Give Me Peace

by M.K. Harper

Call it happenstance or divine intervention, but Roan—a complete stranger at the time—witnessed Archie’s rage get the best of him. He’d been careful up till then, always keeping a leash on his temper until we were behind closed doors. He was a prominent businessman with a reputation to uphold, after all. But out of the blue, Kash decided he was going to grow a backbone in the middle of downtown Seattle on a random Tuesday. He’d pissed Archie off so badly, he snapped without a second thought to any onlookers. He backhanded Kash so hard, his lip split, causing blood to splatter across the sidewalk. I’d never seen my brother so murderous, but it was there that day, shining in his eyes. That dark gaze that matched my own promised death, and I was whole-heartedly on board. Then, out of nowhere, some big fucker stepped in and laid Archie flat on his ass with a swift right hook. It’d taken me a minute to process, but then I folded in half, laughing so hard my goddamn side hurt. Ro and Loch became a fixture in our lives after that. We had a place to escape to, a safety net and support system. To two fifteen-year-olds, they seemed godlike.