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“Hmm? Yeah. Yeah, it’s fine.”
“What’s with your scowl?”
He lifted one shoulder and dropped it just as quickly. “I didn’t realize I was scowling.”
“Wanna meet up at the park later?”
He slowly shook his head. “Can’t.”
“Why not? Are you in trouble?”
“Something like that.”
“Why?”
“What’s with the twenty questions, Trina?” He didn’t snap when he said it, but it hurt her just the same.
“Forget I asked,” she said as she faced forward.
“Hey. Heeeey.” He put his arm around her and kissed the top of her head. “I’m not meaning to take this out on you. I just don’t want to be stuck in that house with...”
“Emily?” she asked when his voice trailed off.
He didn’t answer her.
To Katrina, she felt he didn’t need to. Emily had been on the warpath for weeks and she and Ren had been the subject of many of Emily’s tirades. Katrina leaned against Lorenzo, listening to the steady beat of his heart as the bus took them further, closer to Willow Creek Road where they would have to go their separate ways.
“I hate this part,” he said softly. “The leaving you, I mean.”
“You’re leaving?” Katrina asked, sitting up abruptly.
He was silent as he looked at her, then he pulled her close again. “Not like that,” he said softly. “Never like that.”
But he had lied to her.
Two short weeks later, he was gone.
***
When Katrina pulledup to her parents’ house, she recognized Lorenzo’s truck in the driveway. “I can do this,” she said to herself as she gathered her courage to keep her composure. This would be the first time they’d be face to face after...was it making love? She exhaled slowly and put her bag on her shoulder before getting out of her car.
Her mother’s smiling face was the first thing she saw when she entered her childhood home. “Hello, sweetheart,” Mrs. Carter said, placing a kiss on Katrina’s cheek.
“Hi, Mom.” She hugged her mother tightly before stepping back. “Sorry about yesterday.”
“We were just talking about that, weren’t we, Lorenzo?”
Katrina chanced a glance in Lorenzo’s direction, where he sat with an easy smile and a cup of coffee. “Yes, ma’am, we were,” he said.
“Ma’am. Isn’t he the sweetest?” Mrs. Carter had always been ‘ma’am’ to Lorenzo, even when he was a teenager. “Can I get you anything, Trina?”
“Some coffee, please.” She walked up to the breakfast table and took the seat across from Lorenzo, which would put her mother in the chair between them.
“Coming right up.”
“How are you?” he asked Katrina. “You seem to be walking okay.”
“Slip on shoes,” she replied with a grin. “I’m hoping I can get my boots on later. But they’re doing fine. Thank you for your help.”
