Tigranui Danielyan watched from across the street, as an African American girl, and a frisky tanned white boy, began joking around, laughing and holding hands. She soon recognized that it was Katrina, and paused for a minute to think, if she should interrupt them or not, they did look like a couple.

"Is that her boyfriend?" She thought, confused.

With Katrina, the girl is shy and had just moved there, so Tigranui thought it was impossible for a girl to get a boyfriend that quick.

"She is a beautiful young woman." She said to herself.

She looked back at Jessica and Devlin, and decided she wanted to go talk to Katrina.

Walking back to the bar; Approaching Devlin, and placing a hand on her his shoulder, she told him that she needed to speak with someone, and he nodded, indicating he'll watch Jessica. She looked back at them and left.

"Stop it!" She heard Katrina say, as she slowly approached them, clutching her jacket. She saw her grab his hat, and place it on his hand.

"You know! One day I wish men would trade places with us, you will feel, exactly what I'm talking about!"

As she approached them, both pairs stopped awkwardly, and smiled at her, she smiled back and decided to speak first.

"Feel what?" She curiously asked. "Hello you two, it's nice seeing you guys out, in dis beautiful day isn't it?"

She tried not to let her accent flow but she couldn't help it.. Sometimes, she thought it came out too much.

"Jared doesn't understand why we bleed." Katrina said, her face turning red and Jared's turning redder.

Tigranui laughed at the adorableness, and sighed.

"Men will never know what it's like."

"Hello." They said in return, and rather late.

Katrina smiled warmly at Mrs. Danielyan, she hasn't seen this lady around town since she moved there.

Jared just stared...

"So? What brings you two out, on this nice cold day?"

"We just got off of work."

Jared quickly said, looking down, like he lost something.

"Ah nice, where do you guys work at?"

She was impressed with Katrina, just moving in and already having two jobs.

"We work at Kale & Ford." Katrina lightly exclaimed.

"Ah I see." Tigranui's brow furrowed.

"So you work with Mr. Roderick? The butthole..."

Tigranui paused, aware of what she said, and her and Katrina bursted with laughter.

Katrina had to admit, Mr. Roderick could be an asshole sometimes.

"I meant to say asshole." She chuckled. "Boy that man..." Tigranui purred.

Jared laughed a little, he glanced at the bar, and immediately stopped laughing. He swallowed, and began putting his hands in his pockets, looking down again.

"He's a very difficult business partner yes?"

"Very difficult.." Jared said, sounding a little rushed.

"Well.. I just wanted to stop by and say hello, my children probably need me to go back now."

"I'll see you tomorrow around noon Katrina?" She lightly asked.

"Yes Tigranui."

Tigranui was very pleased that she pronounced her name right, unlike the rest of the town folk.

"Please beautiful, call me Tig, and I will make lunch for us tomorrow." Have a fun evening you two. She quickly grabbed Jared's arm and squeezed, causing him to stare at her in shock.

"If you want to know about periods, they are a pain... And can get you into a lot of trouble, if you're not careful." She looked deeply into his eyes and smiled, but it didn't reach her eyelids. She looked over at Katrina once more, and reached over to signal for a bear hug.

Katrina gave Tigranui a hug and Jared shook her hand. They both watched, as she turned and walked back into a bar.

Jared seemed distraught, and he nervously gulped. He looked over at Katrina to try and make sure she didn't see that.

"Wow! That woman has a strong accent huh?" Jared said shaking his head.

"It's funny, right when you talk about someone, or someone close to them, they come up out of nowhere like a thug." Jared exclaimed.

Katrina laughed at his nonsense, this boy was always so silly to her.

"I wish I had an accent, girl I would be talking all the time."

He tried Mrs. Danielyans accent, but it couldn't ring on his lips, so he stopped.

"I was meaning to ask you?"

"Why did you seem so weirded out when she was around?"

He gave her a cautious look. "So... She had noticed..."

"Girl.. It's like seeing a mobsters wife."

He cautiously said. "She was finsta put a hit on us, you know she heard our conversation."

He looked down through his glasses and puckered his lips and whispered.

"That woman is scary."

Katrina couldn't control her laughter, sometimes Jared was too much.

