"I'm no second-in-command, Short Legs. I'm nobody. Not even a member of the real Black Roses. I'm a rookie."

"But they don't treat you differently at all."


"My family considers me a full-fledged Black Roses gang member, but her father? Guest chief?" Andy shook his head while making a grimace on his face.

"He'll kill her..."

Fanny pulled her knees towards her chest and rested her chin on them while she remained silent.


She feels so bad for Andy but simply doesn't know how to comfort him.

However, before she could think of anything to say, he decided to change the subject.


"Enough about me for now. So, you and Michel? What happened?"

Fanny gulped as she bit her lower lip.

She thought about keeping quiet, but she knew that the blush on her face would say it all.

"We kiss." She confessed.

As if in slow motion, Andy turned to look at her as if he'd just seen a ghost and then carefully sat up, his eyes never leaving hers as he tried to pull himself together.

"Sorry?"

Fanny blushed more and licked her lips as she repeated the words.

"We kiss."

"You... what?"

"..."

"Are you serious? You just let me keep talking nonsense and whining about Farrah when you have factual news like that? Oh my god." He jumped up from his spot on the bed and rushed to sit beside her, immediately bombarding her with a long list of requests.

"OK, I want to know everything. What happened, how it happened, and the details. And don't ignore the bullshit, Short Legs. I mean it. I want to know it all."

Hesitant but honest, Fanny slowly conveys to him what happened the night of the party and how she feels.

"Okay, wait. Wait a second. He kissed me, took me back to his room, kissed me a few more times, and then told me it was just a one-time thing and kept making love to me."

Fanny nodded, her fingers tracing the pattern of the pillow on her lap.

"I do not understand."

"Me too."

Andy frowned.

"Then what? Then what happened?"

"Nothing." She shifted her seat.

"Nothing?" Andy's voice was covered with skepticism and hit all the highs.

"Not necessarily."

Looked at his friend suspiciously, then he leaned over and spoke in a softer voice.

"Are you sure? I mean you can tell me, Shortfoot. You don't have to be shy or anything." Andy reassures her, not believing Michel is capable of keeping it let alone kissing a girl.

"I'm serious, Andy. We kissed and touched a little. Then we fell asleep."

"How was he the next day?"

Fanny looked away as if she was in physical pain.

"He's almost back to the way he was. It's not like he was a different person when we kissed, but I don't know... he's a bit different... softer..." Fanny stopped talking when she realizes that maybe she doesn't mean much.

And she confirmed when she looked for Andy, finding him looking as if he wasn't more confused than she was.

"Michel is gentle? I think I just had a stroke."

"Um, it's good that you're sitting next to a nurse." She added sarcastically as she ran a hand through her long black hair.

"So since then? Has anything happened? I mean it's been three days."

Fanny sighed deeply.

"He made me pick a book so I could spend time reading when I wasn't busy. But when I wanted to leave his room, he got angry and said that if I want to read then I have to read in his room because all the books are first edition and he won't. I want them out of my sight."

"So, every time you want to read a book, you go to his room?"

Fanny nodded.

"I joined twice since then. I read and he ignored me while doing something with the business."

Andy suddenly burst out laughing, slapping his own knee.

"That's bullshit. God, Michel's out of touch, I swear."

Fanny turned to frown at him.

"What do you mean?"

"The first version. Michel didn't care for books. Most of them were just passed down to him by his late uncle whom he didn't like. The rest were gifts. Apparently, he was making things up. come up with some bad excuse to keep you close."

Fanny frowned deeper, not quite following.

"No, I don't think so. It's not like we're talking or doing anything."

"You're there where he can see you. Trust me, I know Michel. His possessiveness doesn't mean anything, but as long as it makes sense to him, he's fine with it. Listen, for him it's like this: If he can't have you, it doesn't matter. But that doesn't mean he's okay with other people having you." Andy explained with a smile on his face, pleased with himself that he had figured everything out.

However, Fanny felt even more uneasy.

Michel doesn't want to continue what they have but is possessed. It has no meaning.

However, his reasoning as to why she was supposed to only read books in his room also felt odd.

"But he didn't even talk to me."

"No. He hasn't talked yet, Shortfoot. Believe me, it won't be long before Michel gets sick of acting tough."

---

And true to Andy's words, only a week later, Michel spoke to her again.

She was sitting on one of his couches, holding her chosen book in her lap, trying to read, while he was directly across from her.

Fanny was just trying to read while Michel was there, just sitting and casually cleaning one of his locks making her a little uncomfortable.

Of course, she'd seen him with a gun before. At that time, he pointed a gun at her for crying out loud.

But the thought of him actually using it on someone still terrifies her.

Over the past three months, she has somehow adjusted to her new family, but Fanny is also aware that she hasn't really witnessed anything as bad as she did in the week. first at home, when Carlos kidnaps and threatens her, and then Michel screams at her after he wakes up.

Since then, she's gotten used to working with Christian and having breakfast and dinner with everyone, spending time with Audrey, and especially growing to like Andy.