It seemed as though Tuesday's became the most hectic day out of the week for everyone who lived at the safe house.
Tuesday's were busy because, Roman put everyone to work... even the baby... somewhat.

Adam had to go out and about, getting all the information he could about certain things only Roman and he knew about. Lynn was training Abel on surviving tactics in her spare time, and then out at night following Cortez's people. Which then left Zadia and Roman who threw remarks at one another every chance they got, irking everyone's nerves. The both of them spent their Tuesday mornings, training, and talking shit... heavily.

They hated each other's guts.

"Tino!" Zadia shrieked, feeling the warm chunks of baby puke land on her skin. "Seriously, little man." She said, looking at her sports bra filled with puke. Her face scrunched up and then her eyes looked into Tino's as he smiled at her. "You think this is funny, your uncle is gonna talk my head off for being late."
She quickly grabbed her towel and hung onto Tino as she sped down the hallway for the nearest bathroom. "Abel!" She shouted, watching him walk into the bathroom. "Please, I need the bathroom. It'll only be for a couple of minutes, I swear."

Abel groaned, shaking his head. "What? No way, I'm just getting in hereafter waiting an hour for Adam to finish. If I let you go in, there won't be any more hot water left. I'm not in the mood for a cold shower, besides I gave you my spot yesterday."

Zadia shot him a puppy dog face. "Please." She begged like a child. "I need this! I've got baby throw up in my bra and it's the most disgusting thing and if I'm not downstairs by fifteen minutes, Roman will give me hell."

"Nope. I'm not falling for that puppy face thing you do and I told you to start using a towel whenever you burp him." He closed the door.

Zadia sighed heavily, while Tino looked clueless as ever in her arms. She gasped, suddenly remembering the downstairs bathroom. "We can make it." She said as she walked down the stairs carefully and made a right turn. When she saw Adam in the kitchen, she smiled at him and continued with her speedy stroll to the bathroom.

Zadia bit her lips when she caught sight of Lynn in the bathroom, with the door wide open. "Hey, is it cool if I just shower for a minute? I'll be in and out as quickly as possible."

"Not a chance in hell," Lynn mumbled, holding her flat iron. She was in the process of straightening her hair, while she stretched her arm forward and slammed the door shut.

"She's such a rude tramp!" Zadia groaned. Tino giggled at her. "Of course you'd find this funny. Sometimes I swear you hate me." She turned around, making her way around the kitchen.

Adam chuckled when she came sulking in. "Even I could've told you, you never stood a chance." He said. "Ever since you guys came here, Lynn hogs that particular bathroom as though it's hers."

"I hate her," Zadia said. "I really do. Like if there was a choice of eating dog shit and saving her life, I'd choose dog shit."

Adam laughed. "That was an interesting comparison." He flipped the pancake and turned around to look at her. "What if I said, there's a way you could use a bathroom in peace."

"I'd kiss you." She blurted out.

Adams's eyebrows raised. "Really?" He asked, his curiosity peaked.

She sucked her teeth. "Of course not, I'm speaking figuratively. Now talk more about this bathroom situation."

"Right, I knew that." He laughed, awkwardly. "There is a third bathroom, but it's in the head bedroom."

"Which happens to be Roman's room." She finished.

"Bingo," Adam said, flipping the pancake again. "He's never let anyone in there because it's in his room and he's heavy on privacy. I doubt he'll allow you in because he sort of... hates you... but it's still worth a try."

Zadia smiled at him. "Thanks, Adam. You're a lifesaver."

"No problem. If he asks who told you, it wasn't me." He said as she began to walk away.

"Got it." She shouted on her way, back up the stairs. "Play nice Zadia, play nice." She rambled to herself on her way to Roman's room. "Just knock on the door and smile and act as though you're in a room filled with white people." She paused, thinking what she just said over again. "On second thought, just act like you're at church. Yeah, that's right. Church." Tino looked at her weirdly and she noticed. "What? You're gonna act as if you've never talked to yourself?" His little head tilted. "Right... I forgot you were a baby."

