Metal slammed against metal. The impact snapped Andre’s head sideways. The limousine lurched into a spin. The police car kept going, sirens fading as it disappeared down the block. The limousine crashed into a fire hydrant. Water shot out of it like an angry geyser.
The limo driver stuck his head through the partition. Half-dazed and ears ringing, Andre looked up at the driver.
“I’m sorry. They didn’t bother to stop. A police car clipped the front end of the car. As we spun around out of control, the police car sped toward its destination. It didn’t bother slowing. Are you two all right back here?”
LJ landed on the floor, and Andre was on top of her. He pushed himself off of her.
“Are you okay, Lila Jean?” Andre pushed through the pain in his abdomen. He was still sore from his fight with Swarn. He helped her up.
She grabbed his hand. “A little sore, sugah, but okay, Ah guess.”
Andre steadied her as they exited the limousine. The driver ran to their side and reached for Lila Jean. His intentions were honorable, but Andre did not care. He shoved the man’s hand away from her.
“I have her. Do you have a blanket or something she can sit on in the car?”
He swooped Lila Jean up in his arms.
“Sugah… y’all don’t have to carry me,” she said, shocked, watching him as he held her.
The man went to the trunk and pulled out a sheet. He spread the sheet and laid a pillow from the car on the sidewalk under a light post, away from the gushing water. Andre lowered her onto the pillow.
Andre and the driver looked at the front end of the limousine. The driver-side front wheel lay flat against the paved street.
“It won’t be going anywhere on its own anytime soon,” the driver said, scratching his head. “I’ll call a tow truck and a cab for you and the lady.”
Andre looked up at the sky and heard hoofsteps. A buggy pulled by a black horse was coming up the street. He threw up an arm to hail the buggy driver. Then he walked over to LJ, who was still sitting on the pillow.
“No need. I will get the lady home,” he said, extending a hand to her.
She smiled.
The limousine driver pulled out his cell phone. Andre walked up to him, reaching into his pocket.
“Take this. It was a good evening, all things considered. I will give you a five-star review. Thank you.”
LJ looked at the driver as Andre helped her up onto the buggy.
“Are y’all goin’ to be okay here, darlin’?”
The driver smiled and leaned against the limousine.
“Yes, I will be fine. Thank you.”
Andre paid the driver of the buggy. He climbed onto the buggy and sat next to LJ. LJ leaned her head on Andre’s shoulder as they rode, her hand resting on his arm. As the ride went on, she pointed out the stars. Andre shifted closer until his shoulder pressed against hers and followed her gaze.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
***
The buggy stopped in front of Michelle’s apartment building. Andre stepped out first, extending a hand to LJ. Something startled the horse. It jumped as LJ was stepping out of the carriage. Her foot got caught, and she tripped over the buggy’s side railing.
She gasped.
He caught her as she fell, their faces almost touching.
“Ah’m sorry, sugah,” she smiled. “Ah have two left feet tonight.”
Andre smiled. “You are anything but clumsy, LJ. Uh… Lila Jean.”
“You can call me LJ, sugah,” she said.
Another siren blared in the distance. Andre looked up, thinking to himself, Carrow PD is working overtime tonight. Maybe Spant needs to check it out.
He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn’t hear LJ talking to him until she said, “Hello. Earth to Andre.”
He looked at her, and she smiled, holding on to his arm.
“Y’all were lost in thought there for a moment.”
“You have my full attention now,” he said as they walked into the building’s lobby.
They walked up to the elevator, and she pressed the button for the seventh floor.
He rubbed the back of his neck.
She raised an eyebrow. “Spill it, sugah. Whatever’s on y’all’s mind, just say it.”
He leaned against the elevator wall.
She pressed the elevator hold button, her shoulder brushing his.
“If y’all are about to ask that we stop seeing each other, then just say it. Ah’m a big girl.”
His head snapped to hers, his eyes opening wide.
“No. That’s not what I want. Just the opposite. I… I want us to see more of each other, LJ. I’m not good at this.”
LJ, shocked at what he just said, touched her lips.
“Y’all want us to date more, sugah?”
Andre gently took her hand into his.
“I want to get to know you better. I want you to be my girlfriend.”
LJ looked down at the floor and back into his eyes.
“Ah want to. But Ah have to be completely honest with you, Andre. Y’all’re too decent a person for me not to tell you this.”
“You don’t have to tell me anything right now, LJ.”
She inhaled sharply, letting the shadow slide across the floor as she gathered herself before finishing her confession.
“If Ah’m gonna enter a relationship with you, Ah have to tell you this. If y’all decide to still be with me, then it’s settled. Deal, sugah?”
He opened his mouth as if he were about to say something, but closed it instead and swallowed.
“Deal.”
“Ah was born a Gen-O,” she said, turning her head away from him. “Ah have powers.”
His heart skipped a beat, and he swallowed hard. He already knew she was Gen-Outlier. But hearing her say it aloud made the truth feel heavier.
Andre just stood there and looked at her. She folded her arms around herself, expecting rejection.
After moments of silence, he said—
“That doesn’t change anything.”
The elevator hummed low and her shadow shifted on the floor.
She looked up at him, almost in tears.
“Do y’all know how they treat mah kind where Ah come from? Ah’m not registered. They hunt us down. We have to register willingly or unwillingly. If we don’t, they most times kill us or throw us into some kind of prison.”
Her fingers dug into the railing, her voice trembling as the words spilled.
“Wait,” she whispered. “What… what did y’all just say?”
Her hands shook.
“It doesn’t?”
She braced herself on the metal railing.
Andre looked at her. She couldn’t look him in the eyes. He turned her head toward him.
“They still use AI trackers down there, don’t they?” he asked, staring into her eyes.
“I get it,” he said, wiping a tear with his thumb. “You’ve been rejected before because of what you are. I’m not walking away.”
She searched his face for disgust. There was none.
She threw her arms around his neck.
“Ah was so scared y’all’d hate me. Ah didn’t want to start this with secrets.”
Andre nervously hugged her. Her words pressed against his chest. He held her tighter than he meant to.
A voice came over the intercom in the elevator. It was the front desk attendant.
“Is everything okay in there?”
Andre walked to the control panel. He pressed the hold button.
“Everything’s fine. We must’ve hit the button by mistake.”
The elevator began to rise again. Andre eased her in front of him. He slid an arm across her ribs. LJ pressed her cheek into his shoulder, her eyes fluttering shut.
“Are we good, LJ?”
“Mmhmm,” she said softly.