I knew it instantly, right then and there. She was good. All good.
My errand was forgotten, and I returned to the house when she came out a second time. She was the reason I was on those stairs, and she was the reason I hadn’t killed the man I was supposed to that day. It hadn’t mattered. He still died, except not by my hands. As it also turned out, he ended up rescuing someone that day. Another little girl was almost run over by a car, but he’d been there, and he pulled her to safety. If I had kept going when I left the house, he would’ve been dead. That little girl would’ve been run over.
It was another reason I looked at Blake with different lenses.
She was meant to be in my life.
I enjoyed this moment when I was with her again.
Just like this.
No walls.
No hostility.
No guardedness.
Beautiful.
She was perfect.
I took my time going through her room. A certain satisfaction went through me when I saw the books she had lined up on her shelf. Each one I bought her; some of them she chose from a trip to the store with me. A few pictures were set up.
She was still using the laptop she used in high school. She would need a new one soon.
I grinned when I spotted the stuffed quokka on her desk.
A list on her desk caught my eye. It was a list of tasks she needed to accomplish. Laundry. Groceries. I frowned, readingCheck out foster center. Not sure yet.And at the bottom wasNeed $ now!!!!!! Job needed. Can’t rely on ykw.
I didn’t like that.
YKW. You know who. A.k.a. me.
She made a little mewling sound, and I turned to her.
There was a chair in the corner of her room, so I sat. I leaned back, relaxing, and pulled my phone out to check. There were two texts waiting for me.
Levi: Ready. Waiting on your order.
I clicked on the other one first.
Lassiter: We need to talk.
He’d sent it three minutes ago.
I glanced up once more, taking in the sight of how peaceful Blake was resting.
I was remiss to leave, so I changed my notifications so it wouldn’t buzz and turned down the light as well. The volume was all the way down already, so only a low light would flash when texts would come through.
Me: About what?
Lassiter: I’m in NY. Tech guys didn’t want to bother you so they sent me something they found a few days ago. I came to explore it. Now you gotta get looped in. Has to do with the rival team.
I barely grinned, enjoying his horrible code.
Me: Give me an hour.
Lassiter: Meet at the nightclub?
