“What did Toke do?” I growl out, pissed as fuck I wasn’t there when the dick said that shit. I would have taken his ass out. President or not, no fuckin’ way I would let him get away with calling Nina a whore or a spic.
Tin shrugs. “Nothing much, cause he was in the same spot as me. There wasn’t much he could do, if he wanted to keep his head on his shoulders. He just walked off, and didn’t stop when Cash was screaming for him to get his ass back. I swear, man, I think it was taking every bit of self-discipline he had not to pull out his piece right then.”
I think back to Toke’s last words to me and Rollo. “He thought he was a dead man.”
Tin’s eyes come to me but he doesn’t say anything, so I go on to explain myself. “I could tell by the look in his eyes, he thought he was dying when he got drugged. I figured he’d try to fight it. Instead, he just told me to take care of Nina.”
“What the hell is going on with him and Mamá?” Tin asks in a hushed voice, one filled with anger and suspicion.
“I don’t know, but we’ll find out as soon as we get back,” I say, determined to get an answer.
“If he hurts Mamá, the bastard will die.”
I lift my chin to Tin in agreement. Without us there, all our girls are in danger. We need to be there with them, not here talking about this shit. I start my bike, letting him know the discussion is over. “Let’s get home.”
Words Hurt Too
Shay
I smile as I hand Lila a glass of lemonade. “I’m so glad you stopped by today.”
This is the third time Lila has come over since Bowie left. Each time, we’ve ended up sitting at the kitchen table talking for hours. Just as I thought, we’ve become great friends. I love Nina and Rachel, but they’re more like family, so it’s nice having a female friend to talk to.
“I know you gotta be bored out of your mind with Bowie gone,” She says as she takes a drink.
“Yeah, but I’ve been busy, so it’s not so bad.” I reply, grabbing myself a glass of lemonade and joining her at the table.
She looks around the freshly painted kitchen and nods. “I can see you’ve been busy. This place has never been more than a crash pad, but it looks like a home now.”
I follow her eyes, taking in all the changes. Creamy yellow paint now covers the grease stained brown that was there before. The once sparse walls are now littered with pictures and shelves filled with knick-knacks that Nina and I bought at yard sales. The kitchen now resembles her home, but it has my own personal twist on it. “I hope Bowie doesn’t mind the changes.”
She rolls her eyes as she takes sip of her drink. “He won’t. I doubt he’ll even notice you did anything.”
I know she’s wrong; Bowie notices everything. He’ll notice the new curtains and sofa cover in the living room, the hand-sewn quilt on the bed, and definitely a different color of paint on the kitchen walls. “Oh well, it’s too late to worry now.”
“Do you know when he’s gonna be home?” She asks as she sits her glass down.
I shake my head. “I’m not sure. He just keeps saying soon.”
“I worry about you being here all by yourself,” She says before looking towards the living room, where Tag is watching TV. “I know Tag is around, but he’s so young.”
Tag hasn’t left my side since the day Cash stopped by. He goes everywhere with me: working in the yard, the grocery store, even to visit Nina and Rachel. Some nights I even find him sleeping outside of my bedroom door. He may be young, but I know he would do anything he can to protect me.
“I’m fine. We haven’t had any problems.”
“I would call Cash stopping by a major problem,” She says, with worry in her voice. “I’m also worried about your past coming back to haunt you.”
During her last visit, I had told her about my past. Not everything, but enough to explain my sudden appearance in Rich Hill. Obviously that was enough to cause her concern. “He has no idea where I am.”
“My dad used to beat the hell out of my mom,” She says, out of the blue. “I was eleven by the time she finally got the courage to leave him.”
“Oh, honey. I’m sorry.”
Tears fill her eyes. “It didn’t matter how far we went; he would always find us. After we moved here, he showed up one night and nearly killed her. He ended up going to prison that time, but I swear she spent the next ten years looking over her shoulder. She just knew he would get out and come after her, so I know how scary this has to be for you.”
I reach out and grab her hand, giving it a squeeze. “My husband didn’t beat me. He did a lot of other things, but Marcus Bell would think hitting a woman was un-dignified.” I don’t bother telling her that he would probably just hire someone to do it for him. He never did, but he threatened more than once to bring someone in to teach me a lesson.