Terminal 1

What had happened was...

A little past Midnight...

By the time everyone got home. The house was quiet and everyone was asleep.

"Peanut, Cupcake, y'all gon' on upstairs and rest. We'll announce you being home in a couple of days." Big Ma said.

"Yeah." Amanda agreed. "Bev, Richard, and I will take the kids for a spell and let you two have a moment." 

Richard yawns nodding with agreement. 

"Thanks Momma." Zac uttered, as Fatima helped him take off his coat. Hissing from the pain because his pain killers are starting to wear off.

She hangs up his coat,  then starts to take off her own coat. 

Zac noticed how she's moving as Richard kisses Fatima good night then gives Zac a dap, leaving to go to the extra bedroom to be with Beverly. 

"Here you go, Peanut." Big Ma said, handing Zac his medication along with some water taking his focus slightly off Fatima. "Thank you Big Ma." he replied, taking it, then handing it back.

"Alrite now. G'won on upstairs. I'll bring you two breakfast in the morning." "Thank you.." Zatima replies, walking up the stairs hand in hand.

Once they are out of sight, Amanda says, "You think she's going to tell him." "She ain't got no other choice but to tell him." Amanda nods as Big Ma added. "With the way them two set up, she can't cover them bruises for long."

Zatima's bedroom

Fatima is helping Zac come out of his clothes. Taking in his scent, watching him catch a breath because everything is hurting.

"You ok Baby Daddy?" "Yeah..." he mumbled. "It's just a little hard to breathe."

"Do you want to go to the hospital?" "No, we can go tomorrow," he told her. "Tonight, I just wanna be in your arms."

Kiss. "And I want to be in yours." she says back to him.

"You wanna shower with me." "Not tonight..." Fatima uttered nonchalantly, yet just a little too quickly.

"Fatima, what happened?" "Nothing..." "No secrets, no surprises..." he voiced sternly.

She huffs out a breath, shying away from him. "Mamas. When you held onto me. I knew something was wrong. So just tell me..." he spoke softly trying not to get upset so she wouldn't shut down. 

She's still silent. "Let me see..." he tells her. "Zac..." he stands. "Let....Me....SEE Fatima." he repeated yet this time a little more stern.

Fatima sits on the bed, as tears escape her eyes. Shakily she starts to undress.

Seeing the first mark on her torso, he scratched his head, then the bruise on her shoulder blade had him brushing his hand across his mouth.

She wore a turtleneck, that already put him on high alert, so when he saw the bruise on her neck, his face turned red. Then once the turtleneck went above her head, taking her hair back to show her face in full frame. He lost it...

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" "Zac please..." "call Naomi..." "Why?" "Because I'm going to fucking jail, Fatima. What HAPPENED?" he asked again.

He softens, seeing her cry her eyes out.

She wants to tell him but she's also scared to because she knows he don't play about her.

"I can't lose you..." "and you won't." he proclaimed. "But what we not gon' do is sit here and act like I'm not gon' fuck somebody up..."

"Zac..." "No secrets, no surprise Fatima. And THIS IS a surprise and you're trying to keep it a secret. Talk to me." He tells her again, pulling her chin to face him.