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Chapter 15
KENNEDY
“Come on, we’ve got to go!” I yell, shoving stuff around in a junk drawer in the kitchen, looking for my car keys but finding them nowhere. Ugh. I check the counter, and the table, before moving on to the living room. Not on the coffee table, either. Certainly not on the hook by the front door, where they’re supposed to be. I pull the cushions up on the couch, checking under them. Nothing. “Maddie, have you seen my keys?”
No answer.
I look all around, my eyes skimming along the floor as I make my way down the hallway toward the bedrooms, in case I dropped them. Nope. I'm trying to remember the last time I saw them. The door was already unlocked when I got home this morning, so yesterday sometime?
“Maddie?” I call out, her silence concerning. “Are you listening?”
No, it turns out, she isn’t. She’s sprawled out on her bed, dressed and ready to go, her hair already messed up, even though I fixed it a few minutes ago. She’s fast asleep, not hearing a word I say.
“Maddie, we need to get going,” I say, shaking her awake, waiting until she sits up before asking, “Have you seen my keys, sweetheart?”
Rubbing her eyes, she shakes her head.
Even if she has seen them, I don’t think she’s awake enough to remember it.
“Get your bag ready for school,” I tell her, walking away, heading to my bedroom. I search around for a moment, now looking for my cell phone, going so far as to rip the blankets off my bed and dump out the hamper. Nothing.
Annoyed, I give up. I don’t have time for this.
I’m already going to have to walk to work.
I go back to Maddie’s room.
She’s lying down again.
“Up, up, up,” I say, picking her up and setting her on her feet before grabbing her backpack, shoving some stray papers into it, not sure what she needs. I put it on her back before taking her hand and pulling her to the door.
“I don’t wanna go,” she whines, dragging her feet.
“Sorry, school is a necessity.”
“But why can’t I stay home with you?”
“What makes you think I’m staying home?”
“Because you don’t got no uniform.”
“That’s crazy, I—” Glancing down, I realize I’m not wearing my work shirt. Crap. “Wait here. Let me change my shirt.”
She just stares at me.
“Seriously, don’t move,” I say, pointing at her. “I’ll just be one second.”
Any longer and she’ll be right back in her bed.
Of course all my uniforms are dirty, so I shove through the pile of clothes I threw out of the hamper, finding the one that looks the cleanest. I’m pulling it on as a knock echoes through the apartment.
I tense, knowing Maddie’s going to open the door even before she announces, “I gots it!”
“Wait!”
“Jonathan!”
My stomach drops as I walk back out, finding the door wide open—of course—with him standing there, grinning at her.
It’s been a crazy morning. Waking up at dawn, naked in your ex’s bed, body aching, covered in the scent of him, has a way of putting someone through the emotional ringer. Horror. Fear. Dread. Excitement. I’m not sure how to feel about it, not sure about anything except the awkwardness, the guilt, the shame… and maybe I shouldn’t feel that way, but it’s unavoidable.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, more bite to those words than I mean. I can tell by the way he looks at me, the flicker of hurt in his eyes, that the question bothers him.
“He can come today, remember?” Maddie chimes in, looking at me like I’m being ridiculous. “He said since he couldn’t stay and play with me and Aunt Meghan.”
“Oh, I know that,” I say, walking over, pressing a hand to the top of her head as I force a smile, hoping she doesn’t sense the weirdness. “I just mean, why right now? Playtime is later.”
“I thought you might need this stuff,” he says, pulling something from his pocket and holding it out—keys and a cell phone. My cell phone, more specifically. My keys, too. “You must’ve forgotten it… somewhere.”
“Ugh, thanks,” I grumble, taking the phone from him as it starts ringing. Work. “It’s been one of those mornings. I’m running late, and ugh… let me take this call. Hello?”
“Is everything okay?” Marcus asks when I answer. “It’s ten after and you’re not here.”
“Yeah, sorry, I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Just checking, since this isn’t like you.”
I hang up, rolling my eyes, and turn back to Jonathan, about to apologize for having to cut this short when he says, “I can take Maddie to school, if you need to get to work.”
Her eyes light up at that suggestion.
“I, uh… I don’t know…”
“It’s only, what—a couple blocks from here? I can get her there, no problem.”
“Please, Mommy?” Maddie says, grabbing his hand like she’s standing in solidarity. “He can get me there!”
