Page 46 of Ashes

If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have been in so much pain and discomfort for the last two years.

I wouldn’t have been in so many surgeries, I lost count.

If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be alone without a family.

The door to my closet slowly creaked open.

“Found you,” he teased me, giving me a warm smile, but it dimmed once he saw the expression on my face. “Jamal, what’s wrong?”

“Go away,” I shouted at him. Instead of leaving, he switched on the light and stepped into the closet and sat next to me.

“I said go away.”

“No.”

I turned away from him, facing the wall on the left. “Why don’t you ever just leave me alone?” I spat out, tears brimming my eyes with how angry I felt.

“Because I’ll always be by your side,” he replied softly.

A tear fell down my cheek and I angrily wiped it away.

“Jamal,” he said, gently placing a hand over my shoulder.

I shrugged it off, not wanting him to feel the scars under my sweater.

“Jamal, look at me,” he persisted. “Please.”

I shifted to face him. “What do you want?” I asked, still angry.

He gave me a small smile despite my attitude. “I have something for you.” He reached into his pocket and extended his hand in front of me.

I glanced down, looking at the small object in his hand. He pressed it into my palm and closed my hand around it.

I opened my hand and explored the object, flicking the lid open. It was a small gold Zippo lighter. My fingerflicked down on the wheel on the side and I watched a flame form.

I flinched, almost dropping it to the floor.

Noah wrapped his hand around mine and placed my thumb on the wheel again. I tried again and watched the flame come to life.

“This is a reminder. You might not understand what it means right now, but I want you to remember this. Don’t let fire consume you because you can always rise from its ashes.”

I leaned the Zippo to the side, moonlight reflecting on the inscription at its back.

You’ll always rise from the ashes.

I closed my eyes for a brief moment, reminding myself of my goal.

Find out who started the fire and kill them.

I sat tucked back in the corner of the dimly lit hotel room and watched the elevator doors open to an older man with two much younger women flanking his side as they stumbled in.

The majority of men seemed to lack originality, but collectively, they always made themselves easy to trap.

From my seat in the living room, the suite’s bedroomdoor was opened enough to give me the perfect vantage point to capture this while still being hidden.

The brunette on his right giggled as he nibbled on her earlobe before whispering something in her ear. She playfully swatted his chest. “You’ve got such a filthy mouth,” she said, her speech slurred.

“And I can do even filthier things with it,” he teased.