mine. She looks down with her hand over her stomach, blood seeping through her fingers. "Baby, talk to me." I say, panicking. She falls to the floor and I catch her in my arms as she tries her hardest to breathe. Tears prick at my eyes as I watch the life drain out of her. I hear three gunshots ring out and I hear a body drop to the floor, but I never take my eyes off of my wife. I sit there, crying like a baby as I hold her in my arms, hugging her body against mine as I rock with her. She puts her bloody hands on my face as tears flow from her eyes. "Baby, look at me. Look at me." she says, trying to smile through her tears. But I can't. I just can't. "You're gonna be alright, I promise." I say, crying. "Baby, I'm not gonna make it. I can .. I'm bleeding out too quickly, I .. I don't have a lot of time .. " she says, rubbing my cheek with her thumb, wiping away my tears. "Take .. care of our babies, okay? Tell them .. tell the
Dionne's POV: It's Xavier's birthday today. Christine and the twins were so excited, they wanted to do something special for him in their own little way. Everyone moved out and settled in their own homes, so now it's just me, Xavier, and the kids. "Mommy, when's Daddy coming home?" Christine asks, looking up at me. "He'll be home soon, baby. He's on the way here now." I say, smiling at her as I get to my knees. "You think Daddy's gonna like what you made him?" I say, my eyes lighting up. "I think he will. Kai and Harley said he wouldn't like it though." she says, frowning. "Kai! Harley! Get down here!" I say. They come down with their heads down, letting me know that they already know they're in trouble. "What did you say to your sister?" I say, looking at the both of them. "Mommy, I said sorry." Kai says. "You can't say mean things like that to your sister. You too, Harley. Daddy already told you not to be mean to your sisters. How do you think he would feel if he knew you we
It’s 8:00 and dinner’s ready. My mother calls me down and me and my two older brothers get downstairs, my brothers play fighting as they go downstairs. “Watch out for Dionne, Patrick!” Anthony says. I walk downstairs, a plain expression on my face. “Boys!” my father yells suddenly. I jump at how loud he gets. “Stop with the playing!” he yells again. “Yes sir.” They both say, sitting at the table. “Benjamin, calm down, they’re boys.” Says my mother. “Watch your tongue.” Father spat back. I sit at the table, not saying anything. My father, sitting at the head of the table, looks at me with his eyebrow up. “Dionne, where are your manners?” he says. “Sorry father. Good evening. Good evening, mother.” I say, bowing my head to both of them. “Why don’t you get up and get me a beer?” he says to me with an evil smirk on his face. “Yes, father.” I say, respectfully. I’m always used to this treatment. Sit back, be respectful, don’t put up a fuss, do what I’m told, and I’ll be fine. I re
Well, here goes. The day I was dreading. And it only took 24 hours. I’ve got my dress on and we’re standing at the door, waiting for Mother and Father. “You look beautiful, Dionne.” Patrick whispers. “Thank you. You look nice.” I say. My father comes downstairs and all three of us stand up straight, acknowledging his presence. Stand up straight when I enter the room. It’s called respect. Is what he’d say. When he stands in front of me, he scoffs. “At least he’ll think you’re attractive. Maybe.” “You look wonderful, honey.” My mom comments. “Thanks Mother.” I say, bowing my head. “Let’s go. Hurry on, we don’t have all night.” Father rushes us. A car and a limousine pulls up and I stand, confused. “What’s that for?” I ask, gesturing to the car. “You’ll get a car. Me, your mother, and your brothers will have the limousine.” My father says, maliciously. “Darling, she’s supposed to have a-“ “I know Amelia. Problem is, she doesn’t deserve a limousine. Get in I don’t have time
After dinner, I go to my bedroom and I lie down. I can hear Xavier yelling from upstairs. He’s yelling so loud, I can make out every word he’s saying. “You’re the one who wanted this, not me!” “Yeah? Well she’s MY fiancé. I don’t give a shit!” “Fuck off!” “She’s not yours, she’s not yours, and she’s not anyone else’s, MINE, and I can do whatever the hell I please!” And it keeps going from there. I cover my ears with a pillow to lessen the sound of his constant screaming and it worked like a charm. The next morning, I wake up to the sound of someone calling my name. I know that voice all too well. “Dionne, wake up.” Xavier says, sounding pissed. I sit up and I rub my eyes softly. “What’s going on? What time is it?” I ask “Get up and get dressed. I’m taking you to school.” He says. My eyes widen in surprise. Last year, I finished high school, I got accepted into a university, but I couldn’t go because my father wouldn’t allow it. He said college was for girls who had brains a
The first couple of minutes is Xavier cursing and mumbling under his breath. He sighs and looks over to me. “What happened?” he asks, still pissed. “I don’t know,” I reply. “I was waiting for you outside and then that guy bumped into me and started touching me everywhere.” I say reluctantly. He doesn’t say anything, he just keeps his eyes on the road, but I can see the anger building up inside him. He raises his fist and I could swear I made a whimpering sound. I turn away and I look at the window as Xavier gets quiet. “Dionne.” He says, his cold, hard mask still intact. I look at him, not saying anything, and he shifts in his seat, well aware of why I reacted that way. “Who did it?” he asks. I look down at my hands and I don’t reply. “Was it those assholes at the university?” he asks, genuinely concerned. “Dionne?” he says, his fingers brushing against my arm. I jump at his contact and suddenly a tear falls from my eyes. “God.” He says as I begin to cry. I can tell he’s not used
The next morning, I wake up to Xavier shaking me awake. "Dionne, wake up. You need to get ready." he says, sounding slightly annoyed. Not angry, like he used to be. I guess that's something good. "Okay, okay, I'm getting up." I say, stretching. "I'll be at your school earlier today. School ends at, what, 4:15?" he asks, looking down at his ring-filled hands. "Yeah." I say. "I'll be there by then. Now get up, unless you don't want breakfast before you leave." he says, sliding out of my room. "Thank you." I yell after him, getting up to go get in the shower. When I get out of the shower, I smell the beautiful aroma of bacon and sausage cooking. I get dressed and I put some perfume on, then I get downstairs while putting on my shoe. I must've stepped wrong because when I put my foot down, I slipped and twisted my ankle. I would've hit the ground, but someone was holding me up. I look up and I see Xavier with concern in his eyes. It quickly fades into seriousness as he picks me up.
Days later, my ankle's healed up pretty well. Me and Xavier have gotten closer, not too much, as he's not very open about his feelings, but it's progress. Walking through the university, me and Charlotte finally sit and eat lunch together. "So tell me, how's it going with Brady?" Charlotte asks. "God, nothing, Charlotte! We're just friends-" "Blah blah blah. Don't give me that shit, 'just friends' my ass." she says playfully. "It's not shit! I told you, I'm seeing someone." I say, eating the grapes I packed this morning. "Yeah? So where is this guy? Does he go here? Does he live around here, is he close?" she questions. "I'm not telling you anything Charlotte!" I say, nudging her arm. "I'm not gonna believe you until I see him for myself." "You're insistent." I say, palming my forehead. "You could've saw him the other day. He was here. He's the one who broke Josh's nose." I say. "He's the one who did that? Everyone said he knocked him out off one punch. If he can do that, imag