Yale's Point of View
I sat down on the couch beside him as my body faced his while his faced mine.
He wasn't in the best shape physically neither emotionally, but since Woody hadn't spoken to Denver since we had left his house, I just wanted to be there for him in some way.
I understood him, I know he had good intentions and I get that. But he shouldn't have kept it a secret for this long. I think that's what hurt Woody and Kelly the most.
But then again who am I to play as if I'm not guilty of keeping secrets too. This Woody thing from Chad, Chad's abuse from Woody and Woody and I from Denver.
This was a lot, all of us...and all of these secrets.
Everything just feels messed up but regardless of the mess I had come to learn a quality in Woody I had admired and could respect. No matter how upset he was at Denver he really did love him.
He was mad but he took his knife and gun out of his pockets before going into that house because he knew he had loved Denver and he didn't want to seriously hurt him. He told Denver that he could live here since Kelly had kicked him out, although Woody hadn't spoken to him since.
Woody was upset but he still cared deeply, his bond with Denver was something I feel could never be broken. It was eternal.
I noticed Woody come out of his bedroom as he walked past the lounge area where Denver and I were sitting. He didn't look at Denver, he pretended that Denver didn't exist. He was cold,
Because he was hurt.
Denver glanced at him as he walked past and then looked at me.
"You don't need to help me." His voice was husky as I looked down at the first aid kit resting on my lap and then smiled small shaking my head before I looked up while holding the antiseptic cream tube in my hand.
"I want to help you." I said as I opened the cream and pushed out a tiny bit of it onto my finger before using my other hand to tilt his head back "I need the practice. Ima have a kid and kids are crazy they're always getting themselves into little accidents so this will help prepare me." I smiled as I gently touched his clean wound with my finger tips and then began to apply the cream as I heard the sound of the fridge door closing before Woody gulped down a bottle of water. He then tossed the empty bottle into the kitchen trashcan before walking through the lounge, past where we were sitting so that he could make his way back to his bedroom.
He held the wood of his bedroom door and then turned around to face me before he had fully went inside.
"Ima shower, it's sunset so it's going to be dark soon...you staying over?" He asked me calmly, continuing to ignore Denver. I rotated my body to face him.
I nodded.
It was the last night I could spend with him before my life went back to its shitty reality.
I felt like Cinderella after midnight going back to her shitty life with her evil baby daddy.
Plus. I couldn't leave him. He needed me.
I think they both do.
Woody then yawned while nodding and then he rubbed his eye before gently closing his bedroom door with him inside.
My baby was so tired, today was really a lot for both of us but especially for him.
I then rotated my body back to face Denver as my fingers still had cream on them. His eyes were stern and glued to my face. I swallowed as I used my free hand to push his head back again while I continued to spread cream on his wound while making sure to cover it completely. The wound almost covered his whole cheek but his nose seemed fine. It stopped bleeding so that was good.
"You're fucking him." He said to me in a normal tone that hinted no emotion but he was slightly pissed I could tell.
Our faces close together as I felt his breath wave over my skin.
I swallowed, gulping because I was nervous.
I'm not in the mood for anymore drama.
"I'm not." I replied honestly as I spoke softly and then lowered my eyes onto the first aid kit to search for the gauze, but before I could even catch my breath I felt his hand grip my throat gently in order to get my attention as he forced me to look up at him, into his eyes.
"This is a bad idea and you know it." He spoke and then I gripped his wrist and pulled his hand from me. He didn't fight me for dominance, like Chad would have.
"I love him." I said as I caught my breath and then pulled the gauze from its wrapping while he picked up the cream and closed it with the top. He raised his brows quickly as he looked down at what he was doing and then dropped them as if he was shocked at what I just said.
Honestly I'm shocked too.
But it is what it is. I can't deny that I love him when I do.
"Enough to leave your baby daddy? Because if you and him are going to fuck I'd prefer it if you both do so with a clear conscious." He was serious.
"I'm not sleeping with him Denver." I smiled thinly and then gently applied the gauze to his swollen, cut and bruised face. "I want to." I said almost softly rolling my eyes.
