King Of The Diamonds

E P I L O G U E

Word On The Street Is That Everything Will Be Okay

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T W E L V E         M O N T H S
L A T E R

It'd been 12 months since I buried my brother.

12 months since I helped lower him into the ground. 12 months since Rochelle Quinn slaughtered the fucker who killed him.

My brother had died violent and young. Just like our parents once told us he would.

The truce between The Kings and The Black Diamonds remained. I had joint custody of my daughter and my relationship with Octavia was still as strong as ever.

Liam, Finn, Royal and Jayden sat playing with Raven in our living room, while Rocky and I were speaking in the kitchen. Both with a drink in our hands.

"Raine Ryan's getting out of prison soon, isn't she?" I comment idly, recalling reading it in the Tribune.

Raine Ryan was Rochelle's foster sister from when I first met her. As far as I was concerned, she was just as bad as her abusive foster parents.

"I don't care." Rochelle rolls her eyes, "She can rot for all I care."

"You never told me what they did, Rochelle." I said quietly. She didn't flinch at her name anymore, so I figured it was process.

"Just mind games, bit of hitting. Stupid shit." She breathes out, "He used to make me choose my own punishment. The room, the hammer, the belt, the yard or Ivi."

I almost wince at the pain in her voice at the last word. I knew that despite any punishment that was inflicted upon her, watching that bastard rape Ivan was always the worse.

"And yet I was still the lucky one."

"How the fuck was you the lucky one?" I scoff, "He tortured you."

"I mean, it doesn't affect me like them."

"Rock, you used to get nightmares every single night." I grit out, remembering how all our nights together were spent with me consoling her as she woke up shaking and screaming.

Every single night.

"I was abused, Kill, that's normal." She explains bitterly, "I mean it didn't fuck me up like them."

"How can you even think that?" I ask in disbelief.

"My shrink used to say my only signs of trauma were my scars and my attitude. I push people away, I'm overly angry all the time and I'm just a bitch in general. If you fell on top of Ivan, he'd freak out, understandably so. If you locked Alec in a dark room, he'd probably panic. Put Sky near a hammer or a belt and he'd kill you with it. I'm not like that, the physical shit didn't mess me up like that."

"And so you're the lucky one?"

"I guess I am." She concludes demurely, biting her lip.

She fiddled with the two silver rings on her finger. "I need to tell you something, but you need to promise not to freak out. It won't change anything."