“I’ll work around it. The last thing I want is to irritate anything that’s still settling.”
He snaps on a fresh pair of gloves, and the tattoo gun whirs to life. Seconds later, I feel the familiar scratch and burn of the needle biting into my skin.
Soft rock drifts through the speakers—something from the nineties. Between songs and silence, when he’s focused on a particularly tricky line and the conversation dies down, my mind drifts back to the same place it always does.
Shannen.
Always Shannen.
She was furious with me today, but she can’t actually believe I’m going to stop checking in on her now that I’m finally in her life.
I mean, it’s cute.
Naive, but cute.
I’ve always kept tabs on her. I’ve always known where she was and what she was doing. I’ve kept her safe without her even realizing it, like some twisted-up guardian angel she never asked for. I’ve made sure the vultures stayed the hell away from her business, but every empire has its cracks.
James Lawson is the biggest one.
Entitled, power-hungry fuckhead.
If she wants space, then fine, I’ll give her some—the illusion of it, anyway.
A pretty little lie with a bow on top.
“So what was in Indiana?”
“High school reunion,” I say, though it was really just a Shannen-and-me reunion. “I won’t be going back there.”
“That bad?” He laughs.
“Nah… but everything I need is in New York.”
“Ah, yeah, your girl’s here.” I feel him shading as he leans into the back of my neck. “No better reason, to be honest. I followed Amelia here, and I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.”
“How long have you been married now?”
“Almost two years. Just waiting for the day she tells me she’s ready to take a break so I can be a daddy.”
“She’s not ready?”
“Not yet.” There’s a pause, the buzz of the gun filling the silence. “She’s the lead inSleeping Beautyright now. I’m proud as hell, but man, she works herself to death. I can’t wait for her to say she’s ready to slow down.”
“Do you think she will?”
“Yeah. She’s itching for babies, but she loves her career. She’ll tell me when it’s time.”
I can’t stop picturing Shannen’s belly full with the baby I’ll put there one day. Barefoot in the kitchen, the sun catching the edge of her smile, humming some old song with her hair a fucking mess and a curve under her shirt that says I’ve marked her in the most permanent way possible.
“Alright, you’re done,” Tobias says, tugging off his gloves, snapping me back into the moment. “Wanna take a look?”
He hands me a mirror and holds one up behind me, showingthe black rose in full bloom, thorns buried, with petals falling like drops of ink down the back of my neck.
“Perfect, thank you.”
“Looks good, right? You’re gonna have to sleep on your front though. With that back piece still healing, you’ll feel it every time you move.”
My phone’s already in my hand before I even bother flipping the light switch, the screen glowing in the darkness of my room.
