Page 85 of Twist Me

I went from being the lamb with the self-destructive path—to her own slaughter—to a stone that was unbending and powerful.

I have chosen my path and given up paths chosen for me.

Maybe that’s why I became a nurse at Hospital Thirteen. I no longer felt a drive for justice and danger. I only wanted to help those I could. Judas was still at the asylum, and Goliath and I would have to work together more than ever to get him out.Pharaoh was being exonerated within a few days, and I could only hope we could find the same solution for Judas.

Whatever the path may be, I would not be alone.

The giant and the stone.

What a twisted tale we are.

The End….or is it?

Time had gone by, and it was finally time to go home. The notion of anything but these bars being home was asinine to me even more, so I realized that after seven years, I would have to figure out how exactly to be a father.

Ezello and Goliath had ordered me sunflowers and a yellow boat. The one time I was able to talk to Xeny, she told me yellow was her favorite and how she loved to watch the boat races.

I knew it wasn’t enough, but hopefully, it would be a start. I walked to the mirror, my hand shaking as I adjusted my tie. I’d never worn these ridiculous outfits, and I looked like oil in a jar of milk, but this was for my daughter. She deserved the best I could give her. I’d failed her so much already, and this was the first step in putting myself out of my comfort zone to make her feel safe.

Goliath came in, his wrap still visible as it wrapped most of his body. Ezello was tucked under his arm. The two of them were mushy love-sick morons nowadays, and one wasn’t without the other.

Goliath now worked as the warden of the prison, and Hospital Twelve, now Thirteen, was rebuilt to make up for the disaster of the asylum massacre. Not a single patient had been killed or gone missing since The Reaper ate a bullet.

Good riddance.

“Why, brother, you look dashing,” Goliath mocked. I flipped him off and rolled my eyes.

“No, really, Roe. Xenia will love your effort.”

I gave the little cop a half smile. Her words seemed more genuine, at least more than my idiot triplet’s ‘compliment.’

Judas was handing cards to an empty space next to him. I’m sure he thought it was a person, but his gifts just floated to the floor. He wasn’t getting out anytime soon, and it hurt that I was leaving them all behind. Goliath and Micah would at least keep Hospital Thirteen safe.

Ezello had stayed on but gave up her shiny badge for shoveling up shit and feeding us nutballs as an intern for nursing. I had to admit I saw her being a nurse with her personality more than I ever did as a cop. She said she wanted to work at the new hospital to ‘keep an eye on the survivors,’ which really just meant she didn’t want to leave her man.

“Are you ready?” Micah said.

He was taking my ass to the house, and honestly, as much as he wouldn’t admit it, I knew it was because I couldn’t keep my damn eyes dry. Plus, my brothers weren’t exactly the most sensitive of people.

I blinked and looked at myself in the mirror, seeing in the reflection all the dumbass smiling faces that were not coming along on this crazy-ass adventure.

“We’re going to miss you, Pharoah,” Ezello said, running up with teary eyes and squeezing me around the ribs.

I patted her shoulder and gave her a wink. “Keep my brothers out of trouble, Zee.”

She smiled and looked into Goliath’s eyes like the love-sick fools they were. “I will.”

Would I ever find that? Who the fuck knew? Honestly, my track record was shit when it came to women.

“Come visit!”

“Don’t be a stranger,” Goliath called as I walked into the hallway with the detective.

Taking a deep breath, I kept walking, not needing to look at the hell in the rearview.

“Wantme to go in with ya?” Quinn was kind, but I had to decline.

This was going to be awkward enough seeing Tiffany again, much less trying to meet my daughter since I disappeared from her life at age one. That park date had been cut so short, and the exoneration process kept me so damn busy I couldn’t even call her. She mailed me a little picture of us holding hands and picking sunflowers. I kept those little stick figures in my pocket every single day. Believing that it was real had become myanchor in all this. I was looking forward to showing her I had been practicing my throwing skills.

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