Confession of a King

I groaned and shoved my face further into the pillow, my right arm aimlessly searching the fluffy comforter for my phone to shut my alarm off. Once my hand found it, my thumb immediately hit the spot to silence the annoyance and allow me to drift back into dream-land for a bit. Matt’s bed was anything but uncomfortable, and it was so easy for me to fall right back to sleep if I didn’t get up right away. It didn’t help that he had black out curtains on the windows in the room, which alongside with the black walls, made the room dark as night. It was even too dark for me at times, causing me to leave the television on overnight or the recessed lighting by the bedroom door still on, but dimmed. There was a strange calmness that surrounded me whenever I was in this room. It had taken me a couple of days, but all of the thoughts of Matt with other women in here left my mind. It had now been three weeks of living here. I felt safe in here. I felt at peace. I had already re-arranged the room and had the nursery pretty much ready to go. It was starting to feel like home, maybe not the whole home, but this room, it felt like home.

I let out another groan as banging erupted at my door. I must’ve slept longer than I anticipated after shutting my alarm off. I pulled the fluffy comforter up, covering my head and trying to drown out the noise. I rolled my eyes to myself when the banging got more frantic.

“Ivy! You have ten seconds until I open this door up!” Brian’s voice boomed from the other side. “Ten… Nine… Eight… I don’t have the patience for this.” I heard the door unlock and then there was a shift in weight to the right of me. Brian’s hand yanked the comforter down, “I know you’re awake.”

“Ten more minutes,” I whined as he continued to pull the comforter off my body. His hand grabbed my wrist and pulled, jerking me up. “What the fuck!”

“We’re going to be late if you don’t get out of bed,” he looked at me, unamused as I giggled to myself. He had cut all of his hair off yesterday, well not all of it, but it wasn’t as long as it was. It was now more short and spiky, more styled. He was dressed and ready to go, “Hurry up.”

“It’s going to take me a while to get used to you without the long locks,” I giggled and hopped out of bed, making sure to get off on the opposite side as him. “I’m not wearing pants, please turn around,” I grumbled as he stared at me.

He rolled his eyes and turned his head from me. I walked to the closet, pulling on a pair of leggings and exchanging Matt’s t-shirt for a bra and tank top. I grabbed a loose-fitting, lightweight flannel shirt and pulled it onto my arms. I slid my flip flops on my feet then grabbed my purse, clapping my hands and exclaiming that I was ready. Brian followed me out of my room, locking it behind me. He continued to follow behind me as I descended the stairs, making my way into the kitchen, three pairs of eyes falling on me.

“Good morning,” I said quietly, not knowing who the third man in the room was. I opened up the pantry and grabbed a Luna bar, then reached into the refrigerator for a bottle of water. I popped the cap to the water bottle and threw my vitamins into my mouth, chugging the water afterwards as the three men continued to look at me, Brian standing next to me, almost protectively. “Are you going to introduce yourself, or what?”

“Damn, she runs this place, huh?” the mystery man let out a laugh, his eyes dancing with excitement. “I’m Corey. I’m a good friend of Shadows. We go way back.”

“Ivy,” I responded, eyeing him then diverting my attention to Zacky and Christ. Neither one of them said anything in response to Corey’s first statement. I felt a hand on mine and looked down to see ‘boro’ tattooed on the fingers intwining themselves with mine. I looked up to see Brian’s jaw tight, and leaned over to him whispering, “Is he an actual friend?”

Brian nodded and talked quietly to me, “Corey is going to help us with the whole Behemoth situation. We’re allies, and his team is strong.” He moved his gaze over to the man, “He won’t share her. Don’t waste your breath asking.”

“You must be something special for him to not want to share you,” Corey smirked at me, his eyes looking over my body then landing on my stomach. “Well, I’ll be damned. You are something special.”

“I’m ready to go,” I muttered to Brian, pulling his hand with mine as I went to exit the kitchen. As we walked out I glared in the direction of the three men, “Figure this out before I have Shadows chew his ass out for staring at me like he wants to fuck me.”

Corey let out another deep chuckle, “Is it the pregnancy that she gets special treatment? Any other female would’ve been punished for throwing commands like that.”

