"Stop overthinking this, Angel... and just feel me!"
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Erika Ricci, 24, never expected a patient like him to knock her off her high horse.
Brandon A. King, 26, was immediately attrac...
Thank you for waiting patiently for me to get my bearings right, as I sorted through life.
I'm not going to bore you with words. Just know I am grateful you're here.
Dear J
___
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Erika's POV:
"You can't believe how happy I am."
These were the news I was waiting to hear.
Instead of telling Brandon bluntly about Cynthia and her baby, I was stalling for time, wishing for positive news from Alex, instead of taking another problem to him.
And here it was; her phone call was like a blessing.
"Well, I did promise to take care of them. I can't say details, especially over the phone, but I thought I'd tell you at least this."
My boots splashed in the small paddles the rain left behind, the myriad droplets creating myriads of ripples; each one wider in range, overcoming the previous wave with its power.
Fall was soothing in its own way, if not for the uncomfortable feeling of my loose hair sticking to my face because of the spraying rainfall. I should step aside and pull it in a ponytail, but I couldn't lose another second. I had to tell him everything. I couldn't take another second of holding on to this secret.
Lying to him, hiding things from him, plagued my mind in painful ways.
Things have been awkward between us and, without realizing it, I pulled away from him. I was hurting both of us, but for that he was blaming himself.
His abrupt question the other night didn't help either, as things between us became tense. It made sense, given his relationship with his father and pops. But truth was, he took me off guard.
He wanted us to have a family together. A future.
The thought should give me butterflies to my stomach, and it did. But the butterflies weren't just beautiful pin-sized beings with beautiful, colorful wings. They were dragons, with fierce wings and fire. How could I handle that? In what way did our lives have space for a small human being, needing all our attention, when I barely had anything under control?
"Sorry I missed your birthday, the other day. I promise to call when I'm back in the city."
Alex' voice was grounding, pulling me back to my reality. Her loyalty to the King family was unmeasurable; it didn't come as a surprise how quickly I gave her my trust.
"You're not coming to the match tonight?"
Another reminder of how we weren't ready to take that step in our relationship. Things have been tense in the MMA world, with rumors going around left and right. He was not publicly accused of anything up until now, but the pressure was still immense. Brandon was deeper than ever in Cyrus' schemes, and tonight's match would either break him or raise him to the top.
