Mea Culpa

Chapter 16

With Mateo settled in Jax's childhood bedroom and Coco out in the backyard on the phone with Bishop, EZ and Roxy sat at the kitchen table quietly.

She wondered if he was regretting how close they came to kissing or if he possibly regretted not kissing her when he had the chance. She had no idea he was thinking about Happy, obsessing was more like that.

After some time, Roxy eyed him, her beer bottle lingering on her lips, and cracked a smile when he finally met her stare.

"What?" He asked, looking at her with wide eyes.

"That shit earlier," she shrugged, "Just thinking about it."

"I'm sorry if I read that wrong," he said quickly. "My head is kind of noisy,

Roxy shook her head. "No. I was actually wondering if I was wrong but I guess we both felt it."

"Yeah, I definitely did."

"Good thing we didn't make a nasty mistake," she said.

"Yeah," he said unconvincingly.

"How long?" She asked him boldly.

He smiled a little. "A while. I didn't think it was much until you got locked up and shit got tense with Alvarez."

Roxy nodded, understanding now why he was always happy to babysit and got along so well. "No offense but I don't think I ever realized it," she laughed. "You're cute and you're good with Teo but I was wrapped up."

"I noticed," he nodded.

"I'm gonna run to the store in a little bit," she said suddenly. "I'll have to feed Mateo in the morning and I'm sure you two will want some breakfast too."

EZ hesitated, unsure if Coco would want her going alone or not. "Want me to go? Just to keep an eye on you."

"I know this town like the back of my hand. If anyone needs protection it's you and Coco," she laughed. "But if you want anything specific, let me know."

Roxy winked at him and disappeared into the hallway. While she was lost in the closet, digging through her mother's belongings, EZ was lost in his own thoughts, which now included his feelings for Roxy. Hearing a thump and clatter from the hall, EZ jumped up and found Roxy on her knees throwing odds and ends back into a box.

"You okay?"

"Fine," she huffed. "Whoever packed his shit up did a terrible job."

EZ dropped to the floor beside her to help with the mess when he saw a hatbox, opened, with countless guns inside.

"What were you looking for?"

Seeing that he found the box, Roxy grabbed a thick envelope. "Pictures," she explained. "I don't have many so I wanted to steal some for when I go back."

"Why did you really come back?"

"Here?"

"Yeah," EZ grabbed her hands. "Roxy you can't go after Happy or Alvarez."

"I'm not," she snapped.

"Then why are you acting like an alien?"

She glared at him. "Sorry if I'm not being myself, E, I've had a rough week."

"Being here is messing with your head," he told her. "Every time I go to my dad's shop I see my mom, lying there, face down, dead. It's been 8 years for me and I still miss her every damn day. It's only been two for you."

"Almost three now," she corrected him. "You think Coco or Bish told anyone we're up here?"

EZ shook his head. "I don't know."