Page 19

Back Where I Belong

I headed upstairs to my room to gather my clothes so I could shower. Life was crazy. Less than a few hours ago I was held captive by some crazy dude that wanted my brother dead. Relief came over me when I thought of all the things that could have happened to me. I dropped down to my knees in tears. I prayed like I never prayed before. God covered me in my darkest hour.

Gone was the na?ve woman that went through life without thinking of the danger that was out in the world. My outlook on life had been altered in a matter of minutes. Before last night, I thought Abel and Wolf were exaggerating about keeping me safe. Talk about having to learn something the hard way.

One minute I was enjoying the freedom of driving with the wind blowing in my hair and the next I was held captive. Now that I technically was a victim of kidnapping would that make me an easy target for the future? Would I have to look over my shoulder at every strange man that looked out of place everywhere I went? That was no way to live life, so I would have to find a way to move past this before it consumed my life.

I got up and got in the shower. All I wanted was to forget about this entire ordeal. I took my time and scrubbed my body like never before. The memories of the dirty cold room made me scrub so hard my brown skin turned red. When the shower water turned cold, I forced myself out of it. I dried off then got dressed. A soft knock at the door startled me. I pulled my pants up before I answered just in case it was Abel. When I opened the door, it was Wolf. I opened the door wide enough for him to come into the room.

“How are you feeling?” he questioned.

“I’m okay, just glad to be free from that place. The coldness of that room and my body shivering is all I keep thinking about,” I mumbled.

He pulled me in for a hug and rubbed my back. “I have someone that wants to talk to you,” he whispered in my ear.

“I’m not really up to speaking with anyone right now,” I said.

He looked at me then pulled his phone out of his pocket. I watched him dial a number then passed me the phone.

“Lexxy, are you okay?” Joy asked.

I didn’t get a chance to answer her because I burst into a fit of tears. My body shuddered as I let the tears flow. I was so happy to be safe and back with Wolf.

“Joy, I was so scared. I just kept praying Abel and Wolf would find me. Thankfully the guy was nice to me, but he kept me in this cold room. I had to pee inside of a bucket. The moment they picked me up outside my building I thought I was dead,” I cried out.

Wolf never left my side as I recounted my time with my kidnappers. Joy stayed on the phone while I cried.

“I’m here, cousin, let it out. We got you, and we are so happy God kept you safe. We will help you get past this,” Joy said as her voice quivered.

I knew she was crying on the other side of the phone. She tried to hide her tears, but I heard her voice crack.

“I’m going to be okay. Once the shock wears off, I’ll be fine,” I assured her.

I looked at Wolf and remembered I had taken his car last night. “Babe, what about your car and my stuff?” I asked.

“Don’t worry, Lexxy. I sent the prospects to go get my car. They are going to try to find your bag. If not, we will replace everything. The only thing that matters is that you are safe,” Wolf said as he kissed my forehead.

“I just wanted to call and hear you were okay for myself. Wolf has promised to take good care of you. If you want me to come over, I’m a phone call away,” Joy expressed.

“I love you, cuz. Thank you. Just the fact that I have people that love and care about me is enough for me. The minute I can go a few minutes without crying I want you here,” I vowed. We said our goodbyes and disconnected the call. I truly meant what I said. Once the shock wore off, I would be okay.

If I had spoken to Joy before I left the house last night, she could have talked some sense into me. My fears of being in a relationship like my parents caused me to make an irrational decision. I ran from Wolf thinking I needed space only to be right back here with him. Before Wolf took the covering off my head at the warehouse, I knew by his touch that I was safe. The look of relief on Wolf’s face when he took the covering off matched the one I had when he woke up in the hospital. I was happy we survived both situations and still had each other.

“Thank you. I needed to hear Joy’s voice. I’m so sorry for not listening to you. If I would have listened to you none of this would have happened,” I sobbed.

“Sshhh, we are not doing the blame game here. We don’t know that if they got impatient enough, they could have tried to find us another way. I don’t care about any of that. You’re safe and they didn’t harm you. We’re moving on from here. I love you,” Wolf declared lovingly.

“You love me? Are you sure?” I questioned him. It felt silly to question him, but I needed to make sure I heard him correctly. I wanted to make sure he wasn’t speaking out of fear or trauma. We had now seen each other in two very traumatic situations.

“Lexxy, when have you known me to say something I didn’t mean? Why do you think I was willing to risk my relationship with your brother? You are it for me. I don’t want anyone else. When I realized you were kidnapped, I was ready to kill that dude. There was no way he could live after what he did to you. I love you, and I fully intend on showing you that for the rest of our lives,” Wolf expressed.

“I’m so scared, Wolf. What if we mess this up?”

“There’s nothing to be scared of. I could have died, you got kidnapped, and we are still here. All of this just showed me nothing can keep us apart. Abel gave us his blessing. I don’t need any more confirmation than that,” he said with a light chuckle.

I let out a low chuckle as well. He was right.

“Listen, Lexxy, we are not our parents. We have to learn from their mistakes and do things our way. It doesn’t have to be traditional. It doesn’t have to be what anyone else would do. You and I are the only two people in this relationship,” he assured me.

I nodded in agreement. “Can we go downstairs so I can finish watching my show?”

“We can do whatever you want. It’s your world, baby,” he murmured softly. He grabbed my hand and led me to the living room. After being apart from him, I didn’t want to be out of his presence. I didn’t want him to let my hand go as we reached the couch. After he sat down, I sat right on his lap. This was how I wanted my nights with Wolf to always be.