Page 46 of See No Evil

“You look nice today,” he complimented her.

“Thank you.”

She wore a yellow blazer and a black dress beneath it, with a yellow belt around her waist. Some designer purse swung on her arm, and her thick deeply waved hair was parted on one side, swaying each time she took a step in her black heels. She smelled so damn good, and he liked her makeup. A little bit of lipstick and eyeliner. Not too much. Just right.

“…So when they called me at the last minute, I had no issue coming.” She kept on speaking to him as they walked out of the school, explaining the process of these types of speakingengagements and how she’d landed this opportunity. He’d respond, but his mind was far, far away. His heart was right beside her though, and his body craved her. “So… you want me to follow you back to your place now?” she asked as they exited the school, the sun practically blinding him.

The way she asked, it was almost as if she were expecting for him to refuse her, once again. It broke his heart.

“Yeah, follow me back to my place.” She nodded as they walked to their respective cars in the parking lot. In his mind, he had a different scenario that was playing out. This version was riddled with errors and pitfalls. In his imagination, the first time she came over to his place, there was supposed to be sexy music playing, a bouquet of flowers waiting for her, rose petals all over the bed, candles lit, and a homemade five course dinner served, with a bottle of good wine. Instead, large, ratty knots bundled in his stomach and squeezed, and his brain felt as if it were going to explode. There wasn’t anything prepared for her at his home, except horrid plans he refused to back away from, and nightmares that refused to back away from him.

‘…You ain’t afraid of much at all.’Ms. Florence’s words ebbed into his contemplations as he got into his truck. He sat there for a second, composing his thoughts. She’d said it in his dreams, more than once as of late. He recalled her saying that to him when he was a new student in her class, too, when he’d decided it was a good idea to challenge her authority. He saw this tall, big boned Black woman with natural hair, glasses, and a voice that probably could move mountains. Her touch was gentle, her aura commanding. Regardless, he refused to be punked. He declined to listen to her upon their first meeting. He later recognized her tone of sarcasm as she made this statement. She could see right through his façade. What he took as a compliment was indeed an insult. His teacher, his mentor,his confidant saw his scars, tears and emotional bruises, hiding under false bravado and machismo.

She saw beyond the Wiz’s curtain, the bloody smokescreen. He was a thin kid who managed to scare other children regardless of his lack of muscle definition and lanky limbs. He loved being feared—it was like a cup of good morning coffee to him.Mama said evil resided in me.He believed for so long, she’d put it there. He was a tough boy. A rough boy. A mean and unruly boy. He was a violent child. One who cussed out adults. Fought and bit, kicked and screamed. He was an angry child. Uncontrollable. Entered the criminal life early. It started with stealing and running away, then escalated to violence and drug dealing. He had no idea how he’d not become a drug addict himself.

He supposed it was by the grace of God that he didn’t have much interest in taking any pills or powders. Axel and he met first. They both were good at baseball, and had detention together. Then Caspian came. All of them nuisances at school—deemed intellectually bright, but emotionally unbalanced.

Noticing his street approaching, he looked into his rearview mirror to see Desiree, bobbing her head to some song no doubt. Whatever she was listening to, it made her happy, and he couldn’t ask for more, especially since he realized her joy would be short-lived on account of him. He pulled into the small parking lot of his apartment complex, and she pulled up right beside him. After she was out of her car, he took her hand, walked to his front door, and unlocked it. Once they were inside, he immediately heard his dogs barking.

He locked the front door and set the alarm.

“The dogs are in the guest room. I didn’t want them to bombard you right away.”

“Oh, so you want them to just bombard me later? Let’s just get the bombarding over with now. I like to get bad stuff out the way first.” They both laughed at that.

“They’re actually good dogs, just hyper and because of their size and breeds, sometimes people are afraid when they see them. But it’s your call. You really want to see them now? I’ll make sure nothin’ happens, of course.”

“Yeah, why not?” She slipped her jacket off and slung it on the back of a chair.

“Okay, that’s cool. Make yourself comfortable, baby.” He went to the guest bedroom, and opened the door. Dior rushed past her male companions, leading the pack. She was the queen and the supreme ruler after all. The one in charge. He immediately grabbed her by her dark red leather collar, told her to heel. Placing leashes on all of their collars, he marched them out of the room, their straps secured around his wrist and palm. They traveled down the hall, into the living room where Desiree sat, her long legs crossed beneath her dress, looking pretty as she pleased. Her eyes grew large and she reached for her necklace, twirling it fretfully between her fingertips.

“These definitely aren’t puppies. The only breed you’re missing is a Pitbull. My God. Did you go to a breeder and say, ‘Give me the biggest and deadliest dogs you have?’”

“Baby, it’s cool. I got them. SIT!” All three of them sat down at the same time.

“This here is my baby, Dior. The Rottweiler. She’s the youngest, but tries to beat the other two up all the time. I got her from a breeder as a puppy. That right there is Trigger, my German Shepherd. He was a retired show dog. Last but not least is my Doberman, Tank. Got him from the shelter. He was going to be put down after bein’ used in dog fights.”

“They’re looking right at you, like they won’t do anything without your permission. Wow.”

“I trained them myself since at the time, I couldn’t afford for them to be in obedience school. I just got some books and looked at online videos.”

“You just couldn’t have a Chihuahua or Poodle, could you?” She slowly stood up. “Should I walk up to them or something? I ain’t had a dog in so long.” She laughed nervously.

“Nah, just stay right there.” He whistled, then pointed. “Up.” All three dogs stood. “Dior, you first.” He grabbed the leash and led the dog over to Desiree. Dior sniffed at her ankles, the sounds loud and her rummaging nose invasive. Legend held onto her leash, then Dior licked her hand, sniffed her fingers, and licked again, this time more vigorously.

“She wants something from you. Wait, do you have crumbs on your hands or something?”

“I was eatin’ BBQ chips in my car on the way over.”

Legend rolled his eyes and smiled. “Well then, consider her your new best friend.” He did the same introduction with the other two dogs, and before long, he and Desiree were sitting next to one another on his white leather couch, the dogs at their feet, chomping on some treats he’d brought in from the kitchen.

“So,” She looked confused and threw up her hands. “Let’s talk. What’s been going on, Legend?”

“What do you mean?”

She snorted, cocked her head to the side, and put her hand on her hip, then looked him up and down with disdain.

“Oh, me, being busy lately?” Anything to buy time…

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