Page 13 of But I'm Still Standing

We make it inside the small restaurant, and I can see the same wonder on her face as I did the first time I brought Savvy here. Okay angel, I’m listening.

She makes her way over to a table by the wall and plops down. She is wearing jeans and a sweatshirt with boots and looks like a typical teen other than her properness. She carries herself more like an old soul.

“I can honestly say that I thought I took Lottie’s virginity on her eighteenth birthday. I am most definitely your uncle. Lottie sang a song called Magnolia June. I thought it was just a song I had never heard, but I think she sang it when she thought of you, which was a lot. She had it in one of her diaries I found but I never read past it. Savvy and I kept saying we were going to, but we didn’t make it that far.” I try to ease her mind about her mother.

“The little girl with raven hair has fireflies in her eyes as she chases butterflies all the way to the bayou, while I chase the night skies to be able to see the same moon as my Magnolia June. Fiona sang it all the time when I was little. She said my mother sang it to me every day until she had to leave me and go grow up. I’ve had nine nannies and countless teachers. Fiona has threatened a million timesto send me away, but she never does it. I can’t be trained properly if I’m not under her thumb. Come February, I will marry Alec, who out of everyone, chose me. I’ve been groomed since birth to be exactly what I will become when this is all over with. No one can save me from my fate. So don’t bother trying to be a hero. You will lose.”

Chapter 8

Sin

26 weeks

Itried explaining to her how many girls we had saved but she kept stopping me every time I tried. MJ has been groomed since birth to be handed over to a Saint on her eighteenth birthday. She will be his covenant. The only hole that hasn’t been touched on this poor girl is her cunt so that she is a virgin for the sick bastard she has been promised to. She will live a normal life as the wife of a young, up-and-coming member of the Saints.

I’ve heard of them but have never had to deal with them. I know they are a ruthless group who have people all over the country, but no one knows who actually runs the operation. I have heard rumors of them having the head of their families here in NOLA, but they haven’t fucked with me, so I haven’t fucked with them. I know they are not people I want to be on bad terms with under any circumstance if the rumors are true. They don’t take outsiders, and most who go poking their nose trying to find them end up dead.

“What are you thinking about?” MJ asks as she takes a bite of ice cream. She wanted to do things that Savvy liked to do and walk a mile in her shoes type of thing as she put it at breakfast. I decided to take her to Savvy’s favorite places and some memorable ones for me. It’s allowed me to think of Savvy without breaking down every five minutes. To feel her again in some way.

“I’m thinking about how I’m going to be able to take on the Saints to get you out of being a covenant.” I wink at her as I lick my rocky road ice cream cone.

She bursts out laughing, “You and what army dude.” She shakes her head still chuckling at me.

“I guess I do have an army when I think about it.” I nod my head smiling to myself.

“I was kidding, you can’t start a war with the Saints, they will destroy you, and I can’t have that happen when I promised Savvy that I would help you. Trust me when I say I’m not worth it.”

“You are worth it, but don’t worry, I won’t start a war with them unless I have to.” I try to ease the worried look on her face.

“It won’t be bad; I’ve already met my Saint. His name is Alec Landry. He is very handsome and treated me very well when I had dinner with him last week; he always does. He doesn’t want a pet or me to be a doll all the time, just in the bedroom. He wants a real life with me. He has had a say in my upbringing and what I am and am not allowed to do but asks me what my likes and dislikes are. He likes me for me and doesn’t want me to change a thing. If you want to know about the Saints, ask your father. Mine may have been a complete dick head, but yours isn’t much better. Just ask him.” I know her words are cryptic for a reason, and she can only tell me what the queen wants her to. I don’t even have to ask the questions; she is giving information away freely.

“So, Saint Alec is your one true love huh? You actually want to do this?” I ask knowing what her answer will be. She has been trained to believe whatever they tell her to.

“Of course, it’s my duty as the daughter of a Saint. Plus, he is hot as fuck, and I will be living like a princess.” She explains further but stops and looks up at me with wide eyes.

“You are the daughter of a Saint?” I ask with my head cocked to the side in pure confusion. “Sebastian?” I ask.

She takes a deep breath and lets it out, “Let’s go into the cemetery, Savvy said it’s iconic.” She finally says as shehangs her head and walks toward the gates of Savvy’s favorite place in NOLA. I thought it would be the park but no, the cemetery is what always brought her the most joy. I think back to the last time we came here, for Savvy’s birthday. I laugh a bit as I walk in thinking about Cami saying Savvy loves the cemetery so much because she is a natural earth witch. She said she could feel the spirits all over NOLA, but she feels the spirits of the witches of NOLA in the cemetery and that’s why it brings her joy. Gotta love Cami. She always made Savvy feel like she was part of her world.

I catch up to MJ and smile when I see her eyes go straight to the one place Savvy always did. The alter from The Originals.

“This is the place Savvy said was in the show she has been making me watch all week.” She giggles as she jumps up sitting herself on the altar. “Rebekah!” She raises her fist as she yells and starts laughing. “You are into that show too from what Savvy said. I get it, but the story of the Michaelson children isn’t nearly as enticing as their mothers. Now that witch bitch knew how to rock the boat. Wouldn’t you agree.” She smiles at me with hope in her eyes.

“She was doing what she thought was best. I actually thought she believed she was helping them leave behind the life that she bestowed upon them with their dignity intact. Same as I brought you into this world, I can take you out and bring back one just like you, kind of attitude. She loved them in her own way.” I say as I start to think about what she is saying.

“Oh, and their father always blaming the bastard son that only wanted love. What made a man like that tic? He would have killed his wife eventually and everyone else around him had his son not killed her first. Fiction always lets the characters come back.” She says cryptically.

“Fiction is always better than real life, until it isn’t.” Savvy said that once. She used to always just say fiction is better but started adding that last bit after Bash. When life throws you something unbelievable and it starts to feel like one of your books. That is what Savvy said about Bash one night at the lake. I smile wide as I think of myangel that night. We had taken the truck out to one of her pops pastures and lined the bed with blankets and pillows. We had cheeseburgers and chili cheese fries with her favorite wine, and I had a few beers. We watched the night sky turn into a billion stars above us as I made love to her. I’ll have to keep that memory in my back pocket to jack off to later. I’m still feeling the blue balls from this morning.

“Now you are starting to get the way this game is played. Ready to take me to lunch? I want to get as much in before I have to head back home. Tableau is what Savvy said was the best place for gumbo and her favorite crème Brulé.” She smiles as she flutters her eyelashes, like Savvy does when she is being cute, wanting something.

“If that is what you want, then that is what you shall have my dear.” I reply giving her a soft smile.

We walk back to Tableau and get a balcony table just like Savvy always prefers. We take our seats just as the waiter comes over to take our drink orders.

“I’ll have a blackberry cobbler.” She says sweetly looking over at me with narrowed eyes daring me not to let her have this.

“Bourbon, neat.” I look at MJ and shake my head as the waiter walks off. We sit at the same table that Savvy and I sat at our first time here. The day my world was turned upside down and hasn’t been the same since.

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