Chapter 6
Kelly paned her lips before calling out, “Dad“”
William glanced at her before scanning the inom. “Where’s your younger brother? Is he will not home?
Kelly was about to say she had no idea, but Helena beat her to it, “I just called him. He said he was playing basketball with his classmates. They just finished, and he’s on his way back.”
William knotted. “All he ever does is play basketball. He never studies. Deless brat.”
“He’s only in his first year of high school. How do you know he’s useless? What kind of father talks about his own son like that?”
Dinner was ready. The three of them sat around the table, but no me picked up their cutlery. They never ate until Jackson came home.
Kelly was used to it. She stared blankly at the pasta in Impt of her.
“What’s taking him so long?You don’t think something’s happened, do you?” Helena asked ardously.
“Hebateenager, not a toddler. What could possibly happen?” He paused before asking, “Why don’t you give him a call
All of a sudden, Kelly’s mand dritted back to her senior year. She had runout of living expenses and had to go home on the weekends to ask for more from ber parents. It was pouring when she was on her way home that day, and she’d waited ages under an eave for the downpour to ease.
When she finally got home and opened the front door, danched, her parents and younger brother, Jackson Valencia, were already at the dining table, eating. They didn’t even seem to care that she was soaked.
“We thought you’d be home tomorrow because of the downpour ”
Kelly had been only an hour late that day, yet all she got was their leftovers. However, Jackson wasn’t treated the same way. If he was even a few minutes late, they’d call to diecken him, and they wouldn’t eat until he was back
Helena was about to call jackson when the front door creaked open. She jumped to her feet and rushed to the doorway, “Jackson, you’re back!
In walked a 16–year–old boy, his face a blend of youth and adding maturity. His tousled hair hung over his forehead, and his laid–back demeanor was reflected in the unripped school uniform that hung loosely at his sides.
“You must be starving. I made your favorite lasagna,” Helena sald with a beaming smile.
“That was ages ago. I don’t even like that anymore!” Jackson.complained.
“oh“Well, what do you like now? I’ll make it for you next time.”
“Whatever,” he responded dismissively. When he walked in and saw Kelly, he stopped in his tracks and asked, “What’s he doing here?” He didn’t even acknowledge her.
“It’s the weekend. Your sister came home for dinner, Helena said as she nudged untoward the kitchen. “Go wash up and eat before the food gets cold
Jackson reluctantly walked into the kitchen.
Kelly remained quiet throughout dinner, while Helena kept loading Jackson’s plate with food, as if she was afraid he’d go hungry.
Jackson didn’t appreciate it, though. He dodged her attempts and grumbled, “I have hands, y know, I can serve myself.”
William, who was watching from the side, chimed in, “That’s enough Can’t we eat in peace?”
Kelly felt out of place around them
That was until she absentmindedly hit into a fatty plece of meat. The greasy sensation spread in her mouth, and her stomach churned violently. She gagged, abruptly leaned over, and thirwupright on the floor.
In an instant, all eyes were on her Jackson wrinkled his nose in disgust and covered it with his hand.
sap everything she had eaten.
Before she could say a word, her stomach chumed again, she rushed to the bathroom as fast as she could, crouched down, and threw up that evening.
“What’s wrong? What happened?” Helma asked, following her into the bathroom and gently patting her back. “Why are you throwing up all of a sudden?”
Kelly was throwing up so much that tears were almost spilling from her eyes. Her eyes misted over when she felt the warmth of hermother’s hand on her back. For a moment, she wondered if her mother had ever gently patted her back when she was sick, before Jackson was bom
At that moment, a heavy sadness clouded her eyes, and all the tear and anxiety she’d been carrying for days surged to the surface. She wanted to tell her mother that she was pregnant and that she didn’t know what to do. She wanted to ask her if her life was over.
“Are you feeling any better?” Helena inquired as she looked at her.
