Zadia could feel her blood pulsing through her skull as she carried the weight of her whole body on both palms of her hands, sweat dripping from her forehead. Her breathing was slow, feet straight like an arrow, helping her keep the straight posture she had. "Took a power trip back home, I'm grown now and this city's my throne now. The same clubs that I used to get tossed out. Life got Kriss Kross'd, Totally Krossed Out." She rapped along to the J. Cole lyrics in a whisper, her eyes shut as she vibed to the beat. She was trying to clear her mind with a little bit of yoga since she hasn't been feeling herself lately. "Would you believe me if I said, I'm in love? Baby, I want you to want me. Would you believe me if I said I'm in love?"

Abel to the left of her was in the same position. His eyes were open wide, watching her. His arms wiggled underneath him and he groaned, feeling himself about to clasp. "How..." he grunted, keeping himself up. "do you do it, with so much ease?" He questioned her, sweat all over his face.

Zadia turned her head slightly, eyes still closed. "Balance." She let out, kicking her legs off the wall so she would have no support. She'd be lying if she said yoga was her thing... because it sure as hell wasn't, but she liked it more than the hardcore bullshit Roman had her doing.

Abel rolled his eyes. "See, now you're just showing off."

Zadia's eyes flickered open. "I am, aren't I." She turned her head back to its original stance and continued to rap along. "Love is a drug, like the strongest stuff ever And, fuck it I'm on one, you feel me? She on a power trip, she got me where she want a —" she stopped midway in her sentence when Abel's arms crumbled, sending him crashing to the ground.

"Fuck!" Abel groaned, in pain and out of breath.

Zadia bent her knees, so she could slide down with ease and sit on the wooden floor. "You okay?" She asked, a smile on her face because she was seconds away from laughing. "You've just gotta walk it off." Soon after the words left her mouth, she burst into a fit of laughing.

Abel huffed, sitting upright. His back leaned against the wall. "I'm never doing that again. Yoga sucks." He mumbled while Zadia continued to laugh at him. "It better be funny." He said and then sucked his teeth, a faint smile on his lips. Zadia had one of those laughs that made you want to laugh because of how it sounded.

"I'm sorry." Zadia took a moment to catch her breath, clutching onto her stomach. "It's just your face. You should've seen it, and the way you fell was priceless." She pushed herself, leaning against the way like him. Her eyes looked at the clock and she sighed. "It's already noon." She mumbled, grabbing the iPad Adam had lent her, so she could put the volume down. "What would you be doing right now on a Friday, during this time, if your life was back to normal?"

"Umm?" Abel looked down at his hands in thought. "I'd most likely be hanging with the crew, playing video games."

Zadia's face scrunched up. "Seriously? That's like the most boyish response ever. You didn't have any shorties or nothing before this?" She questioned, curiously. "I mean, I know you're not exactly the cleanest boy out here, but I'm sure you had these little girls going crazy over you."

Abel chuckled. "Look at you, being nosy." He said, before shrugging his shoulders. "There was this one girl... didn't work out doe." He pulled at the hem of his shirt. "She was a cool girl, but her pops didn't want her around me. Said I was bad news, so I decided to leave her alone. Ain't wanna hear all that nonsense about how I was gonna corrupt his daughter."

"It's like that sometimes." She whispered. "You shouldn't have to deal with the lingering thought of other people's perceptions of you."

Abel shrugged. "It happens all the time with people that look like us... might as well just get used to it." He nodded her way. "What about you?"

"I'd be at work, if not then probably trying to paint." She answered.

"That's not what I was talking about. I mean how come, you didn't have anyone around... like a boyfriend or... girlfriend?"

Zadia thought about it for a second. "Never had time for someone else. I'm also a known weirdo... therefore no one is checking for me." She got quiet. "The thought of being with someone seems scary to be honest and there was that one time..." Zadia shut her mouth before she could say anything else. She didn't want to relive the past. Clearing her throat, she stood up. "Tino is way too quiet, I think he's beating up Adam." She said, changing the subject.

