Friend-Zoned (Friend-Zoned 1)

It never bothered me before. Just carry a gun and hope for them best.

This is different.

This affects Tina.

Ghost and Trick are delivering a garbage bag of half dead flowers to Uncle Jerm ri

ght now. If Omarr keeps going against Jerm, he’ll end up dead.

The anger makes my voice harder than it should be, “Yeah. I know, Max. But he’s toying with her. Fucking with Tina. I don’t like it. ”

Max shakes his head and concedes, “Me either. But let Uncle Jerm take care of it. You know he’ll fix it. ”

I do. I know Uncle Jerm is good people.

You see, there are good people who do bad things out of obligation. That’s Uncle Jerm. He looks after his family. His family are the Sixes.

As soon as I recognized Omarr on Sunday night I sent Ghost to get Tina the fuck away from him.

I knew he wouldn’t touch Ghost. If I had gone down there, anything could’ve gone down and there was no way I was putting Tina in danger.

Omarr is what you would call unstable.

I left the booth to cool off. Once I had got myself under control, I went back. I saw Tina’s face on the way. She looked lost. So fragile and miserable. It broke my heart.

Once I sat, she threw herself at me and I felt her tears on my neck. I took her to the ‘chill out’ room to hold her on the sofa and comfort her. As soon as we sat, the dam burst.

The fucker told Tina we we’re friends. And that he wanted her in his bed.

Rage boils in the center of me.

That cocky asshole is going to pay.

***

Nat and I have just walked into our apartment after a long day’s work.

We stopped to get burgers on the way home. It was a burger kind of day.

You know, the kind of day were psychopaths send you expensive flower arrangements and your friend across the street ignores you?

Yeah, that kind of day.

We enter and put our things down on the dining table. The only light on in the house is the kitchen down light. We leave this on so it looks like someone is home because we get home late some nights. Like robbers don’t know people do that.

You’re such a bright bulb.

As soon as I step in to the kitchen to flip the rest of the lights on, I freeze.

I can hear something in my bedroom. It sounds like shuffling footsteps.

Anxiety chews at my gut.

Craptastic.

I stop Nat with a hand on her arm, when she turns to look at my petrified face I motion to my bedroom and put a finger over my mouth.

Immediately, her eyes widen and she listens. When she hears what I hear, we have a silent conversation.