Keep Me

by Faith Andrews

  Her words mirrored every single emotion I felt for her. We’d never be perfect, we’d never be free of our scars, but the love we had for each other could defeat anything. Without thinking, just knowing, there was only one thing left to say. “Marry me, pretty girl. Marry me and let me keep you safe for the rest of your life.”

  Her eyes grew wide, a genuine smile spread across her face for the first time since I opened my eyes. “Wow, I didn’t know you were hit on the head, too. Clearly all those pain meds are making you loopy. Should I get the nurse?”

  Seriously? After going through hell and back together was she still unclear of how I really felt for her? Tangling one hand in her hair and the other holding hers, I poured it all out, not holding back.

  “Tessa, I’m proposing marriage here. Laying it all out. No more games, no more second-guessing, no more time apart. Shit like this—it makes you realize how short life is, how you have to grab it by the balls and live it. I’m alive when I’m with you. I love you like I’ve never loved anything or anyone. I want you to be my wife. I want Luca to be my son. I want the happily ever after, pretty girl.”

  Tears rimmed her eyes and my heart pounded in my chest. This was the most honest moment of my life. No gimmicks or ulterior motives, just my heart speaking for me in ways my brain never knew how. I was never so sure of something, so desperate to make this mine. “Say yes, baby. You know you want to.” I arched an eyebrow, gnawing on my lower lip.

  “I can’t believe this is happening. Here. Like this. I’m a fucking mess, you were almost dead, and our life is just so—”

  “Perfect. Our life together is going to be fucking perfect. I won’t have it any other way.”

  “Always so sure of yourself, Little Marcus Grayson. I think that’s what I love most about you.”

  She’d have a lifetime to get over the unexpected reality of marrying the boy that used to tease her just to make her laugh and ogle her from afar. I’d have a lifetime to accept the beautiful reality that it was always her—she always had my heart, even back when I was too young to understand it.

  I hooked my hands underneath her arms and pulled her toward me, covering her mouth with mine. The kiss was soft and tender, but the two of us connected in a way we never had before. We knew we were lucky to be in each other’s arms again, and so this kiss was like a reunion, a way to start again, to pick up right where we left off.

  “Baby,” I whispered against her mouth, our noses touching, our bodies locked together in a tight embrace. “I love you. Be my wife.”

  Her hand traveled up my spine to my neck, running her fingers though my hair. With eyes brighter than the sun and a smile that could melt stone, she finally answered, “Yes, Marcus. Yes, I’ll marry you.”

  All my life, I got by just fine. I never understood what other people meant about a woman completing them. I hadn’t wanted that even if it did exist. My heart was never concerned when it came to the girls I brought back to my bed—another, more selfish part of my anatomy called the shots then. When my mother died, I succumbed to the fact that something would always be missing—unconditional love, the kind that overpowers everything, the kind you’d kill for. Sure, I felt that for my sister, when I didn’t want to kill her myself, but I knew she’d one day find someone who would be her constant. She wouldn’t need me fending for her once she met him, and even though it still hadn’t happened, I knew it would one day. But in this moment, hearing those three little letters from Tessa Bradley’s mouth—I finally fucking got it.

  I wrapped my arms around her body, pulling her so close I felt we would meld together as one—that was the point, after all. I let this empowerment take over every single nerve ending. I fought past the stinging ache of my wound and shoved away the wires that stuck out in between us. “Pretty girl, I never thought this day would come. I can’t believe you’re going to be mine forever.” I whispered my promise in her ear.

  “Forever sounds perfect,” she whispered back.

  “Oh, God. They’re at it again. Even on his death bed, he can still get it up for her!”

  I buried my head deeper into the crook of Tessa’s neck, not wanting to look up at the voice coming from the door. If it hadn’t been for the fact that she was hurt too, I would’ve told her to fuck off and leave us alone in our little cocoon. Groaning, I lifted my head and was taken aback by the sight of Riley in a wheelchair with Beck as her chauffeur.

