Page 77 of Forgive Me For I Have Sinned

"We stick to the plan?" Adam asks.

"Yeah," I reply.

Veronica is no longer working at the restaurant, and Adam is only too happy to quit. I ensured Dorothy would be okay, and she was relieved Veronica was taken care of. She said she would get a shotgun and shoot me if I hurt her. I let her slide because she cares for Veronica and sees her like a daughter.

The next day, Veronica has class. I already sent the report to her professor, who agreed she is an exceptional student, but I didn't miss the little gleam in his eyes when I first mentioned her name. I threatened him that if he looked at her in any way that wasn't customary for a professor, I would end his career. He thought it meant he wouldn't teach at Kenyan and would get fired. He didn't know what I planned to do with his eyes for looking at her incorrectly. He still sputtered his way out of the situation like an asshole that got caught with his pants down.

I have eyes watching her. Dorian is a threat, but he doesn't know I know his sick game with Veronica or what I have planned for my girl. She is sex in a pair of heels, and I am crazy about her.

It is three in the afternoon on a Wednesday, and I am waiting for my girl in the quad with a basket. College students are milling about talking shit. For a moment, I wonder if things were different. If I was four years younger and attending Kenyan. Would I kiss her before and after class? Make sure my schedule was aligned with hers? Live off campus with her, share a house, and wake up with her in my arms?

"She doesn't come out here, you know." I glance up and see Jess standing with Gia.

Dravin walks up, slides his hand around Gia's waist, and places his hand over his lips, trying to stifle a smile when he sees me with a picnic basket. Dick.

"Try the cemetery. It's her favorite place."

A sense of fear grips me when I think about what Alicia wrote to her in her letter. She knew exactly how Veronica would take her death. It's what I'm afraid of, her not wanting me enough to stay around. I grip the handles and stand.

"Thanks."

"She likes red," Jess says with a smile. "She's always wearing it somewhere."

"Yeah," Gia swallows, then rubs her lips together like she just remembered something. "She loves those black Docs, and I notice they have little red beads through the laces. Simple stuff like that. She only acts sassy when––she has to, but she is always in the cemetery with her best friend."

A woman sells flowers at the entrance, and I pick out two bouquets. One with different colors and another with red roses. I spot her immediately. Sitting on Alicia's grave, the letter clutched in her hand, tears falling like rain, and my heart breaks for the first time. Her pain is the only thing I can feel. I'm afraid she will give up, and I can't live without her.

She looks up, her beautiful clear blue eyes like water from the cleanest ocean. She is gorgeous, with her long dark hair catching in the wind. Those ridiculous old boots that belonged to my cousin.

"I bought you new ones, you know."

She knows I mean her boots when I place the basket on the ground and sit beside her.

"You're going to ruin your dress pants."

I shrug my shoulders. "I have a lot of pairs."

"Sure, you do."

"Shorts and shirts, too," I tease, handing her the colorful bouquet. "Those are for Alicia." I give her the red roses. "These are for you."

She grabs them, sniffing the scent of the rose petals, trying to compose herself and wiping at her face. "They are beautiful. I would have thought you were the black roses type.”

"I like them red. It reminds me that you bled for me like I would bleed for you."

A pink stain appears on her cheeks when she blushes. I turn, opening the basket. "I brought you lunch," I say, pulling out expensive cold-cut meats and cheeses. A bottle of sparkling water and two glasses with another bottle of wine.

"Isn't that a bit much?"

"There is nothing as too much of anything."

"I must admit, it's my first time eating with the dead."

I look around, and it's not exactly romantic, but it's us.

"It's a first for me too, but I keep taking them."

"Taking what?"

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