P E A R L
Two weeks without any news on Zandra was a little nerve-wracking, but when I got a call from Riot, and he spoke four words, I wanted to cry with relief.
"Zandra is in custody," He told me over the phone.
I stayed quiet, and he let me weep in relief for Gabriel and for any potential victim she might've gotten her deceptive hands on.
"I'm coming over," Riot's words were firm, and I couldn't reply, barely registering what he said.
He hung up, and ten minutes later, the doorbell rang. Seeing that my father was at work, my mother was hands deep into making a meal, and Nevaeh was somewhere upstairs, I jogged to the door and opened it.
Riot's grey eyes met mine instantly. His stance was one I hadn't seen before, and I couldn't depict why he merely stared at me with his hands shoved into the pockets of his pants.
"You're at my front door," I obviously stated. He had never stood at the front of my home before, and the sight of him standing there was unreal.
"I am," He nodded, tensing his jaw.
"Thank you," I said after a while of weird silence. "For catching Zandra."
"Thank you for helping," Riot tilted his head down, showing me just how grateful he was as he raised his eyebrows slightly.
"Illegally," I uttered, biting the inside of my mouth to stop myself from smiling.
The adrenaline from hearing such great news was still rushing through my veins.
"I came to say goodbye," Riot inhaled deeply, his eyes never moving from mine. "For good."
That rush of adrenaline paused for a quick beat, replaced with a sense of confusion. I didn't know how that made me feel.
"Where are you going?" I asked curiously, leaning on the door frame.
"New York," Riot simply stated, shaking his head a little.
"You hate New York," Folding my arms across my chest, I watched the man in front of me smile.
"I have a new job," His teeth shone brightly, a rare grin forming on his lips.
"Wasn't your position in the FBI temporary?" I asked, momentarily looking at the grin that didn't go away from his face.
"They offered me another deal," Riot shrugged, his grin faltering.
I didn't want to ask about how he felt about it. He didn't look like he wanted to comply with the new deal, but that wasn't my business now. It never was.
"I'm not going to contact you anymore," His grin was completely faded when he spoke again. "I promise."
Shifting awkwardly in my spot, I nodded. It was a good thing if he didn't. He needed to move on, and so did I. We both needed to let go of the past.
Riot cleared his throat and appeared hesitant as he said, "That Zion kid. He looks madly in love with you."
My face felt warm, and I loved how the mere mention of Zion made me feel so happy.
"Don't let him go," Riot told me, a serious tone coating his words.
"I won't," I inwardly promised myself.
Riot turned, ready to take off, and I felt a little pressure in my heart lift.
"Sevastyan," I called him by his real name, and he stood impossibly still.
No one ever called him that anymore. For a while, when I was friends with him, I was so sure I was the only one he told.
"да?" His back was facing me, and I could see the Russian tattoos embedded into his skin, underneath the thin white shirt he wore. [Yes?]
"Take care," My voice didn't falter. "And don't let another woman into your life if it's going to put her in danger."
I voiced what I thought was best and true. His decision to take me into half his life when I was so vulnerable was a mistake, and I didn't want him to repeat it.
He knew that, too, because nodded and murmured, "I won't."
"Goodbye, Riot," I said at the same time as my brother, Elijah's car parked in front of the house.
Cursing under my breath, I watched Elijah walk out of the car, his narrow eyes set on the man in front of me.
"What the fuck is he doing here?" My protective brother slammed his car door shut and stormed into the property.
Riot sighed, sounding irritated as he pulled a wallet from his pocket and held it up to Elijah's face slowly.
Elijah parted his lips, watching with scrunched eyebrows. He was trying to tell if it was real or fake. It was, in fact, real. Riot scoffed before shoving the FBI identification back into his pocket and walking away from Elijah.
With one last glance back at me, Riot lifted a hand and waved. I offered him a small smile before he climbed onto her black motorbike and started the engine. Elijah flinched slightly at the sound of it, and I could've sworn Riot was laughing as he put his black helmet on.
"The FBI?" Elijah gawked as Riot drove away. "The law? He broke the law!"
