Page 31 of An Alpha's Romance

CHAPTER 17

KEISHA

Keisha’s smile fell from her face as soon as she left the room. She could joke, and fake nonchalance for a few minutes, but she was quickly falling apart. Her ex-husband tried to kill her, and she had no idea why.

They didn’t split on amicable terms, but Dylan’s behavior was becoming more and more erratic. Keisha didn’t have any idea what had set Dylan off. Her attorney had just filed the paperwork to petition for a restraining order, and the judge hadn’t even reviewed her request yet. There wasn’t any way that Dylan was aware of the order of protection yet.

Keisha had called 911, and she noticed that the sun was beginning to rise and Conner still hadn’t come from upstairs. She worried for him, not that he would be hurt because it was more than obvious that physically, he could take care of himself. However, Keisha was afraid that Conner would kill Dylan. The way he tackled her ex-husband to the ground was something from the WWE. Keisha didn’t stick around to see if he had the upper hand, she wanted to make sure that if he didn’t, she would be able to have his back.

Keisha could tell from Conner’s bruised knuckles and the way Dylan was beat to a bloody pulp on the bedroom floor that she didn’t need to get a weapon. Conner’s large fists seemed to be their own weapons.

As she sat in the kitchen alone, the tears that she’d been holding back began to run unchecked down her face. The events of the last twenty-four hours started to weigh down heavily on her conscience. Keisha had unknowingly brought danger to Conner’s door. They could’ve easily been asleep when Dylan broke in, and he could’ve killed them both.

Keisha cried because if Conner hadn’t insisted that she come home with him, that Dylan could’ve possibly killed her in her own home. It was her fault that she waited for so long to do something about Dylan’s threats. Although he was never physically abusive in their relationship, he abused her mentally and emotionally almost every day. She should’ve known to take his threats of retribution for her leaving him seriously.

Dylan was never the type of man to just let things go, and now he was the ex that tried to kill her in her sleep. Keisha shook her head at the ridiculousness of it all. When she noticed more than fifteen minutes had passed since she came downstairs, she decided to go back and check on Conner.

As soon as she slid off the barstool, she heard his footsteps coming down the stairs. His hair was disheveled, and his body had light scratching and bruises from the fight. But he didn’t look any worse for wear. Then, she noticed his hands; Conner’s fists were still clenched tight, but she could see they were bruised and swollen. He got those wounds from protecting her, and she would be forever grateful.

When Conner stood in front of her, he reached down and pulled her against his chest. Keisha, like she always did, melted into him, eating up the warmth of his body and his affection. The guilt she felt was overwhelming, but she refused to pull away from this man that she was falling for.

“I’m so sorry.” Keisha looked into his eyes and moved his hair out of his handsome face. She tried to put on a brave face, but the tears still flowed.

“Don’t be sorry, beautiful. None of this is your fault.” Conner leaned down and kissed her lips. Keisha wanted to believe him, but she knew the truth. Dylan was there because of her, and she hated that.

“Look at me, beautiful.” Conner pulled her face toward his. “I can tell by the look on your face that you don’t believe me, but I would never lie to you, okay?” He gave her one of his special smiles that he only gave to her. “This is on him. Not you!”

Conner’s words held such conviction that Keisha was inclined to believe him. Although she knew that it would take some time for her to come to terms with what he was saying, she also knew that deep down, he was right.

****

Once the police had taken both her and Conner’s statements, they carted Dylan off to jail. Keisha was comforted by the fact that Dylan was now off the streets, and he was unable to cause her any more problems. She wanted to know the reason why he snapped, but for now, the important thing was he didn’t hurt anyone.

She sat on Conner’s large sofa snuggled with her sister. Conner wouldn’t let her out of his sight, even though Dylan was in jail, but she felt comfortable in his home. When Carson showed up to return Conner’s truck, Bell was with him.

Conner and Carson were in the kitchen, so she and Bell were alone. They sat huddled together under a large blanket like when they were kids.

“You’re going to have to call mama and tell her what happened.” Bell finally broke the silence that surrounded them.

“I know. I just don’t want to see the look of hurt on her face.” Keisha sighed. Keisha was close to her mom, and when she told her that she was getting divorced, she saw the disappointment in her mom’s eyes.

Of course, if Keisha would have told her mom, Lynn, all of the details surrounding her breakup, then she would have been singing a totally different tune. However, at the time, Keisha had been embarrassed about the circumstances, and she didn’t want her mother to judge her.

Bell sighed, grabbing Keisha’s attention. “What?” Keisha asked her sister.

“You need to let her knoweverything,” Bell responded with an arched brow. “She’s not going to judge you, Keish. I didn’t judge you. Dylan was verbally abusive, and he cheated on you. He broke the vows to you, not the other way around. It is not your fault, and you have nothing to be ashamed of. Mama was unhappy that you were unhappy.”

Keisha hugged her sister tight. She had no idea that she’d needed to hear those words. Keisha always felt like a failure for getting a divorce, but now she understood that staying in an unhappy marriage would have been the real failure.

“Thank you for always having my back.” Keisha smiled at Bell.

“You know I will always be here for my little sis.” Bell kissed her cheek, and they fell into a comfortable silence.

“So are you and Conner serious?” Bell asked after a few silent minutes.

“He just saved my life from my psycho stalker ex-husband, so I’m going to go with yes.” Keisha smirked.

“Yeah, I guess that would qualify as a yes.” Bell clasped her hands together, and Keisha could see the mischievous glint. “Is it ‘first full name’ serious?” Bell smirked.