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THIRTY-ONE
‘CHAMPION OF DEATH’ $UICIDEBOY$
Gio
The call panel next to the front door buzzes just as Vincenzo texts me that they’re coming up, so I go to the door and unlock it before letting Lexi and Luce know we have company.
If Vince and Juny weren’t coming up, I’d tear out of these clothes and go right back to bed, wrap Lexi up in my arms and let her presence melt the world away. Fuck, I want nothing more than to do that, but I can’t become complacent while Alan is still on the loose. If a threat to my baby is still breathing, I will never find rest, and she’ll never know a day of real peace. Sure, we’ve come very close to peace these past few days, but it’s only fiction until Alan is at the bottom of the Hudson River.
Visions of Alan’s bloated face swim through my mind, and I smile to myself. Soon, he’ll be nothing but a distant memory and an example to others.
There’s a knock at the door before it opens, and Juny pops his head in, “What up, G. We brought coffee.”
I nod my head to them, setting the plates on the table before shaking their hands.
“How was the building sweep?” I ask as I take the carton of coffees from Vince.
“All’s clear. I did set-up some new cameras in the alley behind the building and a few in the emergency stairwell. I’ll have to get more if we want an uninterrupted view, but what we’ve put in should be good for now.”
I appreciate the extra mile the brothers went through for us. If they keep up the work, I have no doubt they’ll be flying up the ranks quicker than most.
“Good,” I start as I take a seat at the table, “I have some business to handle, so I'll be gone most of the day. Probably into the night as well, so you are not allowed to leave her until me or Luce is here.”
They nod in unison, their almost identical features reminding me of my father and his twin…of my own possible brother. Why did fate have to do me so dirty? Was having a fucked up father who took great pleasure in my pain not enough? It’s as though the stones of destiny were tossed by a blind man with shitty luck, and the dice landed on the wordsget fucked.
Then Lexi’s dazzling smile flashes in my mind, followed by the depth of Luce’s gaze as he watches her, and I realize that maybe fate had it right after all. My life may have started out as a hellish existence, but I’m not completely ignorant of what it’s turning out to be. I only hope there is no ending to our story, only years of love and joy.
Damn, I’m a fucking sap for sure.
“Where’s Luce and Lex–”
Juny’s question breaks off when Luce steps out of the room, “Right here, boys.”
As he shakes their hands, I take in his clothes, all of which are mine. He’s dressed in my black ripped jeans and my sleeveless BONES t-shirt and wallet chains swinging down his outer thigh.
As he reaches up and slicks his hair back over his head, my eyes land on the shoes he’s helped him to before cutting back up to his grinning face, “If you scuff up my shoes, you’ll be buying me new ones.”
He drops his gaze down, looking like Dorthy from theWizard of Oz,as he twists his ankle to show off the image of AC/DC on the side of the rare Converse sneakers.
“Bro, do you have any idea how difficult that’ll be?”
I cock my brow at him, my arms folding across my chest, “Yeah, fool, I hunted these motherfuckers down for a whole year until I found them. So, either wear your own shoes or be ready to buy me new ones.”
He reaches into his pocket, pulling out a roll of one hundred dollar bills and tosses them to me, “There, you can buy new ones.”
He flops on the couch and turns on the TV to the local news station, chuckling when I throw the rolled up cash and nailing him on his head.
Vincenzo and Juny watch us in amusement before the latter grabs a coffee and joins Luce at the sofa.
Vince steps closer to me, his face holding none of the laughter he had only seconds ago, before reaching in his back pocket and producing an envelope.
“Doc sent this for you. I didn’t read it, but he said you wouldn’t like the results.”
Fuck, Doc knew I was hoping for Pink’s relation to me to be total bullshit, so if he says I won’t like the results, it means the motherfucker was indeed my brother.
I take the innocent looking letter from him, dropping it onto the table like it’s covered in plague, just as Lexi comes out of the bedroom. She kisses my cheek before saying hello to the guys, giving them both sheepish smiles under their attention, her cheeks blushing ruddy red. She’s as sweet as Luce says.
She’s wearing dark red Adidas leggings with fluffy white socks and an oversized Harvard sweater. Her hair is wet and pulled up into a messing little bun at the top of her head. She’s the picture of perfection, a goddess amongst the fallible humans.
