Micah leaned across at lightning speed, latching an iron hold on David’s throat with one hand and holding David’s dominant hand down on the table with his other. “Don’t do that again! She’s expecting and I will not have you scare her when all she was doing was saving your ass!”
He had honestly caught David by surprise, but as soon as he turned him loose and righted himself, David let the bitter venom fly.
“Oh, is that what this is all about? She gets knocked up and now you think you’re the papa? I wonder what color it’s going to turn out to be.”
I couldn’t believe he said that. He was indicating Sadarius as the possible father, but it was the vulgar attitude with which he delivered the words that indicated his racism. Sadarius was a kind, honest and decent person and he didn’t deserve to be drug through this, even if it was only by name.
“Micah is the father.”
“Sure he is.”
“I am,” Micah said firmly, “I’m the only one-”
David gave a scathing laugh, “So how far along are you, Leese?”
“A little more than four months,” I answered softly. This wasn’t the way I wanted the meeting to go. The pregnancy was supposed to be the good news at the end of the bad, but now it was going to be the first battleground to be covered.
“So you mean to tell me,” David sneered, turning to Micah, “that four months ago she links up with you after sleeping with who knows who, drops her pants and then vanishes and goes AWOL, again, only to turn up knocked up and ready to be a ‘good girl?’ You’ve got to be the stupidest son-of-a-bitch on the planet, Bro.”
“She hasn’t slept with anyone since she’s been gone and she certainly didn’t-”
David burst into caustic laughter as Gwen’s head finally turned my direction. “That’s an out-right lie. Unless you forgot about the bed.”
“No, I didn’t,” Micah tried to state.
David leaned forward and locked his eyes on me, “I’ve got to admit it, girl, you must have something pretty good between your legs to spread ‘em and have him coming running back to you like a-”
“I raped her!” Micah shouted back at his brother.
I didn’t realize he brought the photos until they hit the table and I was scrambling to grab them before anyone could see. “NO MICAH!” I cried out as my hands reached, but David was faster. “Why did you tell them?” I sobbed. The room was deathly quiet. Even David appeared speechless as he picked up the pictures.
I turned my chair away from the table and buried my face in my hands, my shoulders convulsing from my tears, and feeling the pain of having them know the ugly truth.
Micah was on his knees in front of me telling me he was sorry. His arms wrapped around me, begging me to forgive the insensitive way he blurted it out. “I won’t let them think anything less of you, Leese. You don’t deserve ridicule for what I did. Can you tell them what happened at the Acqualina, or do you want me to do it?”
“Son,” came Giorgio’s deep base voice, “did you honestly do this to her?”
I looked at Micah and watched as the pain of having his father know his dirty deed crushed him. He had always been so careful to impress, but now he realized how deeply disappointed the voice from across the table was.
“Yes, Sir. I-”
“It wasn’t his fault,” I began as I turned the chair to look into their stunned faces.
“Leese,” his father spoke, “you seem to always try to take the blame away from-”
“D’Angelo doped him up on steroids,” I said quickly. I didn’t know if Micah wanted that knowledge shared, but D’Angelo’s name was going to come up in the worst possible context in a few moments anyway. They seemed too shocked for words.
“That’s still no excuse,” Micah began.
“You’re right. You should go to jail,” Gwen stated as she put the picture she was holding face down, unable to look at it anymore.
“I know that, Gwen,” he admitted.
What about Ryan?” she finally asked, looking at me. “The two of you shared one bed in Georgia.”
“If you’ll give me a second to get myself together, I’ll explain everything.” Within a few breaths and a chance to dry my eyes, I began the long story of what happened the day I ran away, from the crazy elevator ride to D’Angelo’s threats against the family, to flying to Georgia and not being able to sleep without Micah.
“So you see Ryan was only trying to help Micah and me. He knew what was at stake, for all of you, and he felt he had to help. I nearly ruined his life, but God had a plan the whole time. I just never expected it to be this hard.”
“What about the steroids?” Giorgio asked.
Micah had been kneeling the whole time, supporting me as I told them what really happened and he finally stood. “He tracked me down at Remake and, the day I was going to try to win her back, we had lunch. I should have known better than to eat and drink what was already prepared, but I had-had other things on my mind. I knew something was wrong by the end of the meeting; my heart was racing and I kept breaking out in cold sweats. I drew some blood, but I didn’t have time to have it tested before I chased after her. I never should have tried to see her feeling the way I did, and then when I got to her-I-I lost all sense of control.”
For the first time, Celeste moved. She had been like a statue through this whole thing, but now she was up and at my side, “I pray you can forgive me for all the awful things I thought about you, Leese. I should have realized when Micah said something wasn’t right in all of this that he knew what he was talking about. Can you forgive me?”
I went into her arms and sobbed my eyes out. I could feel hands resting on my shoulders and back, Giorgio and Gwen were there apologizing and consoling me. David stayed seated.
“We have to discuss what we’re going to do about D’Angelo,” came David’s voice.
“Not with Leese in the room,” Micah stated.
“But-” I looked up at him.
“I need to speak to Leese, privately,” David interrupted. “Would you all leave us alone for a few minutes?”
Micah shot a worried look my direction, but I told him I would be fine. The family, somewhat reluctantly, left as David closed the door behind them.
He came over and pulled out the chair next to me and sat down, “I wish you’d done things differently, Leese. I know your reasons for not being able to go to Micah that day, and you’re right, he would have tried to get to D’Angelo and they would have killed him, but you could have called me.”
“I didn’t think that was a good idea either,” I said, mopping the last of the tears from my cheeks. “Mom’s heart would have been broken if anything happened to you.”
“I-I don’t think I’m ever going to have enough time to tell you how sorry I am. I’m so bull-headed sometimes. Micah and your mom both tried to tell me there had to have been another reason. They both said you wouldn’t do what you did without good cause, but I wouldn’t listen. Micah was right; he told me you’re very different from other people. I guess I just find it hard to believe that someone could be willing to sacrifice everything to save…” his words tangled in his throat and I watched this hard-core hit man’s eyes mist over. He gathered the photos and was holding them until he handed them to me. “If you don’t let him get his hands on these, your mother will never see them. I really think your mother should never see them.”
“I’ll destroy-”
“Please, forgive me for how I treated you,” he interrupted and opened his arms.
I gladly accepted the invitation as he held me securely and then asked me something that blew me away.
“Can I-can I touch…” His eyes dropping to my waist.
I stood up, bringing him with me and then placed his hands on either side of my stomach. The baby was being still, but David was fascinated anyway as he felt the mound.