Page 149 of Rose
Sin stood next, already shaking his head. “Man, thirty-three. Nigga, you old,” he joked, making everyone laugh. “But you always been old—even when you wasn’t supposed to be. You carried the weight of this family. The blood. The sweat. The tears. And you didn’t complain not once.” He paused, swallowing hard, the humor falling away. “You more than my brother.” His voice cracked. “Like Gold said… you my hero. All them times you let me experiment on you, tear up the house, get beat for my mess and never once blamed me.” He shook his head. “You took hits for me that I could never pay you back for. The reason I’m successful today? Is because of you. Because of your sacrifice, your love, your protection. I love you, big bro. And just know—the shit you do for me never gets overlooked.” They locked hands and pulled into their signature handshake, a moment only brothers could share.
Macho followed, then Aunt Marley, then Olivia, each of them reading their own cards, offering words soaked in love, gratitude, and truth. Each voice added another layer to the man sitting at the center of it all. A man who had carried everyone for solong. Ahzii watched the way his jaw clenched, how he blinked slower, eyes glassy but dry. Tears threatened, but Savior didn’t let them fall.
When the last person sat down, silence settled briefly, thick with emotion. Savior turned to her, that crooked grin playing on his lips, eyes burning with something deep. “Thank you,” he said, leaning over to kiss her lips in front of everyone, not caring who watched.
And in that one kiss, she felt everything he couldn’t bring himself to say.
After dinner, the room shifted into easy mingling. Laughter echoed between flashes of cameras as family and friends huddled for pictures, drinks refilled, and joy spilled from every corner. Off to the side, Ahzii stood quietly, sipping her drink, eyes never straying too far from Savior. He was laughing, smiling, surrounded by his people. It was the kind of peace she never thought she’d see painted across his face. The kind of peace she never thought she could give.
“I can’t believe it.” Kyre’s voice cut into her thoughts as she appeared at her side, sipping from a short glass.
“What?” Ahzii asked, not looking away.
“You found love again.”
Ahzii laughed, shaking her head. “You and Ma with this love thing again…”
Kyre raised her brow, waiting.
“I like Savior. I care about him. But calling it love this soon is—”
“Scary,” Kyre finished for her. Their eyes met. Ahzii didn’t have to nod. She just sipped and let the silence fill what didn’t need to be said.
“You think I’m replacing William?” she finally asked, her voice low, fragile.
“No.” Kyre’s answer came quickly. “I think you’re healing. Slowly, and probably against your own will. But you’re making room again. That’s not replacement, Zii… that’s evolving.”
Ahzii looked back at Savior, who was now cheesing in a photo with Sin and Macho, Mazi throwing up peace signs behind his head. Her chest tightened, the conversation tugging at something she tried to keep buried.
“I thought I saw William today. At the park.”
Kyre turned sharply, her expression falling. “The visions are back?”
“I haven’t had one in weeks,” Ahzii said, voice soft. “But this wasn’t a vision. It felt real. Like... too real. He was just standing there. Watching.” She swallowed hard, replaying the image again in her head. “Why today? Why now when I’m finally getting to a place where I’m healing?”
“Because that’s what healing does,” Kyre said gently. “Sometimes, it scares the parts of you that only knew survival. Your mind is catching up to your heart, and your heart’s scared as hell to admit that William is really gone… and you might’ve found love with another man.”
Ahzii didn’t respond right away. She just stared across the room, where Savior was now leaning against the bar, drink in hand, locked in conversation with A’Mazi.
“So you and my sister?” A’Mazi asked, sipping slow, his tone unreadable.
Savior chuckled. “Nigga, just ask me what you really wanna ask me.”
“I know y’all fucking,” A’Mazi said bluntly. “But this don’t look like no casual shit. You love her?”
Savior choked on his drink, coughed, then laughed, the sound shaky. “Damn. I see how y’all twins for real.” He paused, glancing at Ahzii as she laughed with Aunt Marley and Kyre again. “Yeah,” he finally admitted, the word tasting foreign but right. “I do.”
It was the first time he’d said it out loud. He didn’t know what love felt like for most of his life, but whatever he felt for Ahzii—this pull, this need, this deep, unshakable peace—it had to be it.
“I already knew you did. Just had to hear you say it. All I ask is don’t break her. She already been shattered once. She gave everything to a man who died and left her drowning in the pieces. I can’t let her go through that shit again.”
Savior looked him in the eyes, not blinking. “I can’t speak for her past. But I promise you this… I’ll give her a better future. I’ll kill myself before I ever hurt Allure.”
A’Mazi studied him for a moment. Then nodded. “Aight. I approve.”
Savior exhaled, but before he could speak, his phone buzzed. A text lit up the screen.
Allure: My boundary, Sav. I need you.
