New Beginnings

Queen Mary Stuart.

I walked back to the hotel room then grabbed the box then walked back outside. I walked straight up to him.

“I appreciate the gift but I am with someone.”

“Yet you are alone.”

“He’s at a tavern with our friends having fun. I wasn’t feeling well so I told him to go ahead.”

“Are you alright?”

I chuckled.

“I am with the man of my dreams. I am begging you, please stop.”

“I can’t.”

“Why? I’m just a gi-”

“You bewitched me. I wasn’t expecting to see you so now that I have, I can’t get enough of you. Your mere presence brings more light and joy to me than any other woman I have met.”

“You know nothing about me other than my name.”

“No, but I would like to know more.”

“Again, I am with someone.”

“Things change.”

I shook my head.

“I’m carrying his child.”

He c****d his eyebrow.

“You are with child?”

“Yes, I am pregnant.”

He shrugged his shoulders.

“That doesn’t bother me.”

I rolled my eyes then handed him the box. I went to walk away but he grabbed my wrist. I spun around and grabbed his then pinned him against the truck.

“Don’t you ever touch me again.”

He looked into my eyes.

“You have a fire in you. Your eyes are as gray as the sky. I have never met someone as mysterious as you are.”

“Leave me be. I beg you.”

I let him go then walked away. I went to the store and bought some ice cream, dark chocolate, and some water. I was on my way back to the hotel when I noticed someone was following me. I crossed the street and texted Tariq.

“So I left the hotel to go get some food and now I think someone is following me.”

“Where are you?”

“A block away from the hotel.”

“Okay keep going straight. We are down the street getting food too.”

“Where?”

“We are walking your way now. It was going to be a surprise.”

“Okay.”

I could smell the cheap perfume so I dropped my bag and walked up on her. I pressed my forearm against her throat then pushed her against the wall.

“Who sent you to follow me?”

“I cannot say.”

I pulled my gun out from behind me and pressed the cold barrel against her stomach.

“I’m warning you, I am not afraid to kill you right here.”

“The man over there looking at us. He paid me to find out what you were buying then to tell him.”

I rolled my eyes then put my gun away before anyone saw anything. We were too far from Leith for him to have noticed what I did.

“Get out of my sight.”

I walked back up to him and took my bag back.

“You really had that poor girl follow me to find out what I was buying?”

“I was curious.”

“Rocky road ice cream, dark chocolate, and water.”

He smiled.

“I love dark choco-”

“Thank God.”

Tariq sprinted up to me then scooped me up with his arms.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes.”

He started kissing me so Leith looked away, as if he were hurt.

“Where did you go?”

“The little store down the street. I was craving sweets so I went to go get some.”

“Did he hurt you?”

“It was a she and no. He sent her to see what I bought because-”

He turned to Leith.

“Leave her alone.”

“Or what?”

Tariq went to step up to him but I got in front of him.

“Baby, no. Estoy bien, no me tocó. Recuerde que tenemos un trabajo que hacer aquí.”

“Multa. Vayamos a la habitación para que comamos porque tengo planes para mañana.”

I nodded my head then I grabbed his hand. We walked into the hotel room then he grabbed my face.

“I already don’t like him.”

“I know baby. But we have a job to do here.”

He opened my bag and grabbed the ice cream.

“Rocky road?”

“Hush, I saw it and wanted it.”

“This baby is going to have a sweet tooth growing up.”

“Yup.”

I took the ice cream and a spoon then sat on the bed. 

“Dinner first you child.”

He handed me a container and it had chicken tenders and fries.

“Thank you baby.”

He chuckled then sat down then we ate dinner while watching Netflix. 

“I’m curious, how’d you know I knew how to speak spanish?”

“Rose. We were talking about you one day then she told me you knew how to speak spanish.”

He nodded his head. We finished eating so he threw away the garbage then I grabbed my ice cream and started eating it. After a little while I got up and put it in the freezer then I laid back down. He turned the lamp off then wrapped his arms around me. I fell asleep almost immediately. 

He woke me up before the sun was even up.

“Come on mamas. You have to see this.”

We got up then he handed me a hoodie and a pair of jeans. I put on my shoes then he walked me over to the loch. We got on a tiny boat and he paddled us around then the sun started to rise. He pulled me onto his lap as we watched the sun rise over the water.

“This is amazing baby.”

“Thank you mamas. I was talking to a couple at the restaurant and they said that this is their favorite part about living here. Watching the sun rise.”

I rested my head on his shoulder and just sat there with him.

“When we get home, I want to marry you. Obviously we have to wait until you are eighteen but I want you and I want you forever.”

I looked at him.

“I know it’s early in our relationship and we haven’t been together for that long but I feel like I have known you my whole life. I love you Sophia and I hate having to keep this down.”