Nearing at Roman's door, she took in a deep breath before knocking on the wooden door twice and taking a step back. There was rumbling inside the room until she heard heavy footsteps edging towards the door. Roman opened it, towering over her as he stood. He groaned when he saw who it was. "I gave you a schedule on when training starts, why are you in my face before that time." He sniffed the air. "And why do you smell like shit."

Zadia wanted to reply with a snarky remark, but she knew she couldn't. She had to play her cards right on this, so she smiled at him... widely. "Rome dawg!" It was the first nickname to pop up in her head, so she went along with it. "Is it cool if I use your bathroom? I was in the middle of burping, your nephew and he just threw up on me and now, I need a shower, because as you can see," She motioned with her empty hand at the sports bra. "I look a mess. So what do you say?"

Roman's lip curved into a frown. The only person who had known he had a bathroom in his room was Adam. "No." He said dryly. "If I let you use my bathroom, then everyone else will want to use my bathroom."

"Oh come on. I take care of your nephew eighty percent of the day, this is the least you can do. Please!"

He looked at her, unimpressed. "No."

Zadia lifted Tino and put him towards Roman's face. "Look at this beautiful chubby face. Do you want to see it red and crying? Because I can assure you that's exactly what's gonna happen if I don't use your shower. I won't take care of him for the entire day and you'll be screwed."

Roman squinted his eyes at her. "You wouldn't."

"Watch me." She resorted, never dropping his gaze.

"Fine," Roman said, giving up. "You can use my bathroom when the others are in use, but that's only if I'm here. Don't come in here without my permission."

"Yes!" She cheered.

"Shut up!" Roman groaned. "Come on, before someone sees you."

Zadia walked into the room, looking around the place like she was some inspector. The room temperature was cold, way colder than the room she slept in. She noticed how his room was surprisingly neat and that caused her eyebrows to raise. Thick curtains covered the window, only allowing minimum sunlight into the room. "Vampire behavior." She said under her breath, but Roman still heard her with his big ears.

"You're being nosy. Use the bathroom and get out." He said, his voice rising.

Zadia glared at him. "Calm down, I'm just making sure you're not gonna use anything around here to kill me."

He scoffed. "Like I'd need anything besides my hand to do it." He said and it didn't sound like a joke... at all.

"You're twisted, you know that right?" She asked, staring at him.

Roman took a huge step towards her, his eyes going from hers before settling onto Tino. "Give me my nephew and go into the shower before I change my mind about this whole thing." She passed over the baby and Roman slightly smiled at him. The two of them were slowly growing a bond that was different from what Tino had with Zadia.

Zadia would be lying if she said she wasn't a little jealous about the whole thing... She was the one who was always with Tino and then under two weeks, Roman managed to become his favorite. She couldn't grasp it, but she had to remind herself, "they're family" and she was just... an outsider who happened to watch Tino while his mom was on the run, only God knows where.

"Did you not hear what I just said?" Roman asked, getting annoyed.

"Huh?" Zadia asked, zoning back in. "I'm sorry, what?"

Roman groaned. Repeating himself was something he seriously didn't like. "I said, get in the shower or get out. Stop staring at me like some weirdo."

"I wasn't even staring at you, I was staring at the baby."

His eyebrows raised at her. "Right..."

Zadia paid him no mind as she walked inside the bathroom and shut the door gently. She locked it, (a habit of hers) and got to taking off her clothes. Placing them onto the side of the bathroom counter, she eyed her naked body in the mirror, (another habit of hers) and looked around.

When Zadia was growing up, she was told by a lot of people that she had a nice body. At the age of nine, she had already developed boobs, and then the following year, got her period. Her thighs started to grow in middle school, but it was nothing special... at least to her, it wasn't. Her mother's church friends would eye her like she was some sort of slut in the making, even though Zadia was strictly about no boys.

They'd tell her mother, "Keep a close eye on that one. With a body like that, she'll be fast and pregnant by the time she's thirteen."

At the time when she heard it, it hurt her feelings but when she looked back at it now, all she could do was chuckle. She didn't turn out like anything those people envisioned.

She wasn't perfect, but she sure as hell was better than them.

"I hate my nipples," Zadia commented, while she raised her arms and looked for anything out of the ordinary with her breast. She did a self-breast exam every couple of weeks, even though it wasn't mandatory. Breast cancer was the most commonly diagnosed cancer among black women and she would be damned if she got caught lacking... because breast cancer wasn't a joke and it ran in her family.

