Page 124 of Rose
He’d grown used to it.
But the part that still cut deep—the wound that never closed—was what he never had. A mother’s love. The kisses. The warmth. The smiles. Thesoftness. He didn’t get that. And if he was honest?
It fucked him up. Bad.
He never said the wordlove.Not like that. The only time it left his lips was in the goodbye his siblings tossed around—All love.Casual. Hollow. Never the kind that made your chest rise. Never the kind that made you want to give someone yoursoul.The kind that made your heart thump like a war drum and stole the breath from your lungs.
He thought he’d never feel that. Not in this lifetime.
Until Ahzii.
It had only been a week since their museum date, but she was stillinhim. In his head. In his blood. That night, the way she opened up, it unraveled something in him. Something buried deep. She was broken, too. But in a way that mirrored him. And piece by piece, he was digging her out of that grave life had buried her in.
And fuck... he felt something strong for her. Stronger than he ever had for anyone.
But was it love?
He didn’t know. Maybe because no one ever showed him what that was supposed to look like. Maybe because Selene twisted the word into something poisonous. Savior didn’t want to call it love if he couldn’t mean it. He was intentional like that. Precise. Controlled.
So no—he wouldn’t put a name on it yet.
But whateverthiswas with Ahzii?
It was the realest thing he’d ever known.
“So, I hear you finally took the beautiful woman on the bike seriously?”
Aunt Marley’s voice broke through his clouded thoughts, dragging Savior back to the present. Smoke curled between them, soft and lazy in the golden hour light, while they chilled outside her backyard oasis.
She never needed a mansion. Aunt Marley’s home—a cozy, two-story house tucked into nature was enough. The inside wrapped you in warm greens, whites, and golds. Every inch was her—eclectic, earthy, sacred. The backyard was a slice of peace: a glistening pool, a patio where family game nights turned into therapy sessions, and her personal pride, a flourishing garden that fed both her soul and her meals.
This was where Savior always came to breathe.
He had a lot on his mind lately. And when the weight got too heavy, Aunt Marley was the only woman he trusted to hold it. She was the only mother figure he ever had.
“Yeah? Wonder who you heard that from,” he said, passing her the blunt with a lazy grin.
“You should know by now—I knoweverything,baby,” she replied, taking a pull, her eyes narrowing on him. “So… do you love her?”
Savior let out a deep chuckle. “Damn, Auntie. You just gone throw that out there with no warning?”
She laughed too, but the moment settled into something real. Something heavy.
“Well,” she said, tapping ash off the tip, “I knew you liked her the second you killed that nigga behind her. And when I brought her up? Your whole face lit up like the Fourth of July. Smile you tried to hide and everything. So, nah… this ain’t no ‘like.’”
Savior shook his head with a smirk. Nothing got past Marley.
He didn’t have a relationship with his mother. Never had. But Aunt Marley filled that void, stitched that wound, and he was damn near sure she knew it. He was grateful for her.
“Shi... I don’t know,” he muttered, finally letting his guard down. “I was never shown love—especially not from a woman—so I don’t know how the fuck to feel, honestly.”
Aunt Marley gave a knowing nod, her expression soft. “I know you talkin’ about your mama... becauseIshowed you love. Don’t do me like that.”
That made him laugh again, a real one this time.
“But let me say this,” she continued, tone firmer now. “Don’t let what your parents did to you mess up a good thing. I don’t even know this woman, but Iseewhat you feel. It’s all over you. You love her, whether you know how to say it or not. And baby, youdeservelove. Even if they never gave it to you.”
He looked at her, a lump forming in his throat. The kind he didn’t know what to do with.
