Page 9 of The Spirit Of My Savage
I swallowed hard. “It’s not that easy. You wasn’t there that night.”
“I wasn’t,” he admitted. “But I know what it did to you. You ain’t been the same since, Sky. And I get it. But you gotta start livin’ again. For real.”
“I don’t even know where to start,” I said, voice barely a whisper.
“Start by lettin’ go of the guilt,” he said. “Start by trustin’ that King loved you so deeply he would want you to smile again. Laugh again. Hell, even love again.”
That made my stomach turn, but I didn’t argue. I couldn’t.
“You not crazy, Sky,” he added, softer now. “If you feel him, it’s because he still watchin’ over you. Still got you.” The porch light flickered again. This time just once. We both looked up and then looked at each other. Savior smiled faintly. “See?”
I shook my head with a laugh I couldn’t hold back. “Crazy ass.”
“Nah,” he said, bumping my shoulder. “That’s love.”
???
It was almost eight o’clock when I finally left. The streetlights were on, porch inflatables lit up, and skeletons and fake witches glowed purple and green. The second I turned thecorner onto the quiet street we lived on, I saw Rome’s truck pulling in at the same time.
He slid out the driver’s side and I stepped out of my car slowly. I met him halfway up the walkway and the smell of smoke and perfume smacked me in the face like a reality check.
Biting the inside of my cheek, I asked, “How was your day?”
He shrugged. “Straight. Money moves.”
I tilted my head. “With who? Macy’s?”
Rome’s jaw twitched. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You smell like a bitch, Jerome.Again.That’s what it means.”
He looked at me hard. “Don’t do that.”
“Don’t do what?” I asked, stepping closer. “Don’t call out what I know? Don’t question you when shit don’t add up?”
He reached for the door, and I grabbed his arm. He turned quickly. “Sky. Don’t.”
“Don’t what? You the one who always says I’m safe with you, right? You would never lie to me or hurt me, right? So tell me why the fuck you smell like that?”
His eyes went cold. “You really wanna start this shit tonight?”
“I ain’t startin’ shit. I just pulled up and got hit with a scent that don’t belong to me. You said you was handlin’ business. So what business you handlin’ that got you smellin’ like Jimmy Choo?”
He scoffed. “You trippin’.”
“Am I?”
We stood there staring at each other. And then he smiled one of those crooked little grins that meant he was lying butdaring me to prove it. “I’ll shower,” he said, voice calm. “That make you feel better?”
I stepped back, shaking my head. “You’re unbelievable.”
“And you’re ungrateful,” he shot back. “After every fuckin’ thing I do for you.”
I laughed. “You do foryourself. You just let me stand next to it. Move.”
I left his ass standing on the porch, and somewhere in the back of my mind, I heard it again. It was King’s voice, clear as day.
“That nigga ain’t who you think he is.”
