𝐒oleil gasped and jolted out her sleep, patting the spot next to her out of habit. She sighed in relief once she felt Illyan, sleeping figure next to her and calmed down.
She looked at the time on her phone and groaned when she noticed that it was only seven. Her parents wouldn't be up before ten and she knew that. Especially since they woke her father up in the middle of the night.
" Mhm" Illyan groaned turning over. " What's wrong baby?" he tiredly asked, as he brung her head down so it would be on his chest.
"I-um nothing" she quickly dismissed the subject and shook her head. Soleil wasn't sure if Illyan already knew about her nightmares, but the way he wasn't home lately. She was almost sure that he wasn't.
" I already told you Ion' like that lyin' shit Angeline" he groaned. " I thought we was past you brushing ya' feelings off" he gently stated.
" I thought I was past that stage too" she sadly mumbled, looking down at her manicured fingers.
" And what did we do when you was in that stage princess?" he questioned with his eyebrow raised up, as he looked down at her now wide awake figure.
" I talked about what was bothering me" she muttered, slightly rolling her eyes. Soleil knew what game he was playing, and was sad to admit that it was slowly working.
" And did it helped?" he asked, a small smirk plastered on his face. Just like her, he knew she couldn't win this game. Yes, it was hard for her to express herself. But once you guided her in the right direction to do so, she had no other choice but to open up. Otherwise, she'll keep everything in and blow up like she used to.
" Yes it did" she mumbled, looking off to the side.
" Then I'm listening baby" he closed his eyes, waiting for her to talk. Her voice was so sweet and relaxing to him. He loved to hear her talk, it always calmed him down whenever he was stressed or mad.
" Truth is, I'm scared Illyan. I'm terrified. I've been putting up this act for the past few weeks but yesterday was just too much. I get nightmares in the middle of the night and you are never here Illyan. I always have to wake up from these nightmares alone, in a house that I don't even feel safe anymore at night time. In those nightmares, it's always the same end: you die. And every time that I call you, your only answer is: ' I'm outside, I'll be home in a hour'. Illyan I'm scared for you and for me. I need you home, I need you home with me. I don't need you outside putting your life at risk when you just got hurt" she expressed. Soleil was scared to open up, because she didn't want to be seen as selfish. She didn't want Illyan thinking that in this situation she was only thinking about her and not him.
" I know I haven't been home much, but I'm doin' this fa' you princess. Ion' want you ta' feel that way foreva'. Ion' want you ta' be permanently scared. I'm just protectin' you baby. I promise that once all of this is over, you'a have me ta' yourself aight? No more leavin'." he assured, pressing a gentle kiss on her forehead. " I-I want to start a family with you Soleil, an' I can't do that if my an' your life are in danger mama" he admitted. It was clear as day that Illyan wanted to start a family with Soleil, otherwise he wouldn't be with her. He saw a potential future together, and didn't want anybody to get in the way of that.
" Y-You really do?" she asked looking up at him, tears threatening to spill from her now glossy brown eyes.
" Mhm mhm" he hummed, nodding his head. A small smile forming on his face.
Soleil cheesed, and hugged his neck. " Well if that can make you happy. I love you and also wanna start a family with you" she admitted, a big smile on her face.
The both of them, just now realized that they were ready for children and way more. They had money and the stability that went with it. Only problem was the current situation, and Illyan's uncommon job.
" Fa' real?" he questioned as his eyes lit up, the butterflies that formed in his stomach couldn't stop from erupting and he was fine that way.
" Yes for real" she chuckled, rolling her eyes.
" Don't roll ya' eyes at me" he playfully warned, smacking her ass afterwards. But not too hard so it won't hurt her much.
" Illyan" she hissed, rubbing her ass.
" Girl" he stale faced her. " Ian' even hit you that hard, stop actin'," he kissed her forehead.
" Yes you did. You heavy handed mothafucka'," she cut her eyes at him, still rubbing her ass so the pain will ease.
" Watch that mouth baby" he warned, as his hand went around her throat. " Clear?" he questioned, with his eyebrow raised up.
" Clear" she muttered, nodding her head in the process.
" Cmon" he sat up with her in his lap, he slowly got out of bed with her still in his arms, and made his way to the bathroom that was connected to their room.
He sat her on the counter, and went to get their hygiene products out their suitcase. He soon came back with a little bag that was everything but empty.
He got both of their toothbrushes out, as well as their toothpaste. " Hea' mama" he gave her hers.