“You don’t have to.”

He kissed my forehead.

“I want to get you a ring. I want you for a lifetime and longer. I want to have sticky little kids with you and stand by your side even if you don’t want me to. I want to make you happy every second of your life and I want to make you proud.”

I started tearing up. 

“I love you.”

I started kissing him then he just held me. We sat there for what felt like hours but it was amazing. No phones, no jobs, no one else, just us sitting there talking about the future. He got us back to the dock then paid the man for letting us borrow his boat for a few hours. We were walking back to our hotel when I saw one of Marks men standing in an alley. I played it off like we were looking around then I walked over to him but played it off like I was talking to Tariq.

“What is it?”

“You’ve made contact with Leith?”

“He won’t leave me alone if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Use this to your advantage. Flirt back so on the day that you are supposed to bring them with, drug them and have us come in.”

I looked at Tariq.

“No, not an option.”

“Baby, he won’t touch me and if he does, you can be the one that knocks him out.”

He smiled.

“Still no.”

“I am your girl. All I would be doing is flirting with him then having dinner with him and his mom the last night we are here so I can drug them and we can get them on the plane.”

“Fine. If it goes too far I am knocking him out then we leave early. We can come back some other time.”

“Deal. Tell the men the new plan.”

“Yes boss.”

He walked down the alley then we went to the room. I changed into a pair of fishnets, black shorts, and a plain white tee shirt. I put my ankle boots on and did my makeup. I didn’t put on a lot because I didn’t feel like it. I was brushing my teeth then I felt Tariq’s arms around me.

“I don’t like this plan.”

“I know. I don’t either but we have to do this. It’s a lot of money that we need.”

“I know. Well when you are done we are heading out.”

I finished brushing my teeth then grabbed my bag and my phone. We walked out of the room then he held my hand as we walked up to our taxi. He told the driver where to go then we got in and he started driving us somewhere.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

“You know I hate surprises.”

“Well you’ll like this one.”

“Mhmm.”

He kissed me then we kept going. We started approaching a castle and it was beautiful. We got out so he paid the driver then we walked up to the front. It was amazing and when we walked inside, everything was perfect. 

“What do you think?”

“This is amazing. I am speechless.”

“Good. Now you know how I feel when I look at you.”

I turned around and looked at him.

“I look at you how you looked at the castle for the first time. In awe, shock, amazement. Every time I look at you, that’s what I see.”

I started kissing him then he took my hand and we walked around. We found the tour information and got our passes and everything. We stood in line for the tour and I took a few pictures. We walked around the castle and they told us the history and everything that happened in each room. It was absolutely beautiful and I never thought I would be in an actual castle.

After a few hours of walking around the castle we got to the Queen’s Chambers. 

“This is where the Queens would stay before marriage. Queen Mary Stuart spent most of her time here when she was here. She mainly lived with her Husband, King Francis of France, before he passed away.”

She kept talking about the history and all I could look at was the portraits of the queens. The main one I kept looking at was the one of Queen Mary Stuart. She looked almost angelic. I wondered what it was like to be her all those years ago. I felt Tariq squeeze my hand.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, sorry I zoned out.”

“I could tell. What is it?”

“Queen Mary. she went through so much trying to save her country and ultimately failed. She lost the love of her life to illness, remarried to a horrible man, and was almost assassinated several times.”

“Do you feel like you relate to her?”

“No, I could never do what she did. She was way stronger than I ever could be.”

He grabbed my face softly.

“Don’t say that. You are strong and you prove that every day.”

He kissed my forehead and we went to the next room. The tour was over and I was so ready to get back to the hotel.

“I can go take a nap now.”

He chuckled.

“Not a chance. We have a lot more to do.”

We got in a cab and he took us from the castle back to town. There was this little restaurant that we pulled into. Tariq paid the driver and we got out of the car. We stood there for a few seconds and it was amazing it was a really old building and it looked like it was built all of those years ago. We walked inside and the lady greeted us.

“Halo, cia mheud?”

“I’m sorry?”

She smiled.

“I’m sorry. I said hello, how many?”

“The two of us.”

“Alright, this way.”

We followed her to the table and we sat down.

“I will be back with the english menus. Is there anything I can get you to drink?”

“I will have your whiskey neat on the rocks and she will have an unsweetened tea with a lemon.”

“Alright I will be back with those. Can I see your ID first?”

He pulled out his wallet and his fake ID. he handed it to her and she saw that it said he was twenty three. She handed it back and walked away.

“Whiskey? You hate whiskey.”

He chuckled.

“Scotland is known for their castles and whiskey. I thought I would give it a shot.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Tease. You know I love whiskey and I can’t have any.”

“Well before we leave I’ll come back here and buy a few bottles to take home so when you can start drinking again, you have some Scottish whiskey waiting for you.”

