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Safe Haven Pt. 3
Last Updated:
2024-10-29 19:42:56
Catherine MacKenzieThe two songs are not mine. All credit goes to both Guns and Roses and Bob Marley.
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I remembered the way they cowered from Mykel as he spoke, glancing in my direction as if I would speak up...or if they could reach me..."You were smaller," Mykel said softly, kissing my cheek. He rested his forehead against where his lips met my skin and sighed."I wasn't when I ran off," I countered."Things are different now than they were then, also, Mattie," Liz said. I looked at her and shrugged. "Think about it, doll," she went on, "when you ran away, you'd had sixteen years of abuse that you dealt with every day. You were kept in a state of fear. They trained you to be afraid.
Three Little Birds Two Steps Forward Three Steps Back Pt. 1
I melted into his embrace, and he picked me up from the tub, his bigger body holding me against his chest bridal style. No words were exchanged as he carried me into his room, my clothes already laid out on his bed.He set me down by the bed and we both made short order of getting dressed.Suddenly I was angry. At myself. At Mykel. At my parents, my sister, the very world. I stood beside the bed, my back to Mykel, my arms crossed over my chest defiantly.I felt more than I heard him walk up behind me. My breathing stopped and I stiffened as he touched me. His fingers, barely grazing the tops of my shoulders slid away and I heard him sigh lightly behind me."Mattie..." His hands lightly gripped my elbows in an attempt to turn me to face him, but I shook from his gr
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Gently she pushed me to a sitting position, her warm, smaller hands cradling my face. "I love you, Mattie. There aren't any conditions to go along with that. I don't care how much you may cry, baby, or how often you freak out. You're not a nuisance. To either of us."But as far as I am concerned, Mattie, you're just as much a part of me as...oh, my love...I could never just cast you aside." She thumbed away tears from my cheeks before vanquishing them from her own. "I knew what I was getting into when I hired you, Mattie. Do you think I was unprepared for what might happen bringing you here?"I brought you here, permanently, because I love you, Mattie. And I've already lost two brothers. I won't lose you, too. I'm not going anywhere."With that, she pulled me back into her embrace, repeated she loved me in a softl
Three Little Birds Two Steps Forward Three Steps Backward Pt. 3
"I'm so in love with you, Mattie. Not for your body, but for you. And..." he paused and looked to his sister before meeting my gaze, as I looked to him when he stopped talking. "I've never felt this way before. Not...not with Kaiden, not with anyone. And...with as much as Kaiden's death about destroyed me, Mattie, I don't think I could survive losing you. In any form."I watched as tears fell unbidden from his eyes and he made no move to brush them away.Liz still dragged her fingers through my hair, calming me. "I love you, too, Mattie. I've grown pretty attached to you these last few years, huh. Sitting out on the swing with you in the mornings is m
Three Little Birds New Beginnings Pt. 1
"I'm proud of you, too. Tonight I'll show you how proud I am." I whispered the words against his cheek, hearing his breath catch. I pulled back and smiled slyly at his flushed skin. As I turned I subtly raked my fingers lightly across his crotch, and I chuckled to myself at his involuntary whimper."So, how about a drink?" I smiled at the look he cast me."Yes, how about? Only a couple, though, we have work tomorrow morning." She gave me a pointed look that told me to make sure she only had those couple. There was a sudden change in her eyes then, a flicker, and if I hadn't been paying attention, I'd have missed it.We did end up only having two drinks a piece before Liz bid her goodnights. I watched her leave before standing to follow.She left her door open for me to
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We both jumped and turned to face where the voice came from. Neither of us heard him come home.Liz paled. Mykel stood in the doorway, his hands clenched in fists at his side."How the fuck did he know where you are?"He sounded angry and Liz tensed beside me. "Mykel, you need to take a breath." I walked up to him and placed my hand on his chest. His heart was pounding."Mykel," I said in low tones and his eyes flickered to me. "You need to control yourself. You're scaring your sister."At those words, his entire demeanor changed. Carefully he approached Liz and knelt down, his hands on her knees."Lizzy, I'm sorry. That...wasn't how that was supposed to come out."