"She doesn't seem too bad at all really, and for her age, she's in pretty good shape..."

"Katrina don't let looks fool you, she may be sweet on the outside, but on the inside." He paused, and said never mind.

It may seem like he was joking around with Katrina, but she didn't know what he encountered just now. It was plain old fear...

Katrina just scoffed and began to walk away, Jared grabbed her hand, and kept up with her.

"Didn't I tell you to wait for me, so that I can hold your hand?"

"Girl, You know these women be after me in these streets." He was dead serious.

She laughed and held his hand tight...

"Who was that?"

Devlin questioned, when all he saw was a guy, and it looked like he was holding hands with someone, but the guy turned the corner fast, so he couldn't tell who he was with.

"Oh it's just someone that works for your father...."

Devlin nodded and was still staring in that direction.

It seemed like his mother came from doing business.

Tigranui stared up at her son.

She didn't want him to know about Katrina. She didn't know if he was still the same person that he used to be, before he landed in prison.

It was best, if he didn't know..

As for the guy that Katrina was with... My... She smiled to herself.

"He is a sexy young man..."

When Katrina got home, she had four missed calls.

Her sister called her four times.

She wondered what it could be about? She quickly grabbed her iPhone, and dialed Helen's number.

"Hello?" Helen's voice cracked.

"Hey sweety, what's going on?" Katrina was always aware of Helen's sensitivity.

"Momma sold my ring that daddy gave me." She hysterically cried.

Katrina stared down at the floor and sat down on the couch, placing her hand on her forehead.

"I don't know what to tell you sweetheart."

"I can take you to the pawn shop, and we can buy it back?"

Katrina waited until her sister stopped crying. She felt the anger creep up on her neck. Her mother was something else.

"Can we go tomorrow?"

Katrina sighed. "Not tomorrow sweety, I've got work, and I'd have to book an early flight to Catalina."

Katrina stopped herself.

"Helen is staying with Melanie, so how did mother get a hold of her stuff?"

"Helen? How did Kanda get a hold of your things?"

"Momma lost her job and home, so now she's staying with us." She sniffed. "And Morena and Catherine are living with their boyfriends."

"When did all this happen?" Katrina thought.

"Well? What is Kanda doing besides being in the house, and taking your stuff?"

"Nothing!!" Helen screamed.

Probably because her mother was near her.

"She's doing nothing... Besides ruining everyone's life!"

"Give me the phone." She heard her mother say.

"Who are you talking to?"

"None of your business!"

Helen screamed, And then it got quiet, she figured her mother grabbed the phone.

"Hel, hello? Hello? Who's this?"

Katrina was quiet for a minute.

"You pawned Helen's ring?"

"Katrina is that you?"

"Yes it's me mother, now tell me, why did you pawn her ring?"

Kanda laughed hard, as if Katrina told her a joke.

"I can do whatever I want, I'm her mother.. Last time I checked.. You are her sister, don't get it twisted young lady, know your place."

Katrina closed her eyes, she was so tired of this...

"Mother.. How could you do that to her, that was her only memory of her father."

"Well what was I supposed to do starve?"

"Me and Rick needed something to eat, and your sister sho' ain't cooking no meals for me around here, ain't that messed up? I gotta eat too."

"Well make yourself something to eat Ma? Helen and Melanie is not a maid-."

"Well I'm not a maid either Katrina! And I at least deserve some respect around here."

"Shoot..."

Her mother breathed heavily on the phone, and it sounded like she put something down.

"Where are you anyways? I heard you moved to Kildridge."

"Yeee-yes that's right I did. I moved to Kildridge."

She lied, praying her mother didn't ask what part she was at. And thankful for her good sisters.

"What part?"

"Dammit..." Katrina silently cursed, and then remembered she had her lap top open, so she quickly ran to it, she looked up the towns in Kildridge.

"Hold on a second ma.."

"You know what never mind, you doing your own thing out there."

She violently coughed into the phone, and her voice sounded rough. "I don't even care about you anyways."

And then the phone clicked off...

"Well have a lovely day as well mother.. I love you.. Bye."

She hung up the phone as if her mother was still on.