So every few weeks, she examined her breast, making sure to touch everything to make sure all was okay.

You could never be sure.

——

Roman heard the shower start and he sighed heavily, while he sat on his bed, letting Tino crawl around. "I don't know how you like her so much." He grumbled. "She's the most aggravating person to ever step foot on earth." He stuffed his hands into his gym short pockets and moved his head to face the baby. "When are you gonna start talking?" He asked him. "I get it... you're a baby but with all those learning bullshit I've been letting you watch, you should be able to say a couple of things now."

Tino bent his arms, taking a face dive into the bed. He giggled before doing it again, this time moving his bottom as he scooted.

"Also, why are you so expensive?" Roman asked. He liked talking to Tino like he would an adult. He didn't understand why people spoke baby talk when babies could clearly understand a person's regular dialect without the extraness. "I'm tired of buying you diapers. It's like every time I go inside the store to buy them, the prices go up." Tino giggled. "I'm serious man. If these prices keep going up, I think I'm gonna start with the potty training early." He paused. "Don't even get me started on your toys. How many toys do you need? Back in my day, kids only needed one."

The cell phone on Roman's nightstand pinged, which caused him to sit up straight. Leaning forward, he pulled the phone closer and read over the message that was sent from an informant that owed him a favor. It read,

"I had to go through hell to get this, it seems like other people already have the first copy. The store's security camera dates this back, four days ago."

Roman pressed play on the video that was sent afterward. The first thing he saw was a woman with long pink hair leaning against the gas station's fridge, talking to an Asian man. He couldn't get a look at the guy's face, but because of the hand gestures the woman was making, he knew it had to be his sister. As the video played on, he watched as his sister leaned forward and planted a kiss on the man's cheeks, before they walked out of the gas station together.

"You're moms trying to give me an aneurysm." He said to Tino, rewinding the video. "What is she up to?" He asked himself, his eyes looking intently at the tattoo on the Asian man's arm. He had seen it somewhere before, somewhere on the bad side of town. It was a tattoo of a monkey with a hat on its head in red ink. "Where have I seen this from?" He whispered, trying to think. He closed his eyes for a moment, hoping it would somehow help him remember.

"I'm done!" Zadia announced, loudly. The bathroom door creaked as she stepped out. Roman's eyes snapped open, landing on her shoulders, while the beads of water dripped from her body. She walked towards his bed but made sure to keep her distance. "You want me to take him, or...." she trailed on.

Roman looked at her. "He's good here." He replied, glancing at the time. "Hurry up and get dressed, you're wasting my time."

"I wasn't even in the shower for that long." She said, making her way towards the door.

"Never mind that." Roman stood up and picked up Tino. "While you were living in the scraps, did you ever see people with a monkey tattoo?"

Zadia's eyebrows raised. "It's Arizona, there's plenty of people walking around with a monkey tattoo." She opened the door. "Be more specific."

"It's a red monkey with a hat. Have you seen it before?"

"Y...yeah," Zadia answered. She snapped her fingers, in thought. "That's Akasuki's brand. About a year ago, she just popped out of the middle of nowhere, with street creds. Rumor has it, she burnt down this house with a bunch of rapists inside and now she's got followers out the ass, but still, not much people know about her."

They both walked out of the room.

"How do you know so much about her then?"

Zadia shrugged. "People talk. Plus, I've seen her and her people a couple of times while walking to work. They hang out at this car shop along the way."

"Is Akasuki her real name?"

"Could be. I don't know, I don't know her like that. I just know of her. That's it."

Roman sighed. "Well, thanks for nothing then."

"Your welcome dickhead." She said walking into her room, while Roman took his path down the stairs.

"Adolescents, I tell you," Roman said, to Tino while shaking his head. "For a baby, I think you're way more mature than her." Walking down the steps, he walked in the direction of the kitchen. "We've got a new lead on my sister." He said to Adam on his way in. "And so much for you keeping the third bathroom a secret."

"Whatttttt," Adam said, pretending to be shocked. "Someone found out about the third bathroom. That's insane. I'll have you know, it wasn't me."

