Page 106 of False Play
Fuck.I hadn’t meant to say that.
I leveled her with a look. “What did I say about questions?”
“Fine,” she groaned.
I nodded and quickly hopped out of the truck and opened the door for her. “It’s going to be a long, tiresome day. Are you sure you want to do this?”
She scoffed and waved her hand dismissively as we strode through the back door, where the kitchen was located. “Have you met me? I love doing things like this.”
Lisa, who was practically like a second parental figure to me—she was around the same age as my mother—with her fierce attitude and her blonde hair in a high ponytail, strode to us with a clipboard in hand. “You’re late.”
“Sorry,” I mumbled.
She pursed her lips. “At least you’re here. If you stop by the back office, there are some extra shirts for both of you to wear. They’re in one of the boxes.”
I nodded and tilted my head so Kennedy could follow me. I sifted through the boxes until I found the perfect sizes and handed one to her. She had a camisole underneath her sweater, so she took it off and slipped into the salmon-colored shirt as I changed into mine, too.
“You ready?”
“I have so many questions.” She sighed. “But yeah, I’m ready.”
The time passed in a blur.
I was on prepping duty, because I didn’t like being in the front. The marketing team usually took a lot of videos and pictures of the volunteers to post on social media, and for obvious reasons, I always made sure to stay away. When Lisa heard Kennedy tell one of the other volunteers she was talking to that she worked in PR, she had her work in the front, serving food and talking to people.
Lisa had been working as an executive director forWillow Housesince the very beginning, when I was just an ignorant kid with a big dream and didn’t know where to begin. She was efficient and knew her job well. Thanks to her, we had one of the best volunteer programs in the Midwest, which allowed us to help a tremendous number of people over the years. We had something good going, because this was something we were both passionate about and we made sure to work with people who were equally as passionate about it. Her eldest daughter and only grandchild were victims of domestic violence, and it pained me to even think about the fact that they didn’t make it out alive. This was why I trusted her with everything, because this was just as personal for her as it was for me.
After everything was cleared out and we made sure every woman and child in the building was well-fed, I ordered a bunch of pizzas and wings from a nearby mom-and-pop pizzeria. I was forever grateful for every single volunteer, though the circumstances were fucked, because why the hell was DV such a common thing in the world? I didn’t know. But I’d fight against it every day of my goddamn life until my last dying breath, and it was rewarding to know some people felt the same way.
I’d barely seen Kennedy all day. Every time I turned to look for her, she was speaking with a volunteer or with Lisa. I was exhausted and my hands hurt from all the prepping I had done, but man, my heart was full. As it always was, every time I came around to help.
Kennedy took a seat next to me. “Hey, pretty boy.”
“Hi, stranger.” I smiled. “I feel like I haven’t seen you all day.”
She laughed. “I’m sorry. I just…” She looked around, her brown eyes shining. “I loved talking to some of the volunteers. If you could hear their stories and how they got here.”
I nodded. If only she knew how familiar I was with all of them. Most of them had been with us from the beginning, and some of them even needed help once, and when they finally got back on their feet, they became volunteers to pay it forward. “It’s amazing, isn’t it?”
“It’s incredible how the community comes together and helps women and children in need.” Her smile was so bright, and she was radiating so much happiness, I couldn’t help but smile, too.
“I know you must have a lot of questions.”
She rested her hand on top of mine, squeezing it gently with a nod. “We can talk about that when we get home.”
I nodded without a word and took a breath of relief. I was dreading the conversation, because there were so many dark parts of me I still didn’t understand, and I was about to lay it all out there for the woman who was becoming one of the most important people in my life in such a short time.
“Thank you for bringing me here, Henry. I loved being a part of something good.”
My heart swelled with pride. I knew Kennedy was amazing, and though part of me was worried, I was glad I shared this part of myself.
I just hoped she wouldn’t be too mad when I told her the whole story.
TWENTY-EIGHT
KENNEDY
FUNNY HOW LIFE WORKS, ISN’T IT?
