Two days before the party, I sat with Juliet on a park bench, catching her up on everything that had gone down since the last time I saw her. And as expected, she reacted exactly how any normal person would.
“Huh?!” she gasped, her eyes wide. “You beat up a guy with a grease pan, and then you almost got robbed and shot by a guy with no arms?!”
“Look, I know that last one is kind of hard to believe,” I said, scratching the back of my neck. “But I swear to God it’s true. That was the exact moment I got fed up with selling weed. I was literally being held up by a double amputee holding a gun with two nubs. If that wasn’t a divine intervention telling me to quit, I don’t know what was.” I let out a long, heavy sigh. “Even though I’m going to miss the cash, it was fun while it lasted.”
“Did you really need the money, though?”
“I needed to stay alive more,” I said. “Fuck the money.”
She couldn’t help but laugh, reaching over to lightly rub my back. “Well, as long as you think you made the right decision, I’ll support it. Nothing is ever worth your life.”
“I wouldn’t say
nothing
,” I muttered, looking at her and smiling. “People fight and die for what they believe in all the time, good or bad. Hell, I think you’re worth fighting for, if you ask me.”
A cute little blush hit her cheeks, and she instantly looked down, nervously playing with her fingers. I’ve always found that so adorable. It reminded me of how innocent she really was.
Before somebody took that innocence from her,
the voice in my head whispered.
Yeah... and that’s what was bothering me so much.
“So what are you going to do now?” Juliet asked, trying to clear the air. “Any plans, really?”
“Yeah,” I said. “I plan on going to Nathan's house in two days.”
She stared at me like I’d just announced I was going to murder someone.
To be fair, we kind of were going to,
my second voice chimed in.
Don’t get me started,
I thought back.
“Why?!” Juliet cried. “You’re not actually planning on fighting him, are you?”
I couldn’t help but smirk. “I’m guessing you know about the matches that go down in his backyard, don’t you?”
“I didn’t know you knew martial arts. I mean, I knew you were a fighter, but—”
“Actually, I’ve never been formally trained in my life.”
“Rico, he’s going to destroy you!” she said, panic rising in her voice. “Why are you going to fight someone who’s been training in MMA since they were a kid?!”
“Wow. Thanks for the massive morale boost, Juliet.”
“Rico, I’m serious!” She grabbed my arm. “I don’t want you getting hurt over me!”
“Fine. I won’t fight him because of you. I’ll fight him because I want to. Does that make you feel better, since it’s not about you anymore?”
“NO!”
You shouldn’t have said that shit,
the voice laughed.
It was obvious she was going to say no.
Shut the fuck up, me!
“
Either way, I plan on winning,” I told her. “Or at the very least, hurting his ego.”
Juliet frowned, looking confused. “Huh...? So you weren’t planning on exposing him at the party for being a rapist?”
“What is this, an anime or a TV drama?” I sighed. “Fuck the system. We had a whole-ass prosecutor trying to lock me up forever just because she didn’t like how a nigga talked to her in court. I don’t want to drag you through that same garbage system. It’ll just bring you more shame.” I gently placed my hands on her shoulders, looking right at her. “Just let me do this. Trust me, I won’t get too hurt. At best, hopefully I don’t get knocked out. But I need to do this. Just trust me.”
She rubbed my hands, staring deep into my eyes. “Anime protagonist much? You’re just going to keep running into fights you know you can’t win?”
“Does that make me Prince Charming?” I grinned.
“Just a little bit,” she whispered, a small smile breaking through.
Then... oh, God, then I heard a voice.
You talking about me?
my second voice asked.
No, fuck-nigga! I heard a real voice. It was different, but at the same time, it sounded so incredibly familiar.
“Rico?”
Naturally, I looked over. My jaw completely dropped when I realized who was standing there.
“Jasmine?!”
She was even more beautiful than the last time I saw her. I mean, boy... she was just, wow. She’d grown her hair out, and she had these cute little freckles scattered across her cheeks.
I mean, no Diddy,
the voice in my head whispered,
she was fine as a kid, too. But now? Shit, I’d put a baby in her so quick!
“
RICO!”
We both immediately ran toward each other. Jasmine jumped right into my arms, and I held her tight. I wanted to hold her forever and never let her go.
“It’s been forever!” she cried, burying her face in my neck. “I missed you so, so much! You’ve gotten a lot taller...” She pulled back slightly, rubbing my shoulders. “And buffer.”
“Well, you know,” I grinned, setting her down. “After getting bullied by your big-fat-ass brothers, I had to play football. But I missed you a lot, too, Jasmine. I haven’t seen you since the day I got locked up. How have you been?”
“I’ve been amazing...” she smiled. “Well, you know, as amazing as you can be while living with those two.”
“Facts, gang,” I laughed. We both couldn’t help but crack up.
Hey... you feel that?
the voice asked, suddenly sounding very alert.
'Feel what?' I thought.
Like somebody is trying to melt the back of our skull... and hers.
I slowly looked behind me, and I instantly felt like a total jackass. I’d gotten up so fast to meet my old friend that I’d completely forgotten Juliet was sitting right there on the bench.
