Her Scorned Heart

Chapter 37

Royal POV 

*

I spent the past couple of days in Miami but now it's time to get to it. Mae already knows I plan to move but everyone else not so much. And I'm sure Shani already knows I left instead of staying like I said I would. The guilt has been eating me up so that's part of the reason I came back today. My first stop is my parents. They're finally back from traveling. Ever since I returned three years ago I've been paying their living expenses which allowed them to retire and enjoy themselves. Every once in a while I would also put money in their bank accounts to do what they want. Although they never seem to actually use it. 

"Savion!" My mom hugged me as soon as I walked in the door. "Where have you been boy?! We've been back for a week and haven't heard a thing from you."

"My bad ma. I was busy. Where's the old man?"

"Old my ass," my pops came up and smacked me on the back of my head. "You and Tre love calling me old but never want to fight. Punks."

"Really dad?" I laughed. "How was y'all trip though? Enjoyed yourselves?"

"Hell no! It was too hot." Of course my dad would find something wrong with Hawaii. 

"Don't listen to him. Jerry had more fun than I did."

"I believe it," I chuckled sitting down in the living room. "I came here to kind of talk to you guys about something important."

"Alright sweetie. Jerry! Get in here." They both sat down on the couch. 

"Well uh," I rubbed my neck nervously. "I don't really know any other way to say this but...I'm moving."

"Where to?"

"Florida. I've been flying back and forth for the past couple of months getting everything situated. I started a business over there but it's not the only reason I'm going." I sighed. "I met someone."

"You did?" my mother asked in shock. 

"Yeah. Nothing was planned it all kind of just happened. I know you guys understand I don't typically like staying in one place for too long. I just never felt like I fit in somewhere and with her, I don't feel like that. I understand this is a lot to take in and I'll get it if you're mad at me or think I'm making a reckless decision."

They looked at each other and nodded. "Son," my dad leaned forward. "We're not upset. We actually couldn't be any happier."

"Really?"

"Yes honey," my mom smiled. "You don't understand just how worried all of us were over you. Fighting all those demons alone. Seeming to never fit in. One of my greatest fears was your loneliness being your greatest downfall. All I want is for you to be happy baby and if this girl makes you happy then so am I."

"You're a certifiable genius son," pops said. "I know you didn't make this decision rashly. You analyzed it a hundred times over before making a final choice. So we know to trust you. I'm glad you finally found something good for yourself."

"All we ask is you let us know when you get settled in so we can come and visit you," my mom said. "I want to meet the woman who was able to capture your ice cold heart."

"Dang ma all that?" I chuckled. "I love you guys and thanks."

"Love you too honey. I get to have more grandkids now," she cheered. 

"Stop it ma," I shook my head. "She already got a kid so don't look to me for any. Mae and Tre have plenty of time to give you all the grand babies you want. I have to go and talk to the rest of the gang but I'll be back and talk to you soon alright?"

"Alright. Maybe you can figure out what the hell happened."

"What do you mean?"

"Didn't you hear? Mae, Jada, and Shani aren't talking right now."

"What the fu-dge?" 

"We're going to see Shani in the hospital to see if she can tell us anything because your sister ain't telling us diddly squat." Damn. I have a feeling that this may have been my fault. 

"Alright. Y'all be safe." I picked up the phone and called Dee.

"About time you popped back up," Dee said. "Do you know the mess that you've made?"

"So it's true? Mae, Jada, and Shani aren't talking because of me?"

"It's a little more complicated than that. Swing by the house. I'm here changing clothes and shit. I'll explain everything on the way to Shani."

"Iight." I hung up and headed home. I got out the car and headed inside where Dee was in the living room. "So what happened?"

"Well, Mae told us that you left to go to Miami to be with someone you care about and Jada lost her shit. Saying it was selfish of you to leave like that after promising to be here for Shani. Shaq kind of dragged her away after that. I don't know the specifics of what happened between Mae and Shani but I know Shani was upset when she found out you left."

"Damn," I sighed. I knew things would've been bad when I returned but not this bad. 

"Shani really likes you man and you leaving hurt her a lot. Y'all need to has things out and figure out what's going on between you two."

"I know," I said. "What I did was fucked up. But I had finally found something that meant more to me and I didn't want to lose it. I was being selfish."

"It's cool," he shrugged. "I can barely keep track of how many times you were selfless in the sake of everyone in the group. You rescued Mae, protected us on countless occasions, give without being asked to, you even saved Shani by letting her stay here. You deserve happiness too Royal. Despite what everyone else says or thinks. Although, I'm kind of on the fence of whether I'm happy it's not with Shani or upset by it."

"Upset? Thought you didn't want Shani with anybody else."

"That was me being too selfish. I want Shani to be happy and if that means being with someone who won't hurt her the way I did then so be it. I finally learned the love I was showing her was more than toxic. It was selfish. It was consuming and that's not what love is. Love is healing and wanting what's best for each other. Even if it hurts."

I sat back and looked at Dee for a minute. It's crazy how not too long ago he couldn't even tell me what love was and now he was willing to give it up for the sake of Shani. Glad he got some sense knock into him. "I see you found the answer to my question," I said. 

"Yeah," he scuffed. "Too little too late though. Shani doesn't have room in her heart for me now."

"That's only true if you let it be," I said. "I'm going to go and talk to Shani. So we can hash things out. I didn't mean for things to get this bad."

"Why didn't you wait until after her surgery to go? Things might've turned out differently if you had."

"Because I didn't have time to wait. You may have been selfless enough to let Shani go but I'm not the same. I didn't want to lose the one person I felt a connection with. I didn't want to ruin something before it could start." I stood up out of my seat. "You coming?"

"Yeah but I have to make a pit stop so you can go on without me."

"Alright." I headed back to my car. Now I have to make things right with Shani to fix everything else that went wrong. 

Update for you mofos! A little Royal action for you guys. Hope you enjoy!