Tires shrieked.
Someone screamed.
The horizon shifted.
Holy fuck!
Sharp blades of grass dug into Xiomara's back. A gale of air shot out of her lungs and out of her mouth. The echo of a scream lingered in her mind. The scent of burnt rubber. She blinked. Light filtered in. Clouds. Drifting. Birds. Blink blink. Flying. A voice. Soft. Melodious.
"Xiomara, can you hear me?"
Amelia.
Or an angel. She wasn't sure.
Flashes. Of a car. A red car, coming at them full speed. The driver. A woman. Natalya? Maybe. Everything had happened so fast. One minute they were walking on the sidewalk, and the next an ear piercing scream had filthied the air in the usually quiet neighborhood. And then a tumble, and her universe had spun upside down, the ground and the sky switching places for a second or two that felt like forever.
That beautiful voice came at her again and she turned her head toward it. "I can hear you. You're shouting."
"Oh, thank God. I was starting to worry for a second there." Amelia was next to her, kneeling on some unsuspecting neighbor's manicured lawn. Or maybe, nobody was home.
If this had happened where she came from, the entire neighborhood, including babies and old people would have been out of their tiny apartments the second that scream sounded through the atmosphere.
Xiomara sat up, but Amelia forced her back on the grass.
"I'm okay," she said, resisting any attempts to keep her down.
Amelia sent her a look that said I'm-not-so-sure. "I pushed you away from that crazy driver really hard, much harder than I intended to."
"Oh fuck. Donut. Is he okay?" Xiomara looked down at her body expecting to see her belly flat or something, or crushed like a watermelon that been hammered to death for an experiment on National Geographic. Which was stupid. It's not like her stomach would suddenly deflate just because she'd fallen rather hard on her back and got the breath knocked out of her lungs.
"Donut? I think you might have hit your head or something. Let me check."
"No, I did not. Donut is our nickname for the baby. Is he okay, please tell me he's okay." She looked down at her belly again. Yup. Still round. Still big. That was a good sign right?
"I can't t say for certain, but how do you feel?" Amelia was in doctor mode, choosing her words carefully.
"I feel good, baby-wise at least, because honestly I was expecting to wake up dead somewhere far away from here."
"Do you mind if I check your shorts for any signs of blood?"
"What? here?"
Amelia looked around them. "I don't think anyone's home, and if they are, I doubt they give a damn."
"Okay. Go ahead, but I'm not bleeding though. I feel fine."
"I don't want to take any chances," Amelia said. She poked around in Xiomara's nether region before moving on to examine her abdomen with careful hands. "Do you think you can stand? I don't see anything wrong with you that I can detect."
Xiomara sat up all the way. "Can we just sit here for a moment longer. I don't want to go back to the house just yet."
Amelia nodded. "Sure, whatever you want. Everything okay with you and Omar?"
"Everything okay with you and Willem?"
Amelia smiled and sat down on the grass in her pretty dress. "I asked first."
"I honestly don't know," Xiomara said. "Did Willem tell you why he punched Omar?"
"Not exactly. He didn't want to talk in front of Bradley." Amelia plucked a blade of grass and started to play with it, dragging the tip of it in circles in the middle of her palm.
"Omar paid a maid at one of Willem's hotels to have sex with him, but he didn't actually have sex with her. Or something like. But that's not why I'm upset? This whole maid thing happened way before we got serious with each other."
"Oh. Then why are you upset?"
"He told me he loved me."
Amelia laughed. "You're upset because he told you he loved you? That makes no sense to me. You're going to have to explain this one."
"It's silly, I know, but I feel like the timing was wrong. Or maybe in my mind I'd imagined it differently. Like in the movies." She dusted off her shorts where a patch of dead leaves clung to the fabric. "I wanted it to be special. He makes me feel special all the time, and the one time I needed to feel extra special... he left me hanging. But then again that probably says more about me and my unrealistic, fairytale-oriented mind."
A look of amusement flittered across Amelia's features. "This is a first world problem. Or a romantic's problem. I'm a true romantic, so I know. Willem told me he loved me after I did life saving surgery on his son. Our entire relationship up until that moment had been a sham of lies and secrets. I felt betrayed by my father, and I was deeply hurt that Willem had waited an entire month to make things right with me after I left him. But when he said the words they felt sincere. He called me the lollapalooza of his life. That's what I held on to. I wanted him to love me for me, and not because of how rich my father's company made him or because I saved his son's life."
Xiomara bowed her head in embarrassment. Mostly because she had nothing to give Omar in return. No fancy doctorate degree, no million dollar enterprise. All she had to offer him was a baby. A fucking baby. And an unplanned one at that.
What did he even see in her?
Oh man, she was such a loser. A twenty-three-year-old adult with no potential. How had her life even come to this? She wanted to be so much more than just the mother of his child. So much more than just his lover.
