Page 42 of Standing In The Sun

Ahvi sighed, “Sounds good, but what if I don’t even know where the first step at?”

Miss Deb lifted a thin, graying brow. “That ain’t true. You just scared to take it.”

That sat in Ahvi’s chest a little too heavy because she reallywasscared.

Scared of failing, scared of struggling even more than she already had, scared of what came next when her whole life had been snatched from her hands for the past month. Granted, her past life was barely worth a damn, but it was hers.

Miss Deb studied Ahvi’s soft feminine features even though she wanted to be as hard as a man. “Let me tell you somethin’ I learned the hard way… life don’t get no easier, butyouget smarter. You get tougher. You learn what’s worth fightin’ for and what ain’t. And from what I done seen? You got somethin’ worth fightin’ for. So quit overthinking and take the next damn step.”

Ahvi swallowed, her throat tight. She didn’t say anything…didn’t have to.

Because she was gonna fight…for herself…for Kamari…for the life she knew she deserved.

She just had to get out of this place first. They needed to hurry up and let her out. Her cot had been packed up since morning roll call and now it was all just a waiting game.

The prison system would snatch you up quick but when it was time to let you go, they’d drag their damn feet.

Ahvi had been up since before dawn, pacing the tiny cell, waiting for them to call her name. But the minutes stretched into hours.

Miss Deb had already dozed off twice. “Girl, they ain’t gon’ rush for you,” she said, yawning. “You might as well sit your ass down.”

And she tried. She really did. But every tick of the clock had her heart pounding harder. She exhaled when they called her name.

“Ahvi Farooq!”

Ahvi damn near jumped up before the guard even finished calling her.

Miss Deb just smirked. “Go on, then. And remember what I said, with yo’ pretty self.”

Ahvi nodded, gripping her cot one last time before stepping out.

The walk through the facility felt different.The cold walls and the buzzing fluorescent lights wasn’t home, but she had been in here long enough and too many times for it to leave a mark on her.

She passed by a few familiar faces - some offered small nods while others looked away from jealousy or sadness in their eyes. Not everybody got to walk out of here.

The guards barely acknowledged her as they led her through the process. First stop, she retrieved her property.

It was weird watching them slide her old clothes across the counter like she was checking out of a damn hotel. She pulled on her shorts and graphic tee, feeling almost like herself again. Then, they walked her through the gates and to the front door.

Ahvi stepped through, the air hitting her skin like a baptism. It smelled different out there, it felt like freedom.She laughed to herself at how dramatic she was being after only serving thirty days . Those thirty days without Kamari felt like a lifetime though.

She looked around the parking lot, searching for her ride.

And standing right there, like something out of a dream, stood Lunar.

Leaning against the side of an all-black Range Rover in a designer t-shirt, chains sitting against his chest and arms crossed in that effortless way of his? The sun flickered against his deep brown skin casting a glow around him that made him look untouchable.

Ahvi damn near stopped breathing. Having phone conversations and talking to him across a metal table in visitation didn’t feel anything like seeing him right now.

He was leaning against his car, looking like a whole angel in disguise-- if angels wore designer jeans and gold chains that gleamed in the sun. His hair had a sheen that coated his waves beautifully. His beard was lined to perfection, and when his eyes landed on her, that slow, cocky smirk spread across his lips.

Her body reacted before she could stop it. Skin heating up, stomach flipping, heart pounding in a way that had nothing to do with nerves.

Over the last thirty days, everything had changed. Her whole life had flipped upside down. Now she was standing there, looking at the man who had been holding it together while she was locked away, and all she wanted to do was kiss him. But life didn’t work that way, their friendship had bloomed over the last month and she didn’t even know what was next for them in their weird lives.

“Damn,” Lunar muttered, pulling her head out of the clouds. “They got you in there lookin’ rough as hell.”

He joked at her bushy edges and wrinkled clothes. Even in his jokes, he knew Ahvi was fine regardless.

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