Three Little Birds New Beginnings Pt. 3
I gasped as I walked into the shop two days before it officially opened. It was a beautiful setup. The front door opened into a large space with a desk that sat upon it a telephone, a lamp, and a large calendar that would be used to make appointments. On the left wall were plastic-clad, hanging posters that you were able to see design samples. Further into the shop was a piercing room and bathroom and directly to the right as you enter was the building, to the right of the desk, Mykel would be doing his tattoos. I looked around, my mouth agape but smiling. "It's beautiful, Mykel."Mykel smiled an electric smile that made my heart flutter. From behind me, he wrapped his arms around my chest, his arms coming over my shoulders, kissing my cheek. "I'm glad you like it." Mykel nuzzled into my neck. "Though I have to admit, I'm going to miss spending the days with you."I grinned in spite o
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"You'll understand someday, mon bonheur.""Understand what?" I asked him not quite catching his meaning.He pushed lightly with soft yet firm hands by my shoulders, guiding my vision to meet his. "That I only want to make you happy. That I'm not gonna hurt you. That I'm not going to leave you." He caressed his thumb along my cheekbone and leaned in for the barest kiss."Promise?""I do. I'll be right back." He kissed me again with a smile and turned toward the kitchen but faced me once more when I called his name. He looked at me questioningly, his eyebrow quirked upward."It's um...kinda warming up now...and well...I was thinking that...maybe...well maybe that we could go to that place we watche
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I watched him take a deep drag off the marijuana and hold the hit, his eyes squinted against the smoke that rolled upward along his face. He exhaled and looked at me. He looked the slightest bit calmer. His eyes had dried, though the clouds were still present."I've been battling myself that this is a means to an end," he began hoarsely. "I mean I don't want it to be. I want to fight through this together like you said. Get through it together, like you said." He paused and flicked the ash into the ashtray between us. He rocked nervously; just slightly. He made a sound of frustration deep in his throat. "Hey," I set my hands along his things and he looked at me. "Easy. Take a breath. There's no rush here. Gather your thoughts and when you're ready speak." Halfthe blunt was gone before he started speaking. I left one of my hands against
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"Mykel." He turned back to her with a desperate look in his eyes. "Have you talked to him?"He shook his head. "I asked once if he was okay. He said he was. He wasn't flippant about it or anything...what if it's just in my head?""Hey, there you two are." Mattie's voice came from behind them. Mykel quickly schooled his features as Mattie came up behind them, his hand sliding up Mykel's shoulder. Mykel closed his eyes. "Everything alright?""When you asked that I knew you knew the answer. I could see it on your face," Rian told me. "So as someone who loves you both, this is my advice. I know you love him, Mattie. Let your guard down. Let him back in completely. He needs you as much as you need him and it's time to stop this." I took a shuddering breath but didn't interrupt her. Her tone was soft, caring, and full of worr
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I stood, set the baby in the playpen, and followed him onto the front porch, sitting with him on the steps leading to the house. "Please don't tell my mom this, okay? Can this stay between you and me?""You can tell me anything, Mattie. I want you to be able to trust me." He smiled faintly."I know where I come from. I know what was done to her, and how and why she got pregnant with me." He looked at me, his eyes older than they should have been. Wiser with second-hand knowledge. "I overheard her talking about it with Dad once. I had gone to the bathroom and heard them through the crack in the door."They always have the door cracked open. In case one of us needs them. Anyway, I guess she had a nightmare about it. I could hear her crying as she told him.""She doe
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Since going to Mattie's birthday a few months previous, my sister and I remained in almost daily contact. I couldn't be happier about the relationship she and I were building. I had confided in her about my fears after Mykel's...stunt...and many times did she pick me up and take me to her place to calm me down. We were as close as we could be at the moment, and I was surprised at the quick acceleration of our relationship. I was sitting on her couch holding Cory, who was chewing on the tiger's eye stone that was fastened to a leather string that hung around my neck. I smiled at her as her bright blue eyes met mine. She smiled around the necklace.Mattie andDaniel were upstairs playing video games. I smiled a bit more at the sounds of the children laughing. "So how are you and Mykel doing?" Rian asked me as she handed me a fresh glass of iced tea."Not quite as tense as we have b
