“But you’re still expected to be at dinner,” he adds, smirking.
I wipe my tears with my sleeve. “I’ll be there,” I promise.
He closes the door quietly behind him.
I don’t move from the bed immediately. I think about Travis as a teenager, in a place like Guiding Hearts. It’s still hard to imagine. And yet, something about that very idea brings me relief. Maybe one day it will be hard to imagine thatIwas in a detention center, too. This won’t always be who I am.
I get up to wash my face and stare at my reflection. For the first time in days, I’m not disappointed in what I see.
23
“Want to sit in there and talk about some things?” Travis asks my mom when I walk into the kitchen.
“Things?”
“Yes, things,” he repeats with a knowing look.
“Oh, those things. Yes, I do,” she says, turning to me. “I’m glad you’re here, Jasmine.” She grabs a slice of pizza and drops it on her plate.
“We all are, right, Kayla?” Travis prompts.
Kayla sits at the table, scrolling through her phone without looking up. I take a seat right across from her.
“Enjoy dinner, ladies. I ordered way too much, and I promise this is the last pizza order for the month. Two in three days is a bit much.” Travis laughs and pats his stomach. He and my mom step into the sunroom and close the door behind them.
Kayla takes a bite of her pizza.
“What’s on that?” I ask, pointing to the slice.
She stares at me blankly. “Banana peppers,” she says in aduhkind of voice.
“Yeah, but I’ve never had those on pizza.”
“They’re spicy. You’d hate it.”
I smile. She rolls her eyes.
“I’m sorry,” I say.
“You should be.”
“I know.”
“You were acting likeIsent the message to Deanna or something,” she says, and I can hear the hurt in her voice.
“I was just overwhelmed by the whole thing. I understand if you can’t forgive me.”
She looks at me. “It hurt my feelings way more than I expected it to,” she admits.
“Clearly communicating isn’t something I’m good at right now. I’m sorry,” I say again.
Her expression softens. “I mean, your whole life was kind of exploding.” She sighs deeply. “I’m sorry, too.”
“Thanks for saying that.” I glance over at the sunroom and see Travis and my mom quickly turn their heads.
“They’re so annoying,” Kayla says with a chuckle. I missed her laughter.
“Seriously,” I agree. “So, what now?”
