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He was my blood, my best friend.
Cali’s eyes dropped and she stood silently for what felt like forever, eventually whispering her darkest confession. “I feel guilty.”
“Guilty?” War’s face drew in tightly, only softening when her eyes lifted to meet his.
“That night, I could have asked him to stay. He would have done whatever I wanted him to. Something was off. I could feel it but I let him go, so I feel guilty. He’s not here and he could be but I…”
“That’s not your fault, Cali. You can’t control the natural order of things. It’s not fair for you to carry that weight and I promise if he cared about you, he wouldn’t want that on your heart.”
I’m carrying it for both of us.
She stared at War long and hard before a smile surfaced. “You remind me of him.”
“How?”
“I don’t know, you just do. I don’t know if that’s good or bad but I just…” She paused and closed her eyes briefly while shaking her head. “…I just feel safe around you. At peace and that scares me a little.”
There was no fighting the smile that surfaced no matter how hard War wanted to hide it. “Then let me bring you peace. You don’t have to be afraid. I have no reason to hurt you, Cali. I never would.”
A laugh burst through and it was tortured yet carefree. “I don’t think that’s possible but you can try.”
“That’s all I ask. So, what’s next?”
“Huh?”
“This can’t be it. It’s your birthday. I want to make it special.”
“This was more than enough.” Cali was sincere. She had expected to spend the day alone, drowning in her feelings, but War’s intrusion somehow allowed her birthday to not be so miserable.
“Nah, there has to be more. I have an idea. Do you trust me?”
Cali laughed again, rolling her eyes at the same time. “Hell no. I don’t know you.”
War’s smile was genuine. “But you said you feel safe with me. That’s kinda the same thing?”
“Not really.”
“Come on, Cali, do you feel safe enough to know I would do you no harm and that my only goal here is to make sure you have a great day?”
She pulled her lip between her teeth, eyes sweeping the restaurant before she pushed out a sigh. “I guess so.”
“Aight then, let me make a call really quick and set something up. What’s your favorite color?”
“My favorite color? Why?”
“I can’t tell you. It’s gotta be a surprise.”
“Green.”
“Aight, sit down and give me a minute. I need to make a call.”
“To who?”
War’s head bowed slightly. “Cali…”
“Okay fine.” She grinned, throwing her hands up in surrender before plopping down in her seat. “It better be good, whatever this is.”
“I got you, love.” War winked and stepped away from the table. He walked outside and leaned against Cali’s car. He folded one arm across his chest and bent the other at the elbow, holding his phone against his ear while he watched Cali through the glass front of the building.