But can you really blame me? Jasmine was technically my first girlfriend. We’d lost our V-cards to each other, and then we got forcefully separated for years because of my legal circumstances. Of course I missed her.
Juliet stood up from the bench, crossing her arms as she looked at us.
“Umm... Rico,” Juliet said, her dark lipstick twitching slightly. “Who is this?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. It was so rude of me not to introduce myself.” Jasmine walked over, holding out a hand. “I’m Jasmine Patterson. I really like your makeup, by the way. The whole goth aesthetic looks very nice.”
Should we tell her why she looks like that?
my second voice whispered.
Nope,
I thought.
Just let this happen.
Juliet took her hand, shaking it briefly. “Nice to meet you, I’m Juliet Rossi. I know this is kind of forward but... who exactly are you to him?”
Nah, she’s totally jealous,
the voice laughed.
I wasn’t worried about any of that. I was just worried about how Jasmine was going to respond.
“Oh, we grew up together,” Jasmine said. “He was my foster brother when he was in care. We got
really
close.”
Why did she have to say it like that?
the voice groaned.
“But umm...” Jasmine pointed between the two of us. “Are you two dating or something? I don’t want you to think some random girl is touching all up on your man.”
Me and Juliet just looked at each other for a second.
Fuck... what even are we?
the voice started panicking.
Friends? No... she literally tried to hump me. Boyfriend and girlfriend? Nah, that’s not it either. Hell, we cuddle with each other sometimes but never actually fuck. Uhh... shit, what do we even—
“
We’re friends,” Juliet said, her voice completely flat. “Close friends.”
...This girl is making it real easy, isn’t she?
Yeah, I can fucking see that. Thanks a lot, Captain Obvious.
“Wait...” I said, looking at Jasmine. “Do you go to school here? I know this campus is huge, but I’ve never seen you around.”
“No,” she smiled. “My new boyfriend goes here. We’ve been dating for a while, and I just came by to see him.”
Ouch...
the voice in my head winced.
Boyfriend, huh? Can’t even be mad about it, though. I mean, you haven’t seen her in years. It would be pretty fucking stupid to get jealous and possessive over a girl you haven’t seen since you were fourteen.
“
I’m happy for you,” I said, forcing a nod. “And what about your brothers? Do Tweedledee and Tweedledum still act the same?”
“Uhh... yeah,” Jasmine laughed. “It’s like they only got bigger and haven’t changed much. But surprisingly, they actually like him.”
Red flag,
the voice muttered.
Big-ass red flag.
“And you actually think you can trust a guy that your brothers approve of?” I asked, incredulous. “
Your
brothers?”
Juliet looked between us, her brow furrowing. “What’s wrong with her brothers?”
“Every fucking thing! They used to beat the shit out of me on the daily for no fucking reason. I can’t stand those big-back bastards. And this guy has their approval? I don’t trust that nigga either.”
“I mean... I kind of understand your concerns,” Jasmine said, trying to soothe me. “But he’s actually pretty sweet. And he’s an MMA fighter. He kicked both of their asses, so that was a huge bonus point.”
DAMN!
the voice cheered.
Okay, he is pretty cool, I guess.
An MMA fighter on campus who kicks ass. I didn’t think too much about the connection at the time. I was way too distracted by everything else going on to put two and two together.
“Well, I have to go meet up with him,” Jasmine said, stepping back. “It was really good to see you again, Rico.”
“You too, Jasmine.”
She stepped in close, gave me a soft kiss on the cheek, and then turned to walk away.
Aww... damn...
I thought, rubbing my cheek slightly.
There go those residual feelings again. Old feelings die hard.
“
An old feeling?”
I jumped, completely caught off guard. Juliet was staring right at me.
“Huh?! What?!” I stammered, my face getting hot. “She was my foster sister. What are you even talking about?”
“As a girl, I can tell,” Juliet said, her voice quiet but knowing. “I can tell she still loves you. After all, it wasn’t your fault you guys got separated. You got locked up protecting her, so those feelings don’t just die. Maybe she’s only dating this new guy to cope with not having you.”
I looked at her, stunned. “Is that why you told her we were just friends? Even though our relationship is... well, unpredictable, to say the least?”
“Well...” Juliet shrugged, a small smile playing on her lips. “I tried to pass you the ball, but you keep fumbling it.”
“Hey! I got game like that,” I protested. “Ain’t nobody fumbling shit. I just have high respect for you and don’t want to make you think I’m only after—”
Before I could even finish my sentence, Juliet grabbed me by the shirt collar, pulled me down, and kissed me right there in the middle of the quad.
What the fuck?!
the voice in my head screamed.
She pulled back, her eyes soft as she looked up at me.
“I may have gone through a traumatic experience with a man, but I don’t hate men,” she said, her fingers lightly brushing my cheek. “Not you, at least. Just keep your door open for the possibility.”
She turned and walked away, leaving me standing there like a statue. I rubbed my lips with my thumb, feeling the faint trace of her lipstick.
“Awww... fuck,” I muttered to the empty air. “Not the triangle... Bro, why...?!”