Page 55 of Heart of a Savage
She smiled before kissing our foreheads and taking a seat on the other side of Paige. “I have a coffee date in an hour.”
I frowned. “With who?”
“A friend. His name is Robert. I met him at the Maxwell concert.” She smiled with a girlish blush.
Oh Lord.
“Mommy…” I started, but she cut me off.
“Don’t start, Arieana. Lorenzo told me to move on, so that’s exactly what I’m doing.”
I held my palm up. “Fine. Who am I to stop you from living? Just make sure I don’t have to kill him.”
“Stop that talk, Paris Amour.” She scolded. “Now, show us the dresses, Paige.”
Paige pulled the laptop toward her to log in while I sat, thinking about my life. It seemed as if my sister had found the love of her life, and my mom was back dating, trying to move on from my father. I, on the other hand, didn’t know if I’d ever find it.
If I did allow Messiah to court me, how would that feel? Would we fall in love? Could I see myself loving someone else other than myself and my family? While the idea of being in a relationship scared me, I couldn’t deny that I did want to see what it felt like to have someone love me. I was just afraid of what loving someone would mean for me.
I pulled up to my uncle’s warehouse, and Paige and I exited my truck. I could see several cars parked in the lot as we walked through them to the garage entrance. Once we were inside, I spotted my uncle’s workers unloading a heap of boxes that held pill bottles inside.
“Ladies, nice of you all to finally make it.” Uncle Lamont walked from behind a wall, over to us.
“What’s going on, Unc? Since when do you deal in pills?” Paige asked the question I wanted to know.
“We’re moving into a new era. While I’m not completely exonerating the coke and heroine, I won’t be as active with them as much. These…” he said, picking up a huge bottle of Xanax. “Are the new heroine. People are gravitating toward the pills more now than before.”
“These are a lot of boxes, Unc. What you do? Buy out the warehouse?” I asked, looking around at all the boxes that had C&C Pharmaceutical imprinted on them.
Uncle Lamont smiled at me, waving us toward his office. Paige and I looked at each other skeptically before following behind him. Once we entered, he motioned for us to take a seat.
“Listen up. I know y’all pops always told y’all he didn’t want y’all on the drug side of the business, but he’s not here right now. If y’all want in, I’m giving you all an opportunity of a lifetime. The pill market is in high demand, and you could make so much money off of it. Just give me the word, and I’ll set you all up to get this money.”
“What about our contract kills? Are we ending that?” I asked.
“Not ending… just utilizing it when the time permits.”
“As good as all of this sounds, I would have to resign, Uncle L,” Paige said, crossing her legs.
Uncle Lamont stared at her for a moment before he spoke. “Don’t tell me it’s about your fiancé?”
“That’s partially the reason. I’m about to be someone’s wife, and maybe in another year, someone’s mother. I don’t plan to sell drugs of any kind and kill people for the rest of my life. I believe in good and bad karma. It’s the reason my biological parents aren’t here right now.”
“It wasn’t murder—” I started.
“It was murder, Arie. I know we were young, but we have never been stupid. My father, your father, and Uncle Lamont used to do exactlywhat they’re doing now, back then. It just so happened that my father was the one who was being the most reckless and got followed home.
“The only reason I even agreed to enter the murder-for-hire business was to one… avenge my family’s death, and two… relieve the sadness and anger of losing my family. I’m over that now. I have accepted that I’ll never get them back, so it’s time to move on and have a family of my own. As good as your offer sounds, Unc, I’m going to respectfully decline.
“This is also my resignation from the MFH game as well. I’ll be relocating soon, so… there’s that.”
“So, you really moving to South Carolina?” I asked, voice just above a whisper.
“I am. But I’m nothing but a phone and a plane ride away.”
Don’t get in your feelings, Arie. You knew this was going to happen. You love Paige and want what’s best for her. Besides, you now have someone to visit out of town, I thought to myself.
We’d been like two peas in a pod since we were twelve. However, I couldn’t trap a butterfly in a jar and expect it to live forever. They spent their lives on their bellies, trapped in cocoons for the majority of their lives. Paige was that butterfly, trapped in a cocoon of grief. I wouldn’t dare stop her from spreading her wings now that she’d found some happiness.
