Sweet Girl (BWWM)

Chapter Twenty

NOT EDITED
Long one for the long haul!

THIRD PERSON
Iyesha couldn't describe how happy she was to be back in her happy place, surrounded by beautiful flowers and happy customers. Though she had lost a few regulars due her leave of absence— due to obvious reasons. But others returned like nothing happened.

"You left out of no where, and when I saw that your windows were boarded up I didn't know what had happened to you! I'm so happy to see you back, Iyeshie."
Mr. Alphonso smiled as he took the small bouquet of tulips from Iyesha's hands.

Mr.Alphonso was an elderly man, his white skin was freckled with liver spots and his once full head of hair was balding in the middle. He came to Iyesha's shop every week to grab a bouquet to place at his wife's grave. Every Monday at 11am on the dot, there was Mr.Alphonso coming through her doors.

Her nickname, Iyeshie was a precious gift he had gifted to her on a random spur of the moment. She couldn't help but feel her heart flutter every time the name came from his mouth, reminding her of her grandfather back in Ohio.

"I know. I didn't mean to scare you Mr.Alphonso! But I'm back so I'll see you again next Monday."
Her smile grew as he wrapped an arm sound her and squeezed her tightly.

"No more disappearing acts from now on."
He nodded sternly but all Iyesha could do was giggle.

"Yes sir."
She waved as she watched him exit the store and make his way to his car with the help of his walking stick.

She felt a sense of freedom not having Victor or Aiden hovering over her and reporting her every move back to Santo. And thought she loved him, she couldn't forgive him so easily, and he wasn't used to that.

He thought him saying sorry was the end of it— that was how he was raised. But every boo-boo can't be healed with just a band-aid.

Silence enveloped her as she took the time to cut more floral foam and stems for bigger projects she just knew where coming since her reopening. She swept the floor before hearing the bell over her door ring.

"Welcome to Iye- oh my!"
She shouted before ducking under her counter as bullets began to fly in her direction.

She tried to shrink and shrink, but there was nowhere to hide. She too scared to move, fearing she would be hit by the spray of bullets.

But she longer she stayed there, it felt like the more the bullets were tap dancing around her. She quickly crawled towards the back room before closing the door and baracading herself in with a chair against the door knob. Fumbling with her phone she dialed tried 911, but each time she pressed call, it said call failed.

Tears flowed down her face like the high tide.
Pressing Santo's contact that call also wouldn't go through.

Just before was able to press call again loud banging came from outside of door.
"We know you're in there you whore!"
The firing of the firearms had ceased, but now the threat was outside of the door, two feet away at the least.

Feeling so stupid that she had left the store phone upfront before her flee to the back.

"All of the money is in the register, please just leave me be!"
Her hysterical cries were mocked by the man on the other side of the door. His accent was thick and Italian. Both Santo and Luci had Italian accents, but not this thick. This man sounded him he was fresh off the boat from Sicily.

"You silly girl! We don't want your money, we want your life. Then we will leave you head on your lovers front door step. I would love to keep that plump body to play with until you begin to decompose, then I'll dump you in a storm drain to be eaten by rats."
His words sent shivers down her spine.