  Tessa turned to face the two, adjusting herself and the thin cotton blanket that covered me. “Glad to see you up and about, Ry. Did the cops take your statement yet?”

  Still stunned by the fact he was here too, I watched Beck wheel my sister into my room. The two girls went on and on with their recount of things as if I weren’t sitting right there.

  “There wasn’t much info I could give them, but between your statement and what they’ll get from Marcus, that sick motherfucker won’t be bothering you ever again.” Riley spoke like she was an outsider looking in. You’d never know that she was a victim of his lunacy like Tessa and I were. As much as I didn’t want to rehash all this shit, there were bits and pieces still floating around unanswered for me and I needed to be filled in.

  “First of all, um… Hi, bro. What are you doing here?”

  Riley looked up to Beck and the two of them shared some silent thing. When I cleared my throat, waiting impatiently, Beck finally answered, “Tessa called me from the ambulance. I had to make sure everyone was okay. I was in here with you for a bit, but when Tessa was released from the ER and came up here with you, I thought Riley could use some company.” It seemed like a good enough answer, but Riley’s body language gave her away. She gripped Beck’s hands, the ones that were kneading her shoulders, with a pensive look on her face. Another puzzle that needed to be put together, but it could wait until I had the answers to one very important question.

  Tessa remained silent next to me on the bed, fidgeting with the sleeves of her hoodie. I looked to Riley first, then placed a hand on Tessa’s back, coaxing her. “I want the cops to take my statement, but I need to know what they told you. What did they do with that piece of shit? One more squeeze around his scrawny neck and it could have been done, but I thought about him being tortured in jail and decided to let him live. Please tell me I made the right decision.”

  Tessa lifted her eyes, tears tainting the beautiful blue. But they were no longer sad tears. These were tears of relief, happiness, hope. “Don’t worry, Marcus. You did everything you could. You saved us all and when you give your testimony and I write out my confession about his past, he’ll be out of our lives forever.

  “I don’t know how he got out of that rehab—and they’ll be hearing from my attorney first thing tomorrow—but when he got to the house he posed as a delivery man and made his way inside.” She stood to join Beck and Riley, petting Riley’s hair, retelling the events she must have heard while I was still being worked on.

  “He held her at gun point and made her call me and—well obviously you know I never answered those calls. I feel responsible for all of this.” Her head drooped as her arms crossed her chest. “If we weren’t—if I was a better mother, I would’ve had my phone attached to me, ready for anything.”

  “Tessa, don’t be ridiculous. You couldn’t have known!” Riley blurted out at the same time I tried to rise from the bed.

  “Shit!” I winced, slumping back down on the tiny uncomfortable cot.

  Tessa rushed back to my side. “Marcus! You can’t get up. Are you crazy? Just—do you need the nurse?”

  “No.” I insisted. “I’m fine, but I won’t listen to you, or anyone here, take blame for what went down. The only one here to blame is that piece of shit. And if we all sit here and wallow in what he put us through, he wins. I refuse to let that fucker win. He’s nothing to any of us and he deserves to be treated that way. So—are we all clear on that?”

  The room was silent, everyone still and somber.

  “Good! Now… first of all, where’s Luca?” I looked u
p at Tessa.

  “With your dad. The hospital was too much for him,” she replied.

  Okay, that was a relief. “Second of all,” I darted my gaze to Beck. “I appreciate your concern, my man, and, maybe the meds really are getting to me, but you and my sister seem to have this weird shit going on between you two and I’m not sure I like it.”

  Riley swiveled her torso around in the wheelchair, looking up at Beck. They shared another silent conversation and then Beck finally spoke, “Should I tell him or do you want to?”

  “Tell. Me. What?” I grunted. “What’s going on?” I asked Tessa, but she just shrugged her shoulders and bit her lower lip. Shit! She knew, too!

  “I’ll tell him,” Riley finally spoke. “He can’t do anything from that bed anyway, so we’re safe, B.”