Abel smiled. "He's the one that wanted to watch him, so that's his problem." Standing up, he grabbed the bottle of Gatorade off the nightstand and followed Zadia out the room. "I'm so damn hungry, I'm tired of Adam's cooking. It's so... neat. Sometimes I wanna just eat something that's bad for me. Like one of those greasy ass patties, they be selling on the food truck."

Zadia looked back at him. "I get it, but food is food. Be lucky you're getting it."

He groaned. "Uhhh, not you sounding like my Tía." He walked down the stairs with her. "Be grateful, Abel." He said, mimicking his aunt's voice.

Zadia laughed. "If she was here right now, she'd slap some sense into you." They walked into the living room, and Abel flopped down on the sofa while Zadia stood. "Did he give you any trouble?" She asked Adam who typed away on his laptop. Tino was on the ground, crawling through his baby tunnel.

"Quite the opposite actually," Adam said, his typing coming to a halt. "We were supposed to be playing, but he had other plans. I decided to get the tunnel out for him, while I do some research. Turns out he likes it. How was yoga?"

"Sweaty and fun, at least for one of us." Walking over to the tunnel, Zadia sat at the end, waiting for Tino to crawl out of it. "Do you guys just have random baby things laying around? Each day it's like new baby equipment pops out." When Tino came out the other end, she shouted, "Boo." Which made him squeal and laugh. "I got you." She said, picking him up and tickling him.

His giggle sounded throughout the entire living room.

"Roman's the one that keeps buying everything and storing it in the basement," Adam says. "He wants Tino full with a lot of stuff."

Abel frowned and looked at her. "Did you hear basement?"

Zadia nodded. "I did." She blew strawberries at Tino and he mimicked her. "How come we're just now figuring out there's a basement here?"

Adam shrugged, shutting his laptop. "You all never asked." He said.

"You guys never tell us anything," Zadia stated.

"The less you guys know, the better protected you are," Adam replied. "Everything we keep from you is for your safety."

"Or... Roman doesn't trust us." Zadia remarked.

Adam smirked. "That, you are correct Zadia."

Abel sat up in his seat, a sudden realization coming to mind. "I don't know why I'm just seeing this, but anyone else notices how Adam, Roman, and Lynn are a DC crew." Everyone stares at him cluelessly, which causes him to facepalm himself. "Okay so, Adam is Alfred because of the accent and..." he paused. "He's white... Roman is Batman because, well it's pretty self-explanatory and Lynn is Catwoman."

Zadia frowned. "Ain't it supposed to be Wonder Woman? I thought it was Batman and Wonder Woman that had a thing for each other?"

"Roman and Lynn don't have a thing for each other." Adam piped in.

"The lies!" Abel and Zadia said at the same time, causing each other to laugh. "Zadia that's not quite true... I mean it's complicated. Batman never admits it, but at least for some time he did love her and they were almost a thing... It's complicated but DC likes to tease their relationship. He and Catwomen really were a thing though." Abel explained.

"Well if that isn't a way to predict the future, I don't know what is," Adam said. They both looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Don't mind me, I'm just rambling. Anyone in the mood for tea?"

Zadia raised her hand. "I am."

Abel grimaced. "Ewww. I don't see the hype about tea, you guys are literally drinking hot water."

Adam stood. "The disrespect, I tell you." He mumbled, walking to the kitchen. As he walked out, Abel and Zadia laughed at him.

"Why'd you have to diss his tea like that?" Zadia asked, chuckling. "You know he loves his tea."

"Truth hurts." Abel shrugged. "It's the same thing with coffee too. Disgusting." He picked up the television's remote off the table and turned it on with a push of a button. "Hey... what's the last movie you watched?"

Letting go of Tino, Zadia tried her best to remember. "That's a tough one." She said. "I think it was this Jeffery Dahmer movie, starring some kid that used to be on Disney channel." She concluded. "I don't know, it was a long time ago."