" Thank you papa" she smiled, taking the toothbrush from him. She watched as he passed his toothbrush under the water, before he put toothpaste on it and passed it under water again. She then did the same, and they both started brushing their teeth.
" You know what I noticed?" Soleil stated as she spit the toothpaste out, and started rinsing her mouth.
" Nah, what?" Illyan managed to question, with the toothpaste still in his mouth.
" That you barely talk about your feelings" she spoke as she rinsed her toothbrush , putting it in the cup afterwards.
" Ain' shit ta' talk about. I'm straight" he shrugged, spitting the toothpaste out and rinsing his mouth.
" 'Oh you need to talk about your feelings mama, stop brushing shit off' that sounds familiar to you?" she asked smirking, as she mocked him.
" Yeah but what applies ta' you, don't always applies ta' me babygirl" he smirked, bringing her closer by the waist.
" And why is that?" she asked, making the smirk on her face way more visible.
" Cause whenever you with me, my problems go away" he shrugged. " Ion' need ta' talk bout' em'," he added.
" You know that's far from healthy right?" she questioned, looking up at his tall figure to see him already looking at her.
" Na' you should know that everything I'm doin' is far from healthy mama" he looked at her blankly.
" Wrong" she shook her head. " We is healthy. You developed a healthy lifestyle when you stopped drinking papa. Stop putting yourself down like that" she preached.
Illyan hummed and pecked her lips a few times.
" So you're the guy who stole my daughter's heart?" Aminata, playfully questioned as Soleil and Illyan went down the stairs hand in hand.
" Yes ma'am" he nodded, chuckling. He squeezed Soleil's hand tighter, and she instantly rubbed it in a comforting manner.
They both started walking toward her, and she instantly pulled Illyan in a very comforting hug. He was a bit taken back by her action, but hugged her back anyway.
" It's really nice to meet you Illyan" she spoke, a smile on her face once she pulled away. Aminata was happy that her daughter found someone good for her, someone that made her feel safe.
" You to Ms.Harper" he sent her a nervous smile. Illyan really wanted to make a good impression in front of Soleil's mother. He didn't want to be seen as disrespectful or ghetto.
" You can just call me Aminata or mama, whatever you're comfortable with" she chuckled at his nervousness. She found it cute that Illyan was so nervous, it showed a lot about him and his intentions toward her daughter.
" When y'all done chitchatting, the breakfast is done" Honoré stopped their interactions as he stepped out the kitchen, a mug on his face.
" How do you wake up irritated?" Soleil questioned as she chuckled. She forgot how much her father loved his sleep.
" I'm only irritated cause both of you negros are in my presence right now" he breathed out, sending a mean glare to both Illyan and Soleil.
" Honoré please, get the hell out me and my nigga face" Soleil waved him off, a smile on her face. To be able to joke this freely with her father and mother in the same room felt good. It brung her nostalgia from when she used to stay here.
" Shut up an' come eat ya' breakfast" he smiled, shaking his head. As much as he denied it, Honoré missed his daughter dearly and was glad to have her back. Even though it would only be for a short amount of time.
Aminata smiled at the two and chuckled. " Cmon baby, leave them alone" she grabbed her husband's hand and made her way to the dining room, leaving Soleil and Illyan alone.
" See she wasn't that bad right?" she questioned as she looked up at his tall figure.
" Yeah you right" he chuckled, pecking her lips a few times. " Cmon mama I'm hungry" he hugged her from behind, whispering in her ear.
" Got some else I can feed you" she mumbled as she started walking toward the dining room, with Illyan hot on her tail.
" Watchu' say princess?" he asked a smirk on his face, as they both took a seat at the table.
" Me? Nah I ain't say anything" she exclaimed fake surprised, laughing afterwards. " You must be hearing things papa" she smiled.
" Yeah?" he leaned back in his chair, a smile on his face.
From the outside of it, you could clearly tell that they were in love. They were so in love that everything and everyone around them didn't matter. It was just them and nothing else.
" Mhm mhm" she hummed, licking her lips. Looking at her lover up and down.
" You need sum chapstick mama?" Illyan snickered as he watched her face drop.
" Bye you ruined it" she rolled her eyes.
Illyan cleared his throat and sent her a hard and intense glare.
" My bad" she mouthed, serving herself some eggs and french toasts. " What you want papa?" she then asked.
" Whateva' you get is fine" he nodded, as he looked at all the food disposed on the table.
