He just nods at me. Anyone who didn’t know him would think he was rude, but that’s just his exterior. Inside, he’s a softy, at least to me.
“I’m waiting for someone.” I look around, checking to see if maybe I didn’t see him when I walked in. “Is it okay if I sit while I wait?”
“Of course,” she says as I walk to the table all the way in the back corner, away from prying eyes, away from the sly looks I get from some when they see Collins Henderson walking down the street. I put my hands on the table and notice they’re trembling a little as Everleigh walks over to me.
“I know you’re waiting on someone”—she smiles—“but we just made a fresh batch of peach iced tea, unsweetened.” She puts the glass down on the table. “On the house.”
I look down at the tea and wonder if she’s doing it to be nice or because she feels sorry for me. “That’s very kind of you, Everleigh.” The bell rings, and I look up and see him.
“I’ll be back,” she says, turning and walking to him. “Hey, Theo,” she greets. I wonder how she knows him. I’ve lived here my whole life, and I’m pretty sure I know everyone who lives here. Well, at least I thought I did.
“Hey, Everleigh.” He smiles at her, looking around. He finally spots me, giving me a chin lift. “How’s it going?” She looks at him, then turns her head to look at me, and her eyebrows pinch together.
“I’m doing great,” she replies. “Let me know if you need something.”
“Will do,” he confirms, and he comes to me.
If I thought I was going to be sick before, I was wrong. Now, with him walking to me with his eyes on mine, wearing a pair of black pants with his construction boots and another T-shirt that molds to him, I feel worse. The smirk on his face turns into a grin and then a full-blown smile as he stops right beside my table. “Hey, Collins.”
CHAPTER SIX
COLLINS
He pulls out the chair in front of me, his back to the door. “Have you been waiting for long?” he asks me. I don’t trust my voice not to crack, so I just shake my head side to side. “Are you hungry?”
I clear my throat, making sure whatever is there is gone. “No, I just ate before I got here.” I put my hands in my lap so he doesn’t see them shake. “But if you’re hungry, you should get something.”
“Do you want a donut, maybe?” His eyes meet mine. “Or a piece of cake? Harmony is in her lemon era.” Harmony is Ms. Maddie’s best-kept secret, with a gift for baking that could easily get her on one of those cooking-show competitions on TV.
“I’m good.” I don’t trust myself to eat, afraid I’ll have to run to the bathroom to throw up, or even worse, not make it there and throw up all over him. That’s one way to tell him I’m pregnant.
“Okay, I’ll get myself a coffee and be right back.” He pushes out of his chair, and I watch him walk away. Since when is a back sexy? I try to remember if I even saw his back. It was when he got out of bed to take care of the condom the first time and then the second time, but that was in a half-lit room.
He smiles at two people sitting at another table, and they smile back at him, then look over at me. I know them. They’re at best confused about why he’s here with me. I look toward the window. I’ve seen enough disgusted looks over the years not to need more; they’re already etched in my brain. Outside, a woman I went to high school with is walking down the street, both her hands holding on to her children’s. She’s smiling down at them as they make their way toward the park. A memory of when I was younger comes raging back.
“Your dad will be here soon,” my mother said from the floor beside me. We were in a new apartment, the biggest that we’d ever been in. The building had over six floors because we were on the sixth floor, and the stairs led to another level.
“Can we go to the park?” I asked as I sat down beside her on the floor. The only things in the apartment were the two bags of clothes we had, two yellowed plastic garden chairs that had once been white, and a small table. We had a lot more things in the last place, but we had to leave in the middle of the night because they wouldn’t let us go in anymore. Dad was able to bring out the two bags, but he had to sneak in through a window, and Mom and I had to hide in a nearby bush.
“If you are good and you do what Daddy tells you, then yes, we can go to the park.”
The door swung open. “Is she ready?” Sweat pooled on my father’s forehead.
“Yes.” Mom stood. “Did you get it?”
“Yeah.” He glanced over his shoulder. “We should get going.”
“Let’s go,” my mother ordered me. I got up and followed them out of the apartment and down the stairs. I recall the muggy heat when we stepped outside.
My mother walked quickly to keep up with Dad and turned to me to hiss, “Move your feet faster.” I started to jog. We turned a corner into an alley where a black wheelchair and a blanket sat.
“Get in,” Dad commanded. When I looked at my mother, she picked me up and plopped me down in the chair.
“She looks too healthy,” he sneered at my mother. “Did you put that makeup on her?” She nodded. “Okay, well, cover her and hope for the fucking best.”
He pushed the chair, and when we were close to the grocery store, he stopped and squatted down in front of me. “If anyone asks you, you’re sick.”
“But I’m not sick.” I didn’t understand. He gripped my face so hard that I whimpered. I looked at my mother, hoping she would save me, but she was more concerned with checking to make sure no one had seen anything.