Omar loved her, and like he said, it was obvious in the way he treated her and cared for her, in the way he rubbed her feet and belly with the natural cocoa butter her mother had gotten her. He showed her that he loved her by constantly worrying about her safety, by always double checking to make sure that her seatbelt was fastened properly. He showed her by baby proofing his entire condo, and by getting her the best doctor on the island to deliver their baby. She could name at least a hundred more things he'd done that said he loved her, more than words ever could. So why wasn't she embracing this? Soaking it all in like a sponge? Instead she was sitting in the grass feeling sorry for herself.
She bit down on her lip as she mulled over everything Amelia just said to her. The thing was, she'd been too distraught to know whether Omar was being sincere or not when he'd told her he loved her. Her hearing had faded out, leaving a buzz in her ear as blood rushed through her body. Angry and jealous, thinking that he'd slept with another woman while she was carrying his child.
Amelia snapped a finger in front of her face, forcing her thoughts to scatter with the wind.
"I'm sorry. I meant to ask you a question, but I got carried away in my thoughts. I don't remember the question anymore, but you're right, this is stupid. Forget I ever brought it up." She managed to get up on her feet with Amelia's help.
The street lamps turned on as they walked side by side on the sidewalk. Overhead the sky darkened into a royal blue. Crickets started a choir in the bushes nearby, their voices like background music to the movie playing in her head. She tried to imagine what Omar's reaction would be to the accident. She was so ready to have him hovering over her twenty-four-seven from now on.
Amelia's and Willem's cars were parked one behind the other in the driveway. They came to a stop in front of the condo when Amelia reached out to touch Xiomara's arm. Their eyes met under the porch light.
"Willem and I are good," Amelia said. "It's just that I didn't get a chance to catch my breath yet. The wedding happened and then I started working. It's just been really crazy. Somehow with Willem opening a new restaurant in Anguilla, Bradley's recovery, and my crazy hours at the hospital we've managed to survive. He still tells me he loves me every night before we go to bed. What I'm trying to say is, Omar will tell you that he loves you again. Listen to him. Put your head on his chest if you have to and listen to his heartbeat. Two hearts in love beat in sync."
"Okay, you're truly a romantic," Xiomara said.
Amelia laughed. "Remember when you told me that Willem was a good man?"
Xiomara nodded.
"Well, this is me telling you that Omar is too. Don't let whatever fantasy, or if I dare say misconception keep you from seeing that. I don't know what I would have done if I was in your situation, but I guess having Omar around sure does make it a lot easier."
"I love him," Xiomara whispered.
"Then tell him. The sooner the better."
Just then the front door opened. Omar stood in the doorway with an apron on. Drops of perspiration coated his forehead. "What are you ladies whispering about?"
"Whether we should eat your food or get takeout," Xiomara said.
"Woman, I just busted my ass in the kitchen for you. Do you have any idea how hot it gets in there?" His tone was playful, but then he took one look at her and his smile disappeared. He reached toward her and lifted a leaf out of her hair. "What the hell happened to you guys? Amelia's dress is stained and your hair looks like a bird's nest."
Amelia glanced at Xiomara and then back at Omar. "We were forced off the sidewalk by a crazy driver. She came speeding down the hill and at the last moment she swerved over the sidewalk, leaving me with no choice but to roll myself and Xiomara down this grassy patch and onto a neighbor's lawn."
"What the fuck? Are you okay, baby?" Omar dragged Xiomara into the condo, sat her down and lowered himself to her height, his hand roaming her body in search of bruises.
She stared at him, not knowing what to say. He was so big and beautiful. From his large hands to the frown lines marring his forehead now. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed being near him. And he loved her. This gorgeous man was in love with her.
He touched her knee. "How hard did you fall?"
She licked her lips. "I don't know. Amelia checked me out and I feel fine."
Omar glanced behind him at Amelia. "Thank you. This car, what did it look like? Did you see the license plate?"
"No, but it was a small, red car. I think a Swift," Amelia said.
Xiomara chimed in. "The driver was a woman with dark skin and hair. That's all I remember."
"Good. You did good, baby. I can work with that." He kissed her forehead. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up for dinner. I made your favorite; stuffed chicken wrapped in bacon with a side of spinach."
• • •
"Amelia thinks that Esme should get a new vest. The one she has now is very old and it hasn't been serviced in years." Xiomara took the plate from Omar and dried it with a dish towel.
"Okay." Omar scrubbed another plate and handed it to her.
"She thinks she can get one from the hospital at a reasonable price."
"Okay."
She dropped the towel and glared at him. "Are you even listening to me?'
"Not really." He let the plate in his hand slip into the water and turned to her. "I almost lost you today, so forgive me if I'm not in the mood to talk about your sister's fucking vest. I care about Esme, but I don't want to talk about her right now."
Taken aback by his tone, she lifted the towel from off the counter and twisted it. "No need to bark at me, but okay."
"Is that all you have to say? I waited all night for Willem and his family to leave so we can be alone and all you have to say to me is okay?" His dark gaze pinned her down.
She pushed past him for the plate in the water. "What do you want me to say?"
He stopped her movement by grabbing the plate and the towel out of her hand. The plate dropped on the counter with a loud clang, but it didn't break. "Tell me you're okay, and that I worry too much. That our baby's fine. That we're okay."
"Everything's fine," she said, a little irritated.