“Shadows is in love with her,” Brian snarled. “Now get the big-man attitude out of your head, accept it and move the fuck on. She’ll talk how she wants. You’re here for one reason and that’s to bring down Behemoth, for her sake. If you want the money and bragging rights you’ll shut the fuck up and deal, or I can kick your ass and you can fuck out of my home.”

Corey held his hands in the air, “I didn’t mean to offend anyone. I’m here to collaborate, not to instigate.”

“Good, keep it that way,” I spat and walked out of the kitchen, my hand still intertwined with Brian’s. I pulled it from his grasp as we got into separate cars, him following behind me as I drove to the OBGYN’s office for my next check-up.

The feeling of the cold ultrasound gel being rubbed on my belly was something that I had now grown accustomed to, along with getting my blood drawn. Prior to this, my fear of needles was unlike any other, but now I was getting pricked all the time and felt like a total professional heroin addict. The tech explained to me that everything was going really well for the most part, but that I needed to really keep my stress levels down and try to relax as much as possible. We were nearing the end of the pregnancy, and this was the time that anything could happen, causing a baby to be born prematurely. I spoke with my actual OBGYN after the tech, about when I should exactly expect my little man to enter the world, and if we should schedule an actual date so that she would be available. She also gave more information on what I should be doing in preparation. She even explained to Brian things that he should be watching for, or picking up on, signaling that it was time to go. Everything was becoming really real. In less than two months I would be holding my son, and in about three hopefully Matt would, too.

“I hate to say it, but I feel like this kids second dad,” Brian laughed while popping a fry in his mouth. We had gone out to eat after my appointment, just to a local burger place.

I swallowed the food that was in my mouth and laughed along with him, “Daddy Gates.”

“Daddy Gates loves you, little shit,” he spoke while looking at my belly, then threw a fry at it. “Did he kick?”

“Just because you hit him with something doesn't mean he’s going to kick, you idiot,” I cackled, now feeling the little boy in my stomach kicking. “I actually hate when he does it. It’s like there’s an alien in my belly.”

“Demon baby,” Brian added. “Have you and Shadows consulted on names yet?”

I shrugged, “We actually haven’t talked about it at all. I picked a name out, I just have to make sure he’s okay with it.”

“And it is?”

“Alec James… Alec James Sanders,” I smiled, having personal reasons for picking those names. “I have to figure out how I go about getting Matt on the birth certificate. I don’t know if I can have him sign the paperwork ahead of time, or if I have to get it re-done after giving birth.”

Brian pursed his lips, “Let me look into the legality stuff and I’ll let you know.”

“No, I can figure that out on my own,” I blushed. “You have enough to work on right now. Less than three months till you two are back in the courtroom, Bri. You have to wrap your head around that.”

“I know. I get no sleep anymore between Behemoth during the day and then up working on Shadows’ case at night. Thankfully, now that we have Corey and his guys on our side with it, I can elevate myself of some shit.” Brian gave me a sad smile. He looked exhausted.

I frowned and reached across the table, grabbing his hands in mine. “When’s the last time you saw Chelsea? Why don’t you take some time off from the whole Behemoth thing and spend time with her? Get your mind off that shit, then just focus on the trial.”

Brian rolled his eyes and chuckled, “Shadows will never allow me to just abandon focus on you. He’d rather me focus on taking Behemoth out rather than his trial. But good try.”

I glared at him, “I’m serious. Spend time with her! She misses you and I know you miss her. Plus, I’ll talk some sense into Matt about the whole thing.”

We finished eating our lunch and I paid for the bill, kicking Brian in the shin when he went to grab for his wallet. I had no expenses anymore, Matt was literally paying for everything, so the least I could do was pay for an inexpensive lunch. Brian pulled me into an embrace when we said our goodbyes in the parking lot. He was going to head back to the house to work in his den, trying to focus on Matt’s trial. I was going in the opposite direction, stopping in at the prison for an actual scheduled one-on-one with Matt. It was going to be through a glass panel, but at least it was private.

I shuffled my feet walking into the prison, my breath catching in my throat when I saw Red standing there. I hadn’t heard how his recovery was going since I left, but I guess he must’ve been back to healthy if he was working again. His eyes hit mine, then my stomach and gleamed everything but compassion. His face was worked into a twisted snarl as he chatted with Billy, who’s eyes landed on me as well. I let the door close behind me and grabbed the sign in sheet, writing my name down quickly, worried who would be the one to escort me to see the father of my unborn child.

