it’s not a secret. the retort springs forward like an olympic diver, poised on the tip of his tongue, but he bites it back because her words carry more weight than she knows. out of everyone, bullet has the longest list of reasons to hate him. she did, for a while. wanted nothing to do with him. and not a day goes by where he isn’t half - expecting her to cut bait, bid a final fuck you and disappear, but she hasn’t.
temporary custody, they said. legal guardianship without her parents relinquishing their rights. she was released into his care, because she didn’t want to go home and the only other alternative was to get swallowed up by the system. just another foster kid.
he didn’t want that, either. he still doesn’t.
progress is slow and incremental. a day at a time. there are bad weeks, when for every step taken forward two steps are taken back. then, too, there are the good weeks, when she’s at the apartment like it’s hers, eating leftovers, telling him stories, falling asleep on the couch watching animal planet. acting every bit the fifteen - year - old she’s rarely allowed herself to be.
it’s progress.
it’s something.
‘ don’t matter what them bitch - ass fools be sayin’, you know ? gotta keep my chi aligned, get rid of all that negativity. you ‘n linden got my back. ’