Katrina placed the phone on her chest, and waited a few minutes. She knew Helen was going to call her back.

Sure enough the phone rang.

"Katrina?"

"Yes love?"

"I don't want momma living with us..." She said silently.

And Katrina's chest dropped.

It hurt her that she couldn't do anything to help her sisters out.

And her mother to say the least.

"I know sweety... On Wednesday, I'll book a flight up there, and we could go down to the pawn shop and see if your ring is still there."

"You promise?" Helen whispered.

"Yes, I promise Helen, Now goodnight."

"Goodnight Katrina..."

The phone clicked off.

She later grabbed her coat, and decided to go for a night walk.. She had to clear her mind. Today was a long day at work, she couldn't figure out what was wrong with Jared, and she wanted to see the town at night, she hasn't gotten a chance to since she moved there.

It was cold outside, and Katrina followed a path she remembered that Jared told her about. A park.. He kept informing her of, a popular one.. She liked the idea, so she decided to check it out.

When she reached it, and walked deeper into the woods, enjoying the night air, and the lighted pathway, for her.. Everything seemed so peaceful.

She peered over, and seen a group of friends enjoying cigarettes, and having a bonfire pit around them. They all were in a hushed conversation, it kind of reminded her of a meeting.

She walked further down, and noticed that they were all men dressed in suits. What smelled like cigarette smoke were cigars, and she tried not to look their way, because of the cat calls and the awkward stares.

She slowly peeked, and seen one man staring hard at her.

There was no doubt he was foreign.

He was sitting hunched with his elbows on his knees, and he had a cigar in his hand, and a beer in the other.
His eyes were low, and dark brown, but seemed black, and his broad shoulders were muscled, and fit well with a tight black long sleeved shirt.

The guy is tall, his legs were lean around his grey nikes, and his jet black hair was a little greasy, and tightly slicked back into a bun, on the top of his head.

He had a strong jaw, with thin lips, and a pointy nose. He looked European, and hot. Like he could be a male fitness model.

His eyes is what got to her...

They were very familiar, and she couldn't wrap a finger around it.

Katrina thought he was breathtakingly handsome...

But knew that men like him, probably never dated outside of his race.
She's never seen anyone so beautiful. And she only noticed him, out of the whole group of men.

His demeanor was probably why the situation felt off.

It felt like he didn't belong there. He was the only one not wearing a suit...

She kept going, she didn't need to bother them, some of the men seemed like they wanted to strangle her.

"Hey pretty lady, where you headed too?"

Katrina silently kept walking.

"Not today satan.. Not today." She thought sighing.

Knowing that she heard him, one of them got up, and decided to catch up with her.

"Hey? What's your name? I've never seen you around here before?"

"Dammit." She should have called Jared, so that he could have went on this walk with her.

She kept walking a little farther down, and finally she reached a tunnel and stopped.

The trees surrounding it were high, and she couldn't find an escape, so she turned around.

The man was probably in his twenties.

He had a very low chin, and his eyes were bright blue, with a hint of yellow in them, his hair is blonde, and he wore a slick gray suit. A stylish gold ring, with a lion head on the tip, clung to his index finger.

Classy yet dangerous...

"I'm Jude.. Nice to meet you."

"Hello Jude." She breathed, trying to get past him, and kept walking back to find another pathway.

Jude followed closely behind.

She was a beauty, and he wasn't going to let those animals mess with her.. Especially let them ruin her mood.. She had an aura, that radiated a sort of happiness that can never go away.

"You know where ya goin?" He asked, his accent a little throttled.

"I guess.. I thought that there was more to this park." She said sighing.

"Nope, no one comes to this park actually... They go to the other one.. This one is a secret... Only us men know."

She stopped and furrowed her brow. "Well then, where is the path back?" She sweetly murmured.

She had a feeling, and it wasn't a very cautious feeling around him, it was more of a calming affect.

"Back where you came from, where you just passed us handsome men, including myself... Especially myself." He laughed, holding in a look of anticipation, and a little pleading look, to add in the mix...

She giggled, and decided maybe he wasn't so dangerous after all. "Just a little drunk." She nervously thought.

He smiled and stuck out his hand, dropping his beer.