" So we just gon get past the fact that y'all lil niggas still haven't acknowledged the adults in this room? Or the fact that this nigga right here, just put my daughter in her place without having to say anything?" Honoré surprisedly exclaimed, as he took a sip of his coffee.
" I'm that nigga boss" Illyan cockily popped his collar, a childish grin on his face. " Preciate you princess" he thanked her as he took his plate from her.
" Don't get too ahead of yourself son" Honoré chuckled, still sipping on his coffee.
" So.. what really happened son?" Bossman asked as him and Illyan sat in his office. He wasn't dumb and knew that there were some lies in his daughter story. She was trying to protect herself and Illyan.
" Just like she told you, she called me in the middle of tha' night while I was out. I finally got a lead on the people who did this, an' I came up with an address so I went ta' check it out. Wasn't nobody in that house, but a board with hella pictures of me: Soleil, Shiesty and Peezy. There were even pictures of Joyce mane ( Peezy's girlfriend) an' God knows weon' hang around that bitch" he scoffed.
" Mhm an' what you did after?" he then questioned, as he rubbed his chin hair. Honoré just wanted to know who was dumb enough to target his daughter, and his best employees.
" I felt that sum wasn't right. So I called Soleil back an' I told her ta' lock tha' door, and get in the closet with my gun while I was on my way home. Tha' first thirty to fourty minutes went by smoothly, an' I thought I was just being paranoid. But when she told me she heard a glass break that's when I knew I was right, the alarm didn't even went off boss" he sighed. " Long story short, we got the guy and he's working fa' somebody named Snake" he summed up.
When Illyan pronounced the name snake, Bossman face fell. His signature smirk, usually plastered on his face was long gone by now and replaced with a serious look that Illyan never saw before.
" You-you said snake?" he stuttered as he questioned.
" Boss what's going on?" Illyan seriously asked. One thing about his boss was that he never stuttered. In his line of work, stuttering wouldn't get you anywhere.
" Get Soleil up in hea'," he ordered as he started mumbling under his breath.
Illyan sent her a quick emergency text, and she was here within the next two minutes. " What's going on? What's the emergency?" she asked as she entered the room with her mother hot on her tail.
" Babygirl Imma' need you ta' answer some questions" Bossman regained his composure, clearing his throat. " When you was workin' at that lil dinner, did you ever saw a white nigga, buzz cut and dark green eyes?" he investigated.
" Uhh... Yes I remember! He even gave me a fourty dollars tip" she spoke as she remembered the last events.
" Shit" Illyan and Bossman both mumbled.
" Y'all is still not telling me what's going on?" she impatiently asked.
Honoré sighed and took a deep breath, the story he was about to tell wasn't the easiest one. " Snake is your godfather. When you around three, the both of you were inseparable. You couldn't see snake without you and we couldn't see you without him. Y'all was really stuck to the hip" he chuckled reminiscing about the happy memory. " But one day he just disappeared, he vanished without saying anything. Of course I looked and looked for him, but I never found anything. That's why you have that necklace around your neck, he gave it to you for your fourth birthday and you never took it off" he sadly smiled.
" Then why does he wants to hurt me and the people I love?" she confusingly asked.
" He doesn't want to hurt you baby" her mother stepped in. " He wants to hurt anybody that could possibly be a threat to you. That's why he hurt Illyan. He thought that he didn't fit you or that he would eventually put you in danger. Believe it or not your godfather loves you, even after all these years" she wisely said.
" Then why he ain't just tried to get in contact with me instead of hurting and almost killing him!" she exclaimed pointing at Illyan. Soleil couldn't understand how someone who was supposed to love and care about her would hurt someone that she was in love with.
" And why did he send some lil nigga in my house, scaring the living shit outta' her" Illyan also stepped in, a disapproving look on his face.
" That I can't answer" Aminata sighed. " Snake is a good and wise man. He knows what he's doing. That's one of the many things that can make him unpredictable" she added.
" Yeah hell no" Soleil shook her head. " If that snake, wants to be in contact with me so bad you better tell him that shit. You know what? Matter fact I'll do it my damn self" she snapped, leaving the office and slamming the door behind her.
" Shit" Illyan cussed, hopping out of his seat, but stopped once he saw the look on her parents face. " Why y'all ain't movin'?" he confusingly asked.
" Because he already found her"
TO BE CONTINUED...
i know y'all prolly hate me shiiid i'd hate me too but it is what it is
we back in business tho
thoughts on snake?
vote and comment
love y'all stay safe
-ri is outt 🦋