Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Chapter 115-Homecoming



I put Gabriella back in her crib. She was the last one fighting sleep, but luckily she didn’t wake her siblings. I look around the newly decorated nursery courtesy of Bynni, CeCe, and Nina. They all got together to redo the place as a surprise to me and Amari. Amari. I felt my anger surge at the thought of her still with him. It had been nearly 2 months since he took her. To make matters worse I had no idea where she was. The only communication made had been through Aric.


I left the nursery and headed to the empty master bedroom. Two months I’ve slept in that bed alone, worried, wondering. She hasn’t called or even written. She’s with him and I know exactly why she hasn’t called to talk to me. The thoughts that haunt me at night again start racing through my mind. She’s with him…she’s been with him. The longer she stayed gone, the more I doubted she’ll ever return. That man has always wanted her, and now he has her. 


I remembered my change very well, the insatiable appetite…for all things. I tried to tell myself she was being held against her will, that he was holding her somewhere and keeping her from contacting her family, but that was becoming harder and harder to believe. Whatever they had together, it clouded her judgment and now she would be even more open to his influence. I needed out, I needed air; the thought of losing her to that bastard was suffocating me.

Amari POV



I was nervous as I stood looking out at the water. I hadn’t called to let anyone know I was coming. I was scared. Mulo brought me to the small beach not far from the house. I knew I couldn’t have him drive me home and this place was always good for a little escape. I could steady my nerves before heading home.

“Are you ready for this, Love?” he asked taking my hand.


I smiled and nodded. Taking a deep breath, I pulled away, preparing myself for what was to come. He’d protested me going home alone, but it was best he not be with me. Facing Marcus was going to be hard, but I needed to do it alone, it would hopefully be better that way.


With each step I took, my heart got heavier with the knowledge my marriage could end today. The door was locked, I had to ring the bell.

“Mom!” Finley cried as she threw her arms around me.

I hesitated a moment before hugging her back. I could hear the pulsing of her blood through her veins. The smell of it made my fangs lengthen involuntarily. I pressed my lips together tightly as I put my arms around her, hugging her in return tightly. I’d missed her.


“I didn’t know you were coming, Dad will be so happy to see you. Everyone will be…oh I have to make calls to let them know,” she said talking a mile a minute.

Being back home felt surreal. Finley pulled me upstairs continuing to chatter away.

“Dad, look!” she said when we got to the nursery.

Marcus held a small bundle in his arms. A lump caught in my throat as I saw one of the babies for the first time. My baby, our baby. I started to walk towards him, but stopped when he shot me a look.



“Did you know she was coming? Why didn’t you tell me I would have set up a welcome home party,” Finley continued, missing the tension that was filling the room.

“I didn’t know, your mother didn’t bother to contact anyone,” Marcus replied, keeping his eyes on me only briefly.

One of the other babies started to cry; I walked over and picked him up. My son. He was so small, but he was here, they all were.



“What is his name?” I asked turning towards where Finley was only to find her gone. Marcus finished his task of changing the baby’s diaper then started out of the room.

“Graham,” he said pausing in the doorway.


I was left alone holding my tiny baby. For the first time I looked around the room noticing it was different. I liked the new look. After getting Graham taken care of, I took a look at the other babies. I laughed seeing that we had three girls. Three girls and a boy…

“There’s four of them,” I said to the air. Mulo had told me about them, but seeing them now in person made it real.

“Yep, and man are they a handful. But you’ll be happy to know we’ve all pitched in to help Dad out since they came home,” Finley said, appearing out of nowhere. “Everyone will be here in about an hour; they were so excited to know you were home.”


I gave her a warm smile, it felt good to have someone excited to have me back. We went to her room to talk about everything I’d missed while gone. Things at school were going well. The principle had been reassigned and the guys that had attacked her and Zana were suspended. She said Marcus wanted to file assault charges, but she talked him out of it because she just wanted the whole thing to be behind her.

She also filled me in on the nursery redo, I couldn’t wait to see the girls to thank them for what they had done. I stayed in the room with Finley letting her talk and grill me on how I felt. We stayed there until I heard the doorbell ring.


