Chapter 11

Darius

Not once has she looked to me for help. Lunch was uneventful. They all kept her engaged,I don't know if the old lady said anything but no one asked anything personal.

I was sitting with my brother-in-laws when I saw the old bat peeking at me. So I went over to her.

“ Alright what's it?” I asked, waiting for her to drop something big on me.

“ Nothing. I've known her since she was eighteen and today is the first day ever I've seen her smile and laugh this much. She needs you and you need her”. She Said.

I may probably regret saying this.

“ You're right”. I said quietly.

“ Excuse me , what was that ?“.

I know what she was doing

“ I said you were right, she's .. I know she has secrets so I'll wait until she trusts me enough to share it with me. We need each other so Yes you were right, your choice was right “.

She walked off laughing. “ Did you hear that Michael, out of your son's own mouth? I am right,I am always right ”. She said smiling

“ Kenzie we need to leave early, you have classes tomorrow and I have work. We can visit another day”. I said walking towards them.

“ Okay”.

Before we left they had to hug ten times, exchange numbers and what not and say Their goodbyes. My mother pulled me to the side.

“ She's quiet and conservative but she's smart too. She answers you without answering you. She's what you needed. Are you happy?”.

Normally my parents wouldn't ask or say anything about my personal life.

“ Yes . I'm happy,she makes me happy ”.

“ Good then that's all you need”.

On the drive back she was quiet. Looking out the window.

“ Baby Are you okay ?They didn't say anything. They shouldn't have, did they?”.

“ No they didn't, I'm just a bit tired”, She said wearily.

“ Okay why don't you relax, get some sleep. I'll let you know when we get home”.

“ Your family is nice. Your parents and sisters. I've always wanted a sister but…”

she trailed off. I started figuring her out, if she's ever talking and she was about to say more than she wanted to she would stop.

“ To you they're nice to me they're headaches. Baby you may not like this but Damien and Ann were fighting each other on names for the little thing” ,I said not taking my eyes off the road.

“ Oh boy. I heard them. I heard Damien say something about taco” ,She answered smiling.

“ Well ,he wanted to name him Taco . Ann said the name should be Lady. That was until I told them he was a boy. You won't believe it if I told you but they've been calling him by that name all afternoon and he answers to it”. I said

“ What is it?” She was looking at me now.

“ If I say it he's going to wake up”, I said, taking a peek at the little ball of fluff that was asleep in her lap.

“ oh come on, what is it ?”

“ Cerberus “. I said , she looked at me with wide eyes and an open mouth and the damn dog woke up and began barking.

That's when she started laughing. She was laughing so hard her eyes began watering.

“ I'm sorry. Imagine if someone asks you if you have a pet ?. And you say yes , I have a dog”. She said between laughs

“ Saying I'll introduce you to cerberus. Imagine someone expecting a giant of a dog and you show up with a ball of fluff ”. She said, still laughing.

This was the girl I wanted to see. The Happy, laughing and carefree girl who didn't look like she had the world of trouble on her shoulders.

“ That's not a bad idea. I'll introduce him to Grayson that way ”. I said smiling.

McKenzie

The entire drive was relaxing.When we got home ,it felt comforting. Marlene was amused by the dog even more amused by the name he was given. When Darius left for his room, Cerebus followed him.

I was sitting with Marlene having a coffee when I heard him yelling.

“ McKenzie, your damn dog won't leave me alone, he's in my room and refuses to come out. Great now he's on my bed” I heard him say.

Marlene was laughing, I couldn't help but smile. I headed upstairs and found him standing by his door.

“ Look” ,he said, pulling aside, when I looked into the room. The little ball of fur was in the middle of his bed.

“ Maybe he prefers your bed to mine” ,I said, smiling at him.

“ Can I get him?” , I asked

“ Sure, go ahead ”. He said walking into the room.

I walked in behind him and picked him up. He was fast asleep.

“ He can't sleep here ,but you can ” ,he said. I heard the amusement in his voice.

“ Good night Darius ” ,I said walking out of the room.

“ Good night baby”.

Once in my room, I put him on the bed and grabbed a shower. I settled down with my books, Cerebus thought it would be better to sleep in my lap. So he slept while I studied.

Since we returned from his family house, he's been different,more relaxed and carefree. On weekends he would take me somewhere,I invited Zara over and they got along well. I introduced her to Grayson and it was all around happy. We've been married for six months and he still hasn't forced me to say anything. He has been teaching me to drive and I was surprised that I could and wasn't scared or trembling as I used to.

One weekend when Grayson and Zara were over , I introduced them to cerberus. Zara was amused and Grayson had a laughing fit. He expected a big dog, not the ball of fluff.

We were sitting outside in the garden one Saturday morning. I was studying and he was working,this is how it has been lately.

He was asking me what I wanted to do later when I saw a woman walking towards us. She was tall, Petite with blonde hair. She had black eyes and a perfect face.

When she walked over she sat in his lap , and began kissing his face. I didn't say anything. I saw Grayson heading in our direction.

“ Jas get the hell off me “. there was annoyance in his tone.

“ Jas what the hell are you doing?” ,I heard Grayson shout.

“ What ? We're friends this is the way we always are” ,she said in a whiny tone.

I could feel Darius's eyes on me ,also Grayson's but I didn't look at them or say anything. I kept reading. Out of the corner of my eyes I could see Marlene and her face said she was about to say something.

“ Jas we're friends but don't ever do that again is that understood?” ,I heard Darius say. I still hadn't looked up. Marlene came over to us.

“ Mrs Cirano.,.Ms Mitchell is here” ,She said looking at the woman beside Darius . Oh God. She knows very well I don't like to be called that.