Devil's Eyes

Chapter 30: Quixotic

She set the box down on the counter beside her and lifted his shirt to kiss his tattoos. Her small hands ran up and down the side of his torso. She looked at them go, she could even tell she was not the same person. Little things like getting her nails done every two weeks was her thing, but now she doesn't even remember the last time she stepped foot in a nail salon. "I miss the old me. I do..." She blurted. It was more a thought out loud. She didn't think she was gonna say it.

David placed her curls on the opposite side of her face, softly rubbing her scalp. "I'm so sorry, baby." Somehow in his mind this was his fault but she shook her head.

"You really are my Superman, you saved me." She knew if she wasn't all out of tears she'd be crying right now. David gave her a solemn smile, he didn't feel like a hero. Being able to kill people, funnel drugs into his community and profit off of people's addictions didn't feel like something a DC character would ever do. Sage saw things about him that made him the hero in her eyes. In their story, the hero is far from perfect, as hardly anyone is, but he finds a way to be perfect for her thus true love.

A ping went off from Sage's phone. She pulled it from her sweatpants and saw it was a text from her father. Her heart sank as she read it: we should talk, figlia. "It's my dad..."

"Then you should answer. Ion know, but that's all I got for now." Before it was like they were passive aggressively fighting over Sage. He came to realize they were so used to controlling her in different ways and how unhealthy it was becoming. He felt like he and her father were stunting growth from each other's personal relationship, overstepping boundaries.

Sage looked up and raised an eyebrow at him questioningly, "You think so?"

"Look, yo pops a weirdo," she rolled her eyes at him as he continued to talk, "but you only get one of them and your dad acts the way he acts cause he loves you. I wish I had the opportunity to reconcile with my pops, but he a psycho, your dad just really Italian and annoyin.' So fix it while you can is my point, you at least have that choice."

She smiled at him because not only was that really wise of him to say but it was mature. She knew David resented her father for several reasons but she was proud that he could put that aside and be fair in his assessment. Dave was more concerned with her taking the control of her life again, but for better this time. He knew his own personal feelings about the father role clouded his judgement, but he also knew that no one was perfect. Parenting didn't come with a handbook or an easy way out and he sure as hell was going to find himself struggling when his baby was born, it'd all be worth it though. "With yo goofy ass smile." He teased, pushing her shoulder playfully.

"You make me so happy," she buried her head into his chest, her favorite spot. His body smelled of his favorite cologne and body wash. Sometimes he cleared her mind with his little wise moments.

"Yeah yeah yeah, it's cause I love you or whatever." He said wrapping his arm around her. He bent down and whispered into her hair, "My forever girl."

***

"Whatcha doin'?" Aubrey asked, plopping down on the bed next to Ella. He snaked his arm around her waist as she clicked away on his laptop. "I ain't never seen you do no homework before."

"This ain't homework, I pay people for that. It's actually me trying to figure out my life," she clicked through all the websites from colleges she got into this far and she didn't even know if she still wanted to go, "And I don't know what I want to do with my life."

Aubrey reached over and closed the laptop shut. "Aubreyyyy," she groaned but he just looked at her, "Why'd you do that?" She fell back, sinking into the comforter of the bed.