I pulled the door open and let them through while Juelz talked the entire time.
"Yeah, move along," Jessa said, bumping past him.
"Keep it up and I'm calling Apollo over here so he can have you tongue-tied again," Juelz fired back.
Jessa rolled her eyes and bumped his good shoulder on her way through. Aubree walked in behind her without so much as looking in his direction. Whatever he had done this time was apparently significant.
Juelz stepped inside last and immediately grabbed his shoulder like it had flared up on cue.
"I don't know how y'all treat me like this. After everything this shoulder has been through for y'all."
Solana walked by at exactly that moment and looked up at him with genuine concern.
"Is your shoulder actually still bothering you?"
He stepped right past me to answer her and I let him have it. I turned back to the door just as Money and Rico were jogging up the steps. I dapped them both and locked up behind them.
I stood in the middle of the hallway for a moment before moving further in.
I looked around at all of it. The family I had been born into and the family I had built filling up every corner of my house. Laughter coming out of the kitchen. The smell of food. The sound of Vinny and Jessa's voices carrying from the living room. My grandad back outside with his cigar and a fresh audience.
I never pictured this being my life. Not this version of it. Not something this full and this real and this mine.
And I knew exactly whose fault that was.
Like she felt it, Solana looked up from across the room and found me. She smiled that smile, the one she had stopped hiding, then made her way over and wrapped her arms around my waist.
"You alright?" she asked.
I leaned down and kissed her forehead, holding my lips there for just a second longer than I needed to.
"I'm more than alright, love."
And for the first time in my life, I meant every word of it.
3 MONTHS LATER…
It had beena long five months since everything with Henderson. I'd been in therapy, and I had even moved all my things into Duke's place. I couldn't go back to the apartment above the shop, not unless it was on a temporary basis. I couldn't close my eyes there and sleep peacefully. Even now.
The shop's significance never changed for me. It was still my choice and my one connection to my mother. I found myself rereading the letters she left me whenever I needed to feel closer to her.
Duke didn't find a single problem with my need to practically be in his skin these days. Even the town was aware of my full identity now. In their words, it didn't matter. Rose Haven had birthed and adopted many celebrities. They just wanted to make sure I would still be running my bakery.
After the shooting, I had to close it for a while until I felt mentally ready to go back. Unbeknownst to me, I should have gone back sooner. The moment I stepped back into that kitchen, a peace fell over me that I hadn't realized I needed.
It seemed like whenever I wasn't with Duke, I had a hard time. But the moment I got into that kitchen, all of that stopped. Tonight, Duke had been on a mission to take me on a date.
It wasn't often that we got dressed up. We were jeans and t-shirt people. It was funny to say that now, because before I came to Rose Haven it was all about glam and designer labels.
I stepped out every now and again in a designer outfit now that I was able to use my cards again. I still didn't deal with social media, at least not since I went looking to see what had happened to Desirae. The day after Henderson's rant, I reached out to the authorities and told them what he'd said.
Her body was found shortly after, stuffed in a freezer. I hated knowing that was how her life ended. Henderson had told me she had been helping him at one point, but when it mattered she told me the truth. I would always be grateful to her for that.
After that, I left social media behind. I didn't want to give the next psycho a chance to fixate on me.
My hair had grown past my shoulders, so I added a few curls. I was wearing a tight red dress that accented my pregnant belly. Shortly after the barbecue we'd had, I realized I hadn't gotten my period in a while. The months prior had been so hectic that I hadn't had a moment to think about it. I guess somewhere in the middle of all that chaos, a baby had decided to make its presence known. But I didn't mind one bit.
I rubbed my belly and smiled at my reflection in the mirror. For the first time, I felt like I deserved everything I was experiencing. Duke walked in wearing a pair of black slacks tailored to fit him perfectly, a dress shirt with a few buttons popped, and his all-black leather jacket.