Page 89 of The Blessing

chapter 34

alive

Quinton’s game as soon as I tell him my plan for Ronnie. Well, it’s not much of a plan, but it’s all I have at the moment. I want the proposal to be “romantic” but I also want it to be me. I want to declare my undying love for her. I want to show her that she’s the only woman for me. What better way to do it than wear my love for her on my skin. I don’t know if she’ll be crazy about the idea—but I’ll love having her name inked on me.

Quinton was more than happy to watch my son tomorrow, so I can hit up a tattoo shop in the city. While I brought Grey along for my last tattoo, Ronnie was there to placate him. And without her there this time, I know he’d be crying throughout the whole session. I know the artists there wouldn’t appreciate that one bit. I don’t want to be an inconsiderate jackass who brings his kid to a tattoo parlor, nor do I want to break their concentration. I want the line work to be absolutely perfect. Even though I haven’t proposed yet, her name is the only one I could ever imagine wrapped around my ring finger.

The tattoo is all I can think about on the ride home. Adrenaline courses through my veins as I meditate on my decision. Getting inked has always been something which gets me fucking excited; maybe it’s the rush of endorphins I get from this life-altering decision. Maybe it’s my little way of staying tethered to my old self without doing anything regressive.

I arrive at Ronnie’s place with Grey in my arms and her ring safely stashed in my pocket. I still can’t believe I’m going to be fucking proposing to this girl. It seems so unlike me, yet, it’s all I could ever want. As soon as I see her, I want to kiss every inch of her and propose straight away, but the look on her tear-stained face stops me in my tracks. She’s curled up on the couch with a box of tissues at her side. I’ve never seen her like this. She’s so fucking distraught, it causes my stomach to drop to my feet.

“Ronnie? Baby, what’s wrong?” I ask as I step into her living room.

She ignores me and continues to stare off into space. I take a seat on the couch next to her and allow Grey to sit comfortably on my lap while I rub her back, trying to coax her out of whatever it is she’s experiencing right now. I say her name a few more times and her eyes flutter—color returning to her face as she finally snaps out of it. She looks at me as if she hadn’t known I was here until now. She looks down at Grey and smiles, taking him into her arms and showering him with small kisses. He laughs, and I know whatever Ronnie was experiencing has blown over. I’ll ask her about it later—when she’s feeling more like her usual self. I leave the baby with her as I hop off the couch and go into the kitchen. I need to plug my phone into the charger before it dies on me. After I set my phone down on the countertop, something in the trash can catches my eye. Buried beneath a latte cup and a box for a microwavable meal is a bouquet of roses torn to pieces. What the fuck?

I grab a handful of the crumbled-up petals and go back to Ronnie and ask, “Babe, what’s this?”

She takes a deep breath and her distraught expression is back. “My ex has been trying to get in contact with me over the last few days.”

“What the fuck?” I can’t help but spit out. “Why didn’t you say anything, Ronnie?”

She shrugs and her face crumbles. “You’ve been dealing with so much stuff lately, Trev. I didn’t want to add to it. I didn’t think his attempts to contact me were that serious. I thought they were annoying at most. I never responded to a single text and yesterday I decided to just block his number on my phone. I’ve blocked him on everything, Trev. I swear. I haven’t seen him in four years, so I don’t understand why he’s doing this.”

“So, it’s what, been escalating? You should’ve told me, baby. I could’ve done something.”

“What would you have done? Beat him up to scare him off? You couldn’t do that, Trevor.”

“I know, but I could’ve scared him off some other way. Threaten him without any physical violence. Of course, I’d love to kick his ass, so he knows just who he’s dealing with. I don’t want some guy harassing you. You’re mine.”

She snorts at this and wipes her nose with the sleeve of her shirt. “I know, and he knows that, too. I’m sure he’ll leave me alone as soon as he sees you. Maybe the sight of you will scare him away.” She pauses and gives me a sheepish smile. “Sorry, babe, you know what I meant.”

I know exactly what she meant. With a scar on my left eyebrow from a fight with Dean years ago, another scar which is covered by my lotus tattoo on my neck, and tattoos covering a good amount of my skin, I know I can be intimidating when I want to. I know I’ll definitely want to if I see this prick around my girl. I take Grey from her and hold him against me, needing him close to calm me down. He’s the reason you can’t freak the fuck out, Trevor. Remember that and don’t fuck his life up.

“Things with him weren’t so bad until I posted some photos of you and I from our trip to Nevada on my Facebook. I’d already unfriended him after I broke things off, but back then I didn’t think to block him. He messaged me after I posted those photos…” she trails off.

I remember the pictures she posted. She’d been so excited to share them with her friends. They were of us during our trip to see Grey’s grandparents. Most of them were of him, smiling and waving at the camera. We looked like a happy little family. Looking at those photos was one of the first times I considered the life I have now to be “perfect.” I started my own Facebook account just so I could share the pictures of my “perfect family” with the few friends and family I have.

“What did he say to you?”

“He just told me how much I’ve changed and how different I seem now compared to the girl that he once dated. I didn’t respond. He’s right. I am different. I’m not the weak girl I was when I knew him.”

Ronnie practically spits out the last few words. All of a sudden, I want to beat the shit out of this guy. What did he do to make my girl so fucking angry? Obviously, the relationship she had with him is something that bothers her. If he did anything to her, anything at all, I don’t know how I’ll be able to control myself if I ever lay eyes on him. If I find out he’s hurt her in some way, it’s going to take all the self-control I have not to fucking kill him. No one hurts my girl and gets away with it.

“I think he’s in town,” she quietly muses.

My heart fucking stops at this. This bastard is in town? I don’t have to meet him to know that I already hate his guts. He better hope and pray we never run into each other. That’ll be a bad day for both of us.

“So, he sent you those roses as a…what…a fucking peace offering?”

“I don’t know what his game is,” Ronnie says as the muscles in her jaw twitch. “I thought blocking him would send him a pretty clear message, but I guess guys like him never take a hint. He thinks he’s God’s gift to women, so he couldn’t fathom the idea of someone not wanting him.” She pauses for a moment, running a nervous hand through her hair. “Can we please stop talking about this, Trev? I just want to think about something else.”

I nod, but before changing the subject, I add, “If he keeps bothering you, I can talk to him. Don’t be afraid to come to me, Ronnie. It’s my job to take care of you.”

“It’s not your job, Trev,” she replies with a laugh.

“Well, I need to make sure you’re safe, baby. You’re my girlfriend, after all. Do you really think I’ll let some guy continue to harass you?” Whoever this prick is, he’s barking up the wrong fucking tree. If there’s anything I won’t tolerate—it’s someone messing with my family. We sit in silence, as we both cool off while listening to the sound of the television. I have so many questions running through my head, but I’m not sure if it’s a good idea for me to push things with her right now. She obviously doesn’t want to talk about it, and I sure as hell don’t want to make her feel worse.

“How can I make things better, Ronnie?” I ask as I put my arm around her and bring her head down to rest on my chest.