Roman placed Tino in his high chair, before giving Adam a look. "Right... I'm letting it slide, but next time we choose a safe house I'm the only one that's gonna have the floor plan." Adam passed Roman small-shaped pancakes and Roman laid them out for Tino.

Adam sighed, exaggeratedly. "Fine, it was me who told her about it. Can you blame me? The poor girl smelled and all the other bathrooms were in use. Lynn was being a bitch towards her as well." Adam turned the stove down a number. "I think she's jealous of Zadia."

Roman leaned against the kitchen table. "What makes you think that?"

Adam gazed at him. "You really don't know. Geez, how are you so clueless to everything around you."

"I was being sarcastic. I know she's mad there's another woman in the house."

Adam rolled his eyes. "That's not it, mate." He told him. "She doesn't like your relationship with Zadia."

Roman's eyes widened and he coughed, taken back. "Excuse me? What relationship? As far as I'm concerned, I hate that childish bi—."

"Don't you say it." Adam quickly said. "It's not polite and you know it."

Roman rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. "I'm over this conversation, back to this new lead I was talking about."

"Right, please do inform me about it. Matter of fact, how'd you get this lead, if we're supposed to be keeping the situation with your sister in circle?"

Abel walked into the kitchen and took a seat next to Tino. "Hey, Adam." He said, before glancing at Roman. "Roman." He said, dully. Abel thought Roman was a badass, but since Roman was a dick towards Zadia... Abel wasn't exactly cool with him.

"Kid..." Roman replied, not knowing what to say after that. He looked back at Adam who was setting up plates. "I got the lead from Kia. She's been in town for a while, so I decided to involve her. We are supposed to keep it in circle, which is why only a select amount of people know." Roman picked up his phone and showed Adam the video.

"Any clue who she's with?"

"The monkey tattoo looked familiar, and I remember seeing it while I was on the other side of town. Since Zadia lived over there, I asked her about it and she said, it's the brand of some woman named Akasuki. You think you can run a search with that name?"

Adam walked over to the table and placed Abel's food down in front of him. "I'll give it a shot, but no promises. You think she's helping Eliśa?"

"Could be. I'm not sure, I'm curious as to why Eliśa even knows her."

"Knows, who?" Lynn asked, walking inside the kitchen. Adam handed her a plate before she sat down.

"I'll tell you about it later." Roman said. "How's the kid doing with training?"

She took a seat, on the other side of Tino's high chair. "He likes to be called Abel, Roman." She reminded him. "We had some trouble at first, but he's been doing great. He's been getting better with his punches, so as his reward I'm teaching him to shoot today."

Abel's eyes widened in surprise, a smile on his face. "Wait, seriously? Yes! I'm about to pull up on folks like I'm in GTA."

"GTA?" Roman asked, taking his plate and getting seated next to Lynn.

"Grand Theft Auto," Zadia answered, dressed in an all-black tracksuit. "It's a Video game, smart alec. One that Abel here, has no business playing." She said walking towards Abel, sitting to his right. She reached across him and pinched Tino's chubby cheeks as he ate his pancakes.

"Nice of you to join us, Zadia." Said, Adam. "Here's your plate. Hope you enjoy it, I made sure to put extra Bacon on the side."Zadia's and Abel's eyes connected for a second and they chuckled, as though they knew what each other was thinking. "What's funny?" Abel asked, sitting next to Zadia.

It was the first time in a long while that the round table in the house was filled.

"She's diabetic, Adam. She can't eat pork." Roman answered, stiffly. All eyes turned to him, looking at him intently. An awkward silence filled the room as Lynn bit her lips, while her eyes went from her plate to Roman.

Adam cleared his throat, ridding of the silence. "I didn't know that you couldn't eat pork, Zadia. I apologize on my behalf."

She waved at him. "No need to apologize. It's not that I can't eat it, I just choose not to because it's bad for me. I don't eat meat... I mean, I do but it's rare."

"Sounds like you think you're too good to eat meat." Lynn piped in.

Abel stared from left to right at both women, who were about to tear each other's heads off. "Roman." He quickly said, surprising himself. "Grand Theft Auto... we should play sometimes. It's a cool game about stealing cars, killing people, and making a living."