Abel squinted his eyes. "Seriously? The last movie you watched was about a serial killer... why would you even watch a movie about a serial killer?"

She frowned at the question. "Because it's... interesting and useful. I don't know about you, but after watching that movie I know to seriously avoid people that's heavily into animals. Before I moved out of my parent's house, I used to watch plenty of crime shows and documentaries... podcasts as well."

Abel's eyebrows raised. "I feel like you're trying to tell me something here..." he trailed on. "If you're a serial killer, I promise I won't snitch."

Adam scoffed, walking back into the living room with two hot cups of tea in his hands. "Zadia a serial killer? Have you forgotten she can barely hold a gun?"

She sucked in a breath and clenched her chest, playfully. "Ouch." She said dramatically. "I'm still learning, you didn't have to put me on the spot like that. I thought we were friends."

Adam smirked at her. "We are, I just had to get you back for letting Abel over here disrespect tea. " He bent down, passing one of the teacups to her, and then took a seat back on his favorite side of the sofa which happened to be on the right. "Anything good to watch?" He asked Abel.

"I'm not sure how to work this thing." Mumbled Abel as he pressed different buttons on the remote, trying to get on a movie channel.

Zadia put her mouth to the teacup and blew against it gently, trying not to spill it. Deciding to wait a while before she drank it, she set the cup down on the coffee table and picked up Tino. "That's enough adventure for you, little guy." She told him. Her eyes glanced over both sofas, deciding where to sit. Since Abel was sprawled out on the second one and she didn't want to ruin his comfort, she sat on the first sofa with Adam. "Cool if we sit here?"

Adam turned to look at her, nodding. "No problem at all."

"This thing is so comfortable." She found herself saying, touching the sofa cloth. It felt like she was laying on a cloud. Pulling Tino closer to her, he leaned against her chest babbling. "One of these days, you'll be talking in no time."

"Zadia... you seeing this?" Abel asked, getting her attention. He put the volume up on the television as the news person spoke.

Zadia frowned as she listened.

"In the latest news, city officials have decided to shut down the Arisio Apartment complex where known murder and kidnapper, Zadia Hamilton stayed. The apartment was deemed a safety risk yesterday and is now shutting down today as we speak. Many of the residents are troubled by the news and are displaced because of the very short notice. They have till five in the afternoon to evacuate.
If you're just tuning into this horrific story, Zadia Hamilton shot and killed "Ferb García" almost a month ago, and took two children as hostages. Shortly after the news broke, it was found that the two children Zadia abducted were 16 years old Abel Estrada and Santino Figueroa who is only seven months now. Baby Santino is the son of Arizona's city investor, Cory Figueroa. We spoke to both victim's guardians and here's what they had to say, recently at a press conference."

Adam nervously cleared his throat. "Abel, can you please shut off the television."

Zadia sent a glare in Abel's direction. "Don't you dare." Abel, of course, listened to Zadia. As the news continued, they switched the anchors' view and started to air clips of the press conference. From there, you could see plenty of cops, Abel's Aunt, and a well-dressed man in front of the police station talking.

"I don't know why she'd take my nephew." Melissa, Abel's aunt cried into the camera. "Abel is a good boy and he's never done anything to anyone. Zadia was supposed to be a mentor to him, I can't understand why she'd take him." She stopped to blow her nose. "If anyone sees my nephew, please don't be afraid to report it. I just want him back home safely."

"What in the world," Abel said, just as shocked as Zadia to see his aunt on the news.

Next, the camera switched to the well-dressed man. He cleared his throat before he spoke. "I'm not sure what or how this Zadia woman got ahold of my son. All I know is that my wife was going to those apartments to meet a friend and in that process, she and my son never came back. This Zadia woman has already killed someone, so I can only imagine what she's done to my wife. I know Eliśa wouldn't let anyone take our son without a fight, so I can only hope for the best." He looked into the camera, watery brown eyes full of deceit. "Ms. Hamilton, if you're watching this right now, please know that I'll do everything in my power to make sure I get my son back, no matter what. Everything would just work out better if you'd turned yourself in." He finished.

