Dangerously In Love

Chapter Twenty Three (Part II)

AALIYAH POV:

Pain coursed through my entire body. I woke up to my whole face throbbing in pain and my throat feeling like it was on fire. My ankle was in pain and I could tell that it was very swollen without even looking at it. My knuckle was also bruised, cut up and swollen as well. The whole room was spinning due to the dizziness I was experiencing and I had a headache that was out of this world.

Once I finally found the inner strength to pry my eyelids open, I noticed that I wasn't laying in the same bed that I previously woke up in. This was a new bedroom. It had a dresser and a lounging chair. There was also a door in the corner of the room but it was closed so I didn't know where the door led to.

The attempts to lift my head up from the bed were unsuccessful due to the extreme amount of pain that I was experiencing so I just laid there staring up at the ceiling.

Tears welled up in my eyes until they spilled out and cascaded down my cheeks and to my ears. Not even bothering to wipe my face or try to stop the tears from falling, I just laid there, letting my emotions take over. My mind drifted off and memories of the last twenty four hours I had to endure, flashed through my mind as I silently cried.

I wanted my husband. I wanted my children. I wanted my Mama. I wanted my Daddy. I just had to go get that damn cellphone. None of this would've happened if I would've stayed my black ass in the house like Matthew wanted to in the first place. Now, it was a possibility that he could be dead and I could possibly never see my kids or my family again all because of a damn stupid ass cellphone.

This was something that I could never forgive myself for.

"It's good to see you're awake. I was starting to get worried." A voice spoke up, startling me. I was so caught up in the pain and discomfort in my body along with the emotional distress that I was experiencing that I wasn't aware of the presence of another person inside of the bedroom with me.

I slightly turned my head to the left, seeing that Demarcus Carter was sitting in a chair, directly next to the bed that I was laying in. A series of mixed emotions overwhelmed my entire body. The man that has caused my family and I so much pain and grief was sitting less than a few feet from me.

Rage. Fear. Guilt. Pain. Anger. Regret. Shock. Hurt. Shame. Betrayal.

I'd rehearsed the speech I was going to give to Demarcus over a thousand times since he started all this bullshit. In my mind I was going to curse him out and read him like no other but now that I was in his physical presence, I was speechless. It was evident that my brain was still trying to process and understand what the hell was going on.

Although I knew that Marcus was the reason I was abducted, it was still hard coming to the realization that he was here, sitting in my face.

I simply laid there, not moving a muscle as we locked eyes with one another. My heart felt like it was pounding out of my chest. We held eye contact with each other until he finally cleared his throat to speak up.

"I'm sorry this happened to you. I promise, the nigga that did this to you is gon' get dealt with. It was never my intention for you to get hurt Aaliyah." He apologized to me in a low tone of voice. I could hear the sincerity that was in his voice and see the genuine concern in his eyes as he looked at me. It was evident he felt bad and was remorseful for what happened but I wouldn't have been placed in that position in the first place if it wasn't for his bitch ass.

"You've been asleep for a few hours, how are you feeling? Your ankle and eye are swollen, does it hurt?" He asked me, not earning the slightest response from me.

How the fuck was I supposed to feel? A grown ass man beat my ass and I jumped from a two story window. Duh that shit hurt.

I simply continued staring into his eyes, baffled and appalled at the fact that he was talking to me regularly and nonchalantly as if he didn't just have me abducted from my family and my husband shot right in front of me. This nigga had some nerve. The audacity.