The Marvelous Elijah's Return

A gangster tendency

“Peach, honey, you can’t stay in your room forever!” Miss Grace said, unable to get over the fact that it

was two o’clock, but her daughter was still sleeping. Squeezing her eyes shut, Peach rolled back to look

up at the ceiling. If only her mother would leave her be and let her be alone, she wouldn’t have to deal

with all of this!

“Peach,” Miss Grace said again, a bit louder than before, “you’re not sleeping! I know that!”

A frown crossed Peach’s face, and finally, she got out of bed and stumbled to her room door, throwing it

open, and then sighed softly at her mother who stood by the front door. “What all did you not tell me

about last night?” Miss Grace asked sternly as Peach walked back into the room. “Mama, not now,”

Peach cried, flopping onto her bed and burying her face into her pillow. “We have to do this now, Peach.”

Miss Grace repeated as she closed the door behind herself, moving closer to her daughter. “Why did

Elijah tell Michael that you are already taken, and warned him that if he stepped foot back into this motel,

he would cripple him?”

Immediately, Peach raised her head, sitting upright on the bed, shocked by Miss Grace’s statement,

letting out, “He did what?”

“Peach, please tell me you two are not secretly dating behind my back” Miss Grace pleaded, looking

down at her daughter with an expression of disappointment. “You know how he feels about marriage.”

“I know, mama.”

“Then why was he so protective over you…”

A look of hesitation, then embarrassment crossed Peach’s face as her lips twitched nervously, averting

her eyes around to avoid eye contact with her mother.

“Because I think I do want to marry him…” Peach admitted softly, lowering her gaze towards her lap.

Miss Grace looked like someone had just slapped her in the face. For the next few seconds, all she

could say was “You are not making any sense.” “Elijah’s mind has changed about marriage, and he’s

down with us getting wed.” Peach continued to explain, feeling a little guilty about deceiving her mother

by leaving out the part about the divorce option from him. A look of confusion covered Miss Grace’s face

as she tried to process what Peach had just said and then she mumbled, “But… But he said….”

“I know. But I guess seeing me get someone else’s attention made him realize something he didn’t feel

at the beginning…” Peach lied, feeling terrible for doing so.

“He said that he loves you.” Miss Grace stated softly as she sat down in the chair beside Peach’s bed.

The silence was deafening, until Miss Grace spoke again after a moment of awkwardness,” Prach?”

“Mmhmm?” Peach hummed in response.

“Are you serious? He said that?” Miss Grace questioned, a look of surprise and disbelief evident on her

face. Raising her gaze, Peach looked up at her mother and nodded slowly, unable to let the words come

out. “No,” Miss Grace whispered, shaking her head, “No, Peach. You are not thinking about marrying

Elijah.”

“Mama!” “No Peach… Elijah is not the right man for you!” “Why?! Huh, mama! Why can’t I?!” The tension

rose between them again, the air thick as they stared at each other silently, Peach refusing to budge, but

Miss Grace wasn’t having any of it. “Peach,” She spoke, sounding a lot sterner than before. “Elijah

seemed like a man with a lot of mystery to him, he has a gangster tendency, his money has no source of

where he’s getting it, his reputation is stained, and there just seems to be more to him than meets the

eyes or portray the identity he has…”

For a moment, Peach didn’t say anything, simply listening to everything her mother said. She felt a slight

sting in her chest, knowing that her mother was somewhat right, remembering Elijah’s conversation with

Jerome in front of the motel. And yet, she still wanted Elijah, because her mother forgot to add the side

of him that made her fall in love with him in the first place. “He cares for me, mama…” Peach muttered,

fiddling with her fingers.

“Oh, honey… you are still young Peach, you will find a simple man, who’s not as complicated as Elijah to

care for you someday…” Miss Grace reassured, patting Peach’s knee gently.

“Ryan cares about me, so does Matt, and Rookie, even James cares for me… but I am not in love with

either of them romantically…”

“Honey-”

“You are right, mama. There will be countless men who will care about me in this life… But they are not

Elijah… I just don’t know how to explain what I feel for him.”

“Peach, I don’t think that you should.”