Roman chewed on his bacon. "Sounds like what I do every day." Adam kicked his leg under the table. "Ouch!" He groaned as Adam nodded towards Abel. "You know what kid, sure. We should play it, sometimes."

"Great, can't wait to beat your ass." Said, Abel.

Roman chuckled. "You can barely hold a gun and you're a shit talker, let's see where this gets you when I hand you your ass whooping in this game."

"Language." Zadia groaned. She was starting to feel like an old lady with how much she kept repeating herself.

"Shit... fuck... shit." Lynn cursed purposely.

Zadia's fists balled up.

Adam shook his head. He honestly didn't know how much more change of subjects would keep these girls from fighting. "Any ideas on what we should cook tonight for dinner? I'm in a rather dying mood for something sweet."

"Can you cook, Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars?" Abel asked.

"I haven't had those in years." Said, Roman.

"Have you guys ever wondered what roaches do in their spare time?" Zadia said before her eyes landed on Lynn. "Lynn, I think you're best equipped to answer this question."

Abel gasped, spitting out his food.

Roman coughed, reaching for his juice.

Adam quickly stood from the table, taking Tino from the high chair and inching towards the kitchen counters. "Dear, God. Help us all."

"What the fuck did you just say to me?!" Lynn shouted, pushing her plate away.

"I don't think I stuttered." Said, Zadia. They were both staring at each other angrily, their jaw clenched.

Abel sighed, heavily. "Maybe we should all just chill. It's not even nine in the morning yet."

"You fucking bitch!" Lynn shouted, reaching across the table, grabbing onto Zadia's locs.

"Let my hair go, you fucking scum!" Zadia screamed, throwing punches in every direction she could. She hit Lynn's face a couple of times but also hit other things as well. She scratched Lynn's arm, as she pushed her down from the table, the both of them landing on the ground. "What was all that crap you were talking about, huh?!" The both of them continued to struggle on the floor.

Abel stood up and moved away, not wanting to get hit again. Watching the horror unfold right in front of him, he didn't have a clue what he should do... but his mind was silently cheering on Zadia. "Damnnn." He let out when Zadia started to bash Lynn's face into the floor. "Let up on her, Zee. You're gonna kill her."

"Roman!" Adam shouted, just as Tino began to cry hysterically. "Do something!"

Roman, who had been seated and eating this whole time, shrugged. "There's no way in hell I'm getting in the middle of that. They wanna fuck each other up like hounds, they can have at it. Not my problem." He continued to eat, paying attention to them rolling around. "Besides... I'm inspecting."

Zadia, who had been winning so far, screamed when Lynn kneed her in the chin. She could feel her jaw lock, a burning sensation in her throat. "Stupid, bitch!" Lynn shouted, getting more punches in on Zadia. She reached behind herself as she staggered away, her hand wrapping around Roman's glass cup filled with orange.

She was prepared to throw it at Zadia, but Roman gripped the top of the cup, causing her to look back at him. "Not my cup, throw something else."

"Roman!" Adam and Abel shouted at the same time.

Roman sighed, before taking the cup and slamming his hands down on the table. He raised from his seat and walked over to the two crazy women. "Cut it out!" He yelled, his voice filled with dominance. Lynn knew from the sound of his voice that he was really angry, so she backed away, but all Zadia could see was red. She leaped forward, trying to hit Lynn a couple of more times until Roman intervened. He grabbed her, lifting her from her side. "Chill the fuck out, you fucking maniac!"

"Fuck you, you asshole. Let me go, so I can finish her ass." Zadia shouted.

Lynn scoffed, her eyes red. "With them, baby punches? Bitch, please."

Zadia glared at her, trying to escape Roman's deadly grip. "I ain't no killer, but don't test me bitch!"

Adam, who was trying to get Tino to calm down, looked towards her. "Was that a Tupac lyric?" He asked, shamelessly.

"Yeah, it was," Abel confirmed.

"Enough!" Roman said, shutting everyone up. "Adam, take the baby upstairs and get him to stop crying. Abel, look for the first aid kit, it should be around here somewhere." He ordered, then looked at Lynn. "Lynn, go upstairs."

"But—" she started to object.

