•Roxie's POV ~
"It's such a surprise, this visit from you." Apricot tells me as she leans back in her chair.
"Yeah well, I didn't walk all the way over here to see you for my health." I say, while crossing my arms over my chest.
She raises an eyebrow, "Why did you come then?"
I walk closer to her but not too close, "Look, I'm not a terrible person. I can see that you need help. I haven't forgotten all of the things that you've done but it's clear that you're unstable."
"Yet, you came to my room all alone." She points out, tilting her head to the side and looking towards the door.
We both stay silent for a few moments as I carefully watch her. Slowly, she begins to stand up, making me cautiously take some steps back.
She takes one step forward and that's when I notice the chain that's around her left ankle. It's a short chain so even if she tried, she wouldn't be able to get to me because it would hold her back.
"So, what are you trying to say?" She questions, moving her unbrushed hair out of her face.
"I'm willing to try to get Damon to agree on letting you get the help that you need." I say, as she narrows her eyes. "Your baby will be fine here while you get professional help."
She tries to lunge forward but the chain on her ankle stops her, "I don't need professional help!! There is nothing wrong with me and I definitely don't want you anywhere near my baby!!"
I stay silent and watch as she begins to cry. This doesn't look like she's acting anything out at all. She truly believes that there is nothing wrong with her. Everything that she has ever done, she doesn't seem to think that it was wrong.
Everything that she did, she did it out of pure jealousy and hate of Damon not choosing her. She's obsessed with him and seems to think that it's normal behavior which makes me question, what exactly has happened to her in the past that made her become the way that she is?
I let out a sigh and cautiously take a step forward, "Look, I know that you don't like me and believe me, I don't like you either but if you care at all for your baby, you'll accept my offer."
She wipes away her tears that keep flowing down her cheeks and looks up, "You can't take my baby away from me."
She spoke so sadly to me, it almost made me feel bad for her... almost. I haven't forgotten that she took our baby away from us and I never will.
"If you decide to get help and get better, I'm sure you'll be able to see your baby again. I'm not a monster Apricot. I would never purposely want to tear your child away from you but if you refuse to get help, you'll be putting that baby at risk and eventually, he or she will be taken away from you regardless." I finish saying, making her brows furrow together and her eyes drop as she thinks over my words.
As she gets lost in thought, my eyes roam around her room. Her bed is neatly made, making it look like she hasn't been using it too much. There's a couple of things thrown on the floor and her breakfast is sitting on the bedside table untouched.
"Okay." Apricot murmurs quietly, causing my attention to turn back to her.
"You're agreeing?" I ask in shock, not sure that I truly believe what I heard.
She slowly nods her head before looking up and placing her hands on her stomach, "This is my baby."
Her tone sounded territorial, almost like how she used to sound when she said that Damon was hers.
"Your baby will be here when you're all better." I assure her. "You should eat, if you don't then you're just starving your baby."
She glances at the most likely cold breakfast on the bedside table before someone knocks, making me turn around.
"Ms. Montez." Abbey looks at me in shock with a tray of food in her hand. "It's not safe for you in here."
She quickly walks in and looks me over, probably checking to see if Apricot hurt me in any way.
"I'm fine, Abbey." I place a hand on her shoulder. "I was just having a chat with Apricot. I'm leaving now."
She sighs and gives me a nod, letting me walk past her. Before I completely walk out of the room, I turn my head around to see that Apricot quietly accepted the lunch that Abbey had given her.
Some time later, Damon called a meeting for everyone in the conference room. I look around the huge room and take notice of everyone who came.
Val, Enrique, Jax, Axel, Ness, Theo, Marcus, Kole, Lucky and a whole bunch of Damon's guards. Lily is seated between Damon and I at the head of the table.
"Are you waiting on anyone else?" Val asks Damon, causing everyone else to quiet down.
Just then, the door bell rings out, making Damon stand up from his chair, "Yes, I am."
He leaves the room and re-emerges minutes later with a beautiful young girl. She has dark brown hair and is wearing a short black dress. It takes me a few seconds but then I remember how Damon told me about Luciana and I realize that this is her.
"For those who don't know, this is Luciana Rodriguez. She's the daughter of Andres Rodriguez, Colombian Mafia." Damon speaks before everyone looks to the girl. "She's going to be living here from now on. Why? You don't need to know that yet."
He gestures to the table and she walks over to an empty seat next to Axel. I notice him watching her, his eyes traveling all over her before he blinks and rolls his eyes, turning back to Damon.
"Introductions will be made later. Right now, I called everyone here for a reason." Damon says, his voice commanding the attention of the entire room.
The only one who isn't paying attention is Lily because she's busy playing a game on the iPad that Damon got her.
"Not so long ago, my parents informed me about the Russian Mafia. The Ivanov's murdered my mothers brother, my uncle Felix." Jax and Axel both visibly get tense by what Damon said as my brows furrow. "After they did that, they went into hiding. Many of you know already that the Russians are extremely good at staying hidden. There are rumors going around throughout the other mafias that they're coming out of hiding soon." He looks at everyone who's scattered around the room. "From this moment on, I want everyone to have a bodyguard with them. If you're going out in groups, your bodyguards will go out in groups also. I want double security around the entire place twenty four - seven. Your bodyguards will also be your personal drivers."
Axel barely raises a finger and asks, "So, does this only apply to the girls?"
Damon raises an eyebrow at him and crosses his arms over his chest, "Did you not hear the part where I said, 'everyone'? Do you think just because you're a guy that you're somehow immune to death and females aren't?"
A small laugh catches everyone's attention, making us all look over to Luciana, who quickly clears her throat and looks down to the table.
"Everyone is getting a bodyguard!" Damon speaks louder, keeping his eyes on Axel.
He calls over Mark and Daniel, two of Damon's guards. They both instantly walk to the head of the table with us and stand with their hands in front of them.