Page 1 of The Deed to a Gangsta's Heart

Prologue

Callie

Kindergarten

Callie’s eyeswere trained on the three boys playing dodgeball in the middle of the playground. Unlike most dodgeball games where they tried to hit each other, these boys hit kids who weren’t playing and paying attention. Every time the ball would hit someone, they would laugh. It had little Callie so on edge she was hardly paying her best friend Luci any attention. With a huff, she watched as the red ball hit a little girl in the stomach.

As the three troublemakers laughed, Callie’s eyes tightened as she watched them. They looked for their next victim. She followed their line of vision, and when she saw Remedy, she gasped. Remedy never bothered anyone, and he always helped her get on and off the swings to make sure she didn’t fall. They didn’t talk, but they silently shared their lunches together too. If they hurt him—

Before Callie could make up in her mind what she’d do to them, Bailey launched the red ball in Remedy’s direction. It hit him right in the middle of the back, causing him to fall face first. Callie was sure his glasses had cracked. She cringed from the impact of his body hitting the ground before releasing a growl.

The ball rolled toward her feet, and she picked it up without hesitation. Bailey was hunched over laughing with his hands on his knees. With all her might, Callie tossed the ball and hit him right in his face.

“Ow!” Bailey hollered before bursting into tears.

His friends went from shocked to amused as they pointed at him and laughed. While Bailey ran toward their teacher, Callie grabbed the ball again.

“Hey!” she yelled, lifting her arm to toss it, but both boys ran away. When she was pleased with their distance and sure they wouldn’t try a sneak attack, she turned and helped Remedy stand. Sure enough, his glasses were cracked in the center. His caramel brown face was red and had a couple of small scratches and indentations from the gravel. “Are you okay?” Callie asked softly, brushing away the small pieces of gravel that were on his face.

“I can’t believe you did that.”

Shrugging, she fixed his crooked glasses. “Can you see me?”

Remedy chuckled with a nod. “A little.” He looked away briefly, mouth twisted to the side. “Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me. My daddy says you should always do the right thing, and making them pay for hurting my friend is the right thing.”

His eyes returned to hers. “I’m your friend?”

Now, it was Callie’s turn to be shy. Twiddling herthumbs, she looked down at her slightly worn Converse sneakers. “Do you want to be my friend?”

“Yeah.” His small fingers under her chin lifted her head. He gave her a warm smile. “I’m gonna be yourbestfriend.”

“Callie Marie Simpson!” Mrs. Banks yelled, charging over to Callie.

Luci gasped and muttered a quick, “Uh oh,” before running away.

“Did you hit Bailey in the face with that ball?”

“Well yes but—”

“His nose is bleeding!”

Huffing, Callie crossed her arms over her chest. “But he hit—”

“I don’t want to hear it, young lady. Come with me to the principal’s office.Now.”

“But, Mrs. Banks,” Callie whined as Mrs. Banks grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the building.

“Hey, Callie!” At the sound of Remedy’s voice, Callie turned and looked at him over her shoulder. “I’ll uh… save you a seat next to me at lunch.”

A slow smile spread her lips, and she didn’t look away until she almost tripped going up the steps. After hearing about what happened, the principal warned Callie not to take matters into her own hands and ask an adult for help, but he didn’t give her a punishment. He did, however, punish Bailey and his friends—and that was only after Remedy beat them all up because he thought they’d gotten his new best friend in trouble.

Prologue

Luci

Twenty Something Years Later

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