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She opened the door for him. Her face was pale, drained of all color. Her eyes were round and filled with fear.
He stepped inside, locked the door, and pulled her to his body for a hug. Her body shook as he held her.
“What’s happened?”
She inhaled deeply, then he stepped back, and she pulled him toward her computer. There, she had an email open, and the picture was of her, beaten and bruised from a couple of weeks ago. It said, “I love looking at you like this.”
He clamped his jaw tightly. Clicking the sender’s email address, it came up with an “Error, not found” message. He emailed the GHOST and RAPTOR server and wrote a message. “Cyber, please see if you can tell where this email came from. Spencer.”
He closed the lid on her computer, then stood. Kenna stood frozen, staring at her computer like it would reach out and grab her. He pulled her into his body and wrapped his arms around her. “I’m here for you.”
“Okay,” she whispered into his chest. He rested his chin on her head and stared off across the room. After a long moment, she pulled away slightly. “I promised my parents I’d come for dinner.”
“I’ll go with you.”
Her lips formed a straight white line, then she took a deep breath. “Okay.”
“Look, this morning caught me off guard. I wasn’t expecting the question, and I wasn’t expecting to have to think about you leaving this soon. I enjoy being with you. I enjoy being around you. I’m not ready for you to go. It hit me like a punch from Rocky Balboa.”
“I shouldn’t have put you on the spot. I’m sorry. I’m not ready to leave you either. But...” she pointed to her computer. “I’m not safe here.”
30
Kenna held her mom close for a long time. It felt good to hug her close. “Mama, this is Spencer Lawson. He’s been helping me. Spencer, this is my mama, Niya Lawrence.”
Her mom nervously asked, “Oh dear, do you have so much work you need help? Don’t let your father know this, Kenna.” Her mom then looked up at Spencer and smiled brightly. “It’s nice to meet you, Spencer.”
“It’s nice to meet you too, Niya.”
Her mom nervously tittered about. “Come in, come in, please. Sit down. What can I get you to drink?”
Kenna laughed. “Mama, sit and talk to us.” Kenna opened the refrigerator and pulled a beer and a hard seltzer from inside. She set the beer in front of Spencer and smiled at him. He winked at her and that felt so good. Almost like they were back where they’d been before this morning’s awfulness. “Mama, do you want something besides coffee?”
“No, honey. Coffee for me.”
She poured her mom a cup of black coffee and sat next to Spencer at the table and across from her mom. “How’s Daddy doing?”
Her mom frowned slightly, then inhaled a deep breath. “He’s not good, honey.”
“What does the doctor say?”
“You know. The usual. He’s old, his heart is bad and get your things in order.”
Kenna frowned. “Have Sean and Jonathon come to see him?” She turned to Spencer. “I’m sorry. Sean and Jonathon are my younger brothers. They don’t live around here anymore. Sean moved to Tennessee and Jonathon lives in Florida.”
“I’ve told them he isn’t well. I haven’t told them the last.”
“You need to, Mama. They need to know. They should come home and say goodbye.”
Her mom teared up and Kenna reached across the table to take her hand. “Mama.”
Her mom shook her head and pulled a tissue from the pocket of her blouse. She dabbed at her eyes and cleared her throat. The oven timer went off, and she stood to remove a casserole from the oven. Kenna got up and pulled four plates from the cupboard.
“Only three, honey.”
“Mama. Isn’t he eating?”
“Not much these days.”
