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Angela nodded and Isaiah pulled her into the comfort of his arms. There was so much more they needed to talk about, but she and Isaiah’s problems could wait. Tonight, they needed to make sure Cory understood he wasn’t alone.
CHAPTER 25
The sound of something crunching woke Isaiah the following morning. He jerked up and a sharp pain shot down his back. He groaned and rested his head back. He was on the couch in Angela’s living room. The last thing he remembered the night before was resting his head in Angela’s lap while they watched a movie. They’d finally convinced Cory to come out of his room and hang with them, but only after he made them promise not to talk about his mom or dad. They’d agreed, feeling Cory needed time to process. There was a blanket over him, which meant he must have fallen asleep and Angela left him where he was.
Stifling a groan, Isaiah turned his head in the direction of the crunching sound. Cory sat on the chair next to the couch eating cereal from a bowl. He lifted his chin in a what’s-up motion and shoveled another spoonful of cereal into his mouth.
Isaiah eased into a sitting position and tried to massage the kink out of his neck. “Could you chew any louder?”
Cory half chuckled. “I thought you’d be sleeping in Auntie’s room since you made up.”
He’d thought so, too. Her bed was much preferable to the short couch. “I don’t mind the couch.” He rolled his neck to loosen the knots. He leaned his forearms on his legs and really took in Cory. “How are you doing?”
Cory shrugged. “All right, I guess.”
“You guess? Remember what I told you. You can talk to me. What’s going on in your head?”
Cory broke eye contact to stare at the cereal in his bowl. “I’m mad…at my dad and my mom.”
“I can understand that.”
“They don’t miss me at all,” Cory continued. “The only person who ever misses me is Denise.”
“Denise? The girl from camp?” He’d expected Cory to say Angela.
Cory nodded. “It’s like she’s the only one who cares, but it shouldn’t be like that. My mom and dad should care.”
Isaiah slid over on the couch and gently bumped Cory’s knee with his hand. Cory looked up and Isaiah met his eyes. “She’s not the only one who cares. I care. Your aunt cares. You understand that, don’t you?”
“I guess,” he mumbled.
“No guessing. Know it. We’ll figure this out, but regardless of what happens, we both have your back. Got that?”
Cory nodded and he looked a little more convinced than he had a second ago. Angela’s bedroom door opened and she stepped out. Her hair was pulled back into a loose knot and she wore a pair of turquoise pajama pants with a white T-shirt. The pajamas weren’t sexy in the typical sense of the word, but that didn’t stop thoughts of cuddling with her in a comfortable bed and all her soft curves against him from popping into Isaiah’s head. He wanted to jump up, cross the room and pull her into his arms.
“Good morning,” she said as she walked into the room. “I heard you two talking and figured I’d better get up and make breakfast.”
She stopped at Cory’s chair, placed her hand on his shoulder and leaned down to kiss the top of his head. Cory twisted away, but he had a smile on his face. “I got breakfast.”
“I see that,” she said. She met Isaiah’s gaze. “Want anything more substantial than cereal?”
“I do, but you don’t have to cook. Why don’t we go out for breakfast? Then we can get back to my place and have lunch with my family before they leave later today.”
Angela bit her lower lip. “Breakfast is fine, but I can’t do lunch. I’ve got to get back here and finish registering for school before going in to work tonight.”
Isaiah’s body stiffened. “Work?”
She must have heard the tightness in his voice because she crossed her arms. “Yes. Work.”
“Do you really think you should be working tonight?” He looked pointedly at Cory, who was once again focused on eating cereal.
“What else should I be doing? I’m the one who has to keep the roof over our heads.”