"Now! I'll be up there later on to give you a piece of my mind." He said. As everyone began to leave, he let go of Zadia and sat back down in his seat. "You're starting to become a pain in my ass. Do I look like the type of person who wants to feel pain in their ass?"

Zadia blinked. Even though she was in pain, she still wanted to laugh. "Do you want me to really answer that, or..."

Roman rolled his eyes at her and stuffed a piece of pancake in his mouth. "Sit." He said, pointing at one of the knocked-over chairs.

"I'm not a dog, don't give me commands." Zadia corrected. "If you wanna talk to people like you're some type of master, fine do that but don't try that shit with me. I won't take it, I'm not a fucking slave."

"What's next? You're gonna try and whoop my ass too?" He asked. Zadia huffed but didn't answer him. "When fighting, you've got to protect your face, literally at all times."

Zadia frowned. "You're talking about my fighting, instead of lecturing me?"

Roman's head tilted. "Do you want me to lecture you?" He questioned. Zadia remained silent and he took that as his chance to continue. "The face is sensitive, so any hit there slows a person down. You need to remember that, the next time you get into a fight. Your defense needs work too, haven't you learned anything from training?"

"I did learn some things, I was just too caught up in the moment to remember them." She said.

"Don't let anger control you in a fight, you control the anger." He mumbled as he chewed.

"Yes, sensei Roman." Zadia mocked.

He shook his head. "I'm being serious, stupid."

She frowned at him. "Don't call me stupid, stupid." She leaned forward, using her elbow to support her face. "Was there anything I did right?"

He shrugged. "You almost won..." he trailed off.

"That has to count for a day off, right?" Zadia asked. She didn't feel like working out... she was tired of doing it. Sometimes, being lazy felt good.

Roman took a sip of his juice. "No, not even close." He took a moment to think. "Now that I think about it, maybe you can. It'll take Adam a while to find that woman you told me about. But if you'd come with me tonight and we go to that car shop you mentioned and you point her out, it'll save us time. You get a day off training, and I can leave for tonight without having this on my mind. Deal?"

Zadia raised her head, thinking it over. "I'll agree to it, if only you add one more off day."

He waved her off. "Whatever."

Zadia lifted her hand. "Shake on it." She suggested.

His face scrunched up. "I'm not touching you." He said as he stood up and placed his plate in the sink. "My word is good enough. I've got no reason to trick you." He grabbed a set of keys off the counter. "I'm heading out, I'll come back to get you around seven. Wear something casual and learn how to keep your mouth shut."

"Wearing something casual, easy. Learning to keep my mouth shut, when hell freezes over."

"Couldn't happen fast enough." Roman groaned.

"Dickhead." Zadia called him as he walked out of the kitchen.

"That's why your ass can't fight." He shouted, slamming the front door.

——

"Do I talk a lot?" Zadia randomly asked Abel, while sorting through the boxes of clothes Adam had brought to her the day after she moved into the safe house.

"Nope." He countered. "I mean, not unless you're passionate about something. For example, when I accidentally called J.Cole's recent album decent, you spent almost two hours explaining how it wasn't just decent." He sat on the edge of the bed. "Please don't tell me you're asking because Roman said you do."

"He constantly says it, so I thought I'd just ask you since you keep it straight with me," Zadia said, trying to decide what to wear. "How are you remembering the things you learned in practice so well? I'm struggling to even comprehend how to knock someone out."

Abel chuckled. "Now that's sad, Zee." He told her. "It just takes practice. Like after training with Lynn, when I have time, I use it to go over what I learned. It sticks better like that. You should try it."

"But it's too much work." She whined, jumping on the bed. "This is not what I saw myself doing with my life. Yes, my life sucked before all this and yes there wasn't enough drama in it... but it was better than having my entire face all over the news and learning how to fight. I... I don't think I'm cut out for all of this."

Abel smiled at her. "You are Zadia Hamilton. You're cut out for anything life throws your way." He flicked her toes making her laugh. "Aren't you always the one that says, if a person puts their mind to it, anything can be done."

Zadia's lips pursed and she shook her head. "I've never once said that."

He nodded. "You're right. I think Gandhi did. Anyways, the point is you can do this. Promise you'll put more effort into it?"

