Page 18 of Evil Queen

“I would have.”

“I didn’t want to leave you necessarily, and I always thought about trying to get back to you at some point. I knew, if nothing else, high school would roll around, and we’d reconnect there, but… Well, obviously, I didn’t make it that far.”

I bit down on the inside of my lip. He didn’t make it that far, thanks to me. “Okay, well, so… Shit. Do we just do the brother thing, then? Not fucking fight about every little goddamn thing and put the past behind us? I made mistakes, you made mistakes, and we have a shared common enemy at this point.”

“Yeah, I’d like that, and can that include not ever having a heart-to-heart again. I don’t like this shit at all.”

I laughed. “Fine.” Of all the weights scattered about my shoulders, one of them fell off. It was comforting, if even just minorly. “Well. What’s up? I imagine you called for a reason.”

“Yeah. I expect Nikita and Cherri are still okay? No one has come for them?”

“Not so far. I didn’t let Nikita out of my sight for all of winter break, and honestly, I upset her today. I really need to call her and figure some things out.”

“What about Cherri?”

“She’s, uh…”

“What?” Deon’s voice got serious. “What? What’s wrong with her?”

“Nothing. She’s fine—er, she’s healthy. She won’t even talk to us, but she has been hanging around with Sicily.”

I could hear Deon’s smile. “I should have known my best friend would look out for her.”

To say I was offended would be an understatement. “I’m doing what I can. I paid five hundred bucks to cover her ass today.”

“For what?”

“She’s changed, Deon. Chopped her hair, dyed it, new leathery, badass, combat boot look. She’s skipping classes, getting into fights.” To my surprise, Deon started to laugh. “Um,” I said. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing, it’s just, that sounds more like the Cherri I know.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” he responded. “Before you came and got her, she was rough and tough. I was shocked when I saw her all prim and proper. Don’t get me wrong, Cherri is Cherri, and I love her regardless, but trust me when I say, the version of Cherri you all got, The Royal Court version, that is not the real Cherri.”

That explained why it seemed to come so naturally to her. She wasn’t remade. She had reverted back to her old, pre-Court self. “That’s all well and good, but she’s a senior. If she skips classes and gets into fights, she’ll get expelled. She had colleges eating out of the palm of her hand, and now she may not even graduate.”

“So figure it out,” Deon said. “You promised me that you’d take care of her.”

“And I will, but…” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “She’s taking losing you really hard.”

“She’ll be okay. Cherri’s a tough cookie. Trust me, one way or another, she’ll come around.”

Cherri was strong, but Deon had a hold over her that even he seemed to be underestimating. Honestly, with the way things were, I didn’t think there was a damn thing I could do about it either. I sighed. “I don’t know. I think it’s just going to get worse.”

“Once she’s finished mourning me, she’ll be okay. Cherri’s not the type to just roll over,” Deon replied. “I’m surprised with Nikita’s attitude that this Cherri strikes you so odd.”

“Nikita is…” I thought about her beautiful face and the slightly frightening smile she got whenever she was allowed to punch someone or whip out a blade. “She’s a high-brow gangster. It’s different.”

“Oh, Cherri’s a hood gangster. That freaks you out?” Deon’s voice was defensive and short.

“No, I—” I shook my head. “We’re not doing this. Nikita has always been that way. Maybe you knew this Cherri, but this is new to me.”

“I get it. Just don’t let anything happen to her, okay?”

“I won’t.”

“Good.”

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