Five minutes later, when I had caught my older brother up with only the necessary information, I heard the familiar sound of Zion's car emerge into my street. He parked in front of my house, and I tensed a little when Elijah saw who it was.
He wasn't there when Enzo and Levi had bitch fits for Zion walking up to our property to get his sister. It felt like so long ago.
"So, you have a thing for criminals, is that it?" Elijah shot his head around to face me, repulsed at the sight of Zion getting out of his car.
I pushed Elijah's shoulder, forcing him to go away. He made a noise of annoyance and turned to glare at Zion.
My heart felt like it smiled when our eyes locked. Zion held a bouquet of my favourite flowers, and I tried to remember what special event it was, but nothing came to mind.
"Flowers? He got you fucking flowers?" Elijah's commentary was pissing me off, so I moved away from him and made my way toward the fence.
My breath was stuck in my throat when Zion pushed the gate open and walked right into my property. I widened my eyes and stared down at his ankle, gaping when I saw that his ankle monitor was nowhere in sight.
I drifted my eyes upward, taking in his outfit; black sneakers, blue jeans, a navy shirt and a letterman jacket clinging onto his broad shoulders. It was Gabriel's jacket, and once I realised it meant that they were talking again, I smiled wider.
"What!?" I yelled in shock and ran up to him, throwing my arms around his shoulders excitedly. "Since when? Why didn't you say anything? I thought you were going to tell me! I mean, I'm so happy, but what?"
Zion's light chuckle made his chest shake beneath me, and I hugged him tighter.
"I wanted to surprise you," He pressed a kiss to the side of my head before I let go and pulled away from him.
"You got me flowers," I grinned down at them as Zion gave them to me. "Thank you."
"Any time, baby," His words made me freeze, and he smiled again. He knew the effect he had on me. It always brightened everything up.
Zion's dark eyes landed behind me, and I closed my eyes, preparing for the talk of my life. I had never brought a guy to my house before, not even Alec. That was why the front door swung open, and my mother walked out.
It wasn't the first time she'd seen him, but she made it appear to be as she pressed her hands to her hips and walked down the porch toward us.
Nevaeh followed her, smirking at me with raised eyebrows. I was going to get back at her when she brought Cyrus around. She and he made up last week, and they were back to how they used to be.
She was a little hesitant at first, but love makes people do things they never thought they would. So Nev took him back after a month of him trying to make amends.
"Madre," Elijah straightened his stance, standing behind my mother. "Pearl brought a guy to our home."
"Yes, Zion, wasn't it?" My Ma asked, nodding at Zion.
"Yes, ma'am," He said, and I could feel his hand fidget with nerves. I held onto it, tightening my grip on him, hoping to ease his worries.
"Ma!? She's brought him here before?" Elijah furrowed his eyebrows, looking back and forth and Zion and me.
My mother sighed deeply, turning to face my brother. "Go put the plates on the table inside, por favor." [please]
Elijah gaped, yet listened anyway, making his way inside like a good little boy. I almost snickered.
When my mother returned her eyes to Zion's face, she drew her thin eyebrows together and slanted her head. She was thinking, and my heart stammered at the uncertainty of what she thought.
"I see you before," Her thin finger pointed at Zion, before pointing at me too. "At the hospital."
I held my breath, nodding.
"You were the one that helped her, sí?"
"Sí," Zion's hand gripped mine firmly, away from anyone else's view.
Nevaeh must've noticed, though, because her eyes landed at where our hands were intertwined behind my back. She cackled, making her way inside.
"Your Papa would love to meet him," My mother smiled widely at me, and I wasn't sure it was a good thing. She glanced back at Zion with a certain gleam in her eyes. "He'd love to have a smoke with you."
"Oh, thank you, but I don't smoke," Zion laughed nervously.
"No te preocupes. No se lo diré a tus padres," My mother waved him off and began to make her way inside. [Don't worry. I won't tell your parents.]
Zion's chest moved against my shoulders when he laughed some more. "Seriously, I don't smoke."
