“Okay,” I nod, gripping tightly. When we’re both satisfied I’m ready – and I mean really ready, not just so furious I think I’m omnipotent – we pull out and ride side by side to I-10 East.
Miles blur under my wheels and my hair blows behind me into knots but I couldn’t care less about that.
This feeling is as close to flying as I’ve ever experienced. All the fear and anger I felt, sheds.
I start laughing like a crazy person.
Jett howls next to me, lets out a whoop and starts laughing, too. “It’s a hell of a high, ain’t it?!” he shouts over the wind.
“YES!”
After a few amazing moments, I cry out a sound of pure freedom. Without missing a beat, Jett joins in.
I’ve never felt so alive.
Matias is gone.
The whole world is open to me now.
I’ve been released.
No more vengeance.
It’s over.
I am free.
Luna
The trip on the way to South Vacherie was very light and fun for me. I let it be what it was because I wanted to savor the moments while I had them.
Jett and I stopped for food in San Antonio at Rosario’s, a Mexican restaurant on a quaint Texas corner.
Because of the ride, the vibe was light and easy. We stuck to casual conversation. He asked if I ever got to the movies, I told him that I rarely did. He was the same.
He told me about the Ciphers and how they found him, his manner laid back as he explained, “I was a boxer. Yeah. It was fun. But you have managers. They book you fights. They tell you where to go, what to do. That’s not my style. And I wasn’t about to book the fights myself – felt uninteresting to me. A waste of my time.”
He scooped salsa with a tortilla chip and chewed for a second, then continued.
“One night I was comin’ home from a fight — my last fight, though I didn’t know it at the time. I’d won. Feelin’ good. And I heard this sound that rocked me. A woman was being attacked after the game. Two guys.”
At my expression, he nodded.
“Yeah. Brutal. I heard the struggle before I saw anything, but when you hear something like that, you know what it is.”
He smiled as if something good was coming, and leaned forward.
“Then I heard this fuckin’ commotion like you wouldn’t believe. Sounded like an explosion of fists and broken jaws. I was already runnin’ over to help and when I turned the corner to the alley, there were the Ciphers kickin’ the shit out of these two drunk guys. The girl was on the floor, staring at the chaos, stunned.”
Jett did an impression of her face, making his eyes really big like he’s seeing Godzilla looming above our table.
“I saw the Ciphers had the guys handled so I ran to the woman and helped her cover herself. She wrapped her arms around me and started cryin’ while I told her it was gonna be alright.”
“Where was this, Jett?” I asked him.
“Atlanta. Where my family is.” He leaned back and stared off for a minute, maybe picturing them. Grabbing another chip, he grinned.
“I asked the Ciphers what their deal was. They told me. I’ve never looked back.”
We stayed the night in Schulenburg, Texas because Jett said he prefers smaller towns. “Nicer people.”
He got us two rooms at the Best Western Plus, Schulenburg Inn & Suites. It was nice, but the Maverick was cooler. The new place was more cold and professional. More for business people I guess? Which is not me or Jett, not at all.
As we went to our floor, with two separate keys in our hands, Jett said, “Goodnight, Sunshine.”
I got the message his body language sent. He wasn’t going to try to stay in my room, and I shouldn’t try to stay in his.
This was the beginning of the end. Jett was putting distance between his heart and mine. I felt it in how casually friendly he was at dinner, and how little he touched me. It was like he was my brother or something…not that I’d ever had one. But he did. And I bet he treated them like that.
I couldn’t sleep for a long time in that place last night. Couldn’t stop my head from racing around the loss I was about to feel. Hell, I was feeling it already, just in the difference in how he was treating me.
I must have stared out the window at the stars for more than two hours.
He’ll be your friend, Luna.
If you need him, he’s the type of man you can call on.
Take comfort in that.
It’s better than you’ve ever had.
Those words helped me close my eyes finally.
We’re riding now, and miraculously the same feeling of freedom is in my veins. This rush is a temporary elixir to any kind of pain. It calms my soul, and looking over at Jett, I know he’s just given me another gift. I needed this.