More Than Politics {Book 1}: Editing

46

"I have a tattoo." Graham confessed.
Ama looked up from her sketches to examine him stood in the doorway. He wasn't wearing a shirt and there was not a single mark on his torso.

"Really?" Ama questioned, squinting at him.

He chuckled. "It's on my back. And you can't really see it because I had it do e in pastel."

Ama left her seat to stand behind him. "I don't see it."

"It's an eagle."

Ama gasped as she finally saw it. A majestic golden eagle splayed across his back. How did she ever miss it.

"It's beautiful." She whispered, running her hands across it. "When did you get it?"

"After my aunt died."

"... How, did she die?"

Graham swallowed, it was now or never, no walls, no backing out. Ama had told him her story, more than expected. She deserved to know his.

"My aunt Albany is my mother's older sister, she was supposed to take my grandfather's business, but couldn't handle the pressure after loosing both parents. So she ran away and left my mum to and her uncle to take care of it all."

"That's... Terrible."

"She was lost to everyone for about a decade, until she showed up with Francisco and Christoph, saying that she couldn't look after them. We tried to be a family, but it didn't work out. My aunt worked as a prostitute in Dallas and had an abusive boyfriend.

"She was a good person though, she always made you laugh, no matter the situation. She died when her boyfriend came to visit one time and overdosed on a whole lot of drugs. I got an eagle because it was both our favourite animal, but since our school had a rule about tattoos, so I got pastel colours."

He could feel Ama's arms snake around him as she clung onto him, as if to keep him there.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." She murmured, laying her head on his back.

"I didn't know her very well but... Eva worked in the same brothel. My aunt had looked after when her mother had died and when we first met, our connection was electric. But like my aunt, Eva's mum had a horrible boyfriend and was killed by him.

"You have the Migosa crest on your lower back right. Well Eva had the same crest tattooed on her arm. When I asked, she said it was to do with work. We all knew she was mixed in with gang affairs, but no one questioned or interfered."

"How did she die?"

"She... She was executed... By the Migosa."

"E-executed... But... How.. W-why?"

"My cadet squadron was out in Arizona and Eva had decided to tag along. But she'd gotten into trouble. One night, she'd gone missing, it took me hours to find her, and when I did, she was tied to the railway tracks.

"She explained that she'd gotten in trouble with her boss Enrique for hiding information, and that her punishment was death.

"I tried to save her." Graham cried. "I tried my hardest to free her from the chains but it was no use. The train was coming closer and I told her that I loved her, I wanted to die with her, but she pushes me out of the way before the train hit and I knocked my head on the side of it. When I woke up, I saw her mangled body on the track. I wouldn't let her go, not even when a swat team came to remove her body.

Graham sniffed, wiping away his tears, this stuff was exhausting. He slowly slid down the wall, but Ama helped him to the bed instead letting him lay his head on her lap.

"The doctors said that I had minor brain damage from the head injury, but it was nothing permanent or fatal. Though whatever it was triggered whenever I dreamt of Eva. I'd lash out at anyone who annoyed me. I got into trouble in my final year of school because of it. Even punched a girl."

"Ouch!" Ama hissed. "Hope she's ok."

"It was Mel, she forgave me right after then punched me back. Told me to stop sulking and get over myself. So I did. I decided to start a campaign for people who were stuck in Eva's situation, but it was unpopular, so decided to focus on building my company instead.

"Then you came along and muddled me all up."

That made Ama smile, exposing those two cute indents in her cheeks. She hugged him tighter.

"Listen Ama, I know I've been a dick lately and I know we're both stubborn as goats, and I'm sorry for that. But I really don't want to let you go, what we have is too strong to just put aside, even if we part ways I know I'm always going to come back to you."

He looked into her blue eyes hoping, praying that she could see the way he felt. She nodded as a tear fell from her eye.

"Yes... Yes your right. But there's still so much to work on. I'm scared it may not work, with you knowing about who I really am and..."

"I don't care," Graham interrupted. "Well I do. But I care enough to look beyond that because I lo... Because I care deeply for you. I thought I could pretend, that I could forget about you but.. at the club, when I saw you dancing with that guy, I just lost it."

Silence fell between them.

"That was pretty hot though." Ama admitted after a while.

"What? Me beating the shit out of a guy."

"No, you drunk."

This made Graham chuckled as he peppered a kiss on her cheek. He noticed that her lip was wedged between her teeth.

"What's on your mind?" He asked.

"I have one small question."

"Yes."

"What were you doing in the hallway on my birthday?"

Their eyes connected as a smirk graced Graham's features.

"I had an agenda..."

"Why kind of agenda..?" Ama pressed, eyebrow raised.

"I was going to ask you to be my girlfriend. Officially. I mean, I'd ask now if-"

"YES!!" Ama exclaimed.

"Hey, you didn't even let me ask the question."

"Okay okay okay..."

"Lukama Jenkins... Will you be my girlfriend!?"

"YES!!!" She cried, throwing her arms around his neck and smashing their lips together.

This kiss was different, there was no holding back now, and even if Graham couldn't tell her he loved her, he'd show her, until the time came.

Their tongues tangled and their hearts beat in unison as they shared everything they couldn't say through this kiss. A kiss of promise and hope, of passion and untold love... A kiss of-

"I think we should avoid having sex for a while." Graham mumbled.

"That's probably best."

And there you have it people...

I won't speak, just soak it all in.

Bo Xxx