"Well, then my father will make sure you have a drink with him. He doesn't let these things go past him easily. Someone helps his children, and he'll love them for life. That means getting an introduction with a few drinks first," I informed Zion, adjusting my hand in his as I led him to my house.
It felt surreal that finally, after three months, he was walking into my house. I wanted to cry with joy.
"I'll try to talk him out of it if you're uncomfortable with that-" My reassurance was stuck in my throat when my eyes landed on two familiar idiots.
I wanted to disintegrate on the spot when I saw Levi and Lorenzo in the kitchen with Elijah. I hoped they weren't plotting the murder of my boyfriend as they spoke in hushed tones.
Z I O N
I didn't get my ass kicked. Thanks to Pearl's mother, her brother's did not attack me. Maybe verbally, here and there, but Pearl shut them down.
It was more funny than insulting, and I decided I'd take that over anything.
When Pearl told them that she wouldn't let one incident define me as a person, I fell deeper in love with her, more than I felt was possible.
That was the thing about love. It never stops, only grows.
⭐︎
"I changed my mind. I will remain heterosexual sexual," Xyla stated affirmatively out of panic as we stood in the hallway of our house. "Yes. I will be straight. Fully straight."
"Oh, please," John scrunched his face in denial. "Who are you trying to fool?"
"Mother," Xyla blinked back, replying as if her answer was obvious.
"It seems like you are trying to fool yourself, actually," John tilted his head, a fake smile forming on his lips.
I released a frustrated sigh, looking between the two with the urge to slap them.
Xyla was about to tell our mother about her feelings and was second-guessing her entire life by the time we reached the living room.
"I'm going to get thrown out of the house, Zion," She whispered, all humour in her voice gone. "She's going to take me to whatever pastor she finds and try to talk it out of me."
"You won't get kicked out," John overheard her and spoke up for me. "But if you do, here," He pulled out a few dollar bills from his pocket and threw them at her face.
I had to stifle a laugh as she let the money drop from her face to the floor.
"Not helping," She grumbled, collecting the money and stuffing them in her pocket. "But thank you for the undying support."
John scoffed and led the way into the kitchen, where our Ma was packing away the dishes. She picked up the knives to dry them with the hand towel in her hand, and I saw Xyla cower back from it like it would be used against her. I hated that she felt that way.
My mother packed the utensils away and set the hand towel on the counter before leaning her hands against it. She sensed we were there before she even saw us.
"This is what my life has come to now? My three children wanting to gang up on me? What do ya'll want?" Her accent peaked, hinting at her impatience.
"Just wanted to see how you're doing," Xyla chuckled nervously before clearing her throat and taking a seat on the barstool in front of her.
"I'm doing well," The exhaust in her face exposed her, but my mother would slap us if we suggested otherwise.
"That's great. You know that is so perfect because you're our mother. Our beautiful mother who gave birth, and raised us beautiful, equal human beings. You had three children inside your own body for-" Xyla calculated under her breath. "Twenty-seven months altogether! Wow, very strong woman you are."
"Xyla," John nudged her subtly. "Go on."
"So, my point is- I'm trying to say that, uh, I want to tell you something. You are always free to have your own opinion, but keep in mind that you birthed and raised me and will not dump me to the stray dogs when I tell you that I am bisexual," She did it.
Xyla said her words as they were her own, and I was so proud of her. No matter what happened next, I'd have her back because I knew she'd always have mine.
"What's this bisexual? What does it mean?" My mother crossed her arms across her chest and furrowed her dark eyebrows.
John raised a hand to cover his mouth, trying to hold back his shock and laughter as he turned away.
Xyla inhaled deeply and turned to me for guidance.
"She likes boys and girls," I explained in simple terms to my mother, who raised her eyebrows in understanding.
"Mm," then her face went blank of any emotion, and I caught onto the movement of Xyla's trembling hands.
My sister was scared, and for a moment, my heart almost shattered for her.
"Is this what's always troubling you?" The question wasn't clear to Xyla when my mother asked. "You think you can't tell me, so you get upset? Is that why? And every time we go to the hospital- Is it because you're scared of how I'm going to act when you tell me this?"
The air shifted into a chilling void. It was silent for a few seconds.