I knew I’d have to face Marcus when I went down there and that thought terrified me. I tried to act like everything was okay. I smiled, I laughed, I hugged, and I noticed that my husband chose not to remain in the same room with me for long periods of time; in fact he spent most of his time upstairs in the nursery. I wasn’t the only one to notice, but no one said anything. Aric reminded me he was just a phone call away before he left. Cece convinced Finley to come home with her, so it was just me, Marcus and the babies.



I walked into the nursery as he was putting Gabby down. I picked up Gwen, changed her diaper and made sure she was fed while Marcus took care of Gracie. When he was done, he left the room while I tended to Graham. I stayed in the nursery for a while just watching them, and stalling. They were sleeping peacefully and I told them all how much I loved them and had missed them.


I entered the room expecting to find Marcus, only it was empty. I checked the boys’ old room, also empty. Did he leave? I heard faint grunts coming from downstairs, I followed the sound until I found him. He was in the gym, punching the bag with such force I was sure it was going to break.


His eyes glanced up and saw me, he swung again, the seam ripped, I turned to shield my eyes from the flying sand. A weight settled in my stomach. I knew this would be hard, I knew he would be angry, but I was unprepared for the level of hostility rolling off of him. Marcus moved past me without so much of a glance in my direction.

“Marcus, talk to me,” I pleaded.
He stopped for a moment but continued towards the steps.

“Please.”

He stopped again, his hands curling and uncurling into fists by his side.


“I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to talk right now, Amari.”

“Then when,” I cried, reaching out for his arm. He yanked it away, turning to face me.

“When I can look at you and not see him. When I can be near you and not smell him.
You reek of his scent, as if he’s rubbed himself all over you. Marking you.” His lip curled in disgust as he spoke.

I took a step back, and wrapped my arms tightly around my body. “I’m sorry,” I whispered.


He didn’t respond, he just stood there, twirling his wedding band around his finger. “Maybe I should have listened to you when you didn’t want to get married. Because I wonder how committed…” he stopped and just shook his head. “You have choices to make Amari.”


I didn’t move or speak as I watched him walk up the stairs. The fact that he just admitted to regretting getting married immobilized me. After all we’d been through; after all we’d had to overcome to be together, he now regretted it. Turning off the lights, I made my way upstairs. I peeked in on the babies before heading to my room.

Marcus was walking out of the bathroom as I entered, the steam from his shower wafted in behind him. My eyes roamed his toned physique. I wanted to hug him, kiss him, and to tell him how much I had missed him, but I didn’t.

“Marcus…”


“You can have this room, I’ll sleep in the boys’ old room.” He gathered up some clothes then headed back into the bathroom to change.

“No!” I said blocking his path. “I refuse to let you do this. Yell at me, tell me I’m a horrible person, but don’t you dare act like I’m not here!”

“I’m not doing this with you now, Amari.”


“Yes…you…are.” I replied poking him in the chest. “I fucked up. I get that, but you can’t just shut me out. Our vows were for better or worse, yet you’re ready to run.”

Marcus pinned me to the wall before I had a chance to react. His eyes glowed, and his fangs were fully extended. His hot breath came out in short bursts and for the first time ever I found myself scared to be in his presence.


“You want to quote our vows? Might I remind you they also said to forsake ALL others yet I have no doubt you trampled all over that these last two months!” He let me go and walked into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.


I slid down to the floor, shaking. When he reemerged, Marcus didn’t even cast a glance in my direction. I heard the door to the other bedroom close. I remained in place, wondering how we could come back from this.

24 comments:

  1. Well Amari's home but I bet she's not gonna like the next few days, weeks, months...

    Poor Marcus. When he was talking about not being able to look at her without seeing Mulo my heart broke for him. They have been through so much together though, I have to believe they'll get through this too. I'm sure the day will come (or at least I hope) when Mulo is no longer in their lives and they can live happily together forever.

    I'd say Marcus was being irrational but there were some good points he made. She could have come home. But the way she nearly wanted to feed on Finley says why she didn't. I just wish she would have talked with Marcus while she was away with Mulo. Progress reports would have probably helped him deal a lot better :(

    Graham, Gracie, Gabriella and Gwen...that man. Seriously. It's a good thing they can't breed anymore. Because the numbers his sperm could reach is just scary!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The house is going to be tense for sure. :(

      Yeah...Mulo is a serious thorn in his side and with good reason. That man has fucked up his life in unforgivable ways. Knowing that she has spent that time with him, during her change, and knowing how that can affect things...yeah he's pissed!

