Page 47 of Truce Of The Matter

I can’t lie; I wasn’t expecting this.Not at all.But I’m not too surprised either. I honestly didn’t know too much about her except that she saved me. She stopped those bitch ass niggas from bullying me, and for that, she was my angel. Nothing else mattered to me. Besides, shit like this happened a lot back then. A few girls got pregnant in middle school and in a small town like this, people talked. Everybody had opinions. Shit was always said and most of the girls dropped out. We were kids back then and I can’t imagine what she even went through.

“I promise; she doesn’t hate you,” I assure her as I lift her head. I want her to fully see me when I say my next words. “Daija loves you and she knows you love her. You were a child and things were different back then. You had to do what you were told. She’ll realize that shit and come around. She just needs time. Trust.”

“But what if she doesn’t come around?”

“I’m not even worried about that and you shouldn’t either. She will.”

“From your lips to God’s ears, I hope so,” she sighs.

Chapter 15

Once again, tall, handsome, thoughtful Rex was there for me and as always, he showed up right when I needed him. It’s like we are connected and he can feel when I’m going through it. No calls or texts are needed; he just knows. He somehow feels my heartache and minutes later, he’s here for me. Yesterday, he rang my bell ten seconds before I totally lost it and he stayed with me, holding me until my tear ducts experienced a drought.

Although I hate that I have shed tears almost every time we have been together, I am truly grateful that I can be vulnerable with him and there is no judgment. None at all, not even in his eyes. That man honestly cares for me and having a man authentically into me feels amazing. It places me in a comfortable space where I can stop being the strong Truce Redmond. With him, all of my protective walls are down, my broken heart is open to possibilities, and I’m simply Truce. He elicits the side of me most aren’t privy to.

“Did you get any sleep?” he asks.

“A little after we hung up,” I admit.

Once he finally left and got Aryel, I dragged myself into my bathroom, filled my tub with lavender bath salts and peppermintoil, and took a long much-needed relaxing bath. Afterwards, I raided the comfort food section of my pantry and grabbed some graham crackers and crunchy peanut butter. I enjoyed that in bed while Rex’s sexy ass filled my screen on FaceTime. We talked until his yawning couldn’t be controlled. That was around midnight and I didn’t fall asleep until three episodes ofThe Equalizerlater. Because I feel like we are always focusing on me and my heartache, I switch gears to him and ask about the tournament. “Have you made it to Diamond Falls yet?”

“Yeah. We got here about fifteen minutes ago. We compete at eleven so we are getting a light breakfast right now at this little spot here, The Pancake House.”

“I love that place. Best pecan pancakes hands down.”

“Ion know 'bout pecans in pancakes. That don’t really sound right.”

“Let me guess. You got grilled chicken and eggs?”

“And a stack but how you know that?”

“Some Saturdays, you do eat breakfast at the restaurant,” I say and his eyes light up and a low, sexy chuckle fills my ears.

“So, you really were watching a nigga? I knew it,” he says.

“I won’t confirm or deny that,” I say, smiling.

My team, especially Taj, always teased me about him. When I’m at the restaurant, I spend most of my time in the back, my office, or the kitchen area. I rarely make appearances in the dining room unless customers request my presence. However, on Wednesday, Fridays, and Saturdays, I found every reason or excuse to be out there,checking for him.I loved how he commanded my dining room as soon as he was inside and I adored his interactions with his daughter. It was everything I would have wanted with Daija.

“You don’t have to. I know.”

“Well, go eat your breakfast and wish Aryel good luck from me. Call me when it’s over.”

“I will but I hope I’m still seeing you tonight,” he says, hopeful.

“You will and I’ll promise not to cry,” I say while laughing although I’m serious as hell. Deep down, I know my tears are safe with him, but he doesn’t deserve that version of me all the damn time. I want whatever this is between us and he needs to see a different side of me, and hell, I don’t want to cry anymore either.

“But if you need to, I got you.”

“I know. I’ll talk to you and see you later. Bye.”

“Bye, beautiful.”

I end the call then stare at my screen. I haven’t talked to or seen Daija since she found out. She made no attempts to reach out to me and I took Rex’s advice. I let her have her space and didn’t reach out either. However, I’m not letting her leave today without seeing me. Not only do I need to lay my eyes on her, I also have to wrap my arms around her. So I take a huge chance and text her.

Me: Good morning. Breakfast?

Daija: Gm. Not hungry, she responds.

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