Page 18 of Retribution

“But-” Every one of us males tried at once.

“No.” She sighed. “I feel like this is a different level of personal even if you’ve all been to the show.”

“Been to the show?” Lenin repeated.

“Fates.” Michelle rested her head in her palm. “Like I don’t know how you deal with it. There is just so many men and so much male-ness.”

“Patience of a saint,” Maggie added.

“It’s obviously the allure of their dicks. Fucking magic,” Michelle responded.

“Obviously.”

I cleared my throat. “Can we not do this here?”

Michelle rolled her eyes. “It appears suits over there is embarrassed by the compliment.”

Liberty didn’t even try to hide her amusement. “Yes, well, occasionally, these men could misread a situation. They are sensitive.”

She patted my cheek before blowing me a kiss, and all I could do was stare. Like, why do girls have to be so mean? “I’m not sensitive.”

“That’s not what your mother says.” Ellis never missed a fucking beat. He can be as mean as the damn females.

The receptionist cleared her throat. “If you would like to come on back, we are ready for you.” We all started to move, and the receptionist’s eyes narrowed. “The girls. You all stay put.”

They disappeared behind the door, and I fucking hated it. I needed to have eyes on her. I needed to touch her. Outside of our home, I needed to make sure she was safe. But this fucking doctor’s office prevented it. Who the hell picked this place? Ugh, wait. It was me. I made a fucking terrible decision. But, I just thought, hey, the middle of a sky rise is safer than some random building in the middle of nowhere. It would take a calculated effort to bring it down.

We all found a seat and sat, all of us taking up every chair in the waiting room. It didn’t matter; I booked and paid for all the surrounding appointments so that Liberty could have this moment in peace, and all the time she needed was provided. Still, I hated waiting outside. The wait was obnoxiously long and I swear every single one of us began to fidget five minutes in. No one talked. Every finger tapped on the arm of the chairs. Every foot jiggled anxiously, and the number of sighs I heard was becoming ridiculous.

Oak stood first, mirroring my thoughts. “This is ridiculous. What could they possibly be doing in there that takes more than five minutes?”

“Actually –” the receptionist tried to interject, but the male riot had begun. “I’m about ready to make more room in there,” I grumbled.

“I think,” Lenin started, “that they must check all vitals and her channels.”

“Her what?” Ellis’ face scrunched up. “She’s not a t.v.”

“Her vaginal canal.” Lenin tried again.

This time it was Justice’s face that scrunched up. “That is not what I prefer to call it.”

“If you just all sit-” The receptionist tried to break up the conversation but was ignored.

“Internal exam aside, how long could that honestly take? It’s one hole. I can go in and out of it like a hundred times a minute.” Ellis scratched his head, “Correction, I have.”

“Would it kill you to be more respectable? She is the future queen of our people and the current queen of our house.” Oak growled.

“You’re right.” Ellis sighed again, probably for the twentieth time since we had been here. “It’s just-”

WOMP.WOMP.WOMP.

We froze, our eyes wide and fearful for a moment before the receptionist spoke, “I tried to tell you that we were starting the video.”

We turned slowly, our eyes fixated on the television screen in front of us. Our bodies stiff, our hearts as close as pounding as we could get. That’s- that’s – shit. I could hardly process it. My mind was a jumble and blank all at once. My heart so full of love and fear I had no clue how to handle it.

“That seems to project the rhythm of a life,” Lenin observed, but even as he spoke, he looked pale.

The screen moved around, trying to angle perfectly on the black and white image. Our heads tilted in various locations and angles, trying to decode what we were seeing. I think we knew, we all fucking knew, but our minds were blown away. Struck thoughtless at the incredibleness in front of us.

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