Aisha's P.O.V.
"So... that's what's happened with us, and why you are blaming yourself for me being attacked?" I ask quietly, looking at Marshall who is still sitting at the edge of the bed, his whole body tense.
"Yeah," he replies and then turns to face me. "Baby, I fucked up. I shouldn't have left you there, I was such a dick to you."
"But like... you didn't know this was going to happen to me, Marshall," I softly say, my voice almost a whisper as I'm still trying to process everything. "So I don't like... blame you or hate you for it..."
"You should though," he says angrily.
I take a deep breath.
"I'll ask you again. Did you cheat on me with Kim that night?"
Marshall frowns in confusion, turning more towards me.
"No baby. I been told you, I would never do that."
"So then I don't hate you," I shrug.
Marshall sharply breathes out rolling his eyes and lays down on the bed, staring at the ceiling.
"You shouldn't forgive motherfuckers so easily, Aisha," he states stubbornly, squinting his eyes.
"Don't tell me what I should or shouldn't do, boy. You ain't my daddy," I smile but speak firmly to him, throwing my hand on my hip.
When he doesn't respond, I go to lay my head in his chest.
Marshall hesitates but then goes to wrap his arm around me. It feels so warm and familiar when he pulls me closer to him and kisses my forehead softly.
"I really am sorry, baby. I should never have left you there. I'm an asshole for it for real. I've always been one, and no matter how hard I try, i ain't seem to know how to get shit right."
"Marshall, tell me something," I trace circles on his chest and abdomen with my fingers, feeling his muscles contract under my touch. "Do I remember how you are correctly? Do you have a thing for like, self-depricating, hating yourself or whatever? Even though you are cocky as hell? Are you like, insecure or whatever? Because I'll tell you right now, even if you hate yourself, I could never hate you. Because I think... No, I know that I'm in love with you."
"Don't say that," he says tensely.
"Why?" I place my palm against his chest and put my chin on top of it, gazing up at him through my lashes. "Because you think I don't remember if I love you or not? I've already told you, Marshall. I remember enough. Okay? So quit telling me how I should feel, boy. It's almost like you WANT to sabotage us at this point."
Marshall's eyes meet mine as he continues to run his fingers through my hair. He smirks slightly, sitting up and pulling me on top of him.
"Nah, never that baby. I love you, Aisha," he pulls me more into him and kisses me. Softly at first but it quickly becomes heated.
Before I know it, my hands cup the back of his head while his arms make their underneath his t-shirt that I'm wearing, caressing my boobs. Marshall flips us over and makes his way on top of me and starts kissing down my neck.
"You sure about this, baby? Cause I don't wanna hurt you. It's been a while for us he says agaisnt my skin, at the same time pulling his shirt over my head.
"You are not going to hurt me," I whisper, but then a sudden thought occurs to me, and I feel a coldness spread through me all over.
"Oh my God, wait, Marshall," I press my palms against his chest, prompting him to lift off of my body just slightly.
"What, baby? Did I hurt you after all?" He looks so concerned as his eye search my face intently. I get so many flashbacks of him looking at me just like this.
I want nothing more than for us to just catch up on all of the time we have lost being together, but this one thing bothers me. Scares me even.
"Those... um... Those Cuban druglords that are after me. Because of that stuff with my mother? Won't they be coming after me again?" I whisper, shuddering at the mere thought.
I feel silly bringing this up now, at the worst possible moment, ruining the moment for us, but I can't help being scared. I still can't remember the exact attack, what actually happened that night and what those guys did to me. But I know it was bad enough if I ended up losing my freaking memory. And I now understand enough to know they won't stop coming after me. Those guys are relentless.
Marshall frowns and puts his hands on either side of me on the bed, caging me in slightly. His jaw sets and he speaks very quietly but firmly.
"Look, Aisha. One thing you don't got to worry about no more is those men," he states.
"But... how come?" I wonder.
He closes his eyes then, and something about how set his face is worries me.
"Marshall?" I question him, laying my palm against his face.
He opens his eyes and his face is completely rid of emotion.
"Cause I paid them, aight?" He finally says, and he sounds so angry. "The goddamn money your mother owed those cocksuckers, I gave it to them. All of it. Even though that shit had nothing to do with me and you, but I just... Man, I felt like a total pussy doing that, but after what's happened to you, I couldn't risk them coming after you again. And it wasn't like that money was even a big deal to me. It ain't mean shit to me, Aisha, so I just gave it to them. So that they leave you the fuck alone."
I look at him. And I can't believe he did this for me. It must've took a major hit on his pride to just give in like that, but he did it anyway. Just because he loves me.
But like...
Why would he try and hide it from me though?
"Was that all, Marshall?" I ask him.
