Page 72 of The Filth Kings II

“This taught me a couple of lessons. I used to think that God didn’t give a damn about me. I thought I had the answers and the final say so…but when my brother came to me to stop me from killing your father…and that bastard ended up taking his own life…I realized that karma is real…and in due time, God handles things accordingly. I no longer hurt over the rejection of my parents because all along, I was God’s child. I might have sped up the process of ending the ones who hurt me as well as others. Something tells me, that God knows my heart, and I plan on repenting…very soon to give my life to him.” Monster’s voice cracked.

“I don’t talk much, Angel. But, I like you for Detavio. Until I met Natavi, I really ain’t have too much of shit to talk about because I don’t trust easily, and I don’t believe in wasting my breath on folks that don’t matter to me. You matter to me, and I don’t know how to do the whole family thing but after today…I’ll try to do better at making you feel more comfortable when we all in the same room. You’ve calmed the storm inside of Detavio, and he’s going to show you through actions from this day forward. Don’t be afraid of his love, because it will come in abundance…it’s the only way we know.”

“Detavio means everything to me,” I answered softly.

He nodded once, his dark eyes remained steadily on me.

“Then keep meaning it,” he said without blinking.

“Don’t run when it gets hard…don’t love him in pieces either, while he loves you in full. He might not know how to ask you for your love. So just give it.” He stood to his feet.

His words hit me right in the center of my chest. I didn’t take Monster’s words as a warning. It was more so a gift. A man like him didn’t hand out approval or trust easily. He turned to leave. Neosyne shifted sleepily against his shoulders as Monster told me with his back turned that it was time to leave. I didn’t know where we were headed. I was ready to see my man so I could kiss him a thousand times and thank him for making my day as special as he was to me.

* * *

“Monster, why are we near the beach?” I finally asked over the baby lullaby songs that played lowly from the moment I got in his truck.

Monster stated that he played nothing but baby lullaby when Neosyne was in the car to soothe him so he wouldn’t feel all alone in the back seat. I thought that it was cute and remained silent but antsy the whole ride on the freeway. I’ve been in the car for over thirty-five minutes and now we were in Malibu.

“Detavio wanted to feed you by the water,” he stated.

I gasped softly and just smiled, Detavio was really doing his thing today, and I wasn’t mad at that at all. The car slowed, then stopped. My mouth fell open as I looked out the window. The mansion that we pulled up to sat like a dream, it was perched right above the Malibu shoreline. The ocean stretched out endlessly. The place itself looked like it was made of towering glass.

I blinked as I gripped the edge of my seat with my heart pounding in my chest. The back door opened; Monster remained quiet as he grabbed Neosyne’s car seat then covered it with a fuzzy blue blanket to protect him from the mild wind that blew. Monster opened my door, with an unreadable expression.

“Come on,” he said simply as he held his hand out for me to grab.

“When we get to the door and I open it, close your eyes.” He turned and walked with the car seat gripped tightly in his hand.

“What?” I asked in disbelief.

When he didn’t answer, I picked up my feet and walked as fast as my short legs could take me in the eight-inch stilettos I had on. I could hear the waves from the ocean as we approached the front door. My heels clicked against the pavement, making me more nervous. When we reached the massive glass double doors, Monster gave me a head nod. I slowly closed my eyes as he instructed me to take one step up. He grabbed my hand and helped me then told me to open my eyes.

“SURPRISE!!!!” came out of everyone’s voice. Natavi was the loudest.

My eyes flew open and landed on Octavio and his girlfriend holding champagne flutes. My mom stepped out of the shadows of the front room with two champagne flutes in both hands. She cautiously approached me and handed me one of the flutes and smiled warmly at me.

“Happy birthday, Angel. I love you,” she stated proudly.

My emotions hit me because, although I knew she was hurting from the death of James, she put that to the side to be happy for me today. I knew without her telling me, that it was taking a lot out of her. I simply appreciated the gesture; it meant a lot to me.

“Follow the petals, baby!” Natavi said excitedly.

I looked down and saw white and red rose petals. Detavio gave this lots of thought. He remembered the small things, and that’s what mattered the most to me. He knew that my favorite color was white, so he made sure to incorporate that in almost everything down to the decorations at his house. It felt like I couldn’t breathe. I stood frozen as my mom rested her hand on my shoulder and repeated what Natavi just told me.

I followed the trail like I was in a trance, my heels tapped across the floor until I reached the patio. The sun kissed my face, the breeze blew my hair in every direction. I squinted my eyes and still saw the roses blowing over the sand…until I saw him. My dark soul, the man who broke me open and stitched me back together. My storm, my calm, and fire. He kneeled in an all white suit that clung to his tall muscular frame. The sharp contrast of it against his dark skin made him look eternal.

Behind him was a sign that read ‘Will You Marry Me?’ My entire body went weightless as the world tilted. My knees wobbled as I gripped the side of my dress. I kicked off my heels with a sob that I didn’t even recognize. Before I knew it, my bare feet hit the warm sand as I nearly tripped but caught myself as I clumsily ran. I heard our family behind me cheering me on.

I ran to Detavio like my life depended on getting to him. I didn’t give a damn about the dress, didn’t care about my hair sweating out or the tears that probably ruined my make-up. The voices behind me were faint as I only saw him. Detavio down on one knee seemed very unrealistic to me. I stumbled into his arms out of breath. I laughed, cried, and screamed as he caught me and lifted me off the sand like I weighed nothing.

“What is it going to be, Pussy?” He pressed his lips against mine before I could answer.

“Don’t play around with me, either.” He warned with a crooked grin.

“Suppose I say no?” I played around just for the fuck of it.

“Angel,” he warned as his eyes darkened.

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