His Queen

Dropping The M Bomb

“Sorry I didn’t mean for us to derail from the point of us coming here.” He admitted a little gun shy now. Tyrone had never been so distracted by a woman before. But Cleo wasn’t just any young woman. She was a smart, sweet, incredibly gorgeous one.  

Not to mention a funny, sassy, witty one who kept him on his toes the entire conversation. He’d honestly forgotten and started to enjoy himself. It made him realize at least it’d come easy... 

Coughing he looked as Cleo nervously fiddled with her bracelet, “I can’t keep stressing about this,” She told him seriously, “Are you going to tell me what you want or not? Because I hardly doubt feeding me is getting you back the money Peyton owes you.”  

Tyrone blew out a deep breath as he met Cleo’s eyes, “I’ve had Peyton under watch for a year and a half now.” Cleo jerked back in shock, “What?” The waitress came back and Tyrone sent her away by saying two different deserts quickly.  

She turned right back around as he faced Cleo again, “She was bouncing from club to club. Hanging with different crowds to get a fix, maybe some blow, and blow their money. But then she had to start racking up in her own name, and that‘s when she started to get in trouble.”  

Cleo watched as Tyrone naturally paused as the waitress sat down a huge piece of cake topped with a chocolate-covered strawberry.  And a bowl of fried ice cream followed.  When she was gone, Tyrone continued as he waved for her to pick whichever one.  

Cleo was taking a bite of the cake when he said, “Peyton started off small in the clubs I own, petty numbers slipping notice. But then she went overboard last month. Got high and bet too large for her pockets to handle.”  

Confused as she observed Tyrone Cleo whispered, “But you’d been watching her for a while before she made that huge bet? Why?”  

Tyrone met Cleo’s eyes seriously, “Because of you.” Freezing with her strawberry still at her lips, Tyrone watched as she slowly pulled it away. Rubbing the little smear of chocolate off her lips, he watched them say, “You kept tabs on my stepmother’s gambling and drug use for me?”  

Grinning at her confused tone, Tyrone admitted, “No...” Breathing out nervously, Tyrone prayed she didn’t chop his nuts off when he said this. 

“You’re grandfather, your mother’s father, he is an old friend of my grandfather.” Cleo looked at Tyrone wide eyed, “Seriously?” Nodding slowly Tyrone hesitated since he knew she hadn’t seen him in a while. But she deserved to know, “He’s getting up their baby, he got sick last year. It was touch and go for second. But he was worried, not about himself, but about you. Felt like if he left you now, you wouldn’t have had anyone in your corner looking out for you.”  

Cleo fought tears knowing exactly what he was talking about. Because when she’d gotten the call from the hospital, she hadn’t given a f**k about Peyton. Or her dumb ass rules keeping her from seeing him.  

She’d ridden her back two hours to the hospital he was at. And stayed there with him until it was time to leave. And while he had wanted her to stay, the police had been at his door that night telling her she was about to be arrested for running away from home.  

Throwing her in cuffs and riling up her ailing grandfather, until he was in a whooping cough fit on the floor.  

And neither the officer or his partner had cared. Instead, they’d left him there thinking he was hamming it up for sympathy. When Cleo had gotten home that night, she’d had to sleep outside. In the rain and the cold night air, Cleo had gotten so sick.  

Yet still Peyton was hateful, and let her suffer. No medicine, no rest, no comfort whatsoever.  

“Do you know how he is now?” She worried thinking of the proud man. Ray wouldn’t ask anyone for help even if he needed it. So knowing now he’d sent Tyrone out of worry, made her worry. Tyrone smiled a little as his hand came out and covered hers, “He’s fine. My grandfather got him a private nurse, got him back on track. He’s a lot better now, and he’s moving ten times better than he was last year.”  

Swallowing hard, Cleo shook her head lost now, “But wait, he asked you to spy on Peyton? For what, everyone knows she’s a shitty person. But because she hasn’t physically done anything to me I can’t be removed from her care. Besides, I turn eighteen in another few months. Doesn’t really matter now does it?”  

That was another thing... 

“She drained your college fund.”  

Those five words sent a cold chill down Cleo’s spine, “Wait...what? No...no that’s not possible. My dad and mom made that account way before she was a possibility! How did she even get access-?” Calming her, Tyrone moved closer, “She started screwing the investment banker in charge of your account. He wasn’t supposed to allow her access, but he did. And now whatever is left, wouldn’t even cover a semester’s books.”  

Feeling hope about to slip away, Cleo’s heart raced uncomfortably.  

Because that meant no college. Because Peyton had refused to let her get a job, while it might have helped, Peyton didn’t like it. “You might get bold.” She’d told a sixteen-year-old Cleo. She had assumed Peyton meant she’d try to run away, but Cleo learned the truth.  

In reality, Peyton hadn’t wanted Cleo to have anything period. Job experience, college future, hell anything that took Cleo out of range of Peyton’s vice grip. Anything that encouraged Cleo to be happy or hopeful Peyton had tried to snuff out.  

Swallowing her rage, it kept building and building, Cleo whispered, “So...she took my college money, my parents house, and now what? You want me to give you WHAT?! Because it’s clear I don’t have ANYTHING anymore.”  

Tyrone could see the tears forming and he didn’t like them. He wanted to find Peyton and shake the life into her. But he knew she would be handled later.  

Right now, he had to come up with a way to get Cleo to stop crying. So, he blurted it out, “We’re getting married!” And as the entire restaurant seemed to go silent hearing the words from the back.  

Some people clapped not evening seeing the couple, because if they did, they wouldn’t have. Because Cleo looked lost as Tyrone sat there looking like a kid caught saying a curse word. Neither could say a thing for a while, but it was Cleo who spoke first...