BONNIE (BOOK 3)

Chapter 9

Luis Jones' POV

I wake up to the sound of my alarm clock blasting in my ear.

I groggily look at the clock next to me and see that it 7:30 am.

Shit!

I was supposed to wake Kofi a whole hour ago!

It's Luna's day to be with him and Diav is also expecting me to bring Jayla, despite the fact that it's a weekend, so that he can 'finalise' the rules before they get started.

I scramble out of bed, nearly falling flat on the floor and drag on a shirt, going into my bathroom and washing the sleep from my eyes, before running out of my room and bursting into Kofi's room.

I look at his bed and find it empty and neatly laid.

How?

I hear a clatter coming from the kitchen and freeze.

I sprint out of the room and down the stairs and into the kitchen to see Kofi dressed and ready to go sat on a stool, eating a bowl of cereal.

My eyes snap to Jayla, who stands opposite him on her phone, with a cup of green tea in her other hand.

She wears her dreads in a messy bun atop her head and a t-shirt, and a pair of sweatpants, her feet bare.

She senses my presence in the room and her head rises, so that her eyes can meet mine.

"Jayla" I say.

"Luis" she responds, flicking her eyes away from me, taking a sip of her tea.

"How- How did you know about our schedule?" I ask with a stutter, completely baffled.

Her eyes move to the fridge.

"You've got it taped to the fridge" she says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"I noticed it, when I got back from my run this morning" she finishes with a shrug.

"I- Thank you. I really owe you one." I tell her, rubbing a hand on the back of her neck.

She shrugs again.

"I'm gonna go take a shower. You seem like you got it from here" she says and I nod wordlessly as she rinses her mug puts it in the dishwasher, before walking out of the kitchen.

My eyes follow her, even as she walks towards the stairs and until she is out of sight.

My mind moves to last night.

She was acting extremely cold.

Then I moved closer to her and I saw her eyes cloud with lust. Like she wanted to kiss me.

Especially when I left her hanging.

Potentially frustrated.

But then this morning she is back to normal.

Cold.

"Morning, dad" Kofi says brightly, cutting me out of my thoughts and I smile at him, grateful for the distraction.

"I'm sorry I didn't get up earlier, son, you could have been late and it's no excuse from me" I say sincerely.

I made it a point to not do a lot of the things that I grew up with.

As much as I love and appreciate my parents, so of their methods were toxic and I refuse to be the same.

So that means apologising to my son when I'm wrong and teaching him to do the same.

"I forgive you dad. Jayla got me up, so I ain't gonna be late." He says, before returning to his cereal.

I nod to myself.

"Igh, lets get you to school, Tano" I say, using his middle name.

Tano is my father's name.

He jumps off his stool, grabs his bowl and puts it into the sink, as I grab our shoes.

He wears his and I do the same, writing a note to Jayla telling her to prepare to meet up with Diav.

I grab Kofi's hand and lead him to my car.

I strap him in and begin to drive him to his mother's house.

The journey is uneventful and when I hug and kiss my son goodbye for the day, I hope into my car, going straight  back to my house.

When I walk into the house, I call for Jayla.

She comes down the stairs looking ready to go.

She wears a black sweater and a pair of black jeans, her black combat boots done up tightly on her feet.

"Let's go" she says brittle-y.

I nod stiffly open the door for her.

She steps outside, muttering a 'thank you' and then walking to the car.

I unlock it once again and she sits inside.

The ride to Diav's is painfully quiet and a little awkward.

As soon as we get stop, she immediately runs in a certain direction and I then I see why.

Her bodyguards, Jace and Donnavan.

She runs up to them and hugs them both tightly, which they return, smiling down at her.

They seem to really care about her.

I step out of the car.

Her bodyguards' eyes fall to me and they become straight faced almost immediately.

"Mr Jones. Diav told us to meet Jayla here and then escort her to him. You can go now" The taller one, Donnavan, says eyes piercing through my soul.

Jace has a slight scowl on his face as he looks at me.

I look at Jayla, her face emotionless and I shrug.

"I guess I'll be back to pick you up later" I say to her softly.

She nods.

"Okay" she responds.

I stuff my hands in my pockets, in vain attempt to keep them warm as I turn to walk away.

"Luis" Jayla calls, stopping me in my tracks.

"Hm?" I respond absent minded.

"Thanks for the ride here. I appreciate it" she says, looking at the ground, cheeks going a little bit red.

I give her a small smile and she gets slightly redder.

I walk back to my car and sit inside, waiting until they disappear through the gates, before driving away.

I decide in that moment, that I've kept the truth from her for long enough.

Kofi is at his mother's for the weekend, so I'll tell her tonight.

The truth that's been killing me for just over 8 years.

My heart beats in my chest rapidly as I think of ways to tell her.

It won't be easy.

But nothing ever is.

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Hey all!

What did you think of this one?