Tattoos and Scars | Rewritten Version

Chapter 71 || Giraffe

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The rest of the nine days passed by in a painful breeze. Who knew there was so much to do in India? Did you also know that there are really painful side effects of taking Plan B? I've had headaches on the daily for the past nine days.

I've even snapped at Adrian for no reason at all just because my head was pounding against my skull. I owe him one for not taking it to heart every time I yelled at him.

I stare at the clock, waiting for Adrian to return home. He said he was going out to get my a surprise, and I tried to torture him into telling me, but you know mafia people. They won't tell you shit.

Fifty minutes has passed since he left and I need something entertaining to do. I have an idea! I'll call Cabby. I reach out for my phone which was placed on the nightstand and then ring Cabby.

After a few rings, he picks up. "Sup, Cabby?"

"Heard you're flying back today?" He asks.

"Yeah, we're flying back today. Can't wait to be home! How's Teddy?"

"Theo's doing well. They get to take their baby home around the end of February," He states. "Can't wait to finally hold him."

"Me neither. That's exciting news. How's Luna doing? Dylan?"

"Well, Luna's doing well... kind of. Dylan and her had a fight about if she should go back to college or not. Her parents and Dylan wanted her to go, but she ended up crying and shouting at them."

"What do you think?"

"It's her choice. I'm not saying that she should ignore Dylan and her parents, but in the end, it's her choice."

"Wow, Cabby. I never knew you were so wise."

"I inherited it," I could almost feel him smirking from the other side of the line.

"Tell that to Dylan. He keeps calling doctors 'cute ladies in nurse costumes'."

"He's actually pretty smart," He counters. "He just lacks a few basic skills." I chuckle at those words. "Hold on, I'm doing something right now," He tells me before I hear heavy breathing.

"I'm not going to talk," Someone breathes out. Cabby does something which causes the man to whimper in pain. What the hell? What's he doing?

"You have five more fingernails left, thirty two teeth, ten fingers and ten toes left. We can do this all day. You know who it is, it's just a name. You just need to tell me," Cabby's voice could freeze volcanoes with the way he's talking right now. I hear a slight rip before a cry of pain.

I wince at the sound, before I hear the noise of glass breaking.

The glass breaks against the wall as my dad stumbles towards me with bloodshot eyes.

My heart begins to race like a quarter horse, beating faster and faster before the same choking sensation envelopes me. Fuck, I need my pills. My hands start to tremble uncontrollably before I kneel on the ground, gripping my hands and digging my nails into them to stop them from shaking.

Just count to ten. Breathe. Just fucking breathe.

I hear another cry of pain from the phone, and my attempts to calm myself fail. "Kaden, stop..." I cry out, hoping he'd hear me. "Stop making him scream..."

"What's wrong, Bailey?"

"Stop... stop..." The last sound I hear is of another scream before everything blacks out.

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When I wake up, I'm no longer on the floor. I'm laying perfectly still on the bed, with Adrian sitting next to me. I tilt my head to get a better look at him. "Bailey, I leave you for not even an hour and I come home to find you unconscious on the bed," He rambles. "There's me out there, buying my girlfriend a surprise gift and then there's you. What happened? Was it another panic attack? Shit, did you see the nudes on my phone! Is that what it is? Did you faint from how hot I was?"

I find myself laughing. "Yeah, because you're just so hot," I roll my eyes sarcastically before sitting upright in the bed. "I had a panic attack..." I mumble, starting at my feet.

"That explains why Kaden was shouting through the phone. Are you okay?" He asks softly, lifting my chin to face him.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I don't wanna talk about it. Also, can you hand me my pills? I don't want to get another panic attack."

He reaches out for my bag and fishes out my bottle of pills, handing it to me. I don't even bother to drink with water, I just swallow it dry. "What was your surprise?" I ask him.

He grins from ear to ear excitedly before quickly bringing a box out from next to the bed. "Meet Giraffe," He says, opening the box to reveal an adorable tiny tortoise. I don't even try to hide a squeal.

"Ohmigod! You got a tortoise! You actually got one! Ah! I love you!" I plant a very strong kiss on his lips before grabbing the box out of his hand and slowly lifting the tortoise out. "Is it a baby?" I ask him. He nods and I sigh dreamily.

The baby turtle cranes it's neck up towards me, and I rub my fingers on top of it's head. "It's so cute! You're so cute, Giraffe," I coo, scratching it below it's neck. "Is it a he or a she?"

"A he."

"He's so cute! Who's a cutie? You are. Yes you are. Where did you get him from?"

"Someone I know."

"Are we going to be able to take him on the plane?"

"Yeah, in the pet cargo or whatever it's called."

"He's just... so cute!" I squeal. "I love you so much for this! Thank you!" I throw my arms around him, giving him a tight hug. He hugs me back and we stay in that position for a while before I return my attention to the cute baby turtle. I completely forgot about the panic attack and am now busy with Giraffe.

"I get to be the mommy and you get to be the daddy," I tell him as Giraffe continues to crane his neck upwards so that I could pet him.

"I'd rather be your dad-" I place my finger onto Adrian's mouth, shushing him.

"Don't say things like this in front of a baby," I shake my head disappointedly at him and he rolls his eyes.

"Why do I even bother with you?"

"Excuse me, daddy, did you get the food Giraffe is supposed to eat?" I give him a look that says 'play along or I'll kill you... or worse, I won't kiss you'.

"Yes, mommy, I got his food right there in that bag." I nod approvingly.

"Good job. When is his feeding time?"

"Here's what the guy said: We should feed the tortoise once a day for three times a week in its first year. Then we start feeding it five times a week and the amount of food he eats should be the size of his shell," He informs me. "The man's already fed it twice this week, so we should probably feed it in the next two days or something."

I nod understandingly.

"Oh by the way, Kaden's going to take over Arrow's mafia. Richard is stepping down, and they're hosting a big party on March 2nd."

I already knew this party was going to be exciting. Especially with two new additions. Teddy or- as Adrian likes to call him- , Atty and our newest addition, Giraffe.

It was going to be a blast!

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a/n: awwwwwwwwww, a tortoise!!!! named Giraffe! if my mans isn't buying me a cute pet, then i don't want him. and yeeet, the book is defo closing into an end now, maybe five or six more chapters. 

what did you think of this chapter? sorry, it was kinda all over the place 😭

and this book is now 100,000+ words! ackkk can you believe that?!?! omg i only wanted 50,000 words but wowwwww, i actually made it!! i'm so happy!!

anywayyyyyyyyyy, thank you so much for reading! i love love love you so muchh!!!! ♥️♥️