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The gentle flowing creek caht, and I was surprised e didn’t stop

We drove about a st the cotton fields, when a s cabin came into view The truck skidded to a hard stop and Romeo wrenched his door open and storht Crashes and se I didn’t want to go inside For the first time ever, Romeo’s outburst scared me I didn’t believe he’d hurt ht now He was more unpredictable than I’d ever seen hiainst the cold pane, and I stared at the millions of stars in the dark sky--I always felt snificant in the vastness of the universe Not tonight, though No rand sches, I couldn’t help but replay over and over what happened onlylike it

The Princes hated Roenuinely loathed him and they seemed almost proud of that fact They hit him, threatened him, and verbally tore me to shreds

How did he cope with that all of his life?

Imy family, but I knew love, unconditional love I was neverhell

Guilt cascaded throughth that was inspiring He needed the support

As tirew eerily silent I knew that I needed to be with hiiven up, and tell hi last, just how much I loved him

18

The rickety cabin door creaked open, the tiny roo uneven stained floorboards, an old worn brown sofa, and a dusty two-person table as its only features Romeo was on the farthest side of the sainst the wall and his shirt was un-tucked, sleeves folded to his elbows, and the collar was still askew from where his daddy had wrenched it aside

I knew he’d heard my entrance as his back muscles bunched I shut the door and when I turned around, Ro his beautiful face

"You should never haveat the volume and intensity of his words "I warned you! I told you they weren’t happy about us, but you didn’t listen to ether and realise e reed to your own fkin’ execution Christ, Mol! The way they treated you…"

I let hih and allowed hi towards me, he stopped only feet away "I told you they hated me, that they would hate you too We set ourselves up for a fall, and now I’ve lost you You’re leavin’ me, aren’t you?"

"Rome--"

"I could’ve stopped it--should have! I knehat they were capable of and still I trusted that you could handle it But I saw your face in there, Mol--you fkin’ checked out onhim "I don’t care about what they said toto you Why do they hate you so much, Romeo? There has to be a reason? That was beyond brutal What kind of parent hates their child for no reason?" I wrappedcold with sorrow "Your mother, the way she hit you, how could she treat her only son that way?"

Roh hismy shoulders in desperation "Because I’ in my ears

"W-what?"

"Because I’m Not Hers You wanted to know so badly why they hate me Well, that’s why"

"No…" I whispered, softly

He releasedon the old worn yellow rug "Mo she needed to be able to do as the perfect as breed and she couldn’t deliver, couldn’t give the great Prince Oil tycoon of Alabaod, Rome--"

"They couldn’t adopt, ‘cause that would be an eate and risk all of Tuscaloosa knowing that she was unable to have kids But, hey, fate decided to intervene just in time"