  B? Since when did she start calling him B? B—eww—just nodded, and let her continue. “I might as well start with the most shocking news first, this way the rest will just roll off your shoulders. Not like you have a choice anyway,” she deadpanned. Holding onto Beck’s hands, rubbing them up and down with her thumbs, she looked down into her lap, and then back up at me again. “You’re going to be an uncle, Marcus. I’m pregnant.”

  Huh? My eyes went wide with shock, as my head started to spin with possibilities. “But what does that have to do with Be—” And then it sunk in. “You’re fucking kidding me!” I snarled at him. “You and my sister? You’ve been fucking around?”

  “Hey!” Beck barked back. “It’s not like that and before you go getting on your soap box, look around you, bro. Pots and kettles and lots of fucking black!” Beck loved using clichés, but this time he was dead on. “Not to mention,” he continued, “that your sister almost lost this baby because of what happened. So, like you said before, we need to focus on the good and fuck the bad. Right?”

  “Well said, B.” My sister beamed.

  “When the fuck did he become B?” I brought my hand up to my head, rubbing my temples. My brain was starting to pound from the mix of confusion and pain. Thank God visiting hours were over soon. If only Tessa could stay the night. Suddenly I remembered that my sister’s news wasn’t the only big thing that needed to be announced. If I had to deal with her and Beck and the spawn that would be my niece or nephew, they should be happy when I told them about my proposal. “So Riley and… B, here are going to be parents. Lord help that poor kid!”

  My sister rolled her eyes and Beck just shook his head, smiling. With Tessa still at my side, I hooked my arm around her waist, whispering in her ear. “Pretty girl, can I tell them?”

  She rested her head on my shoulder, lacing her fingers in mine. I didn’t think I’d ever tire of her right here, were she belonged, leaning on me—body, mind and soul. “Mmhmm, please do. We gotta make it all about the happy stuff. It outweighs the bad with one big F you.”

  Kissing the top of her head, I scanned the room and cleared my throat. I felt my chest puff up with pride. Aside from telling her I loved her, and wrapping my bare hands around that twisted SOBs neck, announcing to the world that Tessa would be by wife was the most gratifying moment of my life. “Well, Ry,” I started with a cocky grin. “You and Beck might be making me an uncle, but…” I paused for effect, registering the look of suspicion on Riley’s face. “… not before Tessa becomes your sister-in-law.”

  “Wait! What? You two are—” I was certain she would spring out of the wheelchair like a shot out of a canon, leaving B to keep the damn thing fixed to the floor.

  “Yes, Ry,” Tessa interrupted her before she started with her judgments. “I am marrying your brother. I love him, he loves me and life is too damn short not to follow your heart. I understand your concerns, and I know it’s quick, but you of all people should—”

  Riley cut her off with a wave of her hands and an annoying shriek. “Would you just shut the hell up and get over here so I can hug your ass? This is… this is… the best news ever. Sister-in-laws? Did you ever imagine?”

  Tessa waltzed over to the chair and leaned down to hug her best friend. Seeing them together only added to the magic of the moment. After all, it was the two of them who started it all for me in the first place.

  “Hey, loser, get out of the way.” Riley flew out of the bathroom like a bat of hell with the girly smell of something floral and way too much red lipstick.

  “Jerk! I’m gonna tell Mom.” I whined, but then straightened up when I saw the pretty girl following behind her.

  “Tell her what? That you’re a dweeb?” Wasn’t she supposed to be the older one? So mature, always picking on me just for being around. I took this as my opportunity to play it cool. You know, to impress her new gorgeous friend.

  “No, that you’re being a bitch.”

  Riley’s eyes went wide as her big red mouth dropped open in an exaggerated ‘o.’ But I wasn’t focusing on my sister, it was the adorable, musical laugh that came from her friend. I prayed to God this wasn’t just another random girl Riley would be BFFs with for one minute and enemies the next. I hoped this one would stick around for a while.