"Truce? Now I'll walk you back towards the entrance, and you absolutely cannot tell the mayor, or anyone else you know, that you've seen us out here.. Oh-Kay?"

"Truce." She said, and shook his hand.

"Atta girl." He chuckled, and then motioned her to follow him, he nervously looked back at her for a second, and then stopped.

"I don't want you to freak out okay.. But um.. Some of those guys, you need not talk to."

"Why?" she asked, her boots crunching the leaves on the ground.

"Well, lets just say, three of us aren't racist.. And the rest of them... Most definitely are..." He said this slow, and cringed, spreading his lips apart.

"Oh! And me and my best buddies only came for a little extra somethin, somethin, if you get what ah' mean.. If you do that sort of thing." He winked, and chuckled.

He placed two of his fingers together on his lips, and made a whooshing noise, that sounded like he was sucking in. He squinted his eyes, and then blew out the cold air.

"Oh." Is all she silently said.

She stood there, and nervously stared at him.

Was the beautiful male that she witnessed 'Racist?' She couldn't imagine, and hoped he wasn't.

It would be a shame if he was.

Hurt, she described.

She didn't even know him, and it would hurt her if he was.

She sighed, and then glanced at the stranger.

It was like this stranger followed her, to make sure that the rest of the group didn't get to her, it seemed like he was trying to protect her...

"From who?"

"All of them possibly couldn't be..."

"Come on my lady, the more time we take up, the more the men get curious."

She followed closely behind, soon they were by the group again...

Devlin watched as Jude came back with the girl.

"What is this guy up to???"

"What is Jude thinking? Bringing her back to them? She's black.."

To make things worse, the men around him gave out scowls, and they all paused and stood silent.

It was bad enough he didn't want to be there.

People from his old crew were there.

People he didn't like anymore.. He grew out of that 'White Power.' Bullshit, a long time ago.

He didn't like how Jude and Ivan were just being nice, so that they can score points on some weed. Or the fact that they were still friends with some of these assholes.

"Why don't they just find the weed from someone else?"

"Or... Better yet, grow some." The people there looked up to him.. None of these rich boys probably ever went to prison.

That's what bugged him.

As soon as they met up with the men, all of them were hooting and saying he was the man. He ignored them, and grabbed a beer and accepted a cigar.

"You can't just erase your past, you have to fix the fuck ups."

He suddenly remembered what his father told him, on the day he was sentenced to prison. And ever since then, he's listened and tried fixing his past mistakes.

What sucked the most was the memories with these people...

"These guys are in suits." He thought and scowled, how duchy was it to wear suits, and a shaved head. Like matching pigs...

"What did any of that have to do with anything?"

He just thought this whole damn thing was stupid. At least he had a beer, he hasn't had one in a long time it felt like. And the cigar calmed his mode, he watched as Jude led the girl towards the path back.

She's gorgeous, from her tiny eyes and sexy legs. This girl could've been famous for all he knew..

But he didn't even have time to look her over. Someone whispered the 'N' word and snickered. Pretty soon, the rest started laughing.

Jude looked back alarmed, and motioned for Devlin and Ivan to follow him.

Devlin quickly got up, and Ivan slowly sat up, puffed on the joint that he rolled, and said goodbye to his childhood friends. Shaking their hands, grabbing his share of weed, and following closely behind Devlin.

"Hey you guys!"

"What the fuck? Where ya goin?"

"Bring that black beauty back here!"

Whoever was yelling this, made Jude look so white, that Devlin had to slap him on the arm, to get him to snap out of his shock. They may seem like gangsters to Jude, but to Devlin... He wasn't buying it, or feeding into it.

"Let's go back to old times sake eh?! Let's kick it!"

Someone shouted from the group.

Pretty soon Ivan was standing next to Jude and the girl, and Devlin stopped to fix his shoes.

"Hey devvvllliinn." A guy sang.

He couldn't remember the face, but remembered the voice.

"How come you don't do her like you did that last chick eh?"

"Hit the monkey in the face!"

Now Devlin was feeding into it.

Devlin ran up on the crew, and picked the guy up, he spilled his beer.

"I don't fuck with you pussy ass cowards anymore." He spat.

His voice is so deep and