by Alison Mello
Please keep me in your thoughts, as I’m sure you will be in mine.
Xoxo
Remy
Tears streaming down my face, I run back to my car and jump into the driver’s seat and take off toward his parents’ house. As soon as the car’s in park, I run up the steps to the Bennetts’ house. I have to tell him that I care about him too, and that I’ll wait for him. I don’t want him leaving worried about us.
As soon as Mrs. Bennett opens the door, her saddened face tells me what I fear. I missed him. I begin to sob, and she wraps her arms around me trying to comfort me. “I screwed up,” I tell her through my tears. “I waited too long to tell him that I care too, and now he’s gone.”
“Oh, you sweet girl, he knows you care about him.”
“I wish he would have called me. I know it wouldn’t have been a pleasant way to finish my day, but at least I could hear his voice one last time.” I wipe my eyes.
“Please know Remy had the best intentions when he left you without calling, dear. He was a mess with panic and fear at leaving without talking to you. He truly adores you, Kenzie.”
I pull away, wiping the remaining tears from my eyes.
“And I adore him. I just hope I get the chance to tell him.” I thank her for comforting me, and I head home to figure out my next step. I walk through the door sad and disappointed, and of all nights, it’s a night I don’t need to be at Nana’s, where I can occupy my mind. I plop down on the couch, noticing his little notes on the end table.
Kenzie,
These flowers are nowhere near as beautiful as you are. Hope you’re having a great day.
Remy
Kenzie,
I hope you know that I’m not giving up. You told me you missed me and you needed time, so time is what I’ll give you.
Xoxo
Remy
Kenzie,
I miss the taste of your sweet lips pressed against mine. I hope you’ll come back to me soon. I want to help you get over your fears.
Xoxo
Remy
I press them to my chest and smile as I think about his handsome face. My phone buzzes, scaring me. I jump to check it, and there’s a picture of him with a message below it. I begin to cry all over again.
Remy: I’m sending this because I’m sure you’re done with class for the day. I’m sorry I had to leave the way I did, but I had no choice. I’m thinking about you, and all though this is probably the last message you’ll get from me for a while, I will return to you. That’s a promise.
There’s a selfie attached of him in his uniform with a huge smile on his face. I respond instantly.
Kenzie: I miss you already. Please come back to me.
I stare at the phone hoping for a response, but I get nothing back, so I sit with my phone and the notes pressed to my chest as I cry. Why didn’t I tell him how I felt sooner?
I stand to make myself something to eat while I watch a movie, when there’s a knock at the door. I look to see Lilly standing there with a look of concern on her face.
I open it. She walks straight to me with her arms out. “Keaton told me,” she says, answering my silent question of how she already knew. “Is there anything I can do?” I shake my head. “Want to watch a movie and order pizza?”
I sniffle. “Sure, I was just about to make something for dinner.”
She calls and orders the pizza as I pull two beers from the fridge. When she hangs up the phone, she says, “It’ll be here shortly.”
“Thanks,” I tell her, taking a seat on the couch. “Keaton wanted me to tell you that if you need anything while Remy is gone, just reach out to him and he’ll be over to take care of it.”
I give her a small smile. “Tell him I said thanks.”
“Did you get to talk to him at all?”
I shake my head. “I was about to call him to see if we could get together, but I got the flowers that he left on the porch. When I saw the note, I rushed straight over hoping to catch him before he left, but I was too late.” I grab my phone. “He sent me this.” I show her the picture and message he sent me.
“That’s sweet. He really is a cutie. Mr. and Mrs. Bennett make some good-looking kids.” We both begin to chuckle.
I nod. “I really like him a lot. Actually, I think I’ve fallen for him. It’s not like me to fall this hard or fast, but I can’t help it. There’s something about him,” I say with a smile.
Lilly gives me a small smile back. “I know what you mean. I’m being really cautious with Keaton, but I really like him too.”
I take a deep breath, pulling a tissue from the box on my side to dab at my tears, and turn on the TV. “What should we watch tonight?”
I start scrolling through the movies when Lilly says, “Let’s start with one of those comedy specials we love to watch.”
“Oh yeah, good idea.” I pick one and get it started. Lilly and I used to spend all night watching these shows, laughing until our cheeks hurt and our eyelids were heavy. It was one of the things Daniel and I actually had in common too. He and I enjoyed watching them as well, and we actually went to a few live shows together.
We’re both laughing when there’s a knock on the door. Lilly and I jump up to see a pizza guy standing on the porch. He’s a young kid who looks bored with his job. Lilly hands me the two pizzas and signs the slip. We make our plates and hurry back into the living room with fresh beers in our hand to watch the remainder of the comedy show. We’ve already decided which one we’re watching next.
The first comedy show is coming to an end when there’s another knock on my door. I jump up from the couch, and I can see from across the room that Daniel is standing at the door. Looking down at Lilly, I say, “I’ll be right back.”
“Hey,” I say to Daniel.
“Hey, I just wanted to come by and check on you.”
“Why do you need to check on me?” I ask, confused.
