Page 63 of Still Yours

Pretti looked up when she felt wetness fall on her forehead. She looked up at Dexz. Tears were flooding down his face. Dexz hadn’t cried since he was a baby. He didn’t cry at his mother’s funeral, and his pops didn’t even have a funeral for him to shed a tear at. Through the pain and gunshots, he didn’t break down, but everything he had bottled up was pouring from his eyes.

“It’s okay to cry, Dexz. Let it all out. It’s probably what you needed.”

“I ain’t no weak nigga, and I don’t want nobody to see me like this. I wanna marry you, but I don't want to go through a ceremony right now until I’m me again. I hope this don’t hurt you because I know how hard you’ve been planning the wedding. Don’t worry about pleasing me right now. You’ve done everything you can for me. It’s time to focus on you.” She wiped his tears, and then she kissed his lips, trying to make him feel loved again.

“I love you so much, Dexten, and you’re going to overcome this. Remember, I’m your best friend before anything, so I will never judge you.” She kissed him again.

“I appreciate you so much, ma. You always speak life into me.”

“And I’m never going to stop doing that.”

They fell asleep in each other’s arms, but an hour later, they were woken up so Dexz could be admitted to the psych ward for three days. What he found out about his mental health he wasn’t prepared for. He was definitely going through psychosis, and he realized that was what caused him to go out and murder. However, he fought every day once he was released from the hospital to become a better person.

Chapter 36

AFTER

“So how do you feel today, Mr. Kingsley?” his psychiatrist, Nina, asked pleasantly.

“I feel great… finally.” He smiled gracefully with both kids on his lap.

“And how do you feel about your children?” she replied.

He looked at Beauti and Ethan and kissed them on the forehead.

“I love them to the core and feel overly connected to them. I haven’t let them out of my sight in months. They are always with me.”

“He’s right. He takes them to work when they are not at school, and he hardly lets me do anything with them when we are home. I’ve actually enjoyed the free time. I can finally take a relaxing bath without baby toys being thrown in.” Pretti giggled as she sat proudly next to Dexz. She was infatuated with his recovery.

“I’m pleased with your outcome, Mr. Kingsley, and the support from your spouse is amazing. I think it’s safe to lower your antidepressant, and you can see me twice a month instead of three times a week. You think you can handle that? You made good strides this past year,” Nina assured him, pleased and impressed with the new and improved Dexz. He came to her in a sunken place, and she did all she could to lift him up and succeeded.

“Yeah, I think I can do that. I’ve gotten good at taking one day at a time.”

“Well, we’re done for the day. I’ll see you at the end of the month, but you’re welcome to meet or text anytime.” Nina stood up, and so did Pretti and Dexz.

“Thanks for your services, Nina. I’ll be throwing in extra when I pay my invoice.”

She smiled. “Thank you.”

Pretti took Ethan from Dexz so he could walk on his own, but he wasn’t putting down his baby girl. He spoiled her rotten because she was his princess, and it was her first birthday.

“I’m so proud of you, Dexz. You fought a good fight and won. You’re forever my hero.”

“Thank you, ma. I feel like my old self, but I’m keeping all my health routines,” he assured her.

He had been working out, staying somewhat healthy, and reading to exercise his brain since part of it was damaged, but he felt brighter with every thought.

“Well, let's go start these birthday shenanigans for our babies. They're almost like us, with their birthdays being a day after each other.”

“Yeah, I’m happy I’m healed enough to run around with them, so a nigga Chuck E. Cheese ready for the day, and I’m ready for their birthday weekend. But you ready to start back planning the wedding?” he asked, feeling bad that his health caused them to push it back.

She smiled at him. “Of course. I just got in contact with my designer today and told her we were all going in to get resized again.”

They left the psychiatrist and headed to celebrate Beauti’s day before heading to their businesses, since it was a busy weekday for them. Dexz went on with a clear head and a fresh start. He even started going to church and repented for the shit he did in the past. But he didn’t feel bad about the revenge he had gotten on Diego. In his mind, they were even…

Chapter 37

THE PAST IS…