Chapter 3
“Shit!”
The flower shop had just opened for business. I looked out the window and saw Deacon approaching. I shouldn’t have been surprised by his visit after the conversation we had yesterday. His number was still blocked, and there was no telling how many texts and voicemails he’d attempted to send.
“What do you want, Deacon?” I asked before he could greet me.
“I can’t come and see my baby mama?”
“I’d rather you didn’t, but your son hasn’t seen you in two months.”
“I tried to see him yesterday, but he wasn’t where he was supposed to be. I spoke with the lady who runs the center, and she said he can come back.”
“He’s not going back to that center. You didn’t hold up your end of the bargain, and?—”
“Fuck that!” he shouted, slamming his fist on the counter, causing me to jump. “He’s my damn son, and he goes where the fuck I say he goes.”
“He’s not going?—”
Before I could finish my sentence, Deacon had reached across the counter and grabbed my neck.
“Do you need a reminder of how this works?”
“Let me go!” I gasped as his hand tightened around my neck.
I used one hand to try to pry his from my neck while the other held a pen. I swung it toward his face, and it made contact with the corner of his eye, causing him to release me.
“Fuck!” he shouted, covering his eye.
“Leave before I call the police.”
He looked at the hand that was covering his eye, and blood covered the inside.
“You bitch!”
When he reached over the counter to try to grab me again, the door swung open, and Rosemary entered.
“Nigga, get the fuck away from my sister before I bash your head in!” she yelled while swinging an aluminum bat she kept in her car.
Blood dripped from Deacon’s eye down the side of his face. He reached up to wipe it with the back of his hand, keeping the other eye on Rosemary.
“We were just talking,” he lied.
“Conversation is over. Get the fuck out,” she demanded.
“Goodbye, Deacon,” I said.
He looked at me angrily as he walked backward toward the door.
“Remember what the fuck I said. You got until Monday.”
We watched as he stormed out, hopped in his car, and sped off.
“Are you okay?” Rosemary asked, rushing behind the counter.
“I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? I can see his handprint on your neck.”
My hand went to my neck, and I gently rubbed it while replaying what had just happened.
“I’m good. I should’ve expected his ass to show up after our conversation yesterday. He’s pissed because I enrolled Briar in the new center.”
“Oh, he finally realized it?”
I nodded. “He finally decided to pick him up yesterday and called me talking shit when they told him he was no longer enrolled.”
“Fuck him. I wish his ass would just disappear.”
“Don’t say that, Rose.”
“Why not? Briar is damn near invisible to him anyway.”
“True, but that’s still his father.”
Rosemary shrugged and rolled her eyes. “Is that what you call him?”
“I keep hoping that one day Deacon will wake up and do right by his son. Having an active father is just as important as having an active mother.”
“I agree, but not when the father picks and chooses when to be one. Let’s not mention how he treats the woman who made him a father.”
Rosemary was right, but I still hoped Deacon would be the kind of father Briar needed one day.
“We have a few orders to put together for afternoon pickup. Let’s get to work.”
“You always change the subject when anyone brings Deacon up. Do you still have feelings for him?”
“Ugh! Absolutely not. Why would you ask me that?”
“Because sometimes it feels like you’re holding space for him.”
“How, Rose? I only want him to be a father to his son. Is that so bad?”
“Deacon is a worthless piece of shit who used you as a punching bag for years. Why would you want Briar to be around someone like that?”
“He never did it in front of Briar, and he’d never hurt him.”
“Fuck that, Rue. Hurting you is hurting Briar. If you?—”
“Rose, please. Deacon and I aren’t together anymore and will never be together again. Can we get to work now?”
She huffed and folded her arms across her chest. Rosemary was the most outspoken and stubborn out of the six of us. If she had something to say, she didn’t hold back.
“Fine.”
“Thank God!” I mumbled, walking away.
We worked in silence until the first customer of the day entered the store. I came from the back when I heard my sister talking to someone. When I saw who it was, I almost dropped the vase I was holding.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
“Rue, that was rude!” Rosemary shouted.
Rocky looked at me when he heard my voice, and he was obviously surprised to see me.
“Let me guess…You work here.”
“Yes, I’m one of the owners.” I made it to the front counter and placed the vase down.
“Interesting.”
“What’s so interesting about a woman owning and working in a flower shop?”
“Wait a minute. Do you two know each other?” Rosemary asked.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Why are you lying? I don’t know you,” I denied.
“Why are you lying? We met yesterday.”
“That doesn’t mean we know each other. This is the asshole that had Briar on the back of his bike. He?—”
“Hold up. You ain’t gotta call me outta my name. I came here to buy flowers for you to apologize for our disagreement yesterday.”
“Aww, that’s so sweet,” Rosemary cooed.
“You did?” I responded. I was surprised as hell.
“Yeah, but I’m—Are those bruises on your neck?”
For the second time that morning, my hand went to my neck.
“Huh?”
“C’mere.”
“Huh?”
“You can’t hear now? C’mere,” he repeated with more bass than the first time.
I didn’t know this man well enough to succumb to his demands, but somehow, I ended up on the other side of the counter within arm’s reach of him. He removed his phone from his back pocket and turned on the light.
Without asking, he gently grabbed my chin and tilted my head back. He used the light to get a better look at my neck, and when he released me, I was taken aback by the anger in his eyes.
“Who did this?”
“Nobody, I?—”
“Don’t lie to me, Rue. Somebody had their hand around your neck. The only acceptable answer is that your man did this while he fucked you against the wall.”
“Damn,” Rosemary whispered.
“How dare you talk to me like that! You have?—”
“Answer the question.”
“It was her ex,” Rosemary responded before I could.
He looked back and forth between me and Rosemary.
“What’s his name?”
“Deacon Lewis,” she continued.
“Rosemary, shut up!”
“Deacon Lewis from the Westside Riders?” he questioned.
“You know him?” I asked.
He chuckled…but in a sinister way. “Nah, not really. Does he put his hands on you often?”
“Not since they broke up, but he felt froggy today.”
“Rose, shut up!” I shouted again.
“Is he Briar’s father?” I nodded. “That’s unfortunate. I hope you choose better in the future. So look, since getting you the flowers to apologize fell through, I’m taking you to dinner instead.”
“I’m not going to dinner with you.”
“What time should I pick you up?”
“I’m not?—”
“Seven should be fine,” Rosemary interjected.
If looks could kill, I’d be down one sister. “If you don’t shut up, Rose. Why do you keep?—”
“See you at seven. Wear something casual,” Rocky said before turning to leave.
“Wait. I didn’t say—Hold on. Hey! Hold on!”
My pleas fell on deaf ears, and Rocky continued out of the shop, never looking back.
“Look at you going out on a date. I can’t wait to tell the flowers.”
“What is wrong with you? I am not going out with that man. He’s rude, disrespectful, and?—”
“Sexy as fuck. Girl, you ain’t had no dick since you left your trifling, broke, baby daddy. Rocky looks like he’s holding something heavy between his legs, and I bet he knows exactly what to do with it.”
“Well, I sure as hell won’t be finding out. Thank God he left before getting our address.”
I turned to head to the back of the store before Rosemary’s words gave me pause.
“He’ll probably just get it from Briar’s paperwork. By the way, I’ll watch him for you tonight, and don’t worry about rushing home.”
“Shit!”