“I heard someone at the store talking about Remy having to deploy. I felt bad that he had to just up and leave.” Tears are forming in my eyes, but I’m fighting them back. I don’t want him to see me upset, but they betray me as one slips down my cheek. He opens the door, steps inside, and wraps me in a hug. I’m not sure what’s going on, but I welcome the gesture and wrap my arms around him. He rubs my back and tells me it’ll be okay.
I pull away to find Lilly walking into the kitchen. “Lilly, you remember my ex, Daniel, right?” She instantly gives him a dirty look, placing her hands on her hips. Yup, she remembers him.
She looks him up and down. “What do you want?”
He puts his hands up in surrender. “I just wanted to check on her. I heard about Remy leaving.”
She narrows her eyes at him. “Well, she’s fine. I’m here with her, and she has plenty of people to help her through this, so you can take your happy ass back up north where you belong.”
He sighs, but before he can say anything, I tell her I’ll be back with her in a minute. She gives him one last dirty look, and takes off for the living room.
“Listen, can I take you to dinner this week? I just want to talk.” He lowers his voice so Lilly won’t hear him. I rub my forehead, not knowing what to do. “Please, just hear me out,” he begs.
“Fine, but it’ll have to be Friday because I’m spending most of the week dealing with class stuff, or visiting with Nana.”
“Friday night it is. I’ll pick you up at six?”
“I’ll meet you at the diner up the street at six.”
He looks like he wants to argue, but when I raise my brows in a questioning look he gives up and says, “Thanks, I’ll see you there. If you need anything before then, my number’s still the same.” He turns to walk out the door without waiting for a response. I close my eyes for a second, wondering what the hell I’m thinking. He’s going to think this is a date, and it’s far from it. I shake it off and hurry back to the living room, where I find Lilly tapping her foot with her hands on her hips.
“What?”
&
nbsp; “Did you agree to dinner with that prick?”
“Yes, he asked me to hear him out, so that’s what I’m going to do and then I’m going to send him packing, at least then I can say I listened.”
Her expression softens. “Okay, but don’t fall for his bullshit lines. He only came here tonight because he knows you’ll be vulnerable.”
“Let’s not talk about it. We have more beer in the fridge and another show to watch.”
She smiles. “I’ll put on the next show, and you get the beer,”
I smile back at my best friend. “Deal, be right back.”
I come back with another round of beer, and we both get comfortable on the couch for some more comedy. In that moment, I realize just how lucky I am to have a friend like Lilly; someone I can count on to be there for me when I need it.
Chapter 17
Kenzie
There’s a knock at my classroom door, and when I look up, I see the school secretary, Miss Braxton, standing there with flowers in her hand. “Excuse me, Ms. McCormick, but you have a delivery.” A smile spreads across my face with excitement as I walk over to her.
“Oh, um, class, continue reading the chapter, and I’ll be back with you in a few moments.” We were in the middle of reading a chapter from our social studies book. Turning my attention to Ms. Braxton, I say, “Did these just arrive?” I ask as I step into the hallway with her.
She smiles at me. “They did. I have no idea who they’re from, but there’s a note inside.” She points to the little card inside the bouquet. I’m secretly praying they are a message from Remy. I haven’t heard from him since he left last week, and the silence is killing me. I have to force myself to go for runs every morning just so I can smile as I pass the bend where he usually meets me. “Well, are you going to read the card?” she asks, bringing me back to the present.
“Oh yeah, sorry.” I pull the envelope from the flowers, ripping it open so I can read the note, but to my disappointment, they are not from Remy. Of course they’re not. How could he send me flowers from overseas? They’re from Daniel.
Kenzie,
I can’t wait to see you for dinner tomorrow. I hope you’re having a great week.
Xoxo
Daniel
I give Miss Braxton a smile. “They’re from my ex. He’s come down to visit and apologize for breaking up with me.” I sigh.
“From the look on your face, I gather you thought they were from someone else.” Damn, she totally senses my disappointment. I need to straighten myself out. I still have another hour of class before I go over to Nana’s for dinner tonight. “I was hoping, but he’s still gone and my ex is unfortunately here. I should have known by the type of flowers they weren’t from him.” I give her a small smile. “Thanks for delivering them to me.” I take the bouquet from her hands and walk back into the classroom.
When I do, I find my kids are all jabbering instead of reading as instructed. “I thought I asked you all to be reading the chapter we were working on. Not discussing your plans for after school.” I hear some gasps as they realize I’ve come back into the classroom. “I know it’s early in the year, but you are all old enough to know better. I expect my students to listen to instructions and follow rules. That means when I’m in the hallway discussing something with a staff member, you will listen to what I ask you to do, and since you couldn’t do that, there are consequences.” I take a seat at my desk. “Had you listened and read like you were supposed to, there would have been a reward. Which do you prefer to receive?”
“Reward,” my class answers in unison.
“I’m glad to hear that because, in all honesty, I’m not one to enjoy giving out punishment, so let’s make this the only one this school year. Do we agree?”
“Yes, Ms. McCormick.” I smile at my students.
