“You want a line-up?” I asked, holding the clippers in front of Kellon’s face.

The sound of the clippers vibrating between my fingertips was calming and exactly the peace I needed right now. I was okay and healing slowly. The bruises were fading. The nightmares still came, but I was alive. My baby was alive, and those responsible for my attack were behind bars awaiting trial without bail.

“If you mess up my hairline, I’ma have to wear a hoodie until the baby gets here. Remember that,” he joked. “Maternity pictures and all.”

“Boy, bye. I could line you up in my sleep.”

“I bet you could.” He reached up and grabbed my hand, pulling it to his lips. “I trust you. These hands are blessed.”

My heart pounded as tears threatened to escape my eyes, but I sucked them back in and finished up his cut.

“All done. You look so good, Kellon Barnes. I want to eat you up!”

I grinned as he pulled me into his lap, being careful of my belly. We sat like that for a while, just holding each other enjoying each other’s quiet company until his phone buzzed on the windowsill again making my eyes roll. I was sure it was another headline, another rumor, or twisted version of what happened.

“I’m sick of this,” I whispered. “Everyone has something to say, but none of them know.”

He nodded.

“You’re right, and that’s why we’re going to tell them.”

“Tell them what?” I stared at him confused.

“The truth. Our truth. Let’s release a statement.”

I hesitated. “A statement? That’s going to put the whole world in our business.”

“We’ve already had our names dragged through the mud. This time, we speak our truth, and if they drag us after that, so be it.”

“Okay, let’s do it.”

I climbed out of the chair, and we made our way to the living room. Kellon propped his phone on a tripod and pressed record before coming to join me on the couch. Kellon took my hand, and I looked straight into the camera.

“Hey everyone,” I spoke quietly. My gaze drifted over to Kellon. “We’ve been dealing with a lot behind the scenes. As some of you know, there was an incident. I was attacked.”

“We’ve stayed quiet for a lot of reasons. But mostly because we needed space to breathe… to heal,” Kellon said. Then he looked at me, and I picked up where he left off.

“Like I said, I was attacked. A stranger was sent to hurt me by someone I once called a friend. It wasn’t about money. It wasn’t random.”

My hand drifted to my belly.

“There have been rumors, stories, and questions about why the attack happened,” I added, gathering strength from the love of my life. “While we don’t owe anyone details, we do want to say this. We are moving forward in love and peace.”

“No matter what anyone says,” Kellon said. His voice was low like he meant business. “This baby is mine. Our family is real, and we’re not entertaining drama or distractions. We choose love over lies.”

Kellon’s grip on my hand tightened as I blinked back tears.

“Thank you to everyone who has supported us. For those who haven’t, that’s okay too. We’re still gonna love out loud.”

Kellon stood from the couch and walked over to stop the recording, watching it back before saying, “Perfect. You ready to post it?”

“Yes. Caption it ‘Our Truth!’ and put your phone on do not disturb. Let them have that for tonight.”

“Got it,” he said, tapping on his phone. “It’s done.”

He made his way back to me and took a seat before pulling me into his arms. I leaned my head on his shoulder.

“Y’all done recording?” my mom asked, peeking her head in from the hallway, making us both look up.

“Yeah,” I said, smiling. “Come in.”

My dad followed her in with his arm around her shoulders. Something in their expression made me sit up straighter.

“What’s going on?” Kellon asked. He’d been so awesome for letting my parents stay here after the accident.

“We’ve been thinking.”

“And praying,” my mom added, and my dad cleared his throat.

“And we’ve decided we’re moving to New York.”

“Wait. What? Why?” My eyes widened.

“To be closer to you and the baby. I can’t be the grandmother I want to be from way out of town.”

“When the accident happened…” my dad added, his voice shaking. “…and we couldn’t get to you right away… We need to be here. We need to be closer.”

“Y’all are serious?”

“We already found a place in Westchester with a backyard,” my mom said.

Kellon stood and pulled my dad into a hug, dapping him up.

“Whatever y’all need, I got it,” he said.

I hugged my mom and let her hold me for longer than usual. I didn’t realize how much I needed them here until they were here.

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