33. Knox
KNOX
I’m going to be convicted of murder. Plain and simple.
And there won’t be any fighting the conviction either, because I’m very likely to bludgeon Sebastian in the middle of the town square.
It’s taken a lot of convincing to get Anna out of her apartment, and I’m beginning to regret it.
I assured her Sebastian’s goons wouldn’t be stupid enough to attack her, especially in public and especially with me right next to her, but I underestimated just how stupid and petty an ex can be.
Sure, Sebastian isn’t physically going after her.
He’s just being a fucking nuisance. And I’ve had about all I can stomach of this festering douche nozzle.
I just wanted to take Anna out on an actual date night when she wasn’t working at the Slaughterhouse, but Richie Rich here is making that impossible.
Sebastian shows up at every goddamn place we go or (even more unsettling) is already there waiting for us.
The following two weeks consist of me trying again and again to give Anna a nice, peaceful night out on the town, only for it to be spoiled.
We’ve gone to the movie theater, the harvest festival, a bookstore, and several restaurants (including a sushi place, since Sebastian is allergic), but guess who’s always there?
And guess who’s forced to leave?
Apparently, this isn’t new to his repertoire of harassment, because Sebastian already did this shit to Anna after she broke up with him.
Still, there’s an additional creep factor this time around.
Anna safely assumed he had learned of her whereabouts through social media since at least one of her friends would usually post about where they would be going. But that isn’t the case this time.
Clearly, we’re being followed, but that only accounts for some of his appearances.
How did Sebastian know we would be seeing the 7:45 show at the Cineplex? Not only that, how did he book the seat right beside the ones we reserved online and already be sitting in it when we arrived?
How was he already in two of the restaurants before we even got there?
Does he have some kind of super-stalker powers? Because I hadn’t even shared my plans with Anna, let alone anyone else, before we went to some of these places.
My girl emerges from the shower, ready to discard her towel in favor of pajamas, which can only mean one thing. She’s settling in for the night. Once those drawstrings are tied, she’s not leaving the apartment.
I pluck them out of her hands, determined to find somewhere we can go, but I’m out of ideas. I can’t afford to take her to the Borough without needing to sell a kidney, and anywhere else has already been exhausted or will be a prime target for Sebastian.
“What about your end of the city?” she asks. “Surely there’s somewhere you go to have fun near your house.”
I laugh. “The only places you can go that don’t have a high chance of getting shot are the strip club and the riverboat.”
To my surprise, my little canary perks up at this. “Riverboat? Like a casino ?”
I didn’t peg her as a gambler, but she’s genuinely interested when I confirm that, yes, I’m referring to the River Queen’s Revenge.
She kisses my cheek and disappears inside her closet. “Give me a half hour.”
I feel stupid going through so much trouble to ensure Sebastian and his cronies aren’t following us, but given Anna’s excitement, I don’t want him spoiling things.
That’s why I take her to a party at Michael’s place, just so we can use it as a diversion and slip out the back door to avoid further surveillance.
The ordeal takes a good half hour out of our night, and we have to borrow Dominic’s motorcycle that he’s left us on the next street over, but it’s worth the hassle.
In less than ten minutes, we’re pulling into the parking garage across the street from the waterfront.
Since everyone here is going to the same place, the city built a skybridge connecting the parking garage to the casino’s entrance, and Anna is all but skipping down the ramp to the front.
Of all the things she’s seen, this is apparently a new one for her.
To be fair, there’s nothing quite like the River Queen’s Revenge in these parts.
Designed to look like a smaller version of the Mississippi Queen, this riverboat casino remains docked at what used to be the Valley’s prime real estate.
Back in the day, before the area went to shit, this place reportedly earned the presence of minor celebrities, politicians, and musicians every weekend.
Now, it’s mainly a source of nostalgia, a quick getaway from the crime out on the streets, or a straight-up addiction.
You might be wondering why on earth a casino is in a riverboat nowadays instead of in a building, which is fair.