Denver smirked "But he won't right? He told you he wouldn't unless you left your baby daddy?" He said confidently and he was right.
"Yeah." I spoke.
"Good, at least one of you are thinking." He smiled cockily.
"We kissed," I said confidently but he could tell I was a little sly "last night." I said just to see his cockily smile die.
It did, it wiped off his face almost instantly and then I laughed as I made sure the gauze were covering the wound properly.
"After I called you and you told me nothing was going on?" He raised a brow. "So you lied to me."
"Yes, I couldn't tell you. You would have lost it." I said hastily.
"Look, as long as you're leaving your baby daddy I'm good with whatever you and my boy choose to do." He shrugged lightly trying not to move much as I was finishing up.
"I will. I am leaving him." I said. And those words felt right. It felt powerful. I had to leave Chad, I was ready to leave Chad.
The abuse. The cheating. The lies. I had to leave, if I don't leave now, now while I have these feelings for Woody pushing me to leave then I'm afraid I never will.
I need to leave Chad.
I swallowed, but some things are easier said than done.
I felt my heart sink. I don't know if I can do this, what if he tries to kill me.
I want to tell Woody everything but then Woody would kill him, and Denver would stab him after he's already dead and I don't want anyone to die.
He is after all the father of my child and whatever happens between Chad and I, have nothing to do with my baby. Our relationship is our issues. Chad could be a good father but a shitty boyfriend and who am I to stand between a father and his child.
I can leave and that is my choice but that doesn't change the fact that Chad is the father and he had rights too, as long as he proves his a good father I can't keep him away from his child and I can't risk my baby not having a father who could possibly be a good one.
He's a shit boyfriend but I'm not his blood, Chad wanted a baby, he wanted our baby and our baby is his blood and that relationship might be different.
"I hope so, Yale." Denver said not fully convinced as I finished up and began to pack things back into the first aid kit.
"Thank you." He said kindly.
He almost never spoke kindly, but I was more shocked that he had manners.
"Pleasure." I smiled at him as I stood up from the couch and then his reflex kicked in as he placed his hand on my thigh, not wanting me to walk away to place the first aid kit back where Woody had pulled it out from.
I twisted my neck and then looked down at him.
I was confused as I pressed my brows together "Whaaat?" I asked cautiously.
He paused for a moment and then exhaled.
"Sit." His husky voice was demanding. He had a look on his face I hadn't seen before it was concerning.
"Why, what's..." I began to say and then he interrupted me.
"Sit down Yale." He said as the dominant side of him sparkled in his eyes.
Nah I've dealt with enough of Chad's shit, I'm not putting up with this too.
"Am I a dog Denver?" I folded my arms over my chest and gave him a filthy look.
"No!" He raised his voice "Can you just fucking sit down. I'm sorry, but just fucking sit down please." He seemed anxious as I rolled my eyes and then slowly sat down beside him.
"What's going on?" I asked him and then he paused for a moment.
"I wanna..." he was trying to say something as he shrugged trying to insinuate what his mouth couldn't speak.
I didn't understand.
"Wanna what?" I raised a brow.
"You know, like...um..." he shifted in his seat. "Say stuff..." he said as he cocked his head back. He noticed the words to leave his mouth wasn't the words he heard in his head.
Oh my god. I understood.
I sighed with a silly smile on my face.
"You wanna talk!?" I was astonished, this man really can't communicate his feelings but okay, at least he's trying.
"Yeah." He nodded shyly. It was so cute.
"About Kelly and everything? You want advice?" I asked trying to pull information out of him because it seemed like if I didn't, we would be playing the guessing game all night.
"Yeah, and that's really fucked up because honestly you should be the last person I should be taking advice from." He said confidently.
I wish I could punch him on his wound.
"Fine, then go find someone else to talk to then." I shrugged getting up from the couch before he wrapped his arms around thighs preventing me from walking.
"I'm playing, come on don't be like that." He laughed as he pulled me back down onto the couch.