"I promise." She whispered, finally finding the right set of clothes. It was just sweatpants and a cropped shirt, which is what she had been wearing for a while. "What should I do with my hair?" She asked. "Can't have people recognizing who I am, now that I'm on America's most wanted."

Abel snorted loudly, which he regretted instantly once a sleeping Tino stirred in his crib. "I still can't believe they've got you on that show. You haven't even been on the run for that long." He said, his voice low.

Zadia threw a shirt at him, but he dogged it. "It's not funny. They chose an ugly picture of me. Like, I get it. In their eyes I'm a criminal, but can't they at least get the photo right. They got it right for Jeremy Meeks, the least they can do is get it right for me too."

"You look fine in those pictures." Abel lied. He burst out laughing, using his arm to stifle the laughter. "I'm sorry, I thought I could lie my way out of that, but it just wasn't happening. They did you dirty."

She rolled her eyes at him. "See, now that's just green. You could've tried to lie better." She huffed, thinking about the first time the episode premiered two days ago. Everyone sat in the living room, watching it and laughing, while she just fumed around in anger. "If I ever meet Tino's dad, I'm gonna bitch slap his dumbass."

Abel chuckled. "Alright, we've got to speed this up before Roman gets here. It's almost seven." He said, causing Zadia to jump up from the bed. "Put your hair in a ponytail like you usually do and wrap a scarf or something around it and call it a night. Do you know what time he'll have you home?"

"I don't know father, but I'll make sure it's by ten," Zadia said sarcastically, imitating Adam's accent.

"Har, har, har," Abel replied. "Be careful and please stay by Roman. He may be an asshole, but I'm sure he knows what he's doing... sometimes." Zadia nodded, grabbing her things so she could change in the bathroom. "Make sure you get back... safe."

Zadia smiled, warmly. "Aww, you care about me."

Abel blushed. "Shut up, you do too."

"Maybe," Zadia replied, near the door. "Just a little."

Abel shook his head and nodded at her. "Ight, safety."

"Safety." She repeated, before walking out of the room.

That was their way of saying, "See ya later."

———

"I'm surprised I didn't have to honk my horn twice," Roman grumbled as Zadia slid into the passenger seat. He did a one-over on her, waiting till her seatbelt was on to back out of the driveway. "You do know you're still recognizable even if you've got on a scarf and lipstick right?"

Zadia leaned into the seat, pushing her chair back. "No shit Sherlock." She looked around the inside of the Jeep until her eyes stopped on a pair of shades that hung on the car's pine freshener. Reaching for them, she put them on. "How do I look now?"!

"Take off my shit." He said, getting on the road.

"No. I need it and it's not like you're even using it." She told him. "Where'd you get this jeep?" She touched the leather dashboard. "It feels so nice... and expensive."

"You're in my business, mind yours."

Zadia sucked her teeth. "Oh come on, telling you about your car is barely anything. Keep in mind, I know nothing about you." She paused. "Okay, scratch that. I don't know anything personal about you."

"You had it right the first time." He commented, driving the speed limit. "What do you think you know about me?"

"Easy," Zadia said, glancing at him in the dark. The sun was close to disappearing any minute now, but she could still see the outline of him because of the street and car lights. "You workout a lot, even when you don't have to and you like ending each workout by punching yourself in the abs.... which is weird. You like doing things on your own and you're always thinking something through... always planning." She cleared her throat. "You also barely sleep... your eyes are a dead giveaway."

Roman blinked. "You're so damn creepy." He voiced, shaking his head. "Like this is what you do in your spare time... you stalk me."

"Don't flatter yourself, I just pay attention to things that other people don't. That's it."

"Sounds like something a stalker would say."

"You're maddening! I'm not a fucking stalker." She leaned off her seat to turn on the radio, causing Spanish music to blare through the speakers. They both grimaced at the sound and she quickly put it down. "My fault." She mumbled. "You listen to Spanish music, yet I've never heard you speak Spanish."

"Que te pasa?" (What's it to you?) he asked.

Zadia shut her mouth and blinked in surprise. She was surprised at how the words came out of his mouth so easily... his voice deep. "Woah." She whispered.

His eyebrows furrowed. "Que diablos es tu problema?" (What the hell is your problem?)

