Page 6 of Rayzor: Tell Me It’s Mine II

My first thought was the garage. When my hand touched the keypad, I felt queasy.

I held my breath as I yanked it open so hard that the wind whipped my hair.

“The car,” I acknowledged the empty spot it once occupied. A navy blue Mercedes-Benz GLE 450 4Matic SUV sat in its place, with a white bow. I was too perplexed to think.

“What about it?” Rayzor said from behind me. Heat from his chest radiated against my back.

“Trevon and Michael?” I asked, feeling sick at what possibly happened to them.

“Gone,” he replied, sending a chill through my spine. He pulled me back inside and closed the door. “You got a 450 in the garage, and you’re worried about some other shit?”

I stayed there for a second, staring as if something would change. On one hand, I was happy it was gone; on the other, I was afraid to know what happened to them.

“So, you think giving me a car will fix what happened?”

He pulled a plate of food out of the oven.

“It’s not supposed to.”

“Then where are they?”

“Far away from you.”

His jaw flexed.

“Courtland–”

“Eat.”

He started to walk off but paused. “I love you. Enjoy the car.

He didn’t confess, apologize or explain. He covered the scar with a bandage, but it left me with a void.

“Rayzor! Look!” Erin’s voice said from the living room.

He glanced over his shoulder before heading toward her.

“This article about your fight in Vegas. You knocked him out cold, damn!”

“Language!” I yelled.

Levi whined.

“I wanna see too.”

“You know you’re not supposed to be watching stuff like that. You’re not old enough,” Eris argued.

“How ‘bout we look at something else, aiight?” Rayzor diffused the situation.

He moved on with life like last night didn’t happen. I hate how my heart softened for him. How I wanted to be understanding. There’s still the animalistic ways he possesses that locks my heart away, but it’s still his.

Hours later

I stood close by at the arcade with the rest of the crowd as they gawked at Rayzor’s performance on the car game with the kids. Levi, so short, head barely above the wheel, his small feet pressing the gas, and his car going off road. It was hilarious as he thought he was winning when my baby is in the last of last place. Erin was engaged, going head-to-head with Rayzor, the crowd hyping her up as she focused with the biggest smile.

Rayzor’s hand was laxed on the wheel as he smoothly controlled the digital car. A smile and focus in his eyes. This wasn’t the man I feared hours ago. This was the man who had stolen my heart long ago yet left me conflicted.

The race was intense. Levi had long ago lost, but he didn’t know it.