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CHAPTER 5
Katrina had been sittingwith Lorenzo since the beginning of visiting hours, holding his hand and smiling to herself as his fingers tightened around hers. She’d forgotten her coffee in her rush to make it there and had sent a text to Justin who had yet to respond.
“Figures the one day I forget coffee is the day my brother doesn’t ask how high when I tell him to jump,” she said as she smoothed Lorenzo’s hair back. They’d cleaned him again, this time removing the rust-colored stains that had been on his cheek. “We went to see your bar last night, let Martin know what’s going on. He said he’d be here today.” Again, Lorenzo’s fingers tightened around hers. “Yeah, I saw your bar. It’s...” Her voice trailed off before she said anything negative about the sticky floors, the broken sign. “It’s so close to what you’ve always wanted,” she said instead. “And I’m proud of you, you know?”
Katrina jumped at the sound of light knocking behind her. Expecting Justin, she was surprised to see his wife instead. “Hello,” Judith said, her smile beaming as she held out a cup of coffee for her.
“Thank you,” Katrina replied in a rush as she took the cup from Judith’s outstretched hand.
“You’re welcome.” Judith crossed the room and took a chair on the opposite side of Lorenzo’s bed. “Wow.”
“I know.” Katrina’s eyes lingered on Lorenzo’s face, on his chest with its steady breathing.
“He really filled out. I thought he looked good before, but damn. Even with his banged-up face, and—”
“Aren’t you married to my brother?” Katrina was smiling as she asked the question, and Judith smiled in return as she shrugged.
“I still have eyes. Where’s your appendage?”
“My what?”
“Emily.”
Katrina’s smile faded. “I don’t know.” She had yet to hear from her best friend, who almost seemed to be avoiding her.
“She was never a fan of Lorenzo’s though.” Judith flipped her deep red hair back out of her dark eyes. “So don’t be surprised if she’s a no-show through all of this. You know how she turned her back on you in high school.”
Katrina opened her mouth to reply, but no words formed.
“She’s beyond racist, Trina. And when you formed the Terrible Three, she cut you off.”
“I...” Katrina thought for a moment. “I suppose she did, but I didn’t really notice. She was so busy with drill team, and I was in cheer, and Ren and Justin just... Terrible Three? What’s that all about?”
“You definitely needed that coffee.” Judith smiled though it didn’t reach her eyes. “Those were Emily’s words, not mine. And up until Justin and I spent all our time together, you three were inseparable. Wherever Lorenzo was, you were, and vice versa. Emily couldn’t stand it.”
“But why?”
“Haven’t I already explained why? Besides, she’s Emily. She didn’t like being replaced.”
“When did all of this happen? Where was I?”
Judith pointed to Katrina and Lorenzo’s hands, which were still joined. “There. That’s where you were.”
“But we weren’t. Not like that. Not for a while.”
