Page 34 of Jagged

I left it there for now, pocketing my phone when a knock sounded on the door. I hopped up, knowing it was Wyatt, and we greeted each other with our usual hug.

"Whoa. You don't stink like weed," I said, grinning after.

"I mean, I try." He popped the collar of his shirt then chuckled. "What's up?"

"Chillin'. About to head out to meet Nikita and Thiago." I glanced over my shoulder. "Tati's in the shower."

"Cool." He paused for a moment. "Why is this awkward suddenly? Normally, I'd go eat your food while waiting for her."

"You've moved out of the friend zone, bro." I chuckled and clapped him on the shoulder. "You can still eat the food."

"What you got?" He smirked and headed to the kitchen.

"Pizza. Vegan meatballs. Taco stuff."

"A'ight." He opened the fridge then pulled out the bowl of cold veggie balls. "You make these?"

"Nah. Tati. They're good though." I handed him a fork then took up one for myself. We dug into the food and ate it without bothering to heat it up.

"Been working on that trick. Still clipping it sometimes," he said between bites.

"You'll get it."

"Sometimes I act like I'm heading to the X Games." He smirked and set down his fork.

"Listen, we're a community of artists. We dream when we can dream, you know? We all have side hustles or main hustles so we can side-art."

He laughed at that and nodded. "Yeah, man. For real."

Tatiana returned to us a few minutes later. She, like Wyatt, wore casual clothes but they both appeared tidier in other places. Their hair, the lack of paint or art supplies, and clean nails spoke volumes for all of us. I, however, did not have clean nails. Pretty much ever.

"Hi," Tati said, greeting him with a giant hug as she fell into his arms.

"Hey." Wyatt's grin spread from ear to ear as they rocked back and forth, ending with him lifting Tati from her feet for a moment. "Missed you."

"Missed you, too." Her cheeks reddened, and she smiled. "Go away now, Jags."

I laughed and held my hands up as I backed away. "Wow. Fastest invite rescinding ever."

Wyatt's broad smile never faded as they pressed their foreheads together. The two of them, love-struck and adorable, warmed my ever-cooled insides as I made for the door.

"Later, lovebirds."

"Later," they both called, and I locked the door on my way out.

Seeing two of my best friends so happy with each other brought light to the darkness that often followed me. In all our years of friendship, as quirky and as flighty as we all tended to be at times, I'd watched many of them find their partners in life or partners in the moment. Tatiana and I were always the closest, and when she got pregnant with Reagan after a brief relationship with a man, it gave us both a sense of purpose. We'd been friends since we met in juvie, and we got our shit together in the context of our friendship. Reagan solidified that. We needed to give her something we didn't have… Stability.

"The Lost Kids reunited," Nikita announced as she tossed her arm around me when I arrived at Thiago's. "Minus a few. Where's Frankie? Fuckin' around?"

"Always. Wyatt and Tati are chillin' at home." I returned her hug then accepted the beer Thiago shoved in my palm. "Thanks, dude."

"Welcome. Pizza and wings good with you?" Thiago smiled, his charming, mustache-ridden smile that welcomed anyone to his space.

"Anything is good, thanks. How are you folks?"

"Doing good. Love the piece at Frankie's. It looks so good." Nikita gathered her braids over her shoulder then bundled them up in a wrap. "Bro, it's hot in here."

"Thanks." I chuckled at her statement as I slipped out of my jacket.

---