Page 8 of Kid
I smiled. “This is totally not me.”
“Don’t be silly, of course, it’s you.” Jeremy sounded irritated. “They said if we were lacking motivation that we should look into our own families. I mean, you tackle grandmother all the time. If that’s not heroic, I don’t know what is.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat and blinked away the tears.
My mother had taken control of my life and Jeremy’s and I couldn’t even stand up to her.
I was no hero.
When I brought Jeremy back to school, he had about five minutes before his class start. He didn’t run from the car like I thought he would.
“You have to go to your locker.” I told him. “You don’t want to be late.”
“I brought my books for next period with me.” He smirked, tapping the side of his head. “I just have to run in the door is right there.”
I nodded.
“Thanks for taking me to lunch.” He told me. “I needed the time away from everything. Grandma has been a little more impossible than usual. I asked her for a phone again and she lost her mind.”
“Why don’t I buy you one?”
“No. If she finds out you bought it for me then you’ll have to have another talk with her and this time she could cut you off completely.” He sighed. “I don’t want to take that chance. You’re my only sanity, you know that, right?”
Sad, I leaned across and hugged him tightly. “I’ll fix this.” I promised him. “I don’t know how but I’ll fix it.”
He nodded and I eased back into my seat. Though he smiled at me, they didn’t meet his beautiful hazel eyes and the guilt I felt at his sadness tore through me. I dug through my wallet, found a fifty dollar note and pressed it into his palm.
“Usually rules apply.” I told him.
“Rainy day fund.” He told me. “And keep it from grandmother. Got it.”
I touched his cheek tenderly, then leaned in to kiss the side of his head. “Go.”
Jeremy nodded as his voice cracked over his love for me.
“Love you too, Jer.”
With each step he took away from me, every part of my heart broke. I couldn’t imagine this was what Calie wanted. How could she have left guardianship to that woman?
How?
When he disappeared inside the doors, the tears finally toppled down my cheeks. I pressed my face to the rim of the steering and sobbed until all I felt was numb.
Walking into the nail salon, I simply needed something pick myself up. My usually girl grinned brightly at me and waved me in.
“Hi Jamilla.” I greeted her.
She stopped what she was doing to drop a kiss to both my cheeks.
“I know I don’t have an appointment, but I’m desperate.” I told her.
“Have you been crying?” She took me to the side to ask. “Jamilla asked. “I know we haven’t had time to go out for drinks lately. What did I miss that you’re crying?”
“Same shit, different day.” I smiled at her. “Just had lunch with Jeremy and it was hard to let him go.”
Jamilla nodded with sympathy all over her face. “Oh—what are you looking for today?”
“Everything?”
