Since it was late, he was dressed much more casually than I was used to seeing him around his showroom - basketball shorts and a tee shirt. He stepped further into the light, pushing his sleeve up his bicep to show me what was inked there.
A ring of thorns.
“I knew the very first time I saw you,” he explained, letting his sleeve back down. “Could tell. At first I thought you were coming for me, but I’ve been out of the Garden for at least a decade… No reason for anybody to come for me now. So I figured you must’ve gotten away, somehow. I didn’t want to spook you, so I didn’t say anything.”
“The Garden doesn’t exist anymore,” I told him, and he chuckled.
“As long as you’re looking over your shoulder, it does. And you’ll always be looking over your shoulder. I still do.”
“But you decided I wasn’t a threat.” I lowered my gun, trying to decide if I was offended by that or not.
He grinned at me. “You’re definitely a threat. Just not to me.”
“Fair enough,” I answered, putting my weapon fully away now. If Keem wanted to kill me, he’d had ample opportunity over these months I’d been right next door. “So… You’ve been out for a decade?”
“Presumed dead. I’m a ghost, basically. I built myself a new life, but there wasn’t any real peace until the Garden was eliminated. Thanks to the Pelletier sisters.”
My eyebrows went up. “So… You knew more than you let on, about Dacia.”
“Something like that. Something neither of you needed to know.”
“But you’re outing yourself now. Why?”
“To keep you from being a murderer.”
I frowned. “I wasn’t going to kill her. I was about to kick her ass. And anyway, you say that as if she would’ve been the first.”
“She would’ve, right? Since you’re not that person anymore. Not a rose anymore. That life is gone, behind you. Unless I’ve mistaken this process of you revamping a candle shop, getting a boyfriend, integrating yourself into the neighborhood…”
“No,” I shook my head. “You’re right, this is what I wanted, I just—”
“Just nothing,” Keem interrupted. “If you don’t want to be that girl, don’t be. It doesn’t mean you have to take any shit, but slicing people on the street and pistol whipping them in alleys doesn’t exactly scream normal girl.”
“They started it.”
Keem laughed. “I’m sure they did. But if you’ve decided what you want to be now, be that. And don’t let these peons take you out of your new, permant character. Don’t let anyone jeopardize who you’re trying to be.”
I sucked my teeth. “I already have a mentor, thanks.”
“And I’m not trying to put myself in that role - just telling you what I’ve learned over the years. And the biggest lesson is that… It’s okay to let that shit go. I mean, be smart, pay attention, all that. But… live. Love. Fully. If somebody is gonna come for you, they will, but in the meantime you may as well enjoy this shit. I sure as hell am.”
Without anything more to say, Keem went inside, leaving me standing in dark, mind reeling.
The ultimate conclusion I came to, was that he was right - I wouldn’t be able to straddle the fence forever. Not without sacrificing my sanity.
And that was too valuable to put on the line.
I wasn’t as far removed as he was, so it would take me some time, but his advice wasn’t so different - wasn’t any different, really, from Alicia’s.
To enjoy this life I’d carved out for myself, and not let anything fuck it up.
So… I’d try.
If Nya fucked with me again her ass was mine though.
There was a whole lot of fine in the Heights.
Like… a lot of it.
Maybe a little too much.
As I sat in the park, off to myself, observing, my gaze had landed on Tristan and a bunch of other guys, all in varying degrees of shirtlessness, talking a bunch of trash to each other as they played basketball.
It was a sight to fucking behold.
“Girl. Same.”
Jules and Anika parked themselves on either side of the bench where I’d been seated alone – prime viewing area for the basketball court, and downwind of the delicious smells from the food.
“Huh?” I asked Anika, and she smirked.
“You’re looking at them like you wouldn’t mind hopping up to get sweaty too, and I must say… it has crossed my mind as well.”
“Oh,” I laughed, shaking my head. “They are over there looking like good reasons for bad decisions, aren’t they?”
“I think we made good decisions,” Jules countered, biting down on her lip as Troy fouled the shit out of one of the guys I didn’t know. “I need Troy to bring some of that aggression back home later. Take it straight to the hole.”
Anika giggled. “Yes, Royal, penetrate me right up the middle, and go for the money shot.”
They both looked at me, waiting for me to round out the whole basketball innuendo thing they had going on, but…
“Sorry,” I shrugged. “There’s a “facial” joke somewhere I can’t quite pull it together.”
“It’s okay,” Jules laughed. “We won’t disown you this time.”
“I don’t have time to keep it going anyway,” Anika said as she stood. “Popped through to give birthday wishes to Kiara, but I’ve gotta get my butt to the coffeehouse for a shift.”
“And I’ve got pictures to take – official event photographer and all,” Jules added, gesturing to her camera before she pointed it to where Kiara was standing with her friends, giggling. They had their attention on the other court, where a group of teenage boys were occupying the space.
Cute.
That was the kind of thing young girls should be doing at thirteen – giggling about cute boys their age. Not… training. I understood that my experience was abnormal, but still. Seeing these girls get to be children did my heart a lot of good.
“See ya later Tee!”
I waved to Jules and Anika as they headed off,
