Khloe shook her head. “No, I’ll go. And grab some extra snacks. Y’all can have some daddy-daughter time until I get back.”
Kennedi looked at me like the ultimate daddy’s girl. “I’d like that. I’d actually love that a lot.”
30
Khloe
“Thank you,” I said to the girl at the drive-through window as she handed me the bags.
She smiled. “Have a good night.”
“You too.”
I pulled forward, double-checking everything before rolling up my window. Hibachi was secured and also the ridiculous list of snacks Kennedi texted me was already in the backseat — Hot Cheetos, gummy worms, cookies, sparkling water, two different ice creams because “board game vibes require options.”
Everything was handled, so I exhaled and turned the music up as I pulled onto the main road. My music shuffle had been doing its thing until a familiar intro started playing.
“Good Girls” — Joe.
It was a song that Stacks had sent me one morning saying that it reminded him of me.
I should’ve changed the song. Every logical part of my brain told me to skip it, delete it, and move on.
Instead, I let it play and my mind betrayed me. My phone had been going crazy the last few days with missed calls, texts, long paragraphs. He had been blowing me up ever since I showed up at his house that night.
I hadn’t responded because I told myself silence was enough. But it didn’t feel finished. I understood I had a hand in that fairytale. I was the married one, not him. I stepped into his life knowing I had something to lose. And that made me feel… slightly responsible.
The hibachi spot wasn’t far from his house. I came up on a red light. Straight would take me home, but right would take me to him.
My heart started pounding like it was waiting on my decision.
“Just go home,” I said to myself.
The light stayed red longer than usual. I stared at the turn signal like it was calling my name.
“You don’t need closure,” I whispered. “You don’t.”
But I did. Maybe not for him, but for me. I didn’t want to spend years wondering what the last conversation would’ve sounded like.
I turned my signal on. “God…” I whispered as I made the right turn. “Be with me. This is just closure. That’s it. No mess. No emotion. Just closure.”
My chest tightened as I pulled up. His car wasn’t in the driveway which meant one of two things — he wasn’t home or he parked in the garage.
But then I noticed the blinds were open and he only did that when he was home. I parked, cut the engine, and sat there for a second.
Breathe.
I stepped out and each step toward the door felt heavier than the last. I rang the doorbell, and a few seconds later, the door opened.
Stacks stood there, eyes wide in surprise. “Khloe?”
I instinctively stepped back so he wouldn’t invite me inside. He stepped out instead and pulled the door shut behind him.
“What are you doing here?” he asked. “You haven’t been answering my calls. I just wanted to apologize but right now I’m kinda tied up.”
“Oh, it won’t take long,” I said calmly. “I just wanted to stop by and have one last conversation before I block your contact for good.”
His face shifted to confusion. “Block me?”