I rolled my eyes "Talk."
"Fuck, okay." He prepared himself mentally.
"So I'm married." He said nervously and then I smiled small.
"I know. Do you like being married?" I joked a little but I wanted him to feel more comfortable because I knew that for him this was something that was hard to speak about.
"No, not really." He smirked and then he laughed lightly "I mean what Delia and I did was stupid." He said.
"But it felt right at the time?" I asked.
"No, it felt like something crazy and exciting...it didn't feel right, it just felt like it would be a crazy story to tell. I didn't think I would wake up the next day and be someone's husband. It didn't feel like a commitment and marriage should feel like that."
"Were you committed? What happened after you woke up the next day?" I tried to understand and help him talk about it.
"Fuck..." he tried to remember clearly "Woody came home, we flew back after the shitty wedding and passed out in my bed. Woody came home and we both decided that the wedding was just something that happened last night, because I don't think either of us wanted to actually be married. So we didn't talk about it. We were legally...are legally" He corrected himself "married, but to us it wasn't that big a deal, things went on like fucking normal after that. She went to work, came home cooked like normal. Fucked me, fucked Woody...things were normal." He said explaining the story to me.
But hearing about her sleeping with Woody really made me feel uncomfortable even though I know they dated.
"And then I met Kelly. I was out in a club one night. A club Woody and I would normally go to on the weekend. And she was there, I couldn't stop watching her. She was and still is so beautiful. Woody wasn't with me that night he was home with Delia. I was there with a few of my..." he didn't know how to talk about his gangsters with me "guys." He choose that word instead. "And Kelly was dancing all night, sober." He smiled "she wasn't drinking at all. Guys were like all over her and I didn't like that, because I knew the moment I saw her that I was going to love her for the rest of my life. I was fucking drunk out of mind thinking this woman was my wife, so for sure ima fucking tell my guys to watch her and make sure she's good and that no guy is acting up or harassing her." He nodded.
He was so sweet.
"And then this fucking guy grabs her ass as he walks past her and I see this shit happening. So ima protect my wife and allat. I get up from my couch and like push this girl that I met at the club off me, because she was like kissing my neck and I didn't mean to aggressively get up but I had to protect Kelly." He said "So my guys wanted to go in, but I didn't want them to. I wanted to deal with that fucking asshole myself so I told them to stand down." He spoke "But before I could reach her she turned around and literally gave that idiot a piece of her mind, she was so fierce and strong. She stood up for herself, she didn't need me. She handled everything on her own. So by the time I reached her she was upset and I was drunk and of course she was in no mood to talk to me but I was already there in front of her and I had to do something so I told her that I noticed that that guy was being a dick, and I was going to do something about it but I thought it was cool how she handled the situation and I respected that. She laughed before asking me if I was watching her and I said how could I not, she's the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my life. She called me a loser, rolled her eyes and walked off. I let her go, her girlfriends probably told her who I was and I think that kinda pushed her away because I had, have a reputation. I was the gang-leader, drug dealer, playboy and she was smart and decent and should have ended up with a doctor or some shit. But I didn't give up. She was the woman I knew was the one for me the moment I saw her. I couldn't give up.
Every Saturday at that exact time I would be at the club hoping to see her again, she didn't come for 2 months and then finally she did. She showed up. I was sober, I wanted to be sober when I saw her again and I walked up to her and told her to go on a date with me that very moment, leave the club and just go with me and she thought I was crazy. I told her that I wanted to get to know her and this wasn't the environment for that. She liked that, that I treated her with respect so she gave the loser a chance." He smiled and I could tell he was hurt, he really does love her.
"I stopped sleeping with Delia that night. Her and I basically broke up. Woody was getting to know Maggie at the time and still sleeping with Delia who knew about Maggie. But Woody wasn't sure if he should cut everyone off for Maggie. Apart of him had doubts when it came to Maggie but he eventually fell for her and then broke up with Delia. Delia got a job offer in Dubai and left. We both hadn't seen Delia since..." he said "Her and I were married but we never acted like it. I never considered her to be my wife. And now that Kelly's been hinting for months that she wants to get married. I called Delia and told her we need to get officially divorced because I want to marry Kelly, she was cool with it and flew home." He said.