      Irrational? really? He needed some time to process but she wanted to talk, however the anger and pain he's feeling right now was too fresh. He understands she can't help how she would have acted, but that doesn't make it any easier to deal with. She should have talked to him, checked in, that could have helped...but she didn't and made a bad situation that much worse.

      LOL...no more babies for them! I couldn't handle it.

      thanks for reading

      Delete
  2. Why didn't she tell him she didn't sleep with Mulo?
    I get why Marcus is angry, but I'm pissed at him. I'd better not say more.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. um...maybe she didn't tell him because that would be a lie????...not saying she did or not but some time has passed since that last chapter and her coming home. So just sayin'....

      You're pissed at Marcus? Why? What did he do?

      thanks for reading

      Delete
  3. Please Marcus don't be so hard on Amari... She do love you... :) Great chapter!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL...hopefully she'll be able to remind him of that.

      thanks for reading

      Delete
  4. Ok. 1. Marcus is being an idiot. He is making up his own stories in his head of what happened and he didn't even give Amari a moment to say what she did and why, and that she didn't have encounters with Mulo. 2. Marcus is being an idiot. I get that he is upset, but he did take a for better or for worse vow and to honour and obey and respect, and he's not giving any of that to Amari at the moment. 3. Amari's being an idiot. Why didn't she just say why she left and state - loudly - that there were no special encounters with Mulo. bah these two.... they need to sit at the table with some milk and cookies and hash this out or they will tear each other apart and their relationship along with it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hahahaha....so, just so that I'm clear you think they both have made very sound decisions here. :P LOL

      yes they are failing terribly in the communication department! He has made up all these things in his head for sure and he can't get past them right now. He really just wanted to have some time to process everything now that she's home, but she wanted to talk...As for Amari, well I'll tell you the same thing I told Mypal, maybe she couldn't say she didn't sleep with Mulo because it might be a lie. Not saying it is, but since this chapter is not next day from the last one that will power she's been struggling with could have caved. :(

      Hopefully they will be able to work things out.

      thanks for reading

      Delete
  5. So I can see why Marcus is angry but he dosent have to be so hard on Amari...but then again he does need time to himself to think about all this. Im sure they will get through this (probably anyway) I mean they have gotten through everything else.

    Great Chapter :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He did just want some time, but she wanted to talk. He knew he was angry, he knew he might say things he'd regret so he tried to avoid her for a while. She pushed, he pushed back. :(

      Hopefully they will be able to work things out soon.

      thanks for reading.

      Delete
  6. I'm starting to dislike Marcus a bit. Just a bit. I mean, I get why hes so mad, but damn. You're suppose to TALK it out not pretend the other person is invisible. He doesn't even know what happened or if he would have even been able to help her in the situation that she was in. Screw it, she should just go back Mulo.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL...you aren't the only one, but he has reason to be mad. He wanted to not talk because he knew he might be harsh and didn't really want to do that either, but she wouldn't let it go so she faced his anger. A controlled anger, but anger all the same. :(

      They will try to talk again next chapter, hopefully it'll go better that time.

      Mulo would love that outcome. :D

      thanks for reading

      Delete
  7. I'm in two minds about this one. On one hand I'm kinda pissed at Marcus for not giving Amari a chance to explain herself and give her side of the story. But on the other hand, I can understand his anger, two months with no contact from Amari and her history of running off to Mulo every time she needs help, is enough to put doubts in anyones mind.

    I don't care what Amari's excuses and reasons are, she has four premature babies who needed her, instead she was shacked up with the very same man who's constantly tested her limits and the limits of her relationship with Marcus.

    And to forego any contact with Marcus in that time was just cruel. I don't know what she expected, what did she think was going to happen when she did eventually go home, a red carpet rolled out for her homecoming? SMDH!

    Amari needs to understand that Marcus is angry and he has every right to be angry, she had two months to get her shit together while Marcus did his best to care for their four children. She has a lot of making up to do in my opinion, and she can't just expect Marcus to be ready to talk just because she is.

    #nothappy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Marcus has more of a temper these days since becoming a vamp. He needed some time to process what the thinks happened while she was away. Amari's actions directly fed into those thoughts. Not communication for two months while you're shacked up (LOL) with the person your husband hates most! Yeah she fed that beast a lot! :(

      She knew her coming home was going to be tense, but she really underestimated just how angry he would be. You are right that she should have recognized and been more understanding to what he may be feeling. When he told her he wasn't ready to talk, she should have backed off, but she didn't. Hopefully she'll give him some space and time then they can sit down and talk things through.

