“And what if she don’t wanna leave?” Rad posits through wide eyes.
“Like I said, there are five of us. If we want her to leave she’ll be gone.”
“Alright, man, it’s your call.”
“No, I want us to be together on this. If any of you are one hundred percent against this say it now.”
He pauses allowing them time to contemplate. He knows he’s asking a lot of them. They’ve never discussed adding to their family before, much less actually doing so. The group remain silent, none truly opposed to this, even if a sense of nervousness does linger in the air.
“Alright then, it’s settled. They’ll stay in Outlaw’s room for now.”
“What?! Where am I gonna stay?!” exclaims Outlaw, miffed by the pending intrusion.
“With Rad, like you did last night, or with your sister.”
“Hell nah chacho, his ass ain’t stayin in my room! I need my space!” the older sister firmly interjects.
Outlaw shakes his head, his annoyance clearly written all over him. His sister grins, waving her hand mockingly at him
“It’ll be fine Outlaw, we’ll make another bed today.” Hawaii says.
“Yeah, yeah, fine, whatever. It sucks being the youngest.”
Sweetie pats her younger brother's head, “It sure do chacho!” she says.
Outlaw shoots her a disgusted look and swats her hand away. She sticks her tongue out at him, being overly animated. The front door opens behind them giving way to Rosaline and Mikey. Timidly, the two descend the porch steps and approach the family. Hawaii stands to greet them.
“Good morning.” he says, motioning at the two empty make shift chairs in their circle, “Please, join us.”
An awkward tension permeates throughout the air. None in the family truly know how to approach this situation. Hawaii clears his throat.
“We want you guys to feel safe. We don’t have any guns with us, no weapons at all. That’s not what this is about, uh...”
His voice trails off. He inhales deeply, and grimaces. Zee puts her hand on his leg, then leans forward, smiling in the inviting way that she does.
“Listen, There are only five of us, and as you can see we live in a big area.” she says.
Rosaline slowly nods, but doesn’t say anything.
“We could use some extra help around here, and from the looks of it you two could use some help as well. This could be good for all of us.”
“She’s right, but if you do decide that you want to stay here with us we have some rules.” Hawaii adds.
Rosaline’s attention turns to Mikey. She can see the excitement in his widened eyes. He doesn’t want to leave, especially after the breakfast they just had. For her that is all it takes for her decision to be made.
“Rules? Such as?” Rosaline asks.
“We have a perimeter. It’s strict. We don’t go past it alone, and we never go anywhere away from the house after dark unless we have previously scheduled it. There are a lot of chores to do around here. We rotate them to keep it fair. The only exception being the gardens. Zee has full control over those, and usually handles them by herself, since she’s the only one who understands how to do it-” Hawaii says.
“-shit, and me with cooking!” Sweetie adds, cutting him off. She directs her attention to Rosaline, “¡Ay! Bad word, I'm sorry!”
Rosaline giggles. She slides hair behind her ear as her eyes awkwardly dart away from Sweetie.
Sweetie folds her arms over her chest, “I’m the only one who can cook around here!”
Rosaline’s face flushes as a smirk reemerges.
“Right, and Sweetie cooks” Hawaii says, “Other than that the only other rule is no guns. What I mean is we keep them put away unless we absolutely need them. It’s too easy for someone to get hurt.”
“Yeah, so some dumbass don't shoot holes in the barn.”
The Latina glares at her brother, his hands up, a scowl on his face. Rad pats him on the back.
“Accidents happen, my boy didn't mean to do it.”
Outlaw nods to his friend, then the two slap hands. Sweetie shakes her head and rolls her eyes again. Hawaii pauses for another moment, allowing their antics to calm. He looks around at the family, then back to Rosaline. He speaks with confidence, but his fidgeting reveals his nerves. For Rosaline, this is a positive. If he weren’t nervous she would be very worried.
“We would like you guys to stay with us. On a trial basis at first. I mean, we don’t know you and you don’t know us. If it works out, then great, you’re part of the family, and if not then all we ask is that you leave without any problems. So,” he says, “what do you think?”
Rosaline rubs Mikey’s head affectionately, cracking a smile to the boy she cares for.
“How long of a trial period?” Rosaline asks.
“Honestly, I don’t know.”
“I don’t think it will take long for us, and for you, to know whether or not this is going to work.” Zee interjects, “Back in our old community there were people we meshed with and people we didn’t. It’s not a bad thing, it’s just how it is, you know? But, I think it’s going to work out.”
“Oh yeah? Why do you think that?” the short warrior questions.
“Because we’re good people, and I can tell that you are too.”
“What makes you think that?”
“Him. The way you look at him. You get soft, your eyes glow, you feel love. People with evil in them don’t do that.”
Rosaline takes Mikey’s hand in hers, affectionately squeezing it.
“What do you think buddy, do you want to stay here for a little while? See if this can work?”
He nods, his excitement overtaking him.
“Okay.” she says to him. She kisses his
