Chapter 32

As I sat at breakfast Friday morning—thank God it was Friday—bright orange sunbeams sliced across the room, forcing me to squint. A series of sighs slipped from me while I played with half-soaked Cheerios. My spoon slid along the porcelain, marshaling them to one part of the bowl. With another longer exhale, I swept the cereal to the far side. No, Haley hadn’t sent me more texts. Nor had she met my eyes in class.

But Jesus. That night, though.

When I swallowed a moan, dad raised his eyebrow at me. After I shot him a quick grin, my mind returned to Haley’s azure pools. In the darkness, they’d ignited into blazing flames while she devoured more and more of me with her glossy red lips. All the way to my balls. My really achy, full balls. Magical vibrations sped alongside my cock with each of her moans as I drove my fingers deep beneath her tiny black skirt and shoved-aside cute pink panties.

Yeh, cute. And pink. Hey, it was my dream. Oh, and if my usual nighttime visitor was also there, again I had no memory.

And, of course, right as I was gonna come, the darned alarm clock buzzed. Fuck! With the spoon shaking in my clenching fist and heart racing, I looked up, but dad still scanned his tablet. Whew, the curse had only been a thought.

At least the darned drums remained silent. After school, they’d hammered at me all the way home and into that evening each time I’d stared at my phone, thinking of calling or texting Haley.

What held me back? As my fingertips hovered, I imagined her on or under her dad. Yeh, so there was that. Competing with Jimmy Devlin for Beth, if only for a day, was one thing, but dealing with a father and daughter—situation. Nope. I’d let the phone slip from my fingers and try to think of anything else.

Ever since, the drums had remained silent. Given up? Good.

“No damned juice,” I murmured.

At my words, Shayna looked up with those darned puppy dog eyes. Yeh, okay, I was lying to myself, even so, one issue at a time.

Beth? Not an issue. Not anymore. If she’d been at school, I hadn’t noticed her.

And Jeri? No, I hadn’t texted her.

Why not? With a swish of my spoon, I shoved the milk-soaked circles to the other side of the bowl. To what end? I’d only mess up my sheets. Oh, and to add insult to injury, while they completed the air-conditioning installation, our class shared the gym with several others. There’d been no chance of getting near her.

And of course, there was ... With a grumble, I shoveled a spoonful of sodden Cheerios into my shaking mouth. Mrs. Cameron? At the snorting laugh under my breath, dad glanced up from his tablet. Yeh, that had been such a long shot, the Mars mission looked simpler.

Well, the good news was it was a teacher’s workday, so no school for students. Bad news? Blood tests and MRI scan for me. So, yippee.

Pretty sucky week so far, right?

Yeh, well. It was about to become much suckier. As I’d predicted, all heck broke loose.

“Honey!”

At my mother’s high-pitched wail from their bedroom, dad’s head flew up, all the blood draining from his face. With a grunt, he shoved his chair back before dashing towards her next cry.

Her ears up, Shayna rose and pressed against the chariot while following him with her gaze. After finding the soft fur of her neck, my shaking fingers wrapped around the cool, sleek leather collar. As my parent’s panicked voices carried out to us, my quivering thumb traced its beveled edge.

“It’s too early!” Dad’s voice raised in pitch. “We don’t ... There’s nobody to stay with Kyle.”

“Well, I can’t fucking stop it, dear!” My mother groaned. “They want to come out. Soon. Very soon.”

“Let me make a call.” There were several thumps as he shifted the suitcases they’d packed a week ago.

“To who?” My mother hissed before a stream of short huffing sounds came from her.

“I don’t know, Wendy. Maybe that service. The ones who handled him for our last vacation.”

As dad flew past, black linen case in one hand and phone to his ear, he flung me a quick glance. After an even quicker, tight grin, he disappeared out the front.

“Okay. Okay, but please...” My mother staggered out, both hands firm under her belly and face drawn. She managed a half-smile at me before calling towards the still flapping door. “Please hurry, dear. It’s ... They’re hurting. A lot.”

Ears flattened and tail tucked, Shayna glanced at me, then my mother when she leaned against the kitchen counter to suck in rapid breaths. Yeh, tremors of fear slithered through me as well. After a quick swallow, I forced a grin and sighed.

“You’ll be okay, mom.” I’d no idea whether that was true. Nor did I have a clue what child-delivery capabilities existed at an old desert farmstead. Or what baby arrives after only two months? But I smiled and repeated. “You’ll be okay.”

And, even as she nodded at me and clenched her teeth, an epiphany struck. Shayna whipped to me, eyes shining. When my dad reappeared, his shoulders drooping and shaking his head, I waited. Because this had to be done right.

“Kyle. Look. I’ve got to get your mother back to ... Uh, the desert. Like we talked about before, remember?” As I nodded, he clamped tight to the phone and stared at my mother before returning to me. “There’s nobody available to care for you right now. I’ll try to—”

“Can’t we just take him with—”

“No!” While the vehemence in dad’s voice sent a shock wave through me, my mother’s lips smacked together. “No. He’s not going up there again. Not ever. He shouldn’t have ... Never mind. Look, Kyle. I’ll keep calling. I’ll, uh, find someone.”

Right then? Nope, I waited until he returned with the second suitcase. At my mother’s next loud moan, he glanced at me while losing what little blood he had left in his face.

After a curt gulp, I balled my fists.

Go time.

“Dad. Hey, dad. What about Ms. Richardson?”

“Huh? Your teacher?”

“Yes.” As I nodded, ignoring the tensing of every muscle in my body, I continued in the calmest voice I could manage. “While she was tutoring me, she mentioned she’d worked in a nursing home. She knows lifts, specialized care, how to use the lift gate, and could even drive the van.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that. She’s got no professional license and when was the—”

“Dave!” My mother cut him off while shoving from the counter and shuffling towards the front door. “We’ve gotta go. Now! What choice do we have? At least call her. If she can stay here until you find a licensed caregiver, great.”

“Okay. Okay. I’ve got her number. If she shows up, you’ll have to explain everything, alright, Kyle?”

“Yes, dad. Not a problem.”

“There’s food in the fridge. I made sandwiches for you. And if you need money—”

“Dave! Now!” my mother called from outside, her voice rising into a loud groan.

“Coming!” My dad flailed the case around as he whipped towards the exit. “If she can’t come over, I’ll figure something out.”

“Okay dad. Love you.”

“Love you too, kiddo.” And with that, he tugged the door shut.

At the sudden silence, Shayna stared at me. Her eyes gleamed.

Had I just gotten my wish? Solved the “Jeri Problem.” At last. Well, no. not as easy as that. She was a teacher and they’re supposed to be working. As quiet descended after dad’s tires squealed into the distance, I reached for my phone. It took three tries for my shaking fingers to type the words.

Jeri. My dad’s gonna call. Please say yes. I miss you so much.

And then, for the next 9.6 million years, the silence became ever heavier. With her eyes constantly sweeping the house, Shayna wandered from spot to spot, sitting, lying, standing, and then wandering more. After rolling to the kitchen to rinse my bowl as best I could, I did the same.

To be fair, I was also worried about my mother, but as Shayna and I exchanged glances, we were both anxious about this half-baked plan. In any event, with the entire universe slowing to a crawl, I headed for the rear doors to gaze across the sunlit deck and brilliant blue pool waters.

Time moved backwards.

When my phone pinged, Shayna froze in mid-step and my heart thumped to a standstill. Dad calling to let me know he’d found a service? My mother to tell me the same? Or...? As I lifted the screen to my eyes, the world blurred and every nerve—scrunched.

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