Back in the day, operating a casino on land was illegal, so when the Illinois’ Riverboat Gambling Act was passed back in the nineties, the River Queen’s Revenge took advantage.
This new law allowed casinos to operate so long as they were on water vessels.
Hence the number of docked casinos still around.
It may be legal now in most places to operate a casino on shore, but most places like The RQR remain on the water in favor of its aesthetic, not to mention tax loopholes.
The casino was built back in the mid-90s and hasn’t been updated since its inception.
The throwback photographs hanging up in the pub show the exact same interior and exterior, down to the ridiculously colorful carpet of the gaming hall.
Everything else, from the main lobby to the ballroom to the restaurants, is entirely made up of terrazzo tile, giving the impression that this place is far more upscale than it really is, but that’s part of its appeal.
Despite losing our jackets at the coat check, Anna is far too eager to explore every story of the riverboat, including the outside.
This may not seem like the first place that comes to mind for date night, but apparently, Anna hasn’t been gambling in a couple of years.
She’s also dressed in a way I’ve only witnessed via the videos I lifted from her computer.
The dark red mini dress Anna calls “velveteen” doesn’t even reach mid-thigh, and her tits are on full display.
It’s clubbing attire. Her hair has that messy wave that is somehow styled while also looking like she just took a roll in the hay.
And the fact that she’s downright giddy makes her simultaneously hot as fuck and absolutely adorable.
Anna looks at everything around her, but it’s not from paranoia. This place is cheesy as hell, and she only seems to like it more for that very fact. It’s like the festival. Everyone is just here to have fun, blow money, and get drunk off of cheap liquor.
For the past two months, I’ve had to come in here with a different mindset.
I usually stick with the slot machines, and there’s a strategy behind it that forces me to diligently observe everyone else playing over the course of an entire night and even into the morning.
Even then, I’m never guaranteed to walk away with any earnings.
It just increases the odds. When you’re struggling to get by day by day, it’s stressful as shit, and being able to walk around here without that methodology constantly playing in my head is a relief unto itself.
Watching my girl being able to breathe, to just enjoy being out, is the biggest relief of all.
We both knew pushing Lillian’s buttons would trigger her retaliation, and since I already overheard her talking about Anna’s connection to Sebastian, it was obvious my stepmother would task him with tormenting my canary.
Part of me just naively believed he’d back off to some degree when I was around.
And seeing what Anna’s like being Sebastian-free only makes the temptation to kill the fucker all the more tempting.
I never want this smile to leave her face, which can only be achieved by removing Sebastian from her life.
Permanently. But I’ll take the small blessing that is tonight, because she’s absolutely stunning.
Perhaps it’s from being cooped up for God only knows how long, but she reveres everything with a different kind of appreciation.
She had never been on a motorcycle until thirty minutes ago, she hadn’t ever been on a riverboat, and she hadn’t eaten an actual restaurant-prepared hamburger in ages.
But here we sit, with bacon burgers and steak fries in the restaurant on the third level, listening to a Michael Bublé impersonator performing in the lounge below.
She’s practically glowing, singing softly to the words between bites of food.
Anna mentioned last week that Sebastian’s bullshit had made her self-conscious about eating in public, yet she doesn’t have a care in the world right now. She’s so perfectly at peace.
It’s also strange how comfortable and exciting it is being around her.
Despite our relationship certainly not starting off on that foot, I imagine this is what it’s like when friends start dating.
There’s a familiarity here. A foundation.
I’ve explored every inch of her body. I know her face so well I could sketch it from memory.
I’ve learned the most intimate details of her life.
Yet, I’m seeing an entirely different side of her.
The one that only a real friend and partner could.
She’s not trying to impress anyone. She’s not trying to be funny or the life of the party or the “ideal” woman.
She’s not wearing the mask that every girl I’ve ever gone out with before always wore for the first few months.
She’s never tailored her likes and dislikes to what she thinks I want to hear, and she’s all too willing to admit when she loves something, even when she can tell I find some of her opinions questionable.