      #sorry

      thanks for reading.

      Delete
  8. I don't really know how to feel right now. I understand Marcus is upset, I totally get that and expected that, but I feel like he should have talked to her, even if it involved more yelling than talking, so that they could get everything they've been feeling out in the open and Amari can have a chance to explain things, and they can hopefully try to work through it or at least move forward with their lives. But Amari should have just respected that he didn't want to talk instead of trying to push it and risking upsetting him more; but I can understand why she did too, it just makes you feel like crap to have somebody ignore you like that, especially your husband. I'm kind of annoyed with them both, but also kind of understand where they're both coming from, lol. Well, I hope they can talk soon after they have time to cool down; whatever happens between them, they just need to get everything out and deal with it all, going on like this won't do either of them any good.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He is angry and wasn't in the mood to talk because he didn't want to say something he might regret later. He has a lot of emotions he's battling and he just needed some time to work on those before talking to her. Amari wanted to just get everything out in the open, to apologize and explain herself but at the same time she did need to respect how he was feeling in that moment. :( It's a bad situation all around right now. Hopefully Marcus will cool down soon enough and give her a chance to explain herself. Then we just have to hope that what she says makes things better and not worse.

      thanks for reading

      Delete
  9. No, no, no, no I'm not ready to give up on Marcus and Amari yet. Amari should have backed off when he said he wasn't ready to talk. Instead she pushed and now they have this situation. Of Marcus would have been angry, hurt, confused about why she didn't contact him while she was gone. Who wouldn't be in that situation? Amari messed up and opened the door for Marcus to doubt their relationship. Please don't let her go back to Mulo. She fought so hard to be with Marcus for that to happen. I hope that Amari backs off enough so that Marcus will feel comfortable enough to talk. The only good thing is Marcus didn't leave the house.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They went through so much to get back to each other and now they are falling apart. :( There are tons of feelings between the two of them that are just festering beneath the surface. They need to have a serious heart to heart, but they are no where near ready for that yet. Marcus is feeling a lot of things right now towards Amari and about the situation, and those feelings are not good. Hopefully if she gives him some space, he'll come to her when he's ready to listen.

      thanks for reading

      Delete
  10. Ok I totally see where Marcus is coming from. His new wife has been gone for two months with his, for lack of a better term, mortal enemy. She comes in smelling like Mulo, he wants to punish her. I get that! She left with no.word at all. IF she would have wrote or called or something it wouldn't be this bad. I thnk she needs to suffer a little ! The big question. Did Mulo and Amari hook up????? And if they did, we need to see that! Hehe!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah...Marcus is pissed and hurt and with good reason. :( It's not so much he wants to punish her as he needs time to collect his thoughts before confronting her. They need to have a serious talk and he knows that, he just wasn't ready.

      She should have contacted him, but she didn't and that made things so much worse.

      LOL you want to see Amari and Mulo getting busy?1?!?!?!....hahahaha nice. Well I haven't decided if she crossed the line or not. Part of me wants them to have one final time together but the other part of me doesn't want to hurt Marcus that way...

      thanks for reading

      Delete
  11. Amari deserves that. She can't come home and expect things to be all fine, she isn't that crazy is she? Poor Marcus..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, she knew it would be a hard homecoming, but she thought he'd at least talk to her. Even if it was to yell so they could just get it out in the open. Being ignored is worse for her.

      Yes poor Marcus :(

      thanks for reading

      Delete
  12. Damn, two months? That's an awfully long time. I feel terrible for Marcus, he didn't deserve this but then neither did she. What a horrible situation :( I hope they can talk. Amari needs to tell him that they never went that far. I want them to be okay, but Marcus could have looked after her as she adjusted just as well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, it took her a while to get her cravings under control. All that time, she had no direct contact with Marcus and it killed him. :( She spent 2 months alone with the person he hates most in this world. She didn't call him at all during that time, it doesn't make things easy. His imagination has run away so even if she does tell him she didn't sleep with Mulo he won't believe her. Marcus went through the change, he knows what she experienced on some level. :(

      thanks for reading

      Delete