"Huh?" He looks at me with confusion written all over his face, but I just know something is wrong. I can feel it.
"Was that all you have done? Because I feel like you are not telling me the whole story."
"Baby, I couldn't just let it go though," he concedes. "What's happen to you. And those bastards that laid their hands on you at your hotel room that night. I don't think you realize EXACTLY what they did to you, Aisha. And truth be told, I pray to God, you never remember that shit. And I couldn't just let it go," he continues to rumble, his words coming out so fast now, it's almost like he's rapping or something.
I push him off of me and sit up on the bed, staring at him in pure horror.
"Marshall, what did you do?" I whisper.
He looks away from me, like he can't even face me anymore, so I grab his face, turning it back towards me.
"Marshall!!" I exclaim.
He runs his hand down my cheek.
"Aisha, I love you. You have to understand that, baby girl. Whenever I had told you I'd kill for you, I fucking meant that shit."
"W...what?!" I back away from him.
"Aight look," he sighs. "Those dudes that attacked you. I might have arranged for them... to get taken care of."
I back away from him some more once what he just said to me fully registers.
"Marshall," I whisper with pure terror lacing my voice. "Are you telling me that you like... killed them?"
"I mean, I might have paid somebody to..." He shrugs and his voice trails off.
He's put a hit out of them. He did something my daddy would do..
I feel tears start to brim my eyes, and when Marshall reaches for me, I recoil from him.
He looks confused and hurt then, as though he can't understand why I would actually be upset by this, by what he's just confessed to me.
"What else was I supposed to do, yo?" Marshall says defensively. "Those motherfuckers fucking put their hands on you, Aisha!!"
"Oh my God!!" I exclaim and quickly jump of the bed, grabbing some of my clothes from the floor and start putting them on.
I'm scared. Too scared of him right now. Maybe he's right, maybe I don't know him at all, maybe I do not remember him correctly, because the person I thought him to be wouldn't just take another man's life, just like that.
This is too much, this is too intense, this is something I can't handle!!
"Baby," Marshall says, looking lost.
"I'm sorry, but I just can't," I whisper, shaking my head, tears clouding my vision by this point.
Next thing I know, I'm running out of the room and towards our daughter's bedroom.
"Sienna, sweetie, wake up!!" I shake her awake, scooping her up in my arms the best way I can.
"Mommy? What's wrong?" Sienna whispers sleepily and I pull her more towards me. She's too heavy for me to actually carry, so I will need her to walk.
"Nothing is wrong, my love, but we need to go. Right now," I state quietly but firmly, dragging my half awake child behind me and towards the front door, pulling out my cell phone at the same time and dialing car service.
"Aisha!!" Marshall chases after us, rapidly pulling his t- shirt he previously took off back over his head. "Fuck are you doing, girl?"
"I'm sorry, Marshall," I whisper yell at him, covering Sienna's ears. "But I just can't. This is too much!!"
You freaking had somebody killed!! I think to myself, but dare not say it. Not in front of our daughter. I mean, Sienna is still half out of it right now, but still I wouldn't want to traumatize her with this.
Marshall grabs me arm, right above my elbow, preventing me from moving further.
"Nah man, you can't leave, not cause of... THAT of all things!" He speaks with urgency to me, sounding both desperate and slightly anngry. "And take my daughter away too, nah, you can't do this to me."
My heart beats rapidly in my chest. It's almost a painful feeling. I can literally feel it break into a thousand pieces. I don't want to leave him at all, but I've got no other choice. He scares me right now.
"I'm sorry, Marshall," I whisper. "But please don't force me to stay with you right now. I can't bear to be around you."
He sighs in defeat, slowly letting go of my hand. His baby blue eyes watching my every move, looking so lost and confused. Pitiful even.
All I want to do is tell him that I love him and to comfort him right now, but I can't.
Because like I said, this man scares me right now, and maybe I don't know him at all.
So I rapidly walk out of the front door, dragging Sienna along with me.
"Mommy, where are we going? What about daddy??" My child then asks me frantically, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes with her small fists.
"Daddy is... daddy can't go with us right now, Sienna!!" I force myself to say as harshly as I can.
I continue to drag Sienna out of the house, refusing to look back at Marshall, because I just know if I do look at him again, I won't be able to leave him after all, even though I have to.
And I mean, I really DO have to, right?!
The car service takes me to a Detroit hotel.
It might not exactly be the presidential suit, and Sienna and I barely have anything with us, as I had practically ran out of the house Marshall and I shared, without so much as a chance of grabbing anything.
And right now I don't know what else to do, so I call Suge Knight. My father.
"Daddy? Can you please come get me?"
All I can think of is that my daddy was right. Marshall IS a violent person after all...