I smiled at him then she came back with our drinks and menus.

“Order when you are ready.”

I looked at the menu and everything looked amazing. 

“Look at the Scottish pie.”

“I’m looking at these mars bars.”

“We are looking for food, not just desserts.”

I rolled my eyes.

“The Scottish pie does look really good though.”

He chuckled.

“I can’t stand you.”

I looked at him.

“Don’t be mean to me.”

He started laughing then grabbed his drink. He smelled it and made a face.

“Why does it smell good.”

“Try it.”

He took a small sip then looked at me.

“It’s good but it’s tingly. I don’t know how you can drink this.”

“I love whiskey.”

He chuckled then the waitress came back.

“Have you decided?”

“Yes, we are both going to have the Scottish pie.”

“Alright. I will take these and bring out your food when it is ready.”

She walked away and I pulled out my phone. I went to see what was new on i********: but I saw that I had a few new followers. I looked at who they were and two were from my school, one was Camilia, and the other I didn’t recognize. I checked to see who they were following and it was all of my brothers, a few of my friends, and me.

“I think my father just added me on Instagram.”

“What?”

I showed it to him and he shrugged his shoulders.

“As long as it’s not a dude trying to get with you, I don’t care.”

I chuckled then I accepted the follows since my account was private. I was scrolling through my feed then I saw that I had a new message.

“Cam told me you agreed to have dinner.”

“He told me you have cancer.”

“I do.”

“I can’t say you don’t deserve it. You made my life hell.”

“I know, I’m sorry. I heard that you left your mother’s?”

“I moved in with my best friend then my boyfriend at the time and I got an apartment together. We broke up after he found out more about my past.”

“Are you really pregnant?”

“With my current boyfriend, yes.”

“The black boy on your i********:?”

“First of all he is no boy. Second of all if you want to ever see me and my brother’s again I would change how you talk to me because I will not tolerate it. Third of all, this man is the only reason we are even talking right now. He wants to meet you, Marcus, and Meghan.”

“Fine. I’m sorry.”

“Whatever James. We will be home in a week. We are currently out of the country.”

“Cam told me you were in Scotland.”

“Yep.”

“What all have you done?”

“I have to go, my food is ready.”

“Okay. I’ll talk to you soon.”

I set my phone down then looked at Tariq.

“What’s wrong?”

“He stresses me out. I don’t know why you want to meet him.”

“Because he’s your father, baby. I want to meet your whole family.”

“I know but I wouldn’t call my father my family. I haven’t talked to him in years and family is not defined by blood. You are my family and so is Rose and Corina. Mirza is my family and that’s all I need. That’s all I want.”

He smiled then grabbed my hand. The waitress came back with our food so we started eating. It was so much better than I thought it was going to be. We were almost done eating when a group of guys walked in. It was Leith and his friends so we paid and left the waitress a really good tip. 

We walked outside and started heading back into town to look around for a little while before we head to the next spot. We were walking then I stepped into a hole in the ground.

“OW!”

He spun and looked at my ankle.

“Are you okay?”

“I think so. That really hurt.”

I went to put pressure on my ankle but a stabbing pain shot through my leg.

“Damn that hurts.”

“Do you want to just head back to the hotel?”

“No, I think I’ll be okay. You had this whole day planned.”

“I don’t want to make it worse. I’ll take you back to the hotel and we can wrap it up. When it stops hurting we can head back out.”

He turned around and I got on his back. He carried me back to the hotel and I sat down. I took my boot off and my sock to see how bad it was.

“Babe that doesn’t look good.”

He got on his knees and started looking at it. He went to touch it and when I winced he stopped.

“I think this is worse than a twist. I’m calling the boys.”

He got up and called them. A few minutes later I heard a lot of footsteps so he opened the door.

“Where is she?”

Cam rushed up to me and saw that my ankle was purple and green.

“That’s a sprain.”

“How do you know?”

“Because breaks don’t look like that and your bone is fine. You twisted it funny didn’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s a sprain. Stay off of it for a little while and take some painkillers. You’ll be fine.”

He looked at Tariq.

“You scared me bro.”

“I was scared.”

I chuckled then Tariq wrapped my ankle up then left to go buy some painkillers at the store. The boys and Cam left to go to a tavern to go meet some girls they met our first day here. I laid on the bed on my phone trying to not focus on the pain in my ankle. There was a knock at the door.

“Give me a second.”

I got up and braced myself against the wall. I slowly made my way to the door and opened it to see Leith.

“What?”

“Why’d it take you so long to get to the door?”

“Doesn’t matter. What do you want?”

He studied my face and how I was standing.

“Are you hurt?”

“What do you want, Leith?”

He went to push the door but I tried to hold it in place. He pushed it again and I fell because it was my only support.