Page 56 of Better as It

“I wasn’t taken.”

The world tilts.

“What?”

She sighs, stepping further into the room, folding her hands in front of her. “I reached out to them. After court.”

I blink. “You, what do you mean?”

Ms. Henderson exhales. “I didn’t know, before. I didn’t know Benji’s death was part of a targeted hit. I thought it was random. A tragedy. But when I learned what really happened? That someone planned it? That it was about that club, this gang he was in” she spits the word like poison, “I realized something.”

I stare, frozen.

She keeps going, voice low, measured. “You’re carrying the last piece of him. And I’m not going to let that club take it. I’m not going to let you have the last part of my son.”

“That club embraced Benji.”

“They got himkilled.”

Her voice rises.

“They let him run with criminals. They dragged him into that ride. And now they’ve got you wrapped up in their filth too. With a new man. Another patched member. Am I right? I have pictures of you with that tattooed man. Cartoons inked all over his body like he’s a walking comic strip. How cute. You aim real high. Trash like your mother and her mother. Consider this my way to break the generational curse in your family.”

I don’t answer.

Tears blur my vision, but I hold them back. She won’t see me break. She doesn’t get to have power over me.

She takes a step forward. “You moved on so fast, Dia. My son was barely cold and in the ground.”

I choke. “You think this is about moving on?”

She ignores me. “I took what was left of Benji’s life insurance. I paid those men to bring you here. You’ll stay until the baby is born. Then I’ll take him—or her—and leave. Somewhere far from this town. From the Hellions. From all of it.”

My head shakes violently. “No. No, you won’t. You won’t get my son.”

“I will.” She laughs manically.

“You’ll have to kill me first.”

She blinks, like that possibility doesn’t disturb her at all. “I don’t want to hurt you, Dia. I just want to save the last part of my son. But if you make me get violent, I can’t be held responsible for what I do.”

Desperate, I let the words tumble out. “This child might not even be his.”

Ms. Henderson’s lips tremble, but she nods. “I know. But I pray that it is. And even if it isn’t... it’s what’s left of you. And you were his, once. That’s enough. You don’t get to have it all. My son’s love, his last days, and his baby. Not when I’m left empty.”

I back away, heart slamming against my ribs. She wants my son. She wants my baby. I feel my world spinning as my anxiety climbs. I have to think. I have to be smart. I have to buy time until Toon comes. The Hellions will come for me. And she will learn why he has his road-name. Everyone thinks it’s all cartoons and fun around Justin until he flips. And then the joke’s on whoever set him off because he has a mean streak as big as the Nile my brother says. Don’t ever mistake his easy going personality as weakness and don’t ever think he’s a fool or a toon, he’s anything but.

“I will scream until they break down this door.”

“No one will come. They’ve been paid to follow orders. You’ll have food. You’ll have rest. And when the time comes,”

“Don’t,” I snap. “Don’t you finish that sentence.”

She stares at me, emotionless. Then she turns. “Sleep, Dia. Rest. You’ll need your strength.”

The door closes behind her. And I collapse onto the bed, shaking so hard I can barely breathe. I think about Justin. The way the ink covering his body is full of color, full of life. That is what he gives me that no one else can, he colors my world, making our love so vivid and vibrant. I’m not giving up on him, on this baby, and on the future I am going to have with Justin.

Hours Pass

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