Vik (Shot Callers 2)

Lord. I think this was as honest as we’d ever been with each other.

A therapy session we didn’t know we needed.

“Fine,” he uttered calmly, turned, and made to leave.

My mouth gaped.

Was he freaking serious?

Stunned, I moved too late. I left my room in time to see him walking the hall, toward the front door. That was the moment I lost my mind.

I had just bared my soul to this man, and he was leaving?

“Where are you going?” I balled my fists and hollered from the top of the stairs like a shrieking banshee.

His slow, casual descent felt like it took forever. Finally, he got where he was going. Vik opened the front door.

Oh my God.

He walked out.

Don’t you dare.

The door closed behind him, and my eyes widened.

Don’t you dare!

The latch clicked over, and the quiet sound echoed loudly in my ears.

I gasped in outrage.

Unbelievable!

I think that might have been the exact moment I went insane. “You know what? Fine. If that’s how he wants things to be… whatever. Perfect.” My voice wobbled. “I planned on doing this alone anyway, so…”

So…

My temples pulsed.

So…

My eyes blurred, and my breath hitched.

So, I did the only thing I could.

Utterly grief-stricken, I slowly sat on the stairs, lowered my face to my knees, and began to cry like I never had before.

My bed felt cold, and no matter how many layers of clothing I added or how many pairs of socks I wore, I just couldn’t seem to get warm enough. I lay in the center of the mattress, curled up under the covers, stroking my stomach lightly, silently apologizing to my unborn child for screwing up its life.

Yeah. I messed up big time, and now we would both suffer for it.

I reached for my phone a number of times to call him, only to realize Roam still had it. So, when I heard the front door open, followed by heavy footfalls and what seemed to be the sound of clash and clatter, I threw the covers off my head and headed for my bedroom door. When I got there, I peeked out but saw nothing. Moving closer to the top of the stairs, I held onto the railing, taking the steps slowly, and when I saw him enter again, stopping only to drop a box in the foyer, then leave again, my brow creased.

What was he doing?

He came and went constantly, and during a brief pause, he finally noticed me.

“You’re back,” I croaked.

“Yeah” was all he said.

Why was he here? And what was this attitude? Was he still pissed at me?

Because, newsflash, buddy! Two could play that game.

I took another step down. “What’s all this?”

“My shit,” he said in a way that stated it should have been obvious.

My feet met the landing of the stairs. “Why?”

“I’m moving in,” he stated, leaving no room for arguing, and my heart began to race, because, what the hell? “And, I swear to God, Nas. Don’t start. If you think I am missing a second of this—of my child’s life—you are out of your goddamn mind.” Oh God. This wasn’t happening. “I’ll sleep in another room if you really want me to.” Like hell he was. “But I’m making it clear. The only place I want to sleep is by your side. So, if you want to fight me, fight me, but I gotta warn ya. I plan on winnin—” He twisted to shoot me a glare, but the moment he saw my misery eating away at me, his entire demeanor changed, grew softer somehow. His rigid shoulders turned lax, and his tone turned warm. “Baby? Tears? Why? What’s happening here?”

Was I crying?

Ah, shit. I was.

“You came back,” I choked out the high-pitched words as a sob shook me whole, but I was too moved to feel embarrassed by the audible hitch that left me.

And Vik lowered his face, taking a deep breath, exhaling slowly. When he lifted his head, his attitude was gone. He took the few steps over to me and searched my face before taking the hem of his tee and lifting it to my face to blot away my tears.

“Where else would I go? Huh?” he uttered like he wasn’t killing me slowly with his sweetness. “No place I’d rather be.”

Oh my God. He needed to stop.

It was too much.

I struggled to breathe through the desperate need for release, and as my lips trembled, I blinked rapidly as Vik’s hands came to my hips to steady me. His brows furrowed as I shook my head, unable to say all I wanted to say right then, and as if he knew I needed it, those hands slipped around my body, to my back, and he pulled me in close, into the warm barrier of his body. My breath caught and shuddered as I pressed my forehead to his shoulder and closed my eyes.