Adam finally stood up and turned the television off. "Now, before you guys talk my head off, please note that this whole press conference was kept away from you because,"

"The less we know, the better," Abel said, cutting him off. He scoffed. "It obviously isn't."

Zadia blinked, trying her best not to lose her mind. There were so many things going on at the moment. "I went from suspect to murder in a matter of weeks and no one thought to tell me this? I'm not only being blamed for one person's death but also I'm being blamed for Eliśa disappearance and no one thought to tell me this!" She took a deep breath, her mood changing drastically. "Tino's freaking dad threatened me on national television and no one thought to tell me this!"

Adam sighed sadly. "Zadia I'm sorry for the lack of communication and I apologize on my behalf, but if Roman sees fit to keep things like this from you all then I've got no say in the matter."

"Roman," Zadia whispered. "Of freaking course." She stood up angrily but made sure to pick up Tino with softly. "I need a moment." She said, storming off. With one hand around Tino and the other on the railing, she climbed up the stairs with a quick pace and made her way to her room, making sure to lock the door. "Tino I love you, but I swear your mom and uncle are aholes!" She shrieked. "And don't even get me started on your father."

As they laid on the bed, Santino looked at her before taking a handful of her locs to tug on. This had slowly become a habit of his, Zadia didn't mind it at all. "Guhguh." He babbled, gripping her hair tighter.

"Not too tight, little dude. It took me forever to grow this hair." Zadia said and then sighed. "I can't believe they put everyone out like that... What am I gonna do? All our money is there... all my stuff." She whispered, feeling like she was about to cry. "My life is so dramatic when it doesn't have to be. Sometimes I think I'm cursed." Tino giggled at her. "I'm serious little dude, maybe I was cursed from the start."

Zadia glanced at the window on the other side of the room, watching the sunlight reflect against it. She took a deep breath and held it in for a couple of seconds, before slowly letting it out. "I've got a super crazy bad idea, and it's most likely gonna get me in trouble... but I've got to do it." She looked back at the baby. "Don't look up to me Tino, I don't always make the best choices." Poking his belly, her mind was all made up. "I'll sneak out just before sundown." She whispered into the air. "I'll get what we need and come back... no one will even notice I'm gone" She gulped. "... I hope."

_________

It was five in the afternoon when Adam knocked on Zadia's door. He wanted to make sure she was alright since she'd locked herself in there and asked nicely that everyone let her be. "Zadia?" He called her name, leaning against the side of the closed door. "You alright?"

He was met with silence until she replied, "Yeah!" As she shuffled through the things in her room. She was currently on the search for a hoodie, an all-black one that would match the black jeans she had on. "Just trying to relax." She lied, going through the pile of clothes like a crazy person. Tino, who was in his walker, paid her no mind as his attention was pulled to the toys in front of him.

Adam raised his eyebrows. "Ummm... okay. Would you like to talk? I know this whole thing is a little stressful."

"I'm fine!" She shouted and nearly squealed once she found the hoodie.

"Well, I'll take my leave then," Adam said, awkwardly.

"Wait!" She quickly said. Grabbing the robe out of the walk-in closet, she hurriedly wrapped it around her body. "Can you guys watch Tino for me? I'm not feeling so well at the moment." She faked a cough. "Think I may be catching something." She coughed again, pulling Tino's walker closer to the door.

"Of course. Would you like me to bring your teacup?" He asked worriedly. "It'll probably make you feel better."