Xyla sniffled, and I knew she was about to cry. I clenched my jaw, trying to let her find the strength to talk for herself, and placed my hand on her back instead. I had to show her that I was still there to support her.
"I think so," Her voice cracked as she replied. "It's a bit messy, but mostly, yes."
My mother's eyes became glassy with tears. She put her head down and sighed deeply. The unknown was starting to feel like a painful dread.
"What did I always used to tell you when you were little? Before you'd sleep?" I knew where my Ma was going with this and sighed in defeat.
Xyla's back locked up as she answered, "Don't worry about it-"
"Tell me," My mother pressed, keeping her head down and eyes cast away from all of us.
"To pray for strength," Xyla murmured, losing the strength in her voice.
"And?"
"That I am loved."
"What else?"
"You said, 'Let all that you do be done in love,'" Xyla's hands were fisted beside her, and I knew she was on the verge of dashing out of here.
"I didn't say that, the Bible did. Is that what you are worried about, also?" My mother's eyes lifted to Xyla, and I watched with a heavy heart as a tear slid down her face.
"Yes," Xyla replied without hesitation.
"Why?"
A small sob ripped out of my sister's throat, and I felt the back of my eyes sting with tears at the sound of it.
"The way they make me feel," Her voice was weak, but she still spoke her truth. "I don't feel safe around them. They think I'm evil."
"Did you murder someone?" My mother straightened her posture, wiping the stray tear from her face.
"No."
"Did you steal from someone and not pay due to debt?" She stole a glance at me, and if it weren't for Xyla's sniffles, I would've found it funny.
"No."
"Do you think you're evil?" My mother walked around the counter and stood beside where Xyla sat.
Xyla's silence made my mother shake her head.
"I hope the answer is no because no child of mine will ever be evil. Not with the way I raised them," Her tough tone yet gentle voice sounded comforting, and I hoped it helped Xyla even in the smallest way.
"The church-"
"Should learn to love you, too. That is not your fault. 'Let all that you do be done in love,' should also be practised by the people who claim to be Christians yet say and do things that contradict them. They are the ones that give you this distress, yes?" Ma took Xyla's hands into her own.
My sister nodded, wiping her face with her raised shoulder. Seeing the slight relief in her expression that our mother was holding her made a little pressure lift from my chest.
"What do you want to do then? Talk to them about this?" Ma asked, and Xyla shook her head instantly.
"It'll make it worse," She hiccuped, a few more tears gliding down her cheeks.
"Okay, so I will find some other church to go to. It is no problem. As long as I can worship, and you are comfortable to join if you like," My mother raised her eyebrows in question and smiled reassuringly.
"Your friends from the church are the ones I worry about. Their children can be such assholes sometimes," Xyla's voice hardened.
"They're not my friends, Xyla. I bring them over a few times for a prayer session, but they are never stepping foot in this house again. Never again will I let something like this happen without knowing about it, yes? You will tell me, and we will figure it out together, bebe, okay?" Ma whispered, leaning her forehead on Xyla's.
Not wanting to ruin the way Xyla's posture began to relax, I turned to face John. He was sitting on the couch, watching with Bucky sleeping in his lap. My hand lifted slightly until I got his attention, and I pointed to the hallway.
He got up, and the movement awoke Bucky. I widened my eyes slightly when he put the dog down. It wasn't the time for it, but I desperately had to sprint away from the creature strutting my way.
"You're done. You are so done, you dipshit," I mouthed to John.
He merely shrugged, rolling his lips into his mouth to stop from laughing and slowly made his way to his room.
My eyes shifted to the dog coming closer to me, and then I prayed for my own strength because if I didn't make it to my room in less than two seconds, I would've been ambushed by the thing.
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a/n: this chapter was so draining to write and I think it's because my exams have officially worn me out. But I finish in two days hehe
I'm here for anyone who doesn't have it as easy as Xyla does with her mother. everybody needs their family, but not every family is there to support each other.
so I am here for anyone who wants to talk. no judgment. it's a safe space :)
reminder: you are very much loved. more than you know.
have a great day / night <3