Beyond The Broken Glass3: Finally Mended [complete]

5.) Settling In And Breaking It In

Two weeks. That's how long we've been here, and this is the first time we've been out in public. Most of the things we needed he would go out and get. But I figured I'd switch it up. Today I was gonna step foot in the public eye for the first time without him.

"We have to make this quick so we can beat daddy home."

I told them as we got out of the car. I grabbed their hands and together we walked into the store. She skipped and he attempted to run.

I remember when we were in Michigan. I was so dead set on just surviving and not living life. I did everything with an absent mind: cooking, cleaning, talking. I would try to avoid huge crowds of people. I was always paranoid, it got to the point where it became difficult to bond with people or even become acquainted with them. I learned that doing that kept the feelings of attachment away. But then I met Milani and she was just the sweetest girl, trapped in the worst predicament. To see her now from then was a huge difference.

I watched as she grabbed a sanitizing wipe and wiped down the cart handle. She pushed the cart through the automatic door and went on as if she's been doing this for years.

"We need chicken nuggets," Kyson said as he held onto my hand tightly. I nodded and followed after Milani. Who apparently knew where to go since she was three steps ahead of us.

"Milk," I told her as I pointed to the fridge. She went and grabbed a jug and put it in the cart. She looked at me for confirmation and once I gave her the okay she went on with her task. She was becoming more and more independent each day. I have Brandon to thank for that. He allows her to do things for herself while I was the one that had to hover.

After we got all of our necessities she began to grab all the things that she wanted. Goldfish, Swedish fish, and hot puffcorn.

"Phoebe!" I heard my name. My heart rate sped up and my first instinct was to grab hold of my children. "I figured that was you. Remember me."

"How could I forget."

"Oh is this your sister?" She asked looking at Mimi. She laid her head against my arm and squeezed her eyes shut.

"My daughter," I told her as I kissed the top of Milani's head. Her face softened as her smile grew.

"When will I be able to meet the mister?" She asked as she pushed her bag up on her shoulder. "Maybe we can have a family dinner. My family and your family. We don't bite."

Trust me I know. If you bite—mine kills.

She doesn't know Brandon. He was ruthless when it came to us. If you hurt one of us or even mildly inconvenienced us he took it super personal.

"Maybe. You know—we're still getting settled in and everything."

"Oh. I understand." She comprehended. "Just let me know when you're ready. We'd love to properly welcome you guys to the neighborhood."

We spent a smooth three hundred dollars on groceries. After all of it was packed into the trunk and the kids were buckled in. I hopped in the diver's seat and sped all the way home. They each grabbed two bags and took them into the house. I still had to make three more trips though. We had groceries for what should be two months, but Mimi and Ky ate a snack every three seconds.

"Why would you leave and not say you was goin' out?" He asked appearing in the kitchen. He was red in the face and his eyebrows were knitted together.

"I wanted to take them out to get some fresh air. It's not good to be cooped up inside all day." I told him as I put groceries away.

"I thought we agreed to communicate more. How you just gone take them out without my permission."

"I don't need your permission to take my kids to the store with me," I told him as I gathered all the plastic bags and stored them underneath the sink. "And remember you left for three days without communicating and let's not forget the other day when you stormed out of here and came back in the wee hours of the night."

"Whatever. Next time say somethin'. I almost aired out this whole fuckin' neighborhood." He confessed as he leaned against the sink.

She came galloping into the kitchen and crashing into his arms.

"Daddy!" She shrieked as he picked her up and kissed her forehead.

"You went outside with yo mama."

"We go all the way outside!" She laughed as she threw her arms around his neck. "Mimi got sweet fish."

"You gone share with me?" He asked as he placed her on her feet and straightened out her ponytail. She nodded as she took off to get God knows what.

"What's the next move?" I asked him as I sat on top of the counter. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

"Honestly. I don't know." He exhaled through his nose and came to stand between my legs, his breath hit my bare neck as he placed his head on my shoulder. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held him close. "You ever thought about what life would be like if all this shit didn't happen?"

"All the time," I confessed. "Every second of the day."

"Me too. I keep telling myself that if it didn't happen this way we wouldn't have grown as close as we have."

"Does that help you sleep at night?"

"Nah but you do though." He responded smoothly. Once again his breath warmed my neck.

"Remember when we fought so hard to stay away from each other?" I asked him as I reflected back on the very beginning. "How mean you were to me."

"You too damn persistent. I was trying to keep you at arm's length, but yo ass don't listen."

"I get what I want."

"Yeah me too. By any means necessary." He kissed me like he wanted to swallow my lips. He gripped my hair in his fist and tilted my head back so he could have more access to my mouth. my underwear became damp with every suckle.

"Not in the kitchen," I finally found my words again as he tugged at the waistband of my pants.

"Well, you insisted that the kids get their own rooms. Ain't no privacy to climb up your walls." He said against my ear.

"We have a bathroom."

"You right." He lifted me off the counter and whisked me off to the bathroom to do what grown folks do. We rarely ever had this kind of intimacy. Either we didn't have the time or the atmosphere wasn't right or we just weren't in the mood.

I couldn't complain, because when we finally did have this type of intimacy we gave it our all. Every single time. I bit my bottom lip as he slid into me slowly, the instant euphoria swirled inside of me at the sensation of having friction inside my folds. He had my back against the wall, my legs bound around his waist.

"fuck!"

I groaned as he began to pick up the pace of his strokes. I tried in vain to catch his rhythm but I kept getting lost in his long thrust. He was beating my walls down in every sense of the phrase. The grip he had on me kept me right where he wanted me. Right where I wanted to be.

"Look me in my eyes." He demanded as he continued to pump. In and out, in and out. Each stroke sharper than the last. "Look at me."

I did as he commanded as my eyes locked with his. But I couldn't keep it up much longer, my eyes began to water. In turn I pressed my forehead to his as our eyes remained open. He moaned my name seductively as I bit my bottom lip. I didn't do much moaning, my love sounds were more of a loud cry. An acquired skill still nice having children present.

"I love you so much." I moaned as I pressed my lips to his ear.

"I know you do."