  “Ha, Ry! I think I like your little brother already. Marcus right? Hi, I’m Tessa.” She batted her sparkling blue eyes at me, her long curly hair bouncing like a freaking Pantene commercial.

  And from that moment on, my heart was never the same.

  “Merry Christmas, baby.”

  “Mmm, Merry Christmas,” she grumbled, the covers still wrapped around her naked body like a cocoon. Lucky fucking blanket. I wanted to wrap myself around her and get lost until we were panting and pawing at each other like we were last night. But it was Christmas morning, our first together. Our first in our new house. Our first of so many more to come.

  I hooked my arm underneath her warm body, splaying one hand across her smooth stomach and the other cupping the delicious roundness of one of her boobs. Her nipple hardened at my touch and my fingers couldn’t help but play.

  “Don’t even start,” she laughed. “You know I won’t be able to stop.”

  “That’s the idea, pretty girl. Who says we have to stop?” Luca was still in his crib, rustling around, but still none the wiser.

  “Santa. That’s who.” She spun around, pressing her nakedness against mine and claiming my mouth with hers.

  My hands dug into the plump skin of her ass, pulling her closer to me, my morning wood nestled against her already wet pussy. “I thought we were stopping? Or is this my Christmas present for being such a good boy?”

  “I like it better when you’re on the naughty list,” she moaned, her hands traveling down my chest to my navel, finally gripping and stroking my cock. “But this particular present will have to wait. I have an even better one for you under the tree.” With that, her warm vice-like grip was gone, and I watched her unclothed silhouette saunter to the bathroom.

  Fuck! Jerking off on Christmas morning just seemed wrong… but trying to get up from this bed without getting the release only Tessa could provide seemed a lot harder.

  “Suck it up, buttercup,” she called from the doorway of the bathroom, her words distorted by the toothbrush sloshing around in her mouth. She disappeared back inside to finish her quick morning routine and came back out dressed in a tight fitted t-shirt with a Santa hat and a festive logo that read ‘I believe.’ I was learning little adorable tidbits about her more and more as we shared a home—like the fact that she might actually be one of Santa’s elves. Our house was decorated to the nines, no hall left undecked, no stone left unjolly. Shit, she had been playing Christmas music while cooking her Thanksgiving feast. I fucking loved it.

  “Come on,” she sang as she pounced on the bed. “Get dressed and I’ll go get Luca. I can’t wait to bring him downstairs so he can see all his presents.”

  “Not that he doesn’t deserve them, but you really went overboard. He won’t remember any of this and he’ll probably like playing with the wrapping paper better than the actual toys.”

  “Okay, Scrooge. Ba-hum-bug to you, too. He may not r
emember it, but I will. And so will you. Come on.” She slapped my ass. “I’m more excited about giving you your gift than anything else. Up and at ‘em! Let’s go!”

  I flung the covers off, huffing. Springing to attention without any confinement, my dick didn’t get the memo that playtime was over. He was still waiting for his gift—how could I break it to him that he had to wait until all the creatures were done stirring? We had a house full of people to entertain today and that meant cooking and cleaning up and one exhausted fiancé when all was said and done. “Can’t you just fit in one little kiss?” I said, fisting myself and flaunting it like an immature teenage boy. “What if I put the mistletoe over it? Then you have to!”

  I dodged the pillow she chucked at my head as she laughed, “Relentless. Have I ever told you how relentless you are?”

  “Many times, my love,” I admitted as I pulled up my cotton pj pants. “I think you might have to put that in our wedding vows somewhere.”

  “I think you’re right,” she giggled, and then walked out of our room to start the festivities.

  I hadn’t been up and opening presents this early on Christmas morning since I was a kid myself. Luca was buried in tons of crumbled up green and red paper and the new puppy, my present to my little buddy, was off somewhere probably peeing or chewing where he shouldn’t be.

  “I can’t believe you got him a puppy! How did I not know there was a living thing under that tree all night?”