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"I never stopped loving you, Mykel," I told him as my throat tightened."Then what? I mean..." He sighed, his eyes pleading with me. "It hurts, Mattie." I saw his eyes begin to shine and he turned and continued walking, his head down. "I'm not going to try to make excuses for myself. What I did was stupid and it hurt you. And Liz. I just...wish you understood." He looked at me, his eyes dry again with a dullness to them I had never before seen present there."I do to some extent. But you did it in front of me. You had enough force where you could have died and..." I stopped walking and pulled my hand free. I felt his reluctance to let go. He looked at me as if he thought I'd dematerialize right before his eyes. I crossed my arms over my chest, drawing myself in tighter. "I feel betrayed, Mykel. I feel like..." I stopped as my lungs constricted behind my rib cage and tri
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Slowly I lowered myself onto the bed, buried my face in his pillow, and, surrounded by his scent, screamed. I heard the sounds of footsteps on the stairs sometime later, but I knew they didn't belong to Mykel. They were too light. I felt Liz's hand on my shoulder and slide around my back as she sat next to me."Baby, why don't you just talk to him?" My cries came harder, my face still obfuscated by the pillow. Liz's fingers found their way into my hair. She said nothing more as she waited for me to calm down. "Mattie." Her voice was so soft as she spoke to me. So full of patience and worry it broke my heart further."I can't, Liz, I can't," I wailed, my words muffled. "I just can't.""Why not, my love?" I couldn't answer her as my cries increased and she pulled me into her. I latched my arms around her, holding on as I
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He shook his head slightly. "I tried talking to him about it...about how he feels...and he won't."Liz lit the forgotten blunt. "Of course he won't. Why would he right now? Beyond what he said as reasoning for not saying anything, he needs to process it all and come to terms with how he feels before he can talk to you about it." She paused. "You think he's the only one that's pissed off about this, Mykel? Cause, I gotta tell ya...I'm fucking livid. And I'm trying to be supportive of you and not make you feel worse about this whole shit hole of a situation, but...I don't even know anymore. I don't know what to think or what to say or how to say it. Or make things worse by saying anything. And I'm sure that's how he feels also. Mykel?""Yeah?""Don't you ever fucking do that again."
Three Little Birds Admonish and Forgive Pt. 1
I took a shuddering breath. "Is this really a conversation you want to get into right now, Mykel?"He looked at me. "If not now, when? This isn't a conversation that you'll willingly bring up later."I looked at him for a moment, my expression softening as I looked at him. "If I need to. But right now, emotions are high. Shit is still very raw...I would rather put it off until we've both had time to process so this doesn't turn into a fight. I don't want to fight with you. Do I want to talk about this? Yes. I do. Because it really fucking hurt. Do I want to fight and scream and argue? No, I'd rather not. So if not talking about it now and having to balls up to mention it later means that that won't happen tonight...that-that we won't fight because we're both very clearly upset...then, fine, I can do that."He scoffed at
Three Little Birds All Through the Night Pt. 3
She glanced up as Mykel took a seat next to her. She smiled sadly at him. I could see she was attempting to keep her composure. I knew the fear in her heart was one she hadn't quite experienced for her brother in several years. "Hey, Mykee." He smiled at her, but the smile was worn with an anxious pulling of his brows. "You want some coffee?" He nodded not speaking. I could see his throat bobbing as he swallowed impulsively, trying to keep himself from falling apart, by the look in her eyes. She set the mug down in front of him, wrapped her arms around his shoulders, setting her face in the crook of his neck. "I love you, Mykel. Don't you ever fucking do that to me again, or I'll kill you myself." He half-smiled and nodded in a barely perceptible way, his eyes slipping closed momentarily. She kissed his cheek before disengaging from his shoulders and taking her seat.To Mykel she said, "I won't be gone too long today. I