Red laughed when he saw the sheet, “I thought it was a joke that you were coming to see him.”

“Well, it’s not,” I retorted.

“Ivy, look at you! You look beautiful!” Mr. Morgan’s voice erupted from around the corner, a smile plastered on his lips. “Not much longer till the little one is out, aye?”

“Less than two months,” I blushed. “Did you get my e-mail?”

Mr. Morgan nodded, “I did. I hadn’t had a chance to respond, but when you’re done with Shadows come to my office. You can sign off on the release forms and things will be finalized. It’s going to be sad to lose you, but I am glad your boyfriend has enough money to allow you to stay home and take care of your son.”

“Thank you,” I gave him a soft smile.

Red snorted, “I wonder if he’ll turn out just like his father, too.”

Mr. Morgan shot Red a glare, “Just because she won’t work here anymore doesn’t mean I am going to allow you to harass her. Get your ass behind the desk and shut up. Ivy, follow me.”

I thanked Mr. Morgan for still taking on that father role, and followed behind him to the room where I would be visiting Matt. My eyes connected with his the minute I walked in. He wasn’t cuffed, he was leaning back in a chair with his arms crossed over his chest and a smug look on his face. The glass panel had an opening toward the bottom that was big enough for my hands to probably fit through, and a couple smaller ones higher up that would allow us to hear one another. Mr. Morgan said goodbye and reminded me to stop by, then let me be.

“I see your best friend is back,” I grumbled as Matt took my hands in his, his rough thumbs caressing the back of each hand. He rolled his eyes and shook his head, causing me to laugh, “You still behaving?”

“Yes,” he smirked. “I’ve only threatened him a couple times.”

“Matthew!” I scoffed, “Tell me you’re kidding.”

“I’m kidding. I haven’t had any interactions with him,” he laughed and intertwined his fingers with mine. “How was the doctors appointment?”

“Less than two months. I have to be like really relaxed all the time for these next few weeks so that I don’t go into labor too soon. Let’s just say, Brian is pushing the whole bed-rest-only thing,” I sighed.

Matt nodded, “I’m glad he’s taking all of this seriously. Makes me worry a little less.”

“He won’t give me much information on how things are progressing with your case, but I’m assuming everything is still looking like smooth sailing?” Matt nodded and I grinned, “I hope this whole rival mess washes over before you get out. I’d like to be able for us to just move on with our lives, and me not to worry about you getting thrown back in here.”

“Christ informed me that they are now working with Corey and his men on the takedown of Behemoth. Have you been introduced to him?”

I made a disgusted face, “I met him this morning and I can honestly say I’m not a fan. Brian had to step in and let him know you wouldn’t share me right after I introduced myself. Whatever that means; I don’t want to know the reasoning behind it.”

Matt’s face turned to stone, “Did he say anything else about you?”

“He was surprised that I was allowed to bark commands at your boys. Brian threatened him and I think he got the hint. I also made it clear to him that he was here for a reason and if he didn’t get to work I’d chew his ass out to you.” I squeezed his hands, noticing his jaw clench. “I have faith that things are going to work out. Brian said you and Corey were close. I think maybe it was just he doesn’t like that you’ve instilled power in me.”

“We go way back. We were very close, nearly almost best friends. But keep your guard up around him. I will talk to Gates about making sure you’re never left alone with Corey around. I don’t think he would try anything, but I don’t fully trust him. We have a past of sharing women, and that’s not your purpose. You belong to me,” Matt growled out those last words.

My heart felt a small twinge of pain with the whole ‘sharing women’ comment, but I brushed past it. I didn’t want all of our interactions to be negative, so I dropped the subject and smiled at him, “In other news. I think we should get a dog for the house, so that I’m not alone all the time cooped up in your room on bed rest.”

“Ivy,” he groaned. “Can we wait until we get a house to get a dog? I don’t want a dog in my bed.”

“Don’t care. I’m going to an adoption event when I leave here and when you come home we’ll have Alec and a cute little puppy.” I grinned.

“So you decided on a name?” Matt raised an eyebrow, “Were you going to run it by me?”

“Alec James Sanders,” I bit my lip, waiting for his approval. He smiled and I laughed, “And a puppy named Hunter.”

Notes