❀HIS❀BRIDE❀

☆THIRTY EIGHT☆

𝐀𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫

I watch her go over to the bed while I put her bag into the wardrobe. She is still thinking and I can hear her mumur a prayer.
"Care to shower?" I ask.
"Is it more important than Royal?" she asks me.
I sigh. I somehow knew she was going to ask me this. "Karen please, if Ashton gets here then all of us will settle and talk. Can you help me call Praise? We need his help too," I ask.

"Must the six of you be complete?" She asks.
"We have to, it's the best thing."

"And Junior? D'you know where he is?" she asks.

"Currently in Canada but he will be here by tomorrow." I sigh and scratch my neck. "Can you call Praise now?"

I watch her bring out her phone in a  Rose Gold pouch, and dial Praise's number. She keeps calling but he does not pick up.
"He's not picking up the phone," she tells me.

I shut my eyes and try to think of someone else that can be a replacement. Sienna? No. She is pregnant and she obviously won't want to. She even threatened to take Royal away from Karen so why would she help to bring him  back?
Another thought comes to my head. Ashton needs to reach out to some of Kim's friends back then who were in the crew. It may be hard but he has to.

"Dial him again," I tell her. She looks at me like I have just been using the opportunity to order her around.
"He still isn't picking up the phone."

"It's fine. Imma dial him later."

"Do you have his number?" she asks.
"He's my man, we know what to do. Hopefully, he will pick my own call," I say, trying to give myself a little hope even though I know it is almost impossible.

"Okay, leave the room. I wanna shower."
I nod and leave.
Before, she had asked me to give her another room because she does not want to stay with me but sadly for her and luckily for me, I have people coming to stay. Really crazy people she might not understand.

____

Ashton and I are sitting in his room, with Kim resting on the drawer. Everyone has been worried most especially Karen. This is all my fault, if I had made good use of my childhood, then this will not be happening.

"Guys but honestly, I don't think we need to fight those people about this. Allen is crazily using drugs as an excuse, he is obviously still mad that Ashton and I are together..." Kim says.

Dylan and Jamal walk in with Raymond. Already, Quan has been kicked out by me.
They all take a seat on the bed.

"I need to make it clear to him that Ion like him and he really needs to quit disturbing me. Dude, it needs to be stated clearly," she says. "Everyone ain't doing drug shit anymore. I mean, we all looking for pretty legal jobs."

"He doesn't wanna quit old attitude," Raymond asks. "Who'd think I would work in a travel company? We all worked to act responsible, the guy just wants to dare our guts."

"And I dunno why Royal has to be their target. I'm just wondering how they knew Royal and Karen had gone to the amusement park," Ashton says and drops his smoke in a glass jar.
Smoking is not really our thing anymore but this case is so frustrating.

"None of em has called to drop a location," Jamal says.

"We can track them," Dylan adds.
"How?" I ask.
"Until Praise gets here. Has anyone called him?" Kim asks. "He barely talks to any of us now."

I purse my lips and run my hand through my hair.
"Chill, I will ask Karen to call him again and see if he can pick up. I think the guy blocked my number." I leave the room and go to look for Karen but instead I hear voices from downstairs, around the gym area.

"It's your stupid fault!"

I rush downstairs and into the indoor swimming spot. They are both exchanging words.
"You are literally here only for his money!" Karen says.

"Don't forget I have his baby in my tummy!"
"Liar! You are just a slut trying to fit into my man's life!" Karen fires back at her.
"A what?!" Sienna looks shocked by that

"A slut! Go get a life and stop following other people's husbands ok?! Now I get why you can't have yours, it's because you are so selfish!" Karen turns to leave through the other way but but Sienna pulls her by her hair and throws her into the water.

Karen can't swim! I get that reminder in my head.

"You better stay there and drown!" Sienna yells.
"Karen!" I run up to where the swimming pool is. I jump right in there with my clothes on and swim down to where Karen was already drowning.

I grab her and force my arm to increase its energy so I can swim up. I keep forcing myself to swim up, trying well so her weight won't pull me down.

Finally, I am able to swim up with her. I  watch her wipe her face and gasp for air.

"Serves your right you bitch!" Sienna yells.

I really want to get mad at Enna and shout at her but that is not my problem.

"Oh my God..." Karen hit her chest and coughs out while I rub her back.
"Are you ok?" I ask. She keeps coughing and blinks, wiping her face off almost every second. "Karen? Look at me." She tries to but keeps coughing.

"Next time, you watch whom you mess with!" Sienna says and walks out.

I rub her back. She takes one last gasp before she stops coughing. "Are you ok now?"
"Yeah. I'm okay."

I pull her into a hug. Surprisingly, she hugs back too. "Thank you Asher."
For once, I remember how she defended me and called me her man. She indirectly referred to me as her husband. A smile tugs at the corner of my lips.
"Come on, you need to change out of your clothes ok? Or you'll get a cold," I tell her and carry her up. We are both dripping wet.

_____

Karen puts a call through and we all pay attention, we all pay attention to know if Praise will pick her call. He has not been picking up. Finally, he does.

"Hello?" Karen says and puts the call on a loudspeaker. "Praise? Hello?"
"Who is this?" a girl asks over the phone. Ashton takes the phone from Karen immediately.
Just a lot has happened today.

"Give the phone to Praise," Ashton says sternly.
"And who the hell is this now?" the girl says rudely. "Why have you been calling this phone?"

"Give the phone to Praise, Stupid!" Ashton says.
"Ivara? Get the phone," Praise says from the background.

Ivara? I have heard that name before. Like, when I was still dating Dianne. Maybe it's just someone else.
"Karen? Why are you calling?" he asks. "Aren't you happy now? You are letting that monster back to you after what he did to—"

"Shut it you twart!" Ashton says in a commanding tone. "We need you right now."

"Ashton?" We hear him laugh sarcastically over the phone. "I can never forget your stupid ass voice."

"Can you shut up? You're just a spongebob. I'm only giving you this piece of advice to come to the location we'll send to you now cause the X-radicals are gonna come for you."

There is silence.
"Won't you beg?"
"Praise. Use your brain not your butt mane," Jamal says.

"On a condition though."
"What?" I step in.
"I will have Karen at the end. You can take your son, I don't care."

My hands clench into a fist. I wish this dude was right here so I will send a punch straight to his face.

"What do you say to that?" he asks over the phone.

"Bro, just say yes," Ashton whispers to me.
"But I don't wanna be with him.." Karen cuts in.
"That's why you need to be with me," I say to her.
"Why?!"
"Because you deserve peace!"

"Am I getting Karen or not?!"

"Okay, fine," I say.
"Good."

So my phone spoilt. It's blinded. The screen is blank and I certainly can't operate on the screen. Right now I'm gonna be using my mum's phone to update, until I get a new phone.
And yeah I have to insert my sim into a phone cause mum will take advantage of this😫
Anyways...stay tuned!