Page 65 of If You Love Me

“Okay, baby. Thank you.”

She settled into her seat and waited patiently for me to back out of the driveway. After another deep breath, I put the car in reverse and eased my foot off the brake pedal. The descent down the driveway was a smooth one. Putting the car in drive, I pulled onto the neighborhood street.

I hated to admit it, but having Tyrion follow behind me put me at ease. If anything were to happen, he could get to us first. Finally somewhat calm, I turned up the radio. The smooth sounds of “If Only You Knew” by Pattie Labelle filled the car. Of course it would be on an old school station.

Summer smiled as she sang along.

“What do you know about Pattie Labelle?” I asked with a laugh.

“Paw Paw only plays old people music.”

“I’m gonna tell him you said that.”

She shrugged. “It’s true. He took me and Nana to a concert with him last year, and it was all old people. I had fun, though, and I knew all the words.” She gasped. “Maybe me, you, and Daddy can go to a concert. Wouldn’t that be fun?”

“It would be fun. You know I love music.”

“Daddy told me. He said you used to make him… what’s it called? A mixtape?”

I giggled. “That’s it.”

Back when we were in high school, I made Tyrion mixtapes all the time. They were usually filled with love songs, but I’d mix a few other things in there too. He’d kept every single one. Back when we were renovating the house, he would pull out his old boombox and pop one in. We’d relive our glory days while we painted walls and deconstructed shit. It was like having our own little party.

I sighed at the memory. Too bad they were just memories now.

Summer Rose started singing again, and I joined in to take my mind off the past. We pulled up at the school about fifteen minutes later, and Tyrion and I parked and got out. Summer grabbed both our hands and led us toward the front of the building. Nina, Jaime, and Jersey were walking up at the same time.

“Oooo, friend! You cute!” Nina said, snapping her fingers.

I blushed. “Thank you. I’m going toCurated Realmafter I leave here to see if they have any openings.”

“You’re going back to work?” Tyrion asked.

I shrugged. “That’s the plan. I mean, I can’t sit at home and do nothing forever. I’ve been home for a month now. It’s time to get back in the swing of things. Even if I don’t get my job back, I’m gonna work somewhere.”

“Good for you,” Nina said. “I’m sure they will take you back. You were one of the best they had.”

“Let’s hope they remember that.”

We headed into the school and were greeted with a big ass welcome sign and balloons. A few staff members were waiting in the lobby to say good morning to the parents. Amongst them was that bitch Iona. Her face held the most awkward smile. I glared at her, and I was sure it didn’t go unnoticed. Tyrion didn’t look at her at all. As we neared her, she tried to reach for Summer Rose, but her father quickly and discreetly blocked her as we kept it moving.

When I looked back at her, she wore a frown. A few of her co-workers passed looks between each other. Embarrassment played on her face as she stepped away and went into the office. When I turned back around, I found Nina looking at me with an expression that said she saw it too.

Neither of us said anything as we kept walking toward the cafeteria. Inside was decorated to welcome us as well. We fell in line with the rest of the parents and kids to grab our food. Once we were all served, we found a table with enough seats for the six of us. While we ate, the girls pointed out different students in their grade and gave us the gossip on them.

They had girls fighting over little boys. Kids who bullied other kids. Kids who cheated. Kids who stole. Who knew elementary school had so much drama? Nina didn’t make it any better because she was tuned in and whispering things to me about some of the parents. All I could do was laugh and try not to get caught staring.

Thirty minutes later, the girls were headed to their classroom, and we were going to the parking lot. Nina and Jaime split from me and Tyrion to head to their car. The walk to ours was quiet and very much awkward. We’d barely spoken since the festival if it wasn’t about Summer Rose. I really didn’t know what to say to him.

Unfortunately, he seemed to want to talk. As I was about to get into my dad’s car, he gently took my arm. I turned to face him with a stoic expression.

“What?” I asked.

“I just want you to know that things are over between me and Iona.”

“Oh?”

“When I got home after the festival, she was moving her things into the house. I confronted her, and she admitted what she’d done. We had this whole big blowup, and I told her I was done and to take her things and get out.”

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