Kiki is so good with Sky. I still can’t get the image out of my head of her tenderly kissing her forehead after she read her a bedtime story. It was sweet, but also was hard for me to witness. Seeing Kiki do this just highlighted the fact that there’s a massive Mom-shaped hole in my daughter’s life.
I hear a noise outside the house. It sounds like a motorcycle, but I don’t know anyone who has one. I stand and walk to the front window. A man rides up the driveway and cuts the engine. He slides his helmet off and shakes his head. It’s Levi.
I narrow my eyes at him. Since when did he get a motorcycle? Doesn’t he realize how dangerous those things are? Is that what he’s been doing instead of going to classes?
The front door opens, and I stand there, my arms folded. Levi walks in sporting a leather jacket, a helmet under his arm. He’s got a backpack slung over his shoulder. It looks like he’s been lifting weights. He’s filled out. “Hey,” he says, casually.
I stand there, sizing him up. When I don’t say anything, he lowers his head. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t finish the semester.”
“Why not?” I keep my voice down so I don’t wake up Skyler, but it still comes across as sharp.
He cringes. “School just isn’t for me.”
“What do you mean, it’s not for you?”
“I’m failing all my classes. There was no point continuing.”
I try not to get upset, but Levi has always had issues with applying himself. I pulled my hair out trying to get him through High School. After that he jumped from one college to another. I thought maybe we’d found a good fit, but now he’s giving up. It’s driving me absolutely crazy. “You do realize you have to actually study to get good grades, right?”
He scrubs a hand over his face. “I tried.”
“I would have given anything to go to college,” I say, trying to keep the emotion out of my voice. It’s not Levi’s fault I couldn’t go. It’s no one’s fault. I chose to take on the responsibility of raising my brothers.
“I know,” Levi says, hanging his head.
I’m so upset, but it’s hard for me to put it into words, so I change the subject. “Did you trade in your car for a motorcycle?”
“Yeah.” He looks me in the eye. “I figured it was my choice, since I paid for it.”
“It’s dangerous.” I don’t want to lecture him. It’s just coming out that way.
Levi shifts his stance. “Look, I’m tired. Can we talk about this tomorrow?”
I sigh. There’s nothing I can really say. He’s twenty-two now. He’s more than capable of making adult choices.
“All right,” I finally say. “Get some sleep.”
I go back in the family room but I don’t feel like watching more TV, so I shut it off and head to bed myself, even though it’s only nine-thirty. My parents always taught me how important having an education is. I didn’t go to college. Noah only attended college for two years before he went into the police academy. Levi has now quit. Mom and Dad must be so disappointed in me.
I change into my pajamas and brush my teeth. Sleep doesn’t come, and I end up lying there listening to the sounds of the house. Living in an old home is interesting. There are all sorts of noises that go on, and most of the time you can’t put a name to them.
I play “name that sound” for about two hours while I lie there, unable to get to sleep. They’re all normal house settling sounds until a floorboard in the kitchen creaks, and I freeze. I know that floorboard. It only makes noise when someone steps on it.
My heart rate picks up speed, and I sit up in bed. I didn’t hear anyone go down the stairs. All our bedrooms are on the second floor, and everyone should be asleep now. Did someone get in the house? Did Levi forget to lock the door after he came in?
I lean forward and listen. I hear footsteps, and then something clatters to the floor in the kitchen. I jump out of bed. Someone is downstairs. I grab the baseball bat I keep under my bed and creep out of my room, my heart in my throat.
I don’t hear any more noises as I slowly descend the stairs, but I know someone is there. I grip the bat tightly as I reach the bottom step. I walk through the family room to the archway that leads to the kitchen. A small light comes from the room, and I raise the bat and enter.
Someone has their head in the fridge. Wait, what? Why would someone break in to steal food? The floorboards creakwith my step and Kiki spins around. “Ah!” she shrieks, cowering before me.
I lower the baseball bat. “What are you doing?”
Guilt floods her face. “I wanted some of that banana pudding.”
I breathe out, setting the bat down on the counter. “You scared me to death.”
“So did you! You came at me with a baseball bat!”
