Seventeen

Kian

“I’m grateful that you’re here with me, keeping my mind occupied and all,” I replied, gearing myself ready to blast back with the “all due respect” retaliation speech, but the waitress walked out of the kitchen with our food.

It saved the day and provided us with pleasant silence while we ate. Even afterward, nothing more got brought up about my future. Not even after we tipped the waitress and left, the walk home was all about sports and Jax trying to talk me into trading in my Capri for a motorcycle. It took my