A knock on my bedroom door made me sit up. My cheeks were tight from my dried tears.
“Can I come in?” my uncle asked.
“Yes.” My voice came out croaky.
He walked in with a Duane Reade bag dangling from his hand. “You were unexpected, Brooklyn. But as soon as your mom found out she was pregnant, she knew she wanted you. She always wanted you.” He sat down on the edge of my bed. “Don’t you ever think otherwise.”
I would have started crying again if I had any tears left.
“And about Felix. We can talk about stuff like this. Boys. Whatever.” He cleared his throat. “You can talk to me.”
“He’s not bad news. Besides for Kennedy, he’s the only one in the whole school that’s nice to me. He even protects me when I stupidly attempt to play dodgeball. If anything he’s good news.” That might have been a stretch. I was pretty sure he didn’t do drugs. But I knew for a fact that he sold them.
My uncle nodded. “You really like him, huh?”
“Yes.”
He handed me the bag he’d carried in. “Please just use these. Always use these. There’s directions on the box. Just…follow those and you’ll be all set.”
I glanced in the bag. A large box of condoms stared back at me. I quickly collapsed the top of the plastic bag down so I couldn’t see them anymore. “I don’t need those.”
He was staring at the wall, which apparently was easier than looking at me when he handed me a bag full of condoms. “Hold on to them just in case.”
“I really don’t…”
“Please. For my sake. And if you have any questions about…”
“I’m good,” I said. “My mom already filled me in about the birds and the bees. You have nothing to worry about.”
“Nothing to worry about?” He laughed and finally made eye contact with me again. “Do you trust this boy?”
“Yes.” I was worried that it came out as more of a question than a definitive answer. Where was this going?
“I want to meet him.”
What was he planning on doing? Throwing a box of condoms at him and reprimanding him about drug usage? “Oh…no. I think it’s a little soon for all that.”
He pressed his lips together. “Right.” He looked back at the wall. “Not a problem. Forget I even mentioned it.” He looked…embarrassed. I still wasn’t very good at reading his emotions. But then it hit me. Maybe I was getting better at reading him than I thought. Because my uncle definitely looked hurt.
And I realized how my answer sounded. Like I was embarrassed of him. Or of where we lived. Or of something. And that wasn’t it at all. He asked me if I trusted Felix because he wanted to let him in on our secret. That I wasn’t actually a scholarship student. “Actually, maybe it would be good for you to meet him,” I said.
“Yeah?”
“I’ll let Felix know he needs to meet you. Maybe he can come over for dinner one night this week?”
“Whatever day works for you two works for me. Speaking of dinner, do you want to watch a movie and get takeout from that diner on…”
“You pick the movie and I’ll cook us something,” I said and slid off the bed. I wasn’t embarrassed of my uncle at all. But I was embarrassed that there was a bag filled with condoms on my bed. And the sooner I got out of this room the better.
Untouchable - Chapter 14
Tuesday
I caught up with Felix after class. I’d been chickening out from asking him to meet my uncle all day. And I had no idea why. I knew I could trust him. Despite Kennedy’s reservations, I knew Felix was a good guy. The worst that could happen? He’d laugh and tell the whole school I was related to the janitor. The best that could happen? Telling him the truth would make us closer. And now that I knew I wasn’t related to him, I wanted to be closer to him. He’d promised me a kiss. It was hard not to fantasize about it.
“Hey, I need to ask you something,” I said.
He stopped at his locker to pull out a few books. “What a coincidence. I have something to ask you too.”
