This Time Around

Chapter 39 - Preston

Trigger Warning

"Grandmother, can I see Kehlani?"

Keli has completely zoned out and I do not want to know what is going through his mind right now. I am genuinely afraid to even address him. Ricky is pacing back and forth. All of us are trying to control our rage, including Kehlani's grandmother. She looks up at me with watery eyes and I want to blow up half the fucking world.

"She doesn't want to see anyone. Including her guys. She believes that she is cursed. All those memories just flooded her mind all at once and it was a lot for her to accept. She's trying to process how her mother could have betrayed her the way that she did. I'm afraid that she will try to hurt herself again. She's officially broken."

I look at Keli and wait for him to elaborate because Grandmother broke down.

"She overdosed two years ago. She said it was an accident and she wasn't trying to kill herself. Doc said she had triple the amount of the prescribed sleeping pills in her system than he gave to her. It wasn't an accident."

That must have been when she told me she had to go to Hawaii for a few months to take care of some family business. We spoke, but I knew something was off.

"I know that she said that she doesn't want to see anyone but I need to see her. I need her to know that I am still right here and that I still love her. She needs to know that she is still the person that I want to spend the rest of my life with. She needs to know that SHE is my person."

Keli looked at his mother and she gave him a smile.

"I'll allow you to go see her because I can't control my anger right now. I don't want her to think that I'm mad at her. Just don't make me kill you. If she says she doesn't want you there, leave."

"I'm only trying to comfort her and reassure her that she deserves love and everything that comes with it. Nothing is wrong with her, she is worth more than just her beauty and what she can offer to someone. I want her to know that what she sees as a curse, I see as beauty and strength."

"Don't take this the wrong way, young Richard. I wish he was the man that she had married six years ago. He's perfect.

Ricky looks at Grandmother and gives her a small smile.

"I have to agree with you. My cousin cared about her, he even loved her, but it wasn't enough for a woman with a big heart like hers. He wasn't meant for her, she needed someone solid and I'm glad she found someone."

I dapped him and Keli, then kissed Grandmother's cheek. I was escorted to her room by Gio. Hakeem was sitting outside of the door.

"I'm glad you aren't allowing her to push you away. That's my unofficial daughter in there. Don't ever hurt her. She's had enough in this lifetime and the next."

I nod and open the door. Lela and Kai are both in the bed with her. Her aunt, my mom, and Estella are sitting on a sofa across the room. When she locked eyes with me, I kicked off my shoes and made my way to the bed. Kai and Lela must have known what I was going to do. They both got out of bed.

Kehlani threw herself into my arms as I got in the bed and I pulled her close to me while she cried on my chest. I wrapped my arms around her as tight as I could without hurting her.

"It's okay, beautiful. That is all in the past. He can't and won't ever hurt you again. I'm going to make sure of that. No one will ever hurt you again."

She just wraps her arms around me even more, burying herself deeper into my chest.

"Let's give them some privacy, ladies."