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“I didn’t even know youhada sister.”
She grinned. “At the time… neither did I. This stuff was alwayssofucked up.”
No kidding.
“So how do I fit into all this?” I asked, stopping as we got even closer to where I could hear a whole cacophony of voices. “These people are all—”
“Family,” she cut in. “And you are too.”
I scoffed. “You keep saying that, but—”
“Butwhat?” she asked. “They put you undermytutelage when you came toThe Garden.”
“Because you were the only person who could tame me.”
She shrugged. “Call it big sister duties then,” she said. “You know… I used to think that I didn’t have any emotions. I would tell people that I had to relearn my humanity all over. And to some degree, I suppose that’s still true. But, the more I learn about myself and view those regained memories through a different lens… I think it was always just below the surface. The programming kept it suppressed, but it was always there.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that… you seem surprised by my fondness for you, as if you think I just feel sorry for you, as if I look at you like just another strayThorn. But I don’t. When I call myself your big sister, it’s notjustbecause the Belroses dumped you in my lap. It’s because that was the first time, while I was there, they let me actually connect with someone. A big sister is what I already was; they’d taken my sister from me. But then they gave me another sibling. And like I said, my conscious mind had no way of latching onto a concept like that and I had no way of offering any true nurture. I’m just saying… you might think that me being atThe Gardensavedyou. But I believe, actually, we may have saved each other,” she answered, ending with a little smile. “So… you’re not just aguestat this table. You’re a guest ofhonor.”
Shit.
Those words scared me a little and as she pulled me around the corner there was a brief moment of panic where I thought she might’ve planned some kind of fucked-up surprise party or something.
Instead, I found just… a normal table.
The dining room was full of people, the family, and the food wasn’t even fancy.
The buffet table off to the side was stocked with wings, fries, and vegetable sticks.
“Get in where you fit in,” she said, then left me standing there in the doorway looking stupid while she went off to talk to a man I assumed was Cree, taking a little girl from his arms. I didn’t want to stare, so I shifted my gaze away, landing on Isaiah as he approached with his hand out.
“Whassup,” he greeted, then took a step back, wearing a slight cringe. “I heard you got messed up, but damn. I didn’t know it was written all over your face like this.”
“Fuck you.” I chuckled as my attention diverted to a woman as she walked up, looking startlingly identical to her sister. “Dacia?” I asked, even though there was no one else itcouldbe, at least I didn’t think.
She nodded. “Yes. And you’re the Nyx I’ve heard so much about between Zay and Ace?”
“That’s me. Who is this?” I said, watching as the baby in her arms reached for Isaiah, who immediately accepted the switch.
“This is Adam,” Dacia said. “He’s named for my father,” she explained and I nodded as he tucked his head to Isaiah’s shoulder.
I started to say something, but a tug at my pant leg diverted my focus. When I looked down, the little girl who’d been in Alicia’s arms just a moment ago was staring up at me.
“I’m Yaya and I like your hair,” she said and I grinned.
I reached down to tweak one of two large mounds of hair onherhead, both the size of her face. “I’m Nyx and I like yours too,” I told her, which made herveryhappy based on the big smile she gave me.
“Thank you! They’repuffsand they’re myfavorite,” she informed before running off back to where Alicia and Cree were standing, watching. “Did I do it right?” she asked them and we all started laughing.
“You can tell that girl hasno Rosein her blood,” Dacia mused, before gesturing that I should grab a plate. Before we moved to that though, I got the formal introduction to Cree, who I immediately guessed used to be a cop, and then Pen—Penelope—and her boyfriend Tyler, the big football player Alicia had mentioned. Then, just before I was finally about to sit down, two more people came in—Loren, who was apparently Yaya’s biological mother, and her husband.
It was kinda chaotic.
But not in a bad way, just… a lot.
I did more eating and observing than talking, but I was cool with that dynamic, at least for a while. We were about to get into the weeds of a whole messed up situation with the Belrose syndicate, but for now… it was good to just feel…normal.
