Page 51 of Finding My Bodyguard

“Oh my, how is she? Where is she? Where is the baby?” Alyza questioned.

“She’s here. I was holding it together and then it just hit me.” It felt good to vent to someone. I didn’t realize how much I needed that.

“Have you called London?”

London. My heart ached at the mention of his name. I hadn’t seen him since he dropped me off here after my first visit to see my father. He’d left and hadn’t reached out to me at all. He was serious about giving me my space, but I didn’t need space. I needed him. I missed him. He still had been planning weekly dates for me, but when I would call to thank him, he wouldn’t answer.

“London doesn’t answer the phone for me, remember?” I replied somberly.

“Maybe shoot him a text. He wouldn’t leave you alone at a time like this.”

I wasn’t in the mood to discuss London. I didn’t believe that my heart could take it.

“He left me this far. I… um… I need to get this guest room ready for Tessa and the baby. I’ll see you later.”

“Okay, I’ll call you before our flight leaves.” Alyza rushed. “Call me or Ma if you need anything.”

“Okay.” I hung up the phone. The tears picked up again and the notification dinged on my phone.

Reminder: Meeting with Bristol City Funeral Home at 9am.

More tears came down my eyes at the realization that I had to plan my father’s funeral.

London

“You sure about going in there?” Meechie questioned me as soon as we pulled up to Monroe’s dad’s funeral.

“Yeah, I’m here to support Monroe. I’m not going to let her face this alone.”

“I’m just making sure, nigga. Didn’t you go ghost on her?” Meechie climbed out of the car.

He had a good point. Monroe and I hadn’t talked in weeks. I was allowing her space. I couldn’t lie, I was a little irritated that I’d gone through all of that to get her a new life and she chose to go right back to her father. I didn’t understand it, but it wasn’t my place to understand. That was why I removed myself. Leaving her to live her own life was always the plan. Our marriage was on paper only. When Alyza called and told me that her father had finally passed away, I knew I had to be here for her. Monroe was going to need me. Even after everything she’d endured, Monroe still loved her father. I got it. It just took Aunt Vanessa cursing me out for me to finally come to my senses.

“I gave her space,” I replied as we walked into the building.

“Did she need space, though?” Meechie shot back.

I stopped and stared at him. Meechie had been making a whole lot of sense lately. That must have been the effect of Samara. The verdict was still out on how I felt about them dating but if she was bringing this out of him, I fucked with it.

“Come on, nigga. Let’s go support sis.” He walked into the funeral home.

“Oh, so she sis now?”

“Been sis, and you better stop trying to force her to live life without you before you regret it, nigga.” I followed closely behind him. I was just trying to give her some space. Her moving on was never a fucking option. The moment I stepped into the nearly empty funeral home, I was drawn to her. My feet carried me to her before my eyes even spotted her. She was sitting in the back alone with tears streaming down her face. Even in her grief, she was still the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. I moved to her, no questions asked.

“Is this seat taken?” I whispered. I didn’t know how she was going to react to me being here. I had ghosted her. She’d called, and I would watch it ring, knowing if I answered I would break my promise to her and demand her in my space. The moment she looked up and saw me and Meechie, her face lit up, and she nodded her head.

I sat down next to her. Meechie hugged her, offering his condolences before finding a seat on another aisle. I wrapped my arms around her, offering her my shoulder to cry on. She leaned into me naturally. No words were said because none were needed. We stayed like that for the rest of the service. At the final visitation, I held her up as she cried over her father’s body. Watching her break down made me feel like shit. I’d ghosted her during what was probably the most difficult time of her life—watching the man that raised her die. I wasn’t ever leaving her alone again. I hoped she knew that.

“Thank you for coming, London,” she whispered as she met me in the stairs of the funeral home. I’d been waiting there patiently, allowing her to mingle and greet guests. I’d meant what I said, and I wasn’t going anywhere.

“You could have called me,” I replied.

“Oh, you would have answered?” she countered. I deserved that.

“I was stupid, aight? Pushing you away when all you ever wanted was to be close.” I closed the distance between us. “We can discuss all of that later. Right now, all I want to do is take care of you—help you through this. Can I do that, Chocolate?”

Her eyes bounced around for a moment.

---