𝐃𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘 𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐋𝚬 𝐒𝚬𝐂𝐑𝚬𝐓, ʲᵒʰⁿ ᵇ ʳᵒᵘᵗˡᵉᵈᵍᵉ

xxviii. just take it slow

there was one the night before briar told john b she was pregnant. hey. i miss you, and i don't know if it's something i did, but you've been really distant lately. if it's me, tell me. if it's not, tell me. please call me back, groveling at your feet is embarrassing.

and here she was, reliving those moments in her bed at three in the morning listening to taylor swift on her earbuds. she heard a loud crunch outside. she didn't think much of it, the outer banks were noisy. she did think something of when her window popped open.

she grabbed her nearest weapon, a dead light bulb she'd taken out of the lamp earlier.

and rafe cameron came through the window.

"rafe," briar said slowly, standing up out of bed. "what are you doing here?"

"you see?" rafe yelled. "that's it, briar, right there! you're talking like you're all scared of me, when, when i was protecting my own. my tribe. you're a whore who betrayed us."

"rafe," briar's voice cracked when she saw a knife in his hand. "what are you doing?"

"stop, stop it," rafe shook his head quickly. "that's it, briar. you keep spreading these rumors. you just gotta stop!"

rafe stepped closer to briar then and she threw the lightbulb at his head. it broke quietly, leaving a small cut before falling to the floor.

"oh, you bitch!" rafe spit before charging his cousin.

"dad!" briar yelled as rafe pushed her to the wall. "dad!"

"shut up!" rafe grunted as briar tried to push him back. "if it weren't for this baby, you'd be fucking normal!"

then rafe did the unimaginable. he went for her stomach. briar quickly stuck her arms in front of her, rafe leaving a deep cut in the side of her left hand.

"rafe!" chase boomed as he threw his nephew away from his daughter. the city council leader punched rafe right in the temple, sending him down. unconscious.

"chase!" cecelia gasped as she ran into the room in her nightgown followed by holly.

briar held her bleeding hand and looked around. holly stood there, mouth hanging open in a pair of plaid pants and one of kiara's flannels.

chase was panting. "call ward, cece. we're figuring this out."

"oh, my goodness," dr. bradshaw shook her head. "please, i'm begging you, try to avoid stress. try to avoid getting murdered. it's not good for the baby."

"i'm trying, doc," briar sighed.

"okay," dr. bradshaw sighed. she chuckled at kie who still had her mouth open in shock.

"holly's still wearing my flannel?" she whispered.

"yes," cecelia nodded. "and you hit her with that it's a rough time for me bullshit."

"hey," kie defended. "my friends are dead."

"so you dumped my daughter?" cecelia scoffed.

"okay," briar snapped. "let's stop. for pear, please."

"thank you," dr. bradshaw hummed as she drug the ultrasound machine over briar's skin. "do you want to know the gender?"

kie's jaw fell open. "yeah! i mean, yeah, briar, do you?"

briar nodded sadly. she wished john b was here to see this.

"okay, mama," dr. bradshaw smiled. "you're gonna have a little baby girl."

"oh, my god!" kie jumped up. "a girl! how fun is that?"

"yeah," briar's voice broke as tears ran down her cheeks.

"hey," cecelia brushed briar's hair back. "what is it?"

"i wish john b was here," she said sadly. "he would've loved her."

"he would've," kie smiled. "he really would've."

SADIE SPEAKS!
word count: 978
surprise! congrats to
team girl, y'all won this
round. name suggestions
please!! i have a few in
mind but i want more!