She finally turns to look at me and says, “It’s not deep, but it’s a large cut. You need to keep it covered for a day or two.”
Not wanting to give her an in, not wanting to let her in my head again, I say. “How the fuck would you know?”
Her body goes taut as she answers, “After having every part of my body cut on, I know a thing or two about wounds.”
Not caring about the pain in my side, I reach out and pull her to me. All thoughts of not letting her get to me are gone as I pull up her shirt. I attempt to search her body for scars, scars that I didn’t notice last night, as she tries to pull my hands away.
“What are you doing?” She asks as she jerks away from me.
The sudden movement causes a pain to shoot up my side, but I ignore it. “What the fuck are you talking about? Who the hell cut you?”
She takes a few steps back and leans against the bathroom wall. “Marcus made me have surgeries. He wanted me to look like his dead wife.”
Nina told me that Shay had lived her life in the shadow of the bastard’s ex-wife. She even said the dick-head called her by the others woman’s name, but she didn’t say shit about surgeries. “You’ve gotta be shitting me.”
Her hand goes to her face to run over her nose, something I’ve seen her do more than once. “My nose was done right after we got married, my chin after that, and my eyes were pulled back to give them a tilt.” She smiles, but it looks sad. “It didn’t work. The doctor didn’t pull the skin tight enough to give them the tilt Marcus wanted, so they’re still mine.”
“Fuck…” I mumble.
She goes quiet for a minute, staring at me but I can tell that she isn’t seeing anything. Right now, she is lost in her memories. She looks away, moving her hand to her ears. “My ears were pinned back, and my breasts were reduced. I had my tummy tucked when I turned thirty.”
“Damn it, baby.” I say, as I push myself up. Doing my best to mask my pain, I walk to her and pull her into my arms. “We’ll get it all fixed.”
I feel her body jerk in my arms. “What?”
“Soon as this shit is over, we’ll get it all fixed. You can have Opie Taylor ears for all I fuckin’ care. I love your tits, but if you wanna go to double Ds, I’m not gonna complain. Soon as I plant my baby in you, the tummy tuck will be all for shit anyway.”
“Baby?” she asks, her voice hoarse.
I pull back and look into her eyes. A few minutes ago, I wanted her to live in the background. Now, I want her front and center for every-fuckin’-thing. “If this shit works out, you’ll be giving me a baby.”
She relaxes the slightest bit, leaning into my hold. “He wanted me to have my tubes tied, that’s why I left. I wanted to have a baby with someone I loved. I let all my other dreams go; I couldn’t lose that one too.”
Her words cause my stomach to burn. “Like I said, you’ll be giving me a baby.”
Devil Incarnate
Shay
I’m shoving the few things I brought into my backpack, when Jeremy walks into the bedroom. His eyes are soft, when he lays a hand on my shoulder. “You call me if you need me, okay.”
“I thought you said I couldn’t call,” He had, over and over again. He made sure I knew that phone calls could be traced, even when you are talking on cells.
My brother looks down the hall and back to me. “I did, but shit’s changed. If you need anything, you call.”
“If she needs anything, she’ll come to me,” Bowie states as he walks in the room and places his hand on my back.
“She’s still my sister, man,” Jeremy says looking at Bowie. “You’re still my brother, too.”
He’s quiet for a long minute, before he responds. “We are, as long as you don’t try to cause shit between me and my woman.”
“I won’t, as long as you take good care of her,” My brother repeats the words he used earlier.
I can feel Bowie tense beside me and I expect him to blow up, instead, he nods. “I will, but you need to stay out of our shit. What goes on between me and Shay is our business. You’ll always be my brother, but if you cause shit between me and my woman, you’ll be my enemy, too.”
Jeremy lifts his chin, acknowledging Bowie’s words, then looks back to me. “I love you, Sis.”
A sense of foreboding oozes down my spine. Jeremy is worried and it’s hard to ignore. I feel tears prick my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. “I love you, too.”
Without letting me give my brother a proper goodbye, Bowie grabs my arm and practically drags me down the hallway. I wrench my arm away and turn back to Jeremy, desperate to have another minute with him.