"And now we're here."
"And now you're fucked." I smiled.
"Exactly." He smiled in return.
"You're actually really sweet. You know that?" I said to him because he was, the way he speaks about Kelly and how he made an effort when they met. He waited for her and he respected her. I think that's sweet.
"Yeah, she's my wifey. I love that woman."
"You shouldn't have lied to her."
"I know, I just forgot about Delia and all that shit. And I know being married is a hard thing to forget but like I said, it was never a real marriage. But I fucked up, I know." He was able to understand that he was wrong and didn't try to justify it.
"You should call her. What you have with her is real and even if she doesn't answer, keep calling her. You hurt her and she needs that effort from you right now. She won't pick up but just knowing that you're trying will make her feel a little better." I said sincerely.
"She feels betrayed right now, know that. It's going to take time for her to be open to speaking and you just have to be patient with her. I would tell you to go to her right now, but Kelly seems like a very strong woman so give her tonight to have her space to process things and reflect. Call to show you care but give her time to think, maybe she'll calm down and want to hear the whole story when she's okay again." I said to him and then he swallowed.
"I can't lose her."
"You won't." I smiled small "I promise." I said to him "What you have with Kelly is real and many of us spend our whole lives trying to find that. The love you have with her will overcome this. I know it." I nodded.
"Thanks, Yale. I appreciate it." He said as he glanced into my eyes and then exhaled as I heard the bedroom door open and then twisted to see Woody standing topless, fresh out the shower in basketball shorts, in the doorframe still pissed off.
"You coming to bed?" His voice was stern as he spoke to me.
"Yeah, ima shower first. You going to get into bed while you wait for me?" I asked and then he responded "Nah you hungry? Ima make you food while I wait instead." He spoke and then I smiled.
"I'm not that hungry. But since you've mentioned food, I'm kinda craving something sweet." I said thinking about it. "You got marshmallows?" I asked.
"Nah baby, but I'll get dressed and go to the store." He was serious.
"No, you're tired. Don't be silly go to bed. I'll survive." I said sweetly with a cute little smile on my face. He was caring.
"I'll go to the store. I need air." Denver chimed in but Woody ignored him. "I'm taking your car." He said to Woody but he didn't even look at him, but instead he spoke to me.
"Ima be in bed okay?" He was soft.
"Okay, I'll see you in a few." I spoke and then he gently closed the bedroom door.
I then twisted to see Denver.
"Baby?" He raised a brow remembering that Woody had called me baby. "Ya boy need to get some act right, he's a hypocrite. He's mad at me for keeping secrets but he lied to me too...about you and him." Denver spoke and then we both stood up from the couch.
"Talk to your man. He really getting on my fucking nervous. How long is gon be childish and pretend like I'm not here?"
"You hurt him." I said softly. "Yes he didn't tell you that him and I are more than friends but we only took things to the next level last night. It's been years Denver, he's your best friend and you lied to him for years." I said trying to make him understand.
He nodded exhaling deeply because he did, he understood.
"I'll talk to him, okay? Denver, at the end of the day he loves you and you love him." I spoke and then he licked his lips seriously.
"You guys will be okay, he really does care and so do you. He made sure to not kill you and he let you stay here for the same reason you didn't fight back when you could have. Things will work out." I said and then he was silent.
"What marshmallows do you want?" He changed the subject and I had to respect that he didn't want to talk anymore.
"The tiny pink ones covered in chocolate, please." I smiled.
"Okay," he nodded and then narrowed his eyes at me "Yale?"
"Yeah?"
"Don't lie to me again, okay?"
"Okay." I smiled "Does this mean we're friends now?" I played.
"No," he stepped towards me and then came in for a hug as he wrapped his arms around me "we'll never be friends." He joked as I could feel him smirking.
"Never."