Page 27 of B.D.E
I stepped forward in a daze, drawn by the smell and her voice.
“Mama?”
Before she could answer, I heard the familiar game show music playing from the living room. Daddy was in his recliner,remote in one hand, and a glass of sweet tea in the other. Wheel Of Fortune buzzed on the screen while he shouted out the letter like he was on stage. His laugh echoed through the house.
“I told y’all it was Mississippi Riverboat,” he said, shaking his head.
When he turned to me, his whole face lit up.
“There go my baby girl,” he said, holding out his arms.
I moved toward him, barefoot. Mama turned and smiled at me, her eyes soft like they always were when she knew I was carrying something heavy. I stood frozen in the doorway between them, my chest tight. They looked so real… so alive.
“Your stronger than you think, baby girl,” she said, wiping her hands on a towel.
Daddy kissed my forehead and tapped my chin. “Just be careful who you follow into the dark.”
“And embrace what comes next, Dumplin’,” Mama said smiling.
Then the room rippled like water as their faces softened like fog.I woke up with a sob caught in my throat, as tears streamed down my cheeks before I could even blink. My chest ached a deep tightness that came from missing them so badly it hurt to breathe. The room was dim with the early morning shadows stretching long across the floor. I sat up slowly, clutching the sheets to my chest with my heart still pounding from the dream.
They felt so real.
I touched my face, wiping the tears away. That dream had shaken something loose in me. Not fear… not longing, but something like a warning clinging to the edges of my memory. I wanted so bad to go back to sleep and keep dreaming… to ask her what was next, but sleep was long gone for me now. I reached over, realizing that Ghost’s side of the bed was empty. I slid out of bed and grabbed the shirt I’d worn the night before, one of his that draped over my thick thighs like a dress. My bodywas still humming from the night before, and the night before that. He had no business fucking me the way he did. No business making me feel this alive, this raw, this… seen.
The house was quiet as I moved around, checking to see if he was here. I moved barefoot across the hardwood floors, past the kitchen and into the room he called his office. It looked like a normal office at first glance with just a desk and a chair, but something was off. Ghost didn’t look like he wrote invoices and checked emails at his desk, and this definitely wasn’t a life balanced with 9 to 5’s. The desk drawer was slightly cracked. I hesitated for a second, looking around to make sure he wasn’t there, then pulled it open. There was a sleek zippered pouch that had multiple passports, a gun with the clip and some folders.
Why in the world would he need all these passports?
A photo sticking from under the folders caught my eye. I picked it up, squinting at the faded image. It looked like Ghost, only younger. Maybe about fifteen or sixteen, with the same hard stare like life had already chewed him up and spit him out. He was standing next to a handsome man with gray hair and a sharp black suit. His hands were resting on Ghost shoulder like they were family or something. They both wore the same expression, stone faced like neither trusted the other. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think that they actually hated each other. I distinctively remember Ghost had mumbled once when he was half asleep in my bed, something about someone named Gideon and betrayal. I’m guessing from the picture that this had to be Gideon. Something about the man’s presence in this photo set off a quiet alarm in my chest. I remember the tension in his voice when he said his name. Whatever it meant, it couldn’t be good.
This man meant something to Ghost.
I stared at the photo for a while, trying to make sense of what I’d been brought into. What I agreed to by following Ghost out of my café and into the dark. I thought about calling Torijust to hear her voice. She’d know what to say, she always did. Even when I didn’t take her advice, she was always intentional and pure when it came to our friendship. Everything had gotten too dangerous so quick, and I didn’t want to put her at risk, so I decided to wait a while before reaching out to her. I knew she was going crazy not hearing from me and probably put out a missing person’s report once she realized that the café was closed and I was nowhere to be found. That woman didn’t play about me.
I set the photo down and closed the drawer, but the weight of it stayed with me. Ghost was just dangerous because of what he did. He was dangerous because of who he belonged to… or used to. I walked into the kitchen and made some coffee to busy my hands, but my head kept spinning. What was I really doing here? Who had I fallen for? The truth was, it didn’t matter because I was in too deep now. I had fallen for Ghost so hard, and I didn’t want to get up. Every time he touched me, I felt like a new version of myself. More alive… more addicted to him. I didn’t even recognize myself anymore and it was terrifying.
By the time the front door opened, and Ghost stepped inside, I was pacing the living room with my nerves shot all over the place. He looked good, rough, but good as hell. He was dressed in all black, the only color I’d really ever seen him in.
Focus Ivy! We need answers.
I quickly snapped out of Lala land and stepped right into his path with my arms crossed.
“We need to talk.”
“What’s up. You good, Specs? He questioned.
“No,” I said, planting my feet. “I’m not. I need to know what’s going on. You made me leave everything behind; my home, my business, my life, and I came because I trust you. But, if you keep treating me like I’m just some bitch you’re fucking and not someone you give a fuck about, I will walk out that damn door.Do I even mean anything to you at this point or am I just a sweet piece of in-house pussy?” I let it rip into his ass, and I was even shocked at myself for how I reacted, but I stood my ground with my game face on, and I was serious about it. I needed answers, or I would surely pack my stuff back up and hitch a ride back to Rosehall.
He stared at me as the silence cut through the room. His face was unreadable and all the courage I once had was replaced with fear.
“I-I’m not playing, Ghost. If you want me to stay, you need to tell me the truth. I hate being in the dark and I feel like you owe me that much to let me know if my life is in danger,” I sighed.
He rubbed his hand down his jaw and sighed, like he was thinking about it.
“Sit down, Specs.” He murmured low. “Because I’m about to lay all this shit out for you. Remember, you said you trusted me.”
CHAPTER 17