“Why didn’t you remarry after papa died.” “Peach,” Looking at her daughter’s eyes, she couldn’t help but

notice that they were sad, filled with tears, her lips trembling slightly as she spoke. “Everyone’s love story

is not the same, Peach. Others remarry after losing their partners, others never find love again, and

some live through numerous partners before finding the one for them.” Miss Grace said softly, her hand

gently resting upon her daughter’s arm. “Well, this is iny love story… I know it will be different froin

everyone else’, maybe it will hurt,

maybe it will break me, maybe I will lose myself, but there’s also a possibility that it could turn out

beautiful and amazing and make my life better. I don’t know, but I know I want to do this… and Elijah is

the best person for me.” Peach said in confidence. Seeing the stubbornness in her daughter’s eyes, Miss

Grace frowned and then uttered, “This isn’t only about you guys feeling for each other. Honestly Peach, I

prefer if you are deciding to take over your grandfather’s company, you need to be with someone that the

Hayes family will approve of.”

“Mama!… How could you say that?!” Peach exclaimed, looking up at her mother with wide eyes, hurt

filling her heart. “After everything that they have done… you expect me to get married to please them?!”

Unknown tears fell from Peach’s face as she spoke and Miss Grace reached up, wiping away her tears

and caressing her hair comfortingly.

“Peach, if you take over your grandfather’s company, you need a man that Madam Jewel loves, so if she

gets mad at you, he can be the one to keep you safe.” Miss Grace explained, stroking Peach’s cheek

softly. “You need someone that the family likes, someone who doesn’t cause trouble for them, and that

will allow you to live in peace with them.”

“Mama..” Peach whispered weakly, closing her eyes and leaning into her mother’s touch.

“It’s going to be hard… I know, but we have to put aside anger and learn to coexist with each other…

And maybe this is how your life is meant to happen. Your grandfather knows why he left such a request.

So please Peach… This Michael guy seem nice, and madam Jewel was the

one-”

“No, mama!”

“Peach,” “Mama, No!” Frowning, Peach pulled away from her mother and got off the bed, saying in a

begging tone,” Don’t mama… Don’t ask me to do this.”

“I just don’t want you to get hurt… I am okay with Elijah and your friendship, but marriage is a huge

commitment, Peach… And you can’t be with someone who has problems with the Hayes while you are

working with them. They will make you two lives a living hell.” Miss Grace reasoned, her voice soft and

almost pleading. “Please, Peach.” “You are being serious!” “Yes, honey. I can’t let you ruin your life this

way.” Swallowing down the pain and sadness building inside of her chest, Peach forced a smile as she

turned away, grabbed her phone off the nightstand, and said, “Then I’m sorry, mama.”

“Peach, you guys don’t have my blessing!” Miss Grace cried out frantically.

Nodding slowly, Peach held in her cry, turning away from her mother, her hand trembling as she walked

over to the door.

“Peach!” Miss Grace called out desperately, watching as she left.

When Peach got into the lobby and saw James, the tears in her eyes immediately worried hiin,

and he numbled, “What’s wrong?”

“Can you please watch over my mama, and make sure that her health is good while I’m gone… I just

need some time alone.” Peach begged him, trying to control the tremble in her voice.

Seeing how emotional she was, he thought it best not to ask further questions and just uttered, “Of

course, Peach.” Nodding gratefully and thanking him, Peach dashed past him and Rookie, and as she

made her way to the door, it opened and Matt along with Ryan suddenly walked through, staring at her

with concern in their eyes. “Where are you going?” Ryan asked curiously. “Somewhere that is not here,”

Peach responded bluntly, walking past the two men and heading outside.

But she suddenly stopped when she locked eyes with Elijah when he pushed the door open, her heart

pounding loudly against her ribs, causing her to quickly look away from him. Then she lowered her head,

rushed past him, and rushed outside, only to get her wrist locked in his grip a moment later, causing her

to stop walking and look up at him. “What’s wrong,” Elijah asked, frowning slightly as he took in her

appearance. She shook her head and tried to pull her wrist free, but he tightened his grip, holding onto it

tightly to prevent her from escaping. “I just need air… away from here, or else… or else..” Peach choked

out weakly, her breath hitching slightly in a sob. “Okay… I will drive you.” Elijah mumbled, letting her

hand slip from his grip before reaching into his pocket, and taking out his keys. “Let’s go.” A couple of

minutes later, he was behind the steering wheel and Peach was curled up on the passenger seat,

looking out the window, as if lost deep in thought. After driving for a while, Elijah glanced over at her and

noticed how pale she had gotten, and a sense of worry started to rise within him.

“Are you okay?” Elijah asked tentatively, keeping his eyes fixed on the road ahead of him. His question

was followed by silence and then Peach turned, catching his glance for a second, and then she let out,

“Should we get married… like right now?”