Chapter 112-Prom Night

“Girls, you look great!”

“Thanks, Mom,” Finley replied.

It was prom night, and she and Zana were all set to go. After the incident at her house, Zana practically lived with us it seemed. Marcus and I didn’t mind and they were very good with keeping to the house rules we’d set.

“I think you need a sweater,” Marcus grumbled.

Finley smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek. The girls and I went shopping without him the next day after everything had settled. When we got home, he was very unhappy about Finley’s dress choice. She’d never been a fan of wearing dresses or dressing up in general so when she was excited about this one I let her get it. I had my own reservations, but I couldn’t deny she looked beautiful in it. Marcus, however, was still the over-protective dad and still only saw the little girl he first met.

“Are you sure you don’t need a trench coat? Or a bodyguard? Or both?” he asked.

“Marcus, quit. Tell the girls they look beautiful and to have a good time,” I said, swatting his arm gently.

He let out a heavy sigh, and ran his hand over his face. “Ok, ok…girls, you both are stunning and I hope you two enjoy yourselves,” he conceded, letting a smile replace the scowl that was on his face.

We watched as they climbed into the limo to head off to dinner before the prom.

“So…,” I said, wrapping my arms around his neck. “What should we do with the rest of our evening?”

Marcus leaned down to give me a kiss.

It started out slow, but the passion quickly grew. My hormones were my enemy this pregnancy. I spent more time horny and it drove me crazy. I was starting to think part of it had to do with the fact that my husband was currently the forbidden fruit.

“Not that,” he groaned, breaking away. “Three more weeks,” he said running his hand across my large belly. “Three more weeks and these guys can safely be delivered.”

“Yes, and your wife won’t look like a beached whale.”

He wrapped his arms around my large waist, pulling me as close as my stomach would allow. “She doesn’t look like one now. I see only an incredibly sexy woman carrying my children.”

I stretched up to kiss him again. “Comments like that will get you extra special treatment once we get the all clear.”

Marcus picked me up effortlessly and carried me to the couch.

“I do like the sound of that,” he said with a wink, “but just being back here with you and our family is reward enough,” he finished.

I nuzzled deeper into his arms and let out a contented sigh. He was right; having him back filled a void that had been missing in my life. His arms tightened around me. I turned, burying my face in his neck and started planting soft kisses at the base, working my way up.

“Amari…”

“Hmm?” I respond before catching his earlobe between my teeth.

I heard him let out a low groan before I found myself alone on the couch.

“I’m going to go take a really cold shower. You…you figure out what to do for dinner.”

He disappeared up the stairs before I could even reply. I thought about waddling up the stairs and joining him in the shower, but I’d probably end up sleeping by myself tonight like last time I’d tried that. As I tried to get the image of my husband upstairs showering out of my head, I waddled to the kitchen in search of dinner options. 

It didn’t take me long to realize that I was in no mood to cook, so I ordered pizza. I was just settling back down on the sofa when Marcus walked in.

“Feeling better?” I asked, giving him a sweet smile.

He frowned at me. “No, not really, but I’ll live.”

I laughed and patted the space next to me on the sofa. He took a seat at the far end before flipping on the TV. Propping my feet in his lap, I settled down to watch whatever action flick he’d found. 

A nice quiet evening alone; I knew I should enjoy this time since in a few weeks it would be a distant memory. After our pizza arrived, we ate and finished watching GI Joe. Marcus had just found the second one on demand when the phone rang. He got up to answer it.

“Yes, I’m her stepfather.” I heard him say. “Incident? Is she okay?”

Hearing those words brought me to my feet as fast as I could. Marcus paced back and forth in the dining room giving a lot of ‘uh-huhs’ while I waited anxiously to find out what happened.

“I’ll be right there,” he said.

“What happened? Where are you going?” I asked frantic now.

“Babe, calm down,” he said, sensing my mood. “That was the school…”

“Oh god, Finley! What happened? Is she okay?”

“I don’t know. That was Principal Morgan, he said she was involved in some sort of incident but didn’t go into details. Just that there was an altercation between Finley and some boy.”

Marcus was trying to remain calm for my sake, but I could tell he was just as worried as I was.

“Go get my shoes so we can go.”

My imagination was already in overdrive with wild thoughts as to what could have happened to my sweet girl.

“We? We aren’t going anywhere! You are going to go sit down and let me handle it.”

“Like hell! Marcus, you just told me my baby has been hurt by some boy. If you think I’m going to stay here, then you are mistaken!”

