“Or Pops,” Dex and I agree.
A shiver goes down my spine and on one hand I’m excited by the direction we seem to be moving and how quickly we’re establishing ourselves. On the other hand, I’m scared shitlessthat Damian and his mom could bring a level of chaos we thought we had left behind in Rose Grove. Only time will tell.
Loyal
“You gonna be OK?”
I nod frantically as if I can convince myself that yes, I will be OK. In reality, I’m not so sure. I’ve been working online for the last two weeks learning medical terminology and the correct names for body parts, organs and things. Vex and the brothers have been kind enough to help on occasion. Flack it seems has been shot or stabbed in many places over his life so he’s offered me all the insights he’s had from his time in hospital and recovery. It’s funny how soft The Keep men are, it’s a complete 180 from what I learned growing up. But even with the MC brothers’ input it doesn’t really help my nerves as today is my first in-person class. True to his word, Justice is accompanying me on the two hour ride to my class and will stay in town until I’ve finished. It works out well because he can check in with two of the safe houses we have nearby.
The networks work because we limit contact with each other, but that doesn’t mean we don’t check in from time to time. Sometimes it’s to meet new rescues, get to know them better so that when they transfer to the Keep they know a friendly face. Other times it’s to drop someone off so we can relocate them further up the chain. We’re not meant to keep tabs on the people we help, for the safety of our networks, but I’m hoping that withthe backing of the DRMC that will be able to change. I’d love to know how they’re getting on in their new lives.
“You can do this, you know?”
Justice’s voice snaps me out of my wandering thoughts. “Yeah, I think I can.” I give him a tight smile and he pats my hand.
I never flinch with Justice because we’re family. Technically, we are siblings and cousins, our mothers being sisters and sharing a father and all. But it never quite ever felt like that growing up.
“Do you ever wonder what it would be like if we grew up in a normal place?” I ask quietly,
“You mean in a place where we just had one dad and one mom?” he asks, eyes on the road.
“Yeah, I guess. I mean, have you ever thought how weird it is that we are cousin-siblings?”
He snorts, glancing my way with a smile on his lips, “You do know that there are lots of people out there whose father has married sisters, right?”
I roll my eyes at him, “Yeah, but usually not at the same time,”
He shrugs, blue eyes identical to mine holding my gaze for a quick moment before darting back to the road, “The way I see it, we can’t change how we grew up. But we sure can change how we spend the rest of our lives. Eden’s Keep was paradise as a kid. Friends and siblings to play with all day and moms and aunts to help you. Not many kids get that.”
I lean my head back on the headrest, gazing out the window. “I guess not.”
“But the good times we had as children will never take away how evil Eden’s Keep was and what it did to us. The scars we carry. Some are inside.” Justice’s hands tighten on the steering wheel, knuckles white and I place my hand on his shoulder, thetension brimming under the surface. He looks at me, sorrow in his gaze. “And some are outside, but we use that as fuel. It’s what has got us this far, Cousin Sister.” He gives me a tight smile after his joke to lighten the mood, and I’m thankful for it.
Thankful to have Justice by my side. Someone to help me help others, someone to lean on when times got tough. While he couldn’t avenge me with Goodson, he gave me safe haven more than once. A brave choice for someone who was so young at the time and going through his own struggles.
The car slows and my head snaps up, taking in the building where I will be doing my course. My heart races a little, but I think it’s more out of excitement than fear. Funny how those two things feel the same. Racing heart, stomach tightening, sweaty palms, quickened breath.
“Do I look OK?” I ask, slightly panicked. I can tell by how wide Justice’s eyes go, that he was not only not expecting that question, but that he also has no idea how to answer it either.
“Ah, yeah? You look, fine?” He takes one look at my face and his eyes grow even wider, “No, like more than fine. You look normal. Just a normal red-haired woman in normal people jeans.”
My shoulders start to drop as I look down at myself. I bought new clothes last week anticipating today. Usually I just wear dresses and things, things more in line with what I grew up with. Conservative, bland. I guess it was easy and safe. But for this, out on my own, beginning my first steps to maybe living my dream one day, I wanted to be different. A different kind of me. Hence the jeans and slightly baggy pastel blue linen shirt. I have a ribbon in my hair and white sneakers. I feel cool, classy and still myself without feeling like mutton dressed as lamb.
Justice pulls the car to a stop. “Well, here we are. Now get out of the car, looking like a normal woman, and go kick ass,” Justice smirks.
“You know, you’ve really gotten a potty mouth since you started prospecting.” I give him a disapproving look then roll my eyes.
“Meh, you should try it sometime. It’s freeing.” He grins at me and then waits until I shut the door before he heads off, leaving me on the side of the road.
“I hate the first day of school,” a soft voice says to the left of me.
Looking around my eyes land on a small, black woman. She’s dressed in a fabulous tracksuit with a colorful scarf covering her hair, some curls escaping out the sides. She has on big colorful beads and a simple silver pendant, quite at odds with her outfit, sits nestled at her throat.
“I wouldn’t know, I was home schooled,” I answer awkwardly.
She stares at me with her impossibly dark eyes, before a grin stretches her face, the gap between her front teeth making her look even more stunningly beautiful. “Oh girl, you are in for a treat! Stick with me.” She moves closer, wide smile on her face before slipping her hand through my elbow gently tugging me toward the front doors. “What’s your name, boo?”
“Loyal. Loyal Blessing.”
