Page 9 of Roxy's Independence
“Fuck,” I hiss.
My thoughts are random and all over the damn place. I need to be calm when she comes out that door because according to Roxy, if I keep acting the way I have when a dick comes out swinging anywhere near Egypt, I’m going to scar her developmental growth.
But as her dad, isn’t that my job? Being a parent isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s confusing and I have to go against my naturalinstincts. I should buy a private island and take my family there until this ache in my chest goes away. I don’t want her to grow up, find love, and become a woman.
That last thought is what has shivers racing up and down my spine. When the kids wrap up and Egypt leans in to give Axel a hug, angry bumps erupt along my skin. I stand taller and go to move only for her to release him and come skipping out. Someone should give me an award because I plant my feet and wait for her to get out here instead of rushing in, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and tossing him in the back dumpster.
I think it’s time we call this vacation quits and head home. At least there I have an army at my back. I need to talk to Canyon and find out if any of his friends have younger brothers that can watch over Egypt and scare any boys away who try to catch her eye.
Now that’s something I can get behind.
A protector for my girl. A guardian I can sway and control.
Yep, Canyon and I are gonna have ourselves a chat on the way home. I just have to persuade him to keep it from his mother because she will become unhinged if she catches wind of it.
CHAPTER
SIX
Roxy
Yesterday wasEgypt’s last class, and today, she’s acting misplaced. Like she doesn’t know what to do with herself, so I had the idea that while the guys were out kayaking, she should take her supplies down to the lake and get lost in her world.
She excitedly agreed and so now here we are, me taking in some rays and her in the zone. Glancing over to see how she’s progressing, my entire body freezes when she does. Her back stiffens, her eyes turn an eerie luminescent shade, her paintbrush drops from her hand and hits the dirt floor. She begins spewing words that sound a lot like a prophecy, but that couldn’t be because she’s never shown signs of harboring a specialty.
“The man wanting the star is going to bring war to the knights. They must be brave and stand tall or they will fall. Be careful, not everything is as it appears. The tricksters with black in their hearts have sent out a soldier to infiltrate the men with swords. Keep the boy safe and hold the woman close, danger ison their doorstep and the town will crumble and surrender if they are not kept safe.”
“What the fuck,” I whisper, grabbing the only things I have on me and write down what she said—word for word.
Thankfully, the highlighter I brought to mark some of my favorite lines is dark in color so it shows up when I write it on the back page of the author’s autobiography. My skin would usually crawl marking one of my books like this, but somehow, my mind understands that the knights are the club and the girl and boy, that I haven’t deciphered, but given time, I will.
Egypt slumps in her seat and the mom side of me, as well as the doctor in me, takes immediate action. I jump out of my camping chair and rush over to her. I somewhat lay her down in her seat to where she’s slumped but I know she won’t fall over.
Once she’s secure, I grab my phone and call the first person who comes to mind. Second to my husband that is because he doesn’t even have his phone on him since he’s out on the water with Canyon. I take a deep breath, find his name in my contact list, and press the button that’ll connect me to Wrecker.
“What’s up, Roxy?” he answers, and just hearing his voice releases the heaviness that’d been sitting inside of me.
“I’m not interrupting you, am I?” I ask him as I hear a couple of voices talking in the background.
“No. I’m just here shooting the shit with Dragon, Butcher, and Cuda,” he responds. “Your voice sounds shaky, what’s going on?”
“Something odd just happened and Saber’s not here to talk it over with. I’m confused and freaked the hell out, Wrecker.”
He suddenly sounds alert and tuned into me, ignoring the laughter surrounding him as he states, “Talk to me, Roxy.”
“Egypt and I are down at the lakeshore and the guys are out kayaking. I was reading and soaking up the sun when she slumped in her chair, her eyes started glowing, and she said something that made no sense, but I wrote it down.”
“Hang on, let me put you on speaker phone so I don’t have to repeat what you’re telling me.” I hear some shuffling in the background and Wrecker asking for a pen and paper before the line clears and he comes back on.
“Roxy,” Dragon says my name, “Wrecker caught us up to speed on what’s going on. We’re ready to hear what she said whenever you’re ready.”
“I’m ready,” I tell them as I flip the pages in my book until I hit the back page where I jotted down her words. “This is what was said… the man wanting the star is going to bring war to the knights. They must be brave and stand tall or they will fall. Be careful, not everything is as it appears. The tricksters with black in their hearts have sent out a soldier to infiltrate the men with swords. Keep the boy safe and hold the woman close, danger is on their doorstep and the town will crumble and surrender if they are not kept safe.”
“The knights is pretty clear, that’s us,” Dragon interprets.
“That’s what I concluded too,” I confess. “But the man wanting the star and the boy and woman confuses me.”
“The soldiers are explanatory too, it’s the community. Looks like they’re finally coming out of hiding,” Wrecker muses. “I was wondering when they were going to grow a set and make another move.”