“Baby, you are already…” he stopped when he saw my face. “Let me get your shoes.”

During the drive, Marcus held my hand and kept telling me everything would be fine. When we arrived at the school, I couldn’t get out of the car fast enough. We headed straight towards the Principal’s office. There were two boys sitting in the main office. One had a bloody nose, and was cradling an ice pack to his wrist. Inside Principal Morgan’s office, Finley sat looking upset, but completely unharmed. Zana had a small rip at the bottom of her dress, but also looked unharmed. I let out a sigh of relief.

“Mom, it wasn’t my fault!” Finley cried, running over to me.

Just then, Principal Morgan walked in. “Mr. and Mrs. Duff?”

“It’s Smith,” Marcus corrected.

The man raised his eyebrow but made no comment. “I’ve tried to reach Zana’s parents, but have been unsuccessful.”

I looked over at Zana who was still crying. I walked over and took the seat Finley had vacated. Putting a comforting arm around her shoulder, I tried to comfort her, but didn’t miss the attitude that seemed to be rolling off the Principal.

“You didn’t go into detail on the phone, can you explain now what happened?” Marcus asked.

Principal Morgan walked over and took a seat behind his desk before answering. “Yes, well I’m afraid Finley will be suspended for fighting,” he said sounding very nonchalant.

“Fighting?” I asked, pulling away from Zana. “That’s crazy, she wouldn’t get into a fight!”

“Well, she did. She attacked our star baseball player. He may be out for the season because of her.” The man’s voice dripped with contempt and I felt my temper rising.

“He was a jerk and started it first!” Finley yelled. “Mom, I was only defending myself and Zana. I swear!”

“Young lady that’s not what the witness says,” Principal Morgan injected.

“That’s because he’s his teammate. I have my own witness, Zana. And she’s also the victim here,” Finley challenged.

“Hold on,” Marcus said, “the kid we saw outside? That boy is claiming that my daughter beat him up?” Marcus tried to stifle a laugh at the idea and I heard a hint of pride in his voice. “That boy looked more than twice her size, how are you trying to say that she was the aggressor?”

Principal Morgan shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

“Finley, tell me what happened,” I prompted. There was more going on here, I could tell and whatever the Principal was trying to sweep under the rug was not sitting well with me.

“Z and I were minding our own business. Dancing and having a good time. They’d been hassling us most of the night; calling us names and making rude comments. We tried to ignore it, we really did. But…but then when we headed out into the hall to go to the restroom…” Finley stopped as new tears started.

“One grabbed Z, Mom. Tried to touch her. Saying…saying she just needed the right man for the job. They were laughing and I tried to get him off her and that other one grabbed me. I got scared, but then I remembered what Elton and Edson taught me. I stomped on his foot with my shoe, then flung my head back. I hit his nose, he got mad and grabbed my arm again, so I twisted his wrist.”

“Yes, see she just admitted to viciously attacking him. She and her…friend…were…”

“Excuse me,” Marcus said standing from his chair. “Did you miss the part of her story where she said those boys tried to sexually assault them?”

“Well…well, no, but…”

“But nothing,” I yelled. “I don’t give a shit who the hell that boy is. Star player or not, he has no right to put his hands on my daughter or her girlfriend!”

Principal Morgan looked flustered. I don’t know what kind of parents he was expecting, I guess he thought we’d just play along with the railroad job he was trying to do, but he picked the wrong one.

“Mrs. Smith, you must understand…” he tried again.

“Understand? What the hell do I need to understand? That you are trying to punish my daughter for protecting herself?”

“Baby, you need to calm down,” Marcus said, but I ignored him.

Finley had already had to deal with more than she should have and now this man was trying to add to that. There was no way he was getting out of this night without hearing what I had to say, and giving my child and Zana a much needed apology.

“Are you planning on suspending those boys for their actions? Or better yet were the cops called when the girls reported a near sexual assault?”

“No…no we didn’t involve the cops. The boy’s parents were contacted same as you…”

“And you conveniently left out the part of their wrong doing?”

I rubbed my side, the babies were agitated. I felt the sharp kicks of their little feet as they squirmed around.

“Amari, please calm down,” Marcus pleaded.

“No, Marcus…”

A searing pain ripped through me. I let out a cry and braced myself on the desk. A second pain hit me, and it was different. It wasn’t like the contractions; it was something different. Something was wrong.

“Amari?”

“Mom…you’re bleeding…”