I look up at the clock to see there is forty-five minutes of school left. “You will spend the next thirty minutes reading quietly to study for your pop quiz on this chapter tomorrow morning.” My class instantly starts to groan. Tomorrow is Friday, and they typically enjoy Friday. We have Genius Hour, and the only quiz they have on Friday is a quick vocab/spelling test. “Time is wasting. I suggest you start reading,” I tell them with my brows raised.
While they read, I begin going through some reading assignments from earlier in the week, but I’m having a hard time focusing. All I can think about are the flowers Daniel sent me, and how disappointed I was that they weren’t from Remy. Little did I know this was going to be more of a punishment for me, because I’m getting nothing done while I ponder how to deal with Daniel. I told him I would hear him out, but I truly fear that I’m only going fall for his bullshit story. I shake off my thoughts and focus on my papers.
Thirty minutes later, I tell my class to put their history books away and begin preparing to go home for the night. Once they’re all back at their desks with their stuff for the night, I tell them, “Now you all just did an awesome job of reading quietly for thirty minutes. I wasn’t in the hall for half that time. Had you listened, not only would you have been done with history a while ago, but you wouldn’t have a pop quiz in the morning.” I look around with a grin. “I think you’ll all agree it would have been worth it to read quietly, like I asked.” The bell is about to ring, so I tell them to have a nice night, and sure enough, as I finish, the bell rings and my class empties out. Some of them are nice enough to tell me to have a good night, and others are grumpy over the test so they simply file out of the classroom.
As soon as they’re gone, I pull the history book out and scroll through the chapter looking for some questions for their pop quiz tomorrow. I thought about tricking them and telling them they got a free pass this time, but I’m afraid if I do they won’t take me seriously, so I’ll make it pretty easy for them. It takes me about fifteen minutes to decide on the questions for the quiz. I quickly write them up, and head down to the copy room to make sure I have enough ready for the morning. When I get there, I find Mrs. Bennett using the copier.
She looks over to me with a smile. “How’s the new classroom going, Kenzie?”
“It’s going okay. My classroom tested me today, and now I’m testing them.” I show her the pop quiz in my hand.
She laughs. “Very nice. A pop quiz is a sure way to get through to your class that you’re not messing around.”
“I agree. I thought about telling them in the morning that I gave them a free pass and that I told them they were having a test to scare them, but I’m afraid they won’t believe what I say going forward, so I made it pretty easy for them.”
“Good for you. I agree with you, though. They very well could listen and not give you any grief, but is it worth the risk?” she asks with her brows raised. Her expression softens, and she says, “On a happier note, I thought you might like to know that I heard from Remy, and he is settled in. Of course, we have no idea where settled in means, but at least we’ve heard from him.”
I give her a small smile as I start to feel guilty for going to dinner with Daniel tomorrow. “Thanks for letting me know. I miss him.”
“I know, dear, but he won’t be gone forever. He promised me he would be home as soon as he can.”
I sigh and look at the floor, not sure what to say at this point. I don’t even know what we are. Are we friends, and if we’re friends, why does it sting so much? “Talk to me, dear,” she says, taking her copies from the machine. I lift the top, handing her the original before putting mine in and setting it.
Once it’s going, I turn to her and say, “I guess I don’t know what to say. I really like Remy a lot. His career choice scares me, and I thought we were developing a relationship, but then we got into an argument and didn’t speak for a while. Then, just when I was ready to confess my fears to him so we could try to work it out, he left.” I look down. “I have no idea if he feels about me how I feel about him.”
“Darling, look at me,” she says. When my eyes finally meet hers, she adds, “Are you sure you don’t kno
w? From what I hear, he’s been trying hard to show you how he feels while trying to give you the space you need.”
I nod slightly, not really wanting to admit she’s right. She rubs my arm and walks out of the room, telling me to have a good night. I feel tears forming in my eyes, so I quickly grab my pop quizzes and hurry back to my room to drop them off before anyone can see me.
I finally have my emotions under control, and feel like I can manage to walk out to my car without worrying about anyone seeing me upset. I sling my bag over my shoulder, close my classroom door, and stroll out to my car. One more day of school this week, and then it’s the weekend. Throwing my bag in the back of the car, I climb into the front and drive to Nana’s house. I need to hurry because Emily will be there finishing our dinner. We have a great routine going, and Emily really seems to be working out well. Emily and Aunt Kenderly have made a deal. On the nights that Aunt Kenderly is having dinner with Nana, she gets to cook. She says she treats Nana to the good southern home cooking Nana loves, and Emily makes her eat healthy shit the rest of the week.
I chuckle to myself as I pull up to the house, but I’m surprised when I don’t find Nana sitting on her swing like usual. I hurry into the house, concerned. As soon as I’m through the door I call out, “Emily?”
“In here,” she responds.
I hurry into the kitchen. “Where’s Nana?”
“She’s not feeling too well today. Dr. Bennett came by to check on her, and it seems she’s just a bit under the weather. I told her she could relax in bed, and I would serve her dinner in there.” I take a deep breath trying to calm myself. “She’ll be fine. I’ve checked on her a few times, and she’s been resting off and on.”
“Thank you. I’m going to go check on her, unless you need me.”
“No, I’m fine. Dinner will be done in a few minutes.”