Page 12 of Queen’s Gambit

Patricia pressed her leg up against mine. “Eddie….”

I jumped up out of my seat. “I said, don’t touch me.”

“Dude, fucking chill. That’s my sister,” Mario said, and I glared at him.

“Then tell her to stop touching me,” I shot back.

“Are you calling my sister a slut?”

“I’m not the one touching her. So, what do you call that?”

It was unfair. She hadn’t done anything terrible or more than what any of the other girls who had tried to hit on me did. But she wasn’t getting the hint and had become more insistent rather than leaving me alone.

“Take that back,” Mario said, standing.

My hands balled into fists just as a bright light shined on us.

“What is going on over here,” the man working this section asked. I looked at Mario and then at the usher.

“Sorry, I’m not feeling well. I need to go,” I said, and Marcus jumped up to come with me. “You can stay.”

“What the hell, man? We never get to hang,” Angelo complained. “Why are you ruining it?”

I ignored him. Angelo never knew when to keep his mouth shut.

“I’m not staying if you’re leaving,” Marcus said.

Why couldn’t people just leave me alone? Even my best friend was pissing me off.

“I’m ordering you to stay. I just need some sleep.”

The guys mumbled about what a pussy I was being. They could shove it. I didn’t give a fuck what they thought of me. One day, I’d own this area, and they would take orders from me.

“Are you sure,” Marcus asked.

“Yeah, I need some space.”

Patricia was sulking. Her arms were crossed as she glared at me, her eyes filled with tears. Maybe going to Wayward and getting away from her wasn’t a bad idea. I no longer felt terrible about being an asshole to her. I wanted nothing to do with her or her family, and if I played nice in any way, then I knew where it would lead.

“Okay, I’ll stay.” Marcus slowly sat down but kept his eyes on me like I might yell ‘joke’ and order him to come with me.

Shoving my hands in my pockets, I left as the opening trailer started but stopped when I passed the concession stand. Getting an idea, I walked over and got one of everything, including a new popcorn, before heading out.

Maurice was sitting on a bench under a tree while he read his newspaper. It was a habit that he refused to give up despite all the papers being available online. He noticed me before I reached the car and got up to open the back door.

“Decided to go home after all?”

“Yeah, I’m definitely not feeling well,” I said, and he looked at the bag full of candy.

“Clearly,’ he said, making me smile.

A weight lifted off my chest as we got closer to my house. Pulling into the driveway, I barely waited for the car to stop before jumping out and running for the door.

“Hi, Mama,” I yelled as I flew past the kitchen.

“Edmundo, is everything okay?”

“Yes, Mama,” I said, not slowing my pace and taking the stairs two at a time up to my room. Racing in, I closed and locked the door before opening my laptop to call Ana.