"Nothing... I'm perfectly fine." Zadia stuttered. She could listen to him speak Spanish all day.

"Si, tu así lo dices." (If you say so.) Roman said, lowly.

Zadia felt an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Okay. You've don't gotta keep speaking Spanish." She kept turning the radio station, trying to find something to listen to.

"Por qué? Es natural." (How come? It's natural.)

"Because your voice is annoying." She stated, settling for the music station 95.3

"Tu gusto en música es malo." (Your taste in music, sucks.)

"No, it doesn't. If it were my car and if I had my phone trust and believe I'd be playing some bomb-ass music right now. Because this radio station isn't what it used to be. It's like pop music took it over."

"You wanna know something?" He asked while glancing at her.

Zadia looked him in the eyes. "What?"

"I. Don't. Give. A. Shit." He said in English, a laugh threatening to rumble from his chest because of the look on her face. She looked angry.

Zadia huffed and stuck her middle finger at him. "Fuck you, asshole."

"Lo que sea." (Whatever.)

Her fingers smoothed over the black leather again. "Would you please just tell me about the car? It's killing me, I just wanna know."

Not wanting to hear her asks again, Roman sucked in a breath before releasing it. "When I was a kid, my mentor had a Jeep. He used to cruise up and down the streets with it, and every time we were inside his car, he'd find a way to make it an adventure. As I got older, he gifted me a Jeep for my seventh birthday and I ended up wrecking it. Fast forward now, I bought myself a replacement from someplace that isn't any of your business." He shrugged. "See, there isn't anything to know."

Zadia tilted her head, looking out the window. She watched as the world zoomed past her. "I wish I had a mentor growing up."

"That sounds like something you should keep to yourself," Roman mumbled, switching lanes.

She squeezed her eyes shut. "I thought I did. I don't know why I keep doing that."

"Because you're crazy."

Zadia quickly looked towards him, her neck cracking as she glared daggers at him. "I'm not crazy, don't call me that!"

"How'd you get those scars on your knees?" He asked, changing the subject. Today was the first time he even recognized that they were there. He caught a glance of them when she had gotten out of the shower in his room.

"Look at you wanting to know something about me. Who would've ever thought." She responded. "In middle school, I got invited to this pool party."

"People liked you in middle school... yikes."

She frowned at him. "I honestly don't know how many times, I can say fuck you, in just one day." She crossed her arms. "As I was saying. I got invited to the pool party and it took some convincing, but my parents decided to let me go. When I got there everything was chill, but as the night went by I started realizing that the girls that invited me there... just wanted to make fun of me."

"Wait, wait, wait." He interjected. "So you weren't friends with anyone there... and you still decided to go?"

"I was young at the time and a little gullible. Don't judge me. I knew of the kids there and when they invited me, I thought they wanted to be friends." She explained. "Somehow I let them trick me into climbing this huge tree in my bathing suit and by the time I climbed up there... Everyone just left me there on my own. When it was time to come down, I was scared out of my mind, because I was high up. So..."

"So you thought the quickest way to get down, was jumping." He interpreted.

"Yup, which was stupid as hell because I landed on my ankle and sprained it. My knees got cut because of the sentiment." She sighed. "I was so embarrassed, I didn't even go back inside the house to grab my things. I just walked home."

Roman's eyebrows raised. "You walked home like that? Bathing suit and all?"

"Yeah." She told him. "By the time I got home, it was very late. I had to hear a mouthful from my dad, and I thought I'd get grounded... but he just pulled me into a big hug and got me a bodyguard the next day."

"Sounds like something rich folks would do," Roman commented dryly.

"You've got a problem with rich folks? Is that why you continue to express your dislike for me?" She asked. "I was born into the privileged life, but as you can see I'm broke as hell."

"You're an annoying bug, that's why I don't like you. It's not because of your wealth." He set straight. "I'm gonna tone you out now, the sound of your voice makes me want to stab my ears." He put his fingertips on the volume turner and turned the music up.

Zadia felt her eyes roll to the back of her head before she faced the window again. The car filled with the sound of some crappy pop song as they drove.

The both of them, thinking about different things.

Late chapters = Longer chapters.

Not edited. Excuse any errors and point them out. Thank you!