“Why not?”
“The same reason you aren’t talking to her now. They won’t pick up the phone, and visiting hours were over, so I couldn’t go back last night.”
Anyone else would’ve taken his statement lightly, but she heard the dejection in his voice. As she appraised him further, he noted the weariness in his gaze, and the simple attire of gray sweats and a white t-shirt that told her, he’d hopped into his car on a whim to come find her. Kennedy loathed that her heart strings tugged before she journeyed toward him as his eyes coasted past her, growing vacant. He was dissociating because her interrogation had struck a nerve.
“Hey. I need you to look at me,” she coaxed, pinching his chin between her fingers to realign his attention to her. His irises downcast without a flicker of light behind them, and she sighed. “I’m sure they’re fine, Relic. The girls are still messaging in the chat, so someone’s heard something. How long have you been up?”
“Don’t know.”
“What time did you leave to come here?”
“Around two.”
“In the morning?!” Diane exclaimed, and Kennedy let Relic go before putting space between them. She forgot for a second that her mother was in the room.
“You should’ve waited until I called back, Relic,” she fussed out of worry and frustration. “You haven’t eaten or slept, and I know you weren’t focused while driving. You could’ve gotten into an accident.”
He’d almost gotten into two accidents, ran a red light, and couldn’t recall over half his drive there, but didn’t tell her that.
“But I didn’t.”
“That’s besides the damn point!”
“Hey! Nobody curses in my damn house but me. Hell is wrong with you?” Butch hollered from the kitchen, and Kennedy smacked her lips.
“I can already see he’s about to do the most. Mom, I’ll be in there in a few minutes. Let me brush my teeth. Relic, come with me because I’m not letting you meet that crazy man without supervision.”
She tugged off her boots and set them near the couch before grabbing his wrist, dragging him around the corner to the guest bathroom since her dad would show his ass if she tried to take Relic upstairs with her. Relic didn’t speak or react as she directed him to the toilet, closed the lid, and forced him to sit.She scrolled through her phone for a few seconds before holding it out for him to take.
“It’s already in the chat. See if they’ve said anything worth knowing.”
“You’re letting me read your group chat messages?”
“I haven’t said shit that I won’t say again to your face. Anything else, if you go looking, you shall find.”
Kennedy padded to the sink, squatting to grab a new toothbrush from the spare pack before plucking a tube of toothpaste out of the medicine cabinet. Her stare met with Relic’s through the mirror, and she inspected his doubtful expression before his gaze lowered to search through her phone. There was nothing for him to find, especially since she’d communicated with Sonny on her prepaid line, but letting him believe it never hurt. She stuck her toothbrush inside her mouth to hide her smirk.
“Make sure to clean that caked-up shit off your face,” Relic grumbled with his thumb flicking across her screen.
Kennedy spit and grilled him over her shoulder, but instead of cursing his ass out for being the reason she had to apply makeup so heavily in the first place, she took the higher road in the presence of her parents and snatched a washcloth off the rack once done brushing her teeth. Relic stood and strolled behind her as she turned on the water and grabbed a bar of soap to suds it.
Those nagging emotions that she tried burying every chance she got unearthed when he braced a hand on each side of her, leaning in as she scrubbed the glam look from her skin. His mouth landed on her cheek once it was clean and then gravitated to her shoulder, making her shiver at his touch that she wished like hell had no effect on her. As she scrutinized their reflection, it dawned on her that Relic was infatuated with the pieces of her molded by Zeke and Koda, but he was more in love with thevitiated parts that he’d created. An ache hammered her chest, causing her to cringe while hoping he didn’t notice.
His lips brushed her skin as he informed her, “Michi texted the chat. She said Titan just got off the phone with Judith, and she’s at the crib with them. Savvy is losing her shit and doesn’t want to be bothered. Shabu is going with whatever she’s doing, so he won’t get cursed out.”
“Sounds about right.” She shut off the faucet and did an about-face. “You feel better?”
“I’ll feel better when the niggas who shot at my folks are taking a fucking dirt nap. I’ll feel better when you get out of your feelings and play your position like you let me believe you were capable of doing, Kennedy. Chasing you across state lines and pretending I’m a nigga who meets parents wasn’t in the stipulations of this partnership.”
“Yet, here you are, doing the shit that you swore you never would. I guess we’re both either delusional or really good fucking liars.” She eased around him while adding as she walked off, “My mom doesn’t take long to cook, so come on.”
She didn’t glance back to ensure he was following her because she was certain he was since her skin was tingling and heart pounding like she was on edge. If Relic knew as much, she was ninety percent sure he’d pushed over it just to grasp her hand at the last second to save the day. Those were the games he played with her the most—showing his worst side before showcasing his best after allowing her to believe he was incapable of such acts.
She almost laughed when Relic proved her right once they entered the kitchen. He pulled out a chair at the table for her to sit and then slid one beside her for himself while her dad observed their interaction. Butch snorted and then sipped from his mug as Kennedy frowned.
“Old man, is that normal coffee or the special kind?”
“The kind that’s gon’ keep me from digging in yo ass for leaving out of my house in that tiny piece of fabric you call a dress. That’s why your ass is sick now. Why the hell do you still have it on? And since when do you show that much skin when you’ve barely worn a short sleeve shirt since the fire?”
