of the cross on her forehead, shoulders, and chest.
Blessing’s biological father was a member of a street gang in the heart of Chicago. A bad one. He was in the kind of gang where the members wore red and black, had tons of prison tattoos, carried around guns like some people carried newspapers, and probably killed for funsies. It had been rule number one since Blessing came to stay at Kerrighan house. Her father Tyrell Jones was never allowed to visit the premises. Tyrell had been found an unfit parent when Blessing’s mother was murdered. He didn’t fight for custody, but he did contact Mama Kerri after Blessing came to stay and worked out an arrangement to see his daughter every couple months or so. To this day, I didn’t know how connected my sister was to her dad. It had always been a taboo topic of conversation, though the overall consensus had always been no contact with any of us.
“Someone has to do something! This is family. I’m not going to come home to Mama’s one day and find her dead in her bed because of some lunatic. Been through that once. Don’t plan on going there again.” Blessing scowled, her naturally dark skin turning a deep garnet at her cheeks and down her neck with her anger.
Jonah held his hands out. “Which is why I am suggesting that she stay with me. I’m off work for at least a week and can protect her. She’ll never be alone.”
“What about when I have to go to work?” I perked up at his “never be alone” commentary.
“Simone, you’re gonna need to take a leave of absence,” he started but I stood up, the blanket falling to the couch as I started to pace.
“There is no way I can take time away. I’ll lose my job and I already lost one of them last night that I still need to replace!” I finagled my fingers through my ratty hair and gripped the roots. “I can’t provide for myself if I don’t have a job.”
“And you won’t be able to provide for yourself if you are dead either!” Sonia pointed at me, her pretty eyes going dark as night.
I shook my head. “This is insane. I have to work. I have to. There’s no other option. I’m already out of a home. They could burn the place down with all my stuff in it for all I care. I’m never going back there.”
Addy came up to me and hugged me, following her natural inclination to comfort first and think about the situation later. “We’ll figure something out.”
“Yeah, like her sister will take her in and provide for her until all of this mess gets cleaned up…” Sonia ordered.
“No. I’m not living off my big sister!”
“Why the hell not?”
“Because I make my own way! I pay for my life. Me!” I tapped at my chest. “You do not get to decide my life for me. You’ve been trying to do so since we came to live here. You have to let me go!”
“It’s because you’re too damn wild, Simone! Always leaping before you look! Running before you walk.”
“You mean living? That’s what people who live their lives fully do. Take advantage of every day they are given because as we both know, they are precious. Remember. You always say each day is a gift. I believe that with my whole heart! You on the other hand stay with your feet firmly planted on the ground. Making decisions for everyone in your life. Heck, you even make decisions for the entire state of Illinois and yet it’s still not enough for you. You want to control me too!”
“I want you safe!” Sonia cried out, tears falling down her porcelain cheeks, the dam that held the waterworks back exploding along with her temper. “I want you alive!” Her voice rose. “Is it so wrong to want my only blood relative on this earth to be where I can touch and talk to her?” She sniffed and wiped at her nose. “You are reckless, Simone. Always have been. Every day of your life I worry about you.”
“Maybe because my big sister has always held on too tight! I love you, Sonia. More than anything. But you can’t keep me locked in a gilded cage like some exotic bird. You can’t clip my wings and expect me to stay around. I’ll always find a way to fly.”