"No thanks! I'm just gonna let my body run its course." She replied, then looked down at Tino. "I know what you're thinking... but I've got to this." She whispered to him, playfully pinching his cheek. "I'll be back before you know it, safe and sound I promise. While I'm gone, be nice to Abel and Adam, not to Lynn though, we still don't like her." She placed a kiss on his forehead, before opening the door. "Here he goes." She said as she pushed the walker out and shut the door before Adam could get a look at her.

"Well okay then." She heard Adam mumble and soon later, the sound of footsteps and a babbling Tino going down the hallway.

Slipping on her black sneakers, she tied her shoes and took off the robe before putting on the hoodie. Glancing at herself in the mirror, she wrapped her hair in two separate low buns and when she finished, she tied a scarf over it. "Looks good." She told herself and picked up the glasses Roman had given her a couple of days ago. Looking at the clock, she bit her lips in anticipation. "Okay, let's do this." Walking over to the door, she opened it making sure not to make a sound. She locked it before shutting it quietly and tiptoeing in the direction of the stairs.

If she was gonna get out of the house undetected, she had to be quick and quiet.

Peeking her head, she looked carefully for any signs of people. She waited a couple of seconds and then tiptoed down the stairs, carefully, even though it squeaked a little. When she made it to the bottom, she ran towards the garage door and paused. As she opened the door, she stepped inside the garage and shut it. Leaning against the door, her heart thumped hard against her chest as she took deep breaths.

"What the fuck are you doing in here?" She heard Lynn ask and she almost screamed because of the sudden noise.

With wide eyes she stared at Lynn, crossing her arms. "Nothing." She said at first. "I think the question should be, what are you doing here."

Lynn frowned, giving her a questioning look. "No, it's not." She stated. "You're not allowed in this part of the house, I am so case closed. What are you doing here?" She looked Zadia up and down. "Why does it look like you're about to commit a robbery?"

"That's discrimination don't ya think." Zadia pursed her lips. "Hypothetically speaking, if I were to tell you that I'm sneaking out, what would you do?"

Lynn's eyebrows raised. "I'd smile and say'' have at it." She confessed. "Then I'd tell you, it would be a very stupid thing for you to do (which I'm sure you already know) and you'd be putting everyone here at risk and if you tried to still do it, I'd hypothetically," She quoted. "Put you on your ass and tell everyone about your attempt to... sneak out."

Zadia pushed herself off the door. "Makes sense." She mumbled. "Okay, so hypothetically speaking what if I was leaving because I had to get something... which hypothetically could be money."

Lynn pinched the bridge of her nose. "Can we please stop with the hypothetically?" She asked, then clasped her hands together. "This whole conversation is tiresome. The keys are over there." She pointed to the key hook. "Just take them and leave, you're annoying."

Zadia's eyebrows raised. "Wait... seriously?" She asked.

"Yeah," Lynn replied with a shrug. "If you wanna be a dumb bitch, be my guess. It's not my problem. I just hope you die out there so I won't have to see your face ever again."

A scowl settled on Zadia's face. "You put the cold in cold-hearted bitch, you know that." Walking to the corner, she took the car key off the hook and pressed the button to unlock the polished Lincoln Continental. "Whose car is this?"

"It's registered under Roman's name, but it belongs to Adam." She disclosed, grabbing the garage remote off the work area counter. She pressed a button that opened the garage fold fully. "Hope you die, byeeeeee." She said waving as though she was an innocent schoolgirl.

"Same to you, your trifling bitch." Zadia said, sticking the middle finger at her before she got into the car. As she pressed the start button, she buckled up and adjusted her seat. Zadia spent a couple of seconds trying to find the right radio station and when she did, she clicked on the GPS navigation and entered her old address. Thankfully the address to this house was already saved in the car, so she wouldn't have any trouble getting back here when she was done.

Zadia took one final glance at Lynn who carried on with whatever she had going on and set the car to reverse, backing out of the garage, carefully. "I'll be safe, and I'll come right back." She mumbled to herself, trying to convince the little voice in her head that disagreed with the whole situation. "Everything is under control and I've got this."

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