Page 64 of Read With Your Heart

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After Lena promises me she’ll stay with a friend for the night, I’m frantically tossing stuff in a bag, uncertain how long I’ll be gone. I call the sub line for school and report my absence for the next day. I’ll explain myself later. For the time being, I have an emergency sub plan in place for my classes. I can call Jenna from the road and get her assistance to set up the next few days if I need them.

I leave it up to Lys whether she wants to travel with me or not. I’m torn between needing her help to navigate and wanting to keep her out of this part of her own family’s drama. I give her the option of my mother coming to stay at the house. In the month that they’ve lived with me, my mother has met the Ramirez family but only during a handful of brief visits. I lean toward my mother staying with Lys so as not to disrupt school for her. School is the distraction she needs right now. Thankfully, Lys opts for my mom. As soon as I hang up with her, Emily calls me, and I quickly explain what’s happened.

“I’ll go with you,” Emily says, and though I argue and refuse her suggestions, she argues just as earnestly in return. She can be darn pushy when she wants to be, and I finally acquiesce, appreciating the support. I should have opened up more often to others. I should have reached out before things got to the point they had with Trent. I’m terrible about asking for help, just like Leon is.

We leave within the hour. Jess wasn’t happy about our arrangement, but Emily told me to let her worry about Jess. She knows how to handle him.

For a few hours, we listen to music, chat animatedly about Jess and Emily’s engagement, and keep things as light as we can, pretending we aren’t on the mission we are on. The navigation system helps me find a hotel we’ll spend the night in, but I’m restless once we arrive near Chicago. I text Lena to let her know where we are, and she tells me the name of a coffee shop where we can meet her in the morning.

“What am I doing?” I whisper to Emily late at night in the hotel room.

“Fighting for what you want?” Emily suggests.

“What if I read him all wrong, just like I misread Trent?”

Emily shifts and balances herself on her elbows on her bed. “Do you think you did?”

“I don’t know anymore.” I thought Leon was interested in me just as I was interested in him. I wasn’t asking him to love me the way I love him. I just wanted time. Time to heal and adjust. Time to soak up what we had and celebrate moving on. I didn’t ask for commitment. I wouldn’t pressure him.

“Do you think Leon is like Trent?”

“God no.” The answer comes quickly. Leon’s rough. He’s loud and stubborn, but he’s never frightened me in a physical manner. I don’t feel threatened by him as I felt from Trent. With Trent, the signs were there, but I’d ignored them. Am I ignoring them again? I’m falling into a pattern of finding a dangerous man and then falling for him. This time, I need to be smarter than that.

“What are you thinking?” Emily asks.

I glance over at her in the darkened room as tears fill my eyes. “I think we’re over.” Fun and games. Shirts and skin. Now, we’re done. “I can’t have a man walk out on me like this and give me the cold shoulder when all I want is to . . .” to love him. “. . . to help him.”

“I totally understand. Those strong, stubborn, moody types are such a pain in the ass.” Emily’s voice is teasing because she relates. She’s engaged to my grumpy brother.

“From an outsider’s perspective, I think Leon’s just gotten wrapped up in his fear for his sister, and that pushed you to second place.”

“I get that, but he could have still answered a call or sent me a text letting me know he’s okay.”

“It seems simple enough, doesn’t it? But some men just react and think later,” she huffs. The truth of this is too familiar and doesn’t make it acceptable behavior. I want his reaction to be to come toward me, not push me away.

“What do I do?” I whisper into the quiet dark room.

“My nana was the one who dispensed advice the best. I’m definitely not her, but I’d think in this situation she’d say to take things one step at a time. We need to find Lena first and assure her safety. We can figure out the rest after that.”

I agree, though it doesn’t bring me comfort.

“Try to sleep,” Emily suggests. She’s such a great friend and a good woman for my brother. She’s also great with my niece, and I’m so happy for Katie and Jess to have her in their lives.

“You too,” I whisper, knowing if sleep finds me it will be a miracle.

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The coffee shop is on a busy street. The neighborhood behind it is filled with cookie-cutter homes no more than a foot apart. The front lawns are less than a postage stamp, and every house is a drab brown brick. It’s nothing I’ve seen before. Thankfully, Emily knows where we are, and I can’t help but feel nervous in the unfamiliar neighborhood. We park down a tight side street and walk to the corner coffeehouse.

We’re ready to enter the place when I hear my name called and turn to see Lena walking down the sidewalk. I quickly retrace my steps down the walk and pull Lena into a hug when she nears me. Her tough outer shell prevents her from being an affectionate girl typically, so I’m surprised when she hugs me in return. She pulls back, the tears continuing to stream down her cheeks, and I witness a broken girl. She looks beaten and worn. She had plans—graduation and college—and though she still can, her journey will be a bumpy road.

“Let’s go inside,” I tell her as the blustery November air whirls around us. I wrap an arm around her and lead her inside.

Once we settle in seats at a table for four, Lena speaks.

“Leon found me last night.”