Chapter 2

Lara placed the book back at its place and sighed. "I told you," she said, "I dropped out."

A figure dressed in head to toe black leaned against the shelves of books. His hood covered his head, his hands in the pockets of his trousers. "Nah," he rasped, turning to look up at her in her small ladder. "The Lara I knew would cut off an arm before she'd drop out. It's something else."

She smacked her hands onto her thighs in exasperation. "I'm telling you, Rio," she answered with a laugh. "I just didn't like it."

He chuckled, offering his hand to help her down. His skin was warm, his hands now big against her fingers. "I don't believe it," he said.

"I don't care," she answered.

It's as if they'd never stopped being friends. As if that night, in her room, had never happened. Granted, they were now grown ups, not fifteen anymore. Lara had an apartment, paid her bills, was developing her frontal lobe. Rio had a neck tattoo.

"You're so dramatic," he mumbled, following her as she moved the book cart to the next aisle.

"And you're not?"

"What are you doing tonight?" he asked.

She half turned, then thought better of it. "I have...a thing," she said.

He huffed. "What thing?"

She picked up a book and placed it onto the shelf. "A girl thing."

"What's a girl thing."

She sighed. "Like a thing that girls do."

"Like...menstruate?"

"I'm surprised you know the word menstruate," she laughed. He went silent and she immediately knew what she did. She turned, opened her mouth, closed it. He watched her with his huge black eyes, emotionless. "It's not like that, it's just that guys don't usually... Well other guys don't even say that stuff."

He erupted into laughter, all crinkled eyes and big wide mouth, showing his teeth. She looked at him, relieved, something fuzzy growing in her tummy.

"I might have dropped out," he laughed. "But I'm still not stupid."

"I'm sure," she chuckled lightly, returning to her cart.

"And I'm nothing like those other guys," he continued, his voice lower.

She rolled her eyes. "That's exactly what the other guys would say," she laughed.

He was about to protest when her dad, her fucking dad, stepped into the aisle they were in. She went stock still, feeling the presence of Rio at her back like a dark cloud, watching her dad's eyes widen when he spotted him. She'd totally forgotten she'd given her dad the address of her job.

"Lara, honey," he said, not even looking at her. "Who's this?"

She hesitated, turning to look at Rio, who was just lightly chewing his thumbnail, looking bored and unaffected. "You remember Rio, dad?" she offered, smiling painfully. "I used to...play with him as a kid?"

Her dad swallowed, taking in the tattoos, the hair. How tall he'd gotten. "Oh, yes..." he trailed off. And then silently. "Rio. Yes. I didn't know you two still...talked."

That's when Rio deemed it necessary to even pay attention. He took a giant step forward, offering his hand to Lara's dad. "Hey Mr. Delgado," Rio said, but Lara noted the way his voice changed, deepened. "I keep an eye on your daughter, here. Hope that's okay?"

Lara's dad shook his hand, slowly, then firmly. "Okay?" he asked. "Yeah, I mean, as long as she knows we expect her to go back to college."

Rio smiled, retreating his hand back into the pocket of his hoodie. "Oh yeah?" he asked. "Why'd she leave?"

Lara rolled her eyes.

"She didn't tell you?" her dad asked.

"Because it's none of his business," Lara interrupted. She gave Rio a side look, watching as he snickered to himself, retreating back behind her like he couldn't care less that her dad was there. "Dad, what's up?"

He couldn't seem to take his eyes off Rio. "I just came to say hello," he mumbled, returning his gaze to hers. "It's been a while."

"Yeah," she sighed, seeing a black shadow looming over her shoulder. "I'll text you?"

She saw the hurt in his eyes take hold, and she felt bad, but she still wasn't ready to play nice with a man who'd kicked her out of her childhood home. "Yeah," he said, nodding. "Call me. And call your mom, please."

Lara nodded and watched him leave.

Then Rio came to stand in front of her. "He's still so cookie cutter," he said with a chuckle. "Even got the same brand of shirts."

"You're dumb," she mumbled, stacking a few more books on to the shelf, shaking off the awkward feeling of Rio re-meeting her dad. "And what does that mean, you're keeping an eye on me?" she asked, deepening her voice to sound like him.

He frowned in disgust. "Is that supposed to be me?" he asked, pointing to himself.

She smiled proudly. "Yeah."

"Don't do that ever again," he said. "You sound so unsexy."

She tried not to blush, but the heat crawled up her cheeks like hot lava. Rio smiled, licking his lips. But he ignored it.

"So what does it mean?" she insisted, in her normal voice, bending towards the cart to get more books; to busy her hands with hard spines and slippery soft covers.

"What?"

She sighed, totally exasperated by him now. "That you're looking out for me?"

He rolled his eyes, clearly bothered that she questions him so much. "Nothing, mama," he answered. "Just keeping an eye on you. Making sure you're safe. You know, like old times."

She frowned, pushing the cart into his legs so he'd move out of the way. They entered the next aisle. "But in the old times, I was a kid."

"So?" he said.

"So now," she continued. "I don't need you to look out for me."

"Don't do that again, mama," he said, walking up beside her, shaking his head.

"Don't do what?"

"Push me away."

"Okay, so tell me, what does it mean when you say you're looking out for me?"

He sighed through his nose, biting his lip in frustration. "Look," he started, putting a hand on her cart to stop her progression through the aisle. "This city. It's filled with filth. With bad people who would take everything from you. When I saw you in that grocery store, I knew I had to...keep you safe from that. So I have a few of my guys, well, keep tabs on you. Watch over you."

She felt like her lungs had been ripped out of her ribs, her chest cavity left open for anyone to come and poke inside.

There was no air.

"Your guys?" she asked. "What guys?"

She knew he was into shady things but...How far did this thing go?

His face remained impassable. "It's nothing to worry about."

She gripped the cart with white knuckles. "No, it is," she said, fear climbing up her throat. "It is when you feel like I owe you something. It is when you're in some kind of turf war and I go down for it. Rio, what the hell!"

He gripped her shoulder with one hand, anchoring her back into her body, back into her lungs, back into the now.

"Nah nah, it's nothin' like that," he assured her, voice lower, raspier. He was inches away from her now, whispering. "I'd never get you hurt, I promise."

She swallowed thickly. "Rio, I'm not sure I'm comfortable with this."

He smiled sadly, looking down at her, watching her big eyes fill with concern. "I got you," he murmured. "I won't let anything bad happen." The he stepped back, fashioning a new face onto his features. He was so good at switching masks. "What you say, you and me and a bag of bodega popcorn, and a rerun of your favorite show? For old times' sake?"

She stood there, mouth open like a fish. "I...I don't have a TV." That was an answer enough.

He smiled brightly. "Don't worry about that."