"Damn it, Xiomara. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only who actually gives a damn in this relationship. You act like you're clueless about how I feel about you. Some crazy person nearly killed you, and you act like that should mean nothing to me. I just need you to fucking talk to me. Tell me that you're scared and you just need me to hold you. Tell me what went through your mind when you saw that car coming at you. Did you think of me?"
She swallowed hard and stared into his face. "I thought about a lot of things. Of dying. Of never getting a chance to hold my baby in my arms. I thought of never seeing my family again. Of never hugging you, kissing you, making love to you. I thought about the other babies we would never have. But mostly, I thought about never getting the chance to tell you that I love you too."
Omar released a sharp breath of air. "I thought I was bad at not talking about stuff, but you have a hard time telling people how you feel. I can't read your mind, baby." His shoulders relaxed and he drew her near, tipping her chin up so he could press his lips to hers.
Her lashes fluttered down and she simply let him kiss her. Hot tears escaped the corners of her eyes. She gasped, but he didn't stop kissing her. His lips were hard and merciless as they captured hers, sucking her bottom lip into his mouth, grazing her flesh with his teeth. His hand glided from her chin up into her hair. He fisted a handful of it, yanking gently on the strands.
Oh god, how she missed this. She dipped her tongue into his mouth, and he responded with a groan. He tasted just how she remembered. Male. All male. With a hint of mint. And so intoxicating.
Even now, after a long day, his orange scented cologne made her knees weak. She wanted to get closer to him, but her belly wouldn't allow it. She moaned in frustration and settled for the feel of his tight stomach under her fingers.
A door slammed down the hallway, jolting them out of the kiss. Moments later Esmeralda appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. Xiomara automatically stepped in front of Omar to hide his erection. He placed a hand on her waist, his fingers branding her skin.
Esmeralda looked at them suspiciously. "You guys are acting weird again."
"We don't know what you're talking about," Omar said. "We're just doing the dirty... dishes."
"I may be thirteen, but I'm not stupid. I watch Game Of Thrones." Esmeralda strolled over to the fridge and took out a water bottle. "Can you believe Bradley's never even heard of Game Of Thrones? What is up with that?" She didn't wait for an answer before walking out again.
Omar kissed the area between Xiomara's neck and shoulder. "Leave the rest of the dishes to me. Go on up and get some rest. I'll be there soon."
Xiomara entered the master bedroom, turned on a lamp, and sat down on the bed. She loved this room. She had added pieces of herself to it and it was starting to feel like home. In here, she could be herself with Omar, because he definitely was with her. It was their paradise. Their slice of heaven on earth.
She wanted Omar to make love to her tonight. After everything today, she needed to feel close to him. She licked her lips, tasting him, and her yearning got worse.
She got up and took a shower, making sure to brush her teeth carefully since the pregnancy had sometimes caused her gums to get inflamed. After that she brushed the heck out of her hair and got dressed in a long, cream-colored, silky gown. The material was incredibly soft on her skin, sliding and gliding over her already hard nipples. She looked at herself in the mirror and decided to put her hair in a braid after all. It was just too thick hanging down her back like that. She didn't know if it was a pregnancy thing or not, but her hair had gotten a lot thicker.
The bathroom door opened and Omar walked in, his broad shoulders filling up most of the space. He stopped next to her and looked at her in the mirror. Her hand fumbled with the braid under his heated stare, her fingers turning into stiff branches.
"You should leave your hair out tonight," he said.
It was more of a command than a suggestion, but she nodded anyway and undid the braid she had going on so far. She ran her fingers through the tresses until she was happy with how it looked. Omar's lips curved into a smile and that pleased her even more.
When he moved past her, his arm skimming her nipple through her gown, she inhaled deeply. This man was bound to drive her crazy. She was starving. For him. For his hungry mouth. For his cock, deep inside of her.
She watched him move around the bathroom, shedding his clothes as he went. Why did he have to be so damn sexy? Especially now when she was the size of a hot air ballon. She loved how comfortable he was in his skin, his dark gorgeous skin. She felt like she was the slouchy husband with the beer belly and he was the hot wife.
He stepped behind the glass compartment and turned the shower on. The first thing he did was reach for the bottle of shampoo on the ledge. He was built like a machine, all powerful and sleek. She bit down on her lip at the outline of is semi-hard cock showing through the glass.
His deep voice cut through her wayward thoughts. "What's on your mind, baby?"
She shook her head and looked away. "Nothing important."
"Liar. I know that faraway look in your eyes. It's the one you get when you want to tell me something but don't know how."
He slid the glass door open and she grabbed a towel from the rack and handed it to him before bending over to collect his clothes from off the floor. "It's just been a long day. That's all."
He stared at her, but said nothing.
She folded his clothes under her arm and walked out of the bathroom with her heart threatening to tear a hole through her chest to get to him.
*****
I've officially concluded that I can't write short chapters to save my life, but then again I'm sure you guys don't mind. And while you're here, why not give this chapter a thumbs up by clicking on the star to vote. Votes and comments are a sure way to get me to update faster. *wink wink*
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Yuna - Falling