Page 27 of Wings of Ebony
I pull down my hood and blow the steaming mug as she walks over. Dark circles hug her eyes, which turn down at the corners. She weaves between tables and I take another glance around.
“T.” I greet her with a tight squeeze. She smells like honey and jasmine. Like everything that is sweet in the world.
“You came back,” she says.
“Of course, and I won’t be leaving you ever again.” I reach to squeeze her hand. But she pulls away.
“Your favorite.” I slide the mug across the table a little too eagerly, leaving a trail of spills behind it. “With extra caramel and whipped cream, just like you like it.”
“You doing okay?” I ask, ready for her questions.
She shrugs. “I guess. I—I just don’t understand… why you had to leave, why you couldn’t stay, how you’re here.…”
“Sometimes people think they know better.” I wish I had a better answer. “You know how it is. Moms was gone and Aasim figured he’d snatch me up instead of letting CPS get me or whatever.”
She folds her arms.
“Itoldhim I wanted to take you with me, T.” I reach across the table for her fingers.
She doesn’t take them.
“Itoldhim but he didn’t listen.”
“Aasim?” She cups the mug in her hands but doesn’t take a sip. “That your dad?”
“Aasim. The dude Moms was laid up with.” My fingers hang there, grasping at air.
She purses her lips. “So what makes this time different, Rooty?”
Damn. Ain’t been called that in a minute. Moms started calling me that because my favorite cereal was Rooty Roo’s. I’d eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner some days. I don’t even know if I liked it that much or if that’s just all we had. I chuckle. Moms would buy boxes in epic proportion whenever Bulk Buy had a sale. Feels like a lifetime ago.
“Thistime I’m not letting them take me back. No one’s gonna break us up again.” I reach harder. “Tash, I won’t leave you again. I promise.”
She looks out the window instead of at me and it’s like the air in Joe’s Joe turns frigidly cold. She has Moms’s profile. Those same high cheekbones and naturally long lashes. Her lips purse like Moms’s too. But her nose, that’s all her dad’s people. I have Moms’s nose and her sable complexion. She’s so beautiful. A ghost of sadness haunts Tasha’s expression, but her eyes don’t drop a single tear. She’s tough like Moms too. Like me.
“Okay,” she says, finally meeting my eyes.
“Okay?”
“Okay.” She blows and takes a cautious sip from the mug.
She needs to know everything. So she gets how serious this is. “There’s more I need to tell you.”
I reach for her and to my relief we lock fingers. I explain everything that just transpired in Ghizon. She gasps and her mouth falls open lower and lower with every passing second.
She snatches her hand away, eyes wide with fear. “I… he…”
“Listen to me. I willneverlet them touch you.Andthey don’t even know it’s you.”
Yet.
She nods like she’s trying to believe me.
“Tasha, it’s always been us. When Moms was working all night, when she was doing a triple shift on the weekends, every day after school. We always gonna be alright. As long as we stick together.” I lean in for a whisper. “Andwith this magic, I can make sure we stay safe.”
I want to believe it even if it isn’t true. I have to believe it. I’m the only one who can protect us.
“There’s all sorts of stuff I can do because of these.” I flash her a quick peek at the onyx bubbles on my wrists. “And if something goes down, you saw how I handled it the other day.”
