“So, you’re going to stay in your grandmother’s house? Are you sure you can handle that? You couldn’t even handle coming to her funeral when she passed away last year. How are you going to deal with living in a place surrounded by her things and all the memories they hold?”
It’s the first bit of information that I’ve learned about the house Xavier owns. It’s obvious that something about his grandmother strikes a nerve with him, which explains why he never wants to discuss the house that’s in his name.
“Paying all this money plus getting no pay during the suspension will nearly break my bank account. I won’t have the extra money to live in a hotel. There’s no other option.”
Nettie’s lips roll down into a frown. “If staying at that house overwhelms you, come back and stay in your old bed in the stockroom.”
Xavier gives her a small smile. “Thanks, but I don’t think both of us will fit on a twin mattress in a broom closet.”
“You come to us if you need anything.” Nettie reaches over and takes my hand. Her smooth brown skin is warm as it connects with mine. “That goes for you, too, Anna. Things get out of control, you let me and Carl know.”
“I will. Thank you,” I tell her.
Nettie pulls back and sighs. “Be careful down there, Xavier. Things have changed a lot. Bishop’s running things around the Block now, and when word gets back to him that you’re staying down there, he’s going to come looking for you. I don’t want to hear one peep about you getting mixed up with him again.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve learned my lesson on messing around with those guys. I don’t plan on going back to that life anytime soon.”
She slightly narrows one eye. “Better not. You’ve pulled yourself out of that gutter, and if you mess around and get tangled up with Bishop, old Nettie here is going to whip your butt.”
“Trust me, Nettie. As soon as this suspension is lifted in three months, I’m out of there, and you can go back to checking on the house while I’m gone.”
That answer seems to satisfy her. She lifts her hand and pats his cheek. “Don’t be strangers while you two are in town. Come in and eat whenever you want—on us.”
He lays his hand on top of hers while it rests on his face. “Thank you.”
Nettie takes in a long breath. “Let me go grab your keys from the office. I’ll be right back.”
Xavier reaches down and threads his fingers through mine. It sounds like going back to his old stomping grounds is going to be rough for Xavier. I’m not exactly sure who this Bishop person is, but from the worried expression on Nettie’s face when she was warning Xavier to stay away from him, I’d say he’s bad news.
Chapter 5
Xavier
The rumble of my bike’s engine echoes off the tightly knit houses in the run-down neighborhood that I once called home. Everything is just how I remembered it, except most of the tiny two-story houses now have boarded up windows. I never thought I would be back on this street—never wanted to either—but here I am, moving back into the one house I swore I would never set foot in again.
If it weren’t for my mother making me promise her to always be here at this house so that she could find me, I would not have bought the shithole my grandmother had owned. I felt obligated to buy it when the church she’d left it to put it up for sale. I never had any intention of living in the place that’s the center of most of my nightmares, but it’s where I figured Mom would find her way back to if she were an angel. Mom always came back here when she was fucked up on drugs. It was like she could find it even if she were out of her mind.
Every time I think about my mother, my mind always wonders about how things would’ve been different for me if she weren’t an addict. When I was young, I knew I wasn’t like the other kids at school. In my neighborhood, having a junkie as a parent was common, but most didn’t have to contend with a lunatic grandmother who was hell-bent on beating the demon out of them.
My bike bounces a bit when I turn into the driveway. The concrete is cracked and riddled with holes from years of neglect. If it weren’t for Nettie and Carl maintaining the place, I’m sure the rest of the place would be in bad shape, too.
I stare up at the brown house, and I zero in on the rusted wrought iron railing caging in the front porch like a prison. Quinn’s Honda parks directly behind me, and the girls get out of the car.
Quinn shields her eyes from the evening sun as she tilts her head up to examine the house. “You sure the two of you will be safe staying here? The neighborhood isn’t known to be a beacon of safety. Every shooting on the local news comes from this part of town.”
“He was raised here, Quinn. I’m sure Xavier wouldn’t bring us here if he thought we’d run into trouble.”
Anna’s sweet for saying that, but she’s aware this isn’t the safest place after the conversation we had with Nettie earlier.