CHAPTER SIXTEEN

~A Month Later~

Lamika groaned, wiping her hands off on the bottom of her coveralls, sliding out from underneath the car she'd been working on to accept the newspaper her friend held out to her. She smiled sadly, unrolling it and felt a tear sliding down her cheek. It was the article Samantha had been writing on gangs, followed by a liner from the editor stating how she had died and how the article had been 'recovered' by someone who'd only signed the package as 'Mike.'

"Now I feel better." She muttered, rolling the paper back up and getting to her feet. She'd gotten this job days after being released from the hospital, finally earning honest money. Her boss had fronted her the money for a small apartment and so far she'd managed to steer clear of the gang life, though that had died down a lot since Mogney and his crew had been hacked to bits.

She clocked out and headed home, walking down the street with the paper tucked under her arm. She'd felt guilty when she heard she was the reason Mogney had found Samantha and this was her way of making peace with herself.

**********

David was sitting in his bedroom, having been off the road for two weeks and opened the newspaper he'd been sent by one of his friends. Tears filled his eyes when he seen his sister's article, his breath catching in his throat and read the name 'Mike'.

"Lamika…" He whispered, finishing the article and tossing the paper down onto the bed. He stood up and walked over to press his forehead against the cool glass window pane, sighing heavily. "Where are you?" He murmured.

**********

Everybody's got a hunger
No matter where they are
Everybody clings to their own fear
Everybody hides some scar

Precious pain
Empty and cold but it keeps me alive
I gave it my soul so that I could survive
Keeping me safe in these chains
Precious pain

Everybody's got a reason
To abandon their plan
How can I think of tomorrow
With my sorrow in hand

Precious pain
Empty and cold but it keeps me alive
I gave it my soul so that I could survive
Keeping me safe in these chains
Precious pain

Each road that I walk down
Reminds me of you
This whole town is haunted
There'll never be anything new

Precious pain
Empty and cold but it keeps me alive
I gave it my soul so that I could survive
Keeping me safe in these chains
Precious pain

**********

Lamika showered and changed once she got home, having swapped her baggy jeans in for form fitting ones and long sleeved tops, looking like an actual adult. She sighed, brushing her hair out before picking up her wallet and stuffing it into her back pocket and walking out the door, locking it behind her.

She had just gotten paid and needed to restock her pantry, she was living on bread and peanut butter. But at least it was honest bread and peanut butter, which made her smile. She hurried down the street to the grocery store, slipped a basket over her arm and started browsing the aisles, her mind wandering back to that article.

She filled her basket with a head of lettuces, baby carrots and ranch dressing, finally halting to debate whether she wanted a six pack of Miller Lite or a four pack of wine coolers, her treat. She went with the wine coolers, glancing down at the basket and sighed. Now she needed some kind of meat, maybe hamburger, she'd been craving a cheeseburger and she had all that bread at home…

Shaking her head, Lamika headed over to the meat section, halting to study the packages before her, sweeping her black hair over her shoulder. She frowned when someone bumped right into her, grunting as she stumbled forward.

"I'm sor-"

She'd been about to say 'no worries' but it died on her lips. "David." She whispered, taking another step back. She cleared her throat, not sure of what to say to the man who'd apparently dropped her off at the hospital and then walked out of her life. Not that Lamika blamed him. It was her fault his sister was dead. She felt the familiar rush of shame, her cheeks burning brightly and lowered her head, deciding to skip the hamburger and just leave.

"Wait." David softly ordered, grabbing her arm to keep her from walking away, moving to stand in front of her. "How are you?" He asked gently, staring down at her, seeing the tears pooling in her blue eyes.

Lamika nodded, looking up at him hesitantly. "I'm good… I have a job, a real one, I mean." She laughed at herself, wiping away the tears with the back of her hand. "And a place of my own." She shrugged. "How about you David? Back on the road?"

"Not at the moment." He replied with a slight smile, rubbing the back of his neck and slowly released her arm. God, what he wanted to do was pull Lamika into his arms and not let her go but he thought better of it. "That's great Mika, I'm really happy for you, I'm glad you're getting the life you deserve."

She returned the smile, not about to tell him she lived in an apartment where the water only ran cold, had a broken window that the landlord refused to fix and she was pretty sure there were mice. "Yeah… I uh, guess I'll let you get back to your shopping." She raked a hand through her hair, looking away from him, feeling like she would cry again. "Bye David, nice seeing you." She whispered, biting down on her lower lip before disappearing down the next aisle.

David just stood there for a minute, trying to get his thoughts straight. He finally dropped his own basket and took off after her, seeing her walking out of the store. He halted outside, grunting in surprise when it started to pour. "What do you want out of life?" He shouted at her over the rain.

Lamika turned around, blinking at him, stuffing her hands in her pockets, having abandoned her own basket after seeing the line of people. She stared at him, not caring that she was getting soaked and cocked her head to the side. "Peace." She shouted back. Peace with herself, her life to be peaceful, tired of the war and violence. "What do you want out of life?"

David crossed the street to where she stood, not caring if the rain was beating down and him, and pulled her into his arms, staring down into her blue eyes. "You, Lamika. I want you." He murmured before kissing her, wrapping her in his strong embrace.

Lamika melted against him, shrieking and leaping back when a car sped by, now thoroughly drenched. She dragged him with her, standing under an overhang, just staring up at him. "You sure? After everything I've done?" She asked slowly.

"You didn't know about Samantha, right Mika?"

She shook her head, for once the guilt didn't shine in her eyes, she'd made her peace with herself and hopefully with Samantha. "No, I didn't." Lamika answered honestly. "I was sent out on a job to locate some ex-banger who'd turned straight after snitching, well, that was what I was told anyway." She brushed her soaking wet hair back over her shoulders. "If I'd of known the truth, I never would have done it."

"Which is why I want you in my life. I want you, Lamika. I can't explain what I feel for you because, honestly, I don't know. All I know is that you were brought to me that night for a reason. You knew about the group and you helped me to destroy them for Samantha. You'll never know how thankful I am that you came into my life, but I refuse to let you walk out of it again."

Lamika smiled, draping her arms around his neck and pulled him down for another kiss, no longer minding the rain, not when she had him to keep her warm.

THE END

~Song by Melissa Etheridge~