Page 16 of Divine II

When I turned on my heels, I saw an older man in a wheelchair moving down the stone path.

“Dad, what are you doing out here? You good?” Liam asked.

“I came out here to check on you, Tank. I didn’t know you had company.”

“She was just about to leave,” Liam said, shooting a withering glance in my direction.

“Liam…” I sighed.

“Go back to your family, Divine,” Liam said before moving around his dad’s wheelchair and stepping back inside.

“It was nice meeting you, young lady,” his dad said as he followed him inside.

Tears slid down my cheeks as I stood there watching as Liam disappeared up the staircase while his dad locked up. I took a deep breath, trying to choke down the taste of defeat as I followed the path to the front yard. I had a long drive ahead of me. Hopefully, by the time I made it home, I would have dried my tears. There was nothing else I could do at this point.

Four

Liam

What the hell was it about that woman that brought out the bitch in me? My big ass marched up the stairs like I had been sent to bed without dinner, slammed my bedroom door, and slid down the wall crying like a simp after I made Divine leave. What the fuck was wrong with me?

I felt weak as hell for wanting to run behind her. I missed her so much over the past few days that it caused me physical pain. Whatever the new dynamic between my dad and I was, was little consolation. At the same time, it was enough to keep me distracted from reaching out to her or even turning my phone on at all. Divine knew I missed her. I didn’t have to say it. It took everything in me not to run down the stairs to her.

Hearing how she still planned to go through with her family’s plan brought all my feelings back to the surface. If Divine didn’t see what was so wrong with being in a fake relationship, then I didn’t know what to tell her.

The shit was corny as hell to me, but at the same time, I got it. That was the only thing that kept me from going straightto Bishop and telling him that shit was dead. I wanted him to know she was mine. As protective as they were over her, I knew there had to be a good ass reason for them pimping their prized possession out like she was just a pretty face and a nice body.

Anyway, like I said, I was just her bodyguard. I couldn’t concern myself with her personal life. That was how I got in the predicament I was in in the first place.

A knock on the door had me pulling my shirt up to wipe my face. I wasn’t sure if I could speak clearly or not so I didn’t try. Instead, I pulled myself off the door and drug myself over to the bathroom.

“What would we do, baby, without us?” I sang under my breath as I turned on the sink.

I didn’t bother waiting for the water to warm up before I washed my face and hands. I pulled a towel from the rack and dried them then tossed it in the hamper in the corner.

The knock on my door either meant that dinner was ready or that my dad had sent Margie to get me. Either way, I stepped out of my room to go find her. She was likely downstairs helping my dad or finishing up the pot roast she was serving tonight. It didn’t take long to find her. As soon as I made it to the top of the staircase, I saw her heading back up.

“Mr. Grimes, I wanted to see if I should set a place for your lady friend.”

“No, ma’am. She’s gone. It’ll just be me and Dad.”

Margie’s brows furrowed as she started to move toward the door. “I’m pretty sure her car’s still out front. I thought maybe she was upstairs with you.”

“You don’t have to check, Margie. I got it,” I said, bypassing her and opening the door.

Sure enough, Divine was outside sitting on the hood of her car like I hadn’t told her to go home. I took a deep breath and prayed that I had the strength to send her on her way.

“What are you doing, Divine?” I asked as I walked out to her.

“Honestly, I don’t know. I was going to leave like you told me to, but I couldn’t. I need to know that you’re coming back.”

“What do you want from me?”

“I don’t want anything from you, Liam. I just want you.”

I shook my head pissed at how weak she made me. This little pretty muthafucka had my nuts in a vice, and she knew it. Still, I wasn’t going to go down that easily. I had to stand my ground.

“If you wanted me, you wouldn’t be about to play boyfriend and girlfriend with some clown.”

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