New Beginnings: Stories from Beauville

Chapter 4-2

I suspect the reason I went into sudden panic was due to me waking up hearing the cries of a baby. Crying babies is a definite trigger for me. I’ve heard of people suffering from different variations of PTSD, but I never even got to hear Zoe cry. Is it the absence of the cry itself that chills me to the bone, or is it the fear that I may never hear a child of mine cry? I’m young. I know I can have more kids if I want. The doctor made that perfectly clear. But for whatever reason, it wasn’t Zoe’s time. I’m supposed to meet Kai this morning, but the twins and I agree today isn’t a good day. Besides, I wasn’t at all too sure I wanted to be treated by him. I agree to let the twins sleep in the room. It’s still morning but it’s early. It is more out of comfort than anything else.

They are perfect gentlemen. I slept beneath the blankets, and they slept with their own blankets to keep them warm.

“Did you sleep well?” Finn asks, placing a plate of fruit in front of me.

“Well, if you count the number of times, I was squished between two big-a*s oxen, I’d say, no,” I joke.

Sawyer grunts and takes a sip of his coffee. “Right, and you still snore.”

I hit Sawyer lightly on the shoulder. “Shut up. I’m still a patient so make sure you’re good to me.”

“Always, Indy.” Both men smile in my direction.

“Y’all need to stop with the smiles. They don’t melt my insides like before.”

These two men together are a lethal combination. Many women can’t take it when they turn on the charm. But they’ve been going easy on me and I’m thankful for that. A tiny part of me, in the beginning, wanted to work things out with them. They’re the safest choice at this point because we all share a common pain, and I can’t help but wonder if our earlier decision is the right decision. But playing it safe isn’t always the best choice.

Shaking my head slightly, I smile and take a sip of my tea.

“There’s this tea I want to buy,” I blurt out.

“Tell me what it is, and I’ll get it for you,” Finn offers.

I sit my cup down and cross my legs on the sofa. “I’m not a baby. I want to do it on my own.”

Sawyer and Finn both eye me, and I can see the confusion and curiosity in their eyes. It’s not that I’m not worldly. I’ve traveled before. I’ve vacationed in Mexico, have family in Jamaica, but that’s the extent of my worldly travels. I’m in a foreign country, with people who speak a language I can’t understand. But my momma always told me I need to do things for myself. I can’t depend on a man or anyone to get the things that I want. Before I can do that, I need to learn to depend on myself. And with this new darkness that shrouds me, now is the time for me to step outside of my comfort zone and be brave.

Chin up, Indy. You’re a Danvers and you can do this.

“I’m good for real. I want to grab the tea from the place I went to the first night we got here.”

“Yeah,” Sawyer says with suspicion. Both brothers’ brows raise. “What’s the restaurant called?”

Great f*****g question. The name eludes me for a moment, and I have to close my eyes and picture it in my head. And then it hits me. My eyes pop open.

“It’s called Story.”

“I know the place,” Sawyer says, sitting his cup down on the coffee table.

“Cool. Give me the address and I’ll take a taxi.”

“You don’t even speak the language. It’s not like we’re in Seoul, Indy. Let me take you.”

“I’m not your prisoner. And there is nothing wrong with me getting lost. That’s how folks learn to get on in this great big place we call Earth. I have my phone. Y’all can track me if it’s that serious. Geesh.”

“I’m not comfortable with this at all. At least let us drop you off. You want to be alone, fine. But we’ll worry if you don’t at least let us get you there.”

Compromise, Indy.

Otherwise, they will hound me all afternoon, and I know they have their own things they need to get done. This isn’t a vacation after all, but work. I’m merely tagging along for the ride.

“All right,” I relent. “I’m gonna go get dressed and be ready to go in about fifteen minutes.”

“Dress warm. It’s not cold, but it’s not hot either, and you know how long it’s gonna take you to get dressed, Indy, and it’s f*****g longer than fifteen minutes. We’re out the door in thirty and not a minute later,” Sawyer states, rising from the couch. He makes his way over to where his cell sits on the desk and makes a call.

“We may be about twenty minutes later than expected. Make sure he doesn’t go anywhere, or it’s your a*s,” Sawyer says into the phone.

Finn looks in my direction and barks, “Move your a*s, Danvers.”

“Yes, Daddy Finn,” I respond in my most annoying voice

“You keep scrunching your face that way, it’ll remain in position permanently. And side note, sweetheart, your baby voice makes my d**k hard.”

“Gross!”

“Hurry up, brat!” Sawyer tosses a throw pillow at me as I skip away. I’m in an okay mood, and I do want the tea, but I want to sit outside the restaurant, sip my drink, and smell the flowers while I have a conversation with my Zoe.

I’m wired this morning. Something inside is bursting with conversation, and all of it is for little Zoe. I don’t want to lose the feeling, and I need to be at Story, drinking the tea, and writing in my journal. I put on an orange turtleneck, black jeans, and my brown leather calf boots. I pull my hair up into a high ponytail and look at myself in the mirror. My skin looks good. I no longer look like death.

“Hurry up, Indy, we have a meeting to get to.

“Keep your d**k in your pants. I’m coming.”

“You will be if you keep talking to us like that.”

Oops.

Sawyers right. That’s how I ended up with the two of them. Me and my sass talk, as they call it.

“My bad,” I say as I open the door and come face-to-face with two fine-a*s white boys. They look amazing in their suits. They’re perfectly tailored to match their immaculate physique.

“Who you watching?” It must be a security job. That is what they do. And although a normal person probably couldn’t tell, I know they are carrying.

“Some model. He got himself into some trouble and now his family wants a babysitter.”

“Y’all take babysitting gigs now too?” I cough into my hand to hide my laughter.

“No, but this is a family friend, we’re inclined to help.”

I clear my throat. “Got it. They called in the big guns with you two.”

“It was us or Ryland.”

Ouch.

Their adoptive brother, Ryland, is a giant d**k. He’s fine as hell, but meaner than a gator with an extra set of teeth.

“Well, dude better be thankful he got y’all instead of Ry.”

Both brothers grunt out their agreement.

“You look good, sweetheart,” Sawyer says, pulling me into a tight hug before stepping back and allowing Finn to do the same thing.

Dammit. They were trying to tag team me with their s*x appeal.

“All right, all right. Let’s keep this friendly.” I move past them and head for the door. As the three of us leave, I have Zoe on the brain and the twins switch to work mode.