Coffee & Criminals

18. Goodbyes & Warnings

"Ade!" I huffed and puffed trying to keep up. His legs were so much longer than mine and I had to pace myself just so I wouldn't lose sight of his forest green parka. He was dodging through the crowded Brooklyn streets, ignoring my pleads to stop for the past five minutes. Nearly running into a young woman, I mumbled an apology and continued to chase after Ade. "Will you stop for a second? Ade, come on! Don't do this."

He turned down a street corner. For a second, I lost sight of him and nearly panicked. I didn't need a repeat performance of what happened the last time Ade was gone when he wasn't supposed to be. A shot of relief went through my heart when I also turned the corner and saw him sitting down on a bench outside of an arcade. He had his hands shoved into his pockets, a grumpy look on his face, and chewed gum like it owed him money. Ade looked so comical sitting there, I think I would have laughed if I wasn't so upset.

"You're a dehydrated donut." I grumbled as I took a seat beside him. My labored breathing was embarrassingly loud from all the walking, even though we couldn't have travelled more than three blocks and a pulse throbbed deep in my chest. After Ade mysteriously pulled yet another disappearing trick on me in the cellar, I had chased him all the way down here just to get an explanation. At this point, I didn't even think it was worth it. I was so tired of Ade's mood swings these days and I was reaching my breaking point with my patience.

"What happened to us, Florence?" Ade asked quietly. He sounded just as frustrated as I felt. "We were so close just a week ago. I used to kiss you on the cheek every morning. You used to ask me silly questions about everything. How much Twizzlers can a person eat without dying, how long a piece of string can be, why aliens abducted humans and what they did during the abduction...everything, Florence. There were no secrets between us. Nothing could separate us. Until now. What changed?"

I took a moment to catch my breath and then gaped at him. "What changed?" I repeated in disbelief. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe it's the fact that my cellar has one thousand pounds worth of crystal meth in it. Maybe it's because Wolfe Sterling, America's most wanted crime boss, is out for my family's blood. Maybe it's because the Brooklyn Crowns, America's most wanted mafia, is going to get everyone I know and love inside of a coffin!" I whispered furiously. "Maybe it's that, Ade. Gosh golly winkle, you have some nerve to ask what's changed when you know everything has."

He was silent for a second. I hoped he was thinking long and hard about what I said. We watched a flock of pigeons peck around for a moment, both of us knowing that nothing could be the same again, not for a long while at least, but neither wanted to say it. Ade was my best friend. He was my only friend, besides Clancy. How was I supposed to pretend everything was like it used to be, before he kissed me, before Wolfe came into my life? Speaking of Wolfe, his previous words in the car were now resounding to a maximum throb in my mind.

I never even wanted a white picket fence. But that didn't mean I wanted Wolfe.

Whatever. What did Wolfe know, anyways? I had my heart set on smacking the living daylights out of him the next time we unfortunately crossed paths. I probably wasn't going to do it, though. I was too much of a wimp to do that. Besides, I valued my Twizzlers too much to jeopardize them, in case he, you know, murdered me or something. Hmm. Maybe I could ask Clancy to slip in some bags of Twizzlers into my coffin to take into the afterlife.

"Florence." Ade started again. "We need to talk."

"About?"

"Us."

"What about us?" I questioned nervously.

"I don't think I can do this anymore."

I frowned and tugged hard at my necklace. "I don't understand what you're saying."