Kelly turned to her and nodded. She hesitated for a moment before choking out, “Mom, I
before she could finish, Helena rose to her feet and frowned as she walked our of the bathroom. “In that case, clean up this mess. We’re eating dinner here, and now the whole place stinks. Couldn’t you have held it in a bit longer and made it to the toilet?”
Her words felt like a punch to the gut.
night after saying that, Helena asked, “Why aren’t you eating, ako? I’ll leaths up in a second. You should eat a little more
“I’m done eating. I’ve lost my appetite,” Jackson sapped.
William’s stein voice sounded. “Clean it up already. I want to finish dinner.”
Not our of them seemed to care about Kelly’s condition. No one brought her tissues or a glass of water to the her mouth,
Crouching in the butlussen, Kelly burst into tears. She shouldn’t have expected anything from them. She thought maybe -just maybe–her family would offer her
a slivered support.
But she had forgotten that all the pain she had suffered came from her own family. Whenever she made a mistake, all they ever did was blame and criticize her. Not once had they thought about how she tell
Through her tear–filled eyes, she thought of the man who was as bright as the moon. Maybe he could be the one to show her the way.
Late at night, Leon sat at his desk with a laptop in front of him. The light from the screen reflected on his face as his long fingers danced over the keyboard.
just then, his phone buzzed beside him. He frowned as he picked it up and saw that it was a call from an unknown number.
“Hello, who’s this? His voice was deep and magnetic
There was no response on the other end of the line
He citerated, “Hello, may 1 know who I’m talking to?+
There was still no ans
Leon suspected it was a prank call and was about to hang up when a hesitant voice came through. “P–Professor Butler.” Leon instantly recognized the voice as Kelly’s and brought the phone back to his ear
“II“sme, Kelly.” She sounded a littlestr
“I’m sorry for bothering you at this hour, Hervoice trembled “Are you free tomorrow? Can we meet?”
Leon didn’t press her. He stared at the desk lamp before him and said, “Yeah, we
Leon picked the time and place. When he walked into the restaurant, he spotted her right away.
Kelly was wearing the same gray jacket she had on when they first met in school. Her head was lowered, and her fingers were fidgeting on the table, revealing just
Leon walked toward her. Kelly looked up when she heard footsteps approaching.
As soon as she saw his tace, she rose from her seat and called out, “Professor Butler.”
Leon motioned for her to sit down before taking a seat himself.
The two of them at across fromach other in silence.
Leon broke it first, asking, “What would you like to eat?”
Kelly hurriedly waved her hands. “No, I’m good”
“1invited you here for lunch,” he said, pushing the menu toward her. “Pick something you like
His tone was firm, leaving no room for refusal
Kelly randomly pointed at something on the men and said, “I want this.
Leon glanced at the dish—cajun jambalaya. Without saying a wood, he called the waiter over and undered three more dishes along with the cajun jambalaya
Kelly took a few sips of water while they waited for the food to arrive, Leon didn’t rush her, her did he ask why she wanted to meet
When the food arrived, her scalp tingled at the sight of the cajun jambalaya. She couldn’t handle spicy food well, but her thoughts had been elsewhere when she ordered. She hadn’t even realized what she’d ordered
not
But since she chose it, she had to eat it. She forced herself to take a few bites, and before long, her forehead was covered in a sheen of sweat, and her lips had turned bright red.
Leon reached over and fled her glass with water. “Lemon water helps with the spiciness. If you can’t handle it, you don’t have to force yourself to eat it.” “I’m sorry” she mumbled, embarrassed.
“Don’t be.” He moved the dish away. “At least now I know you can’t handle spice.”
His words stirred something in her heart, and she looked up at him. His tone was calm, as always. Even when he first learned she was his student, he’d only lost cccposure for a moment before segaining it.
He was probably much older than her, and that was the maturity that came with time. Maybe seeking him out was the right call after all.
With newfound courage, Kelly took a deep breath and said, “There’s something I need to tell you, Professor Butler.”
Finally, she decided to come clean
Leon nodded, “Go ahead”
Kelly unzipped her bag and retrieved the results from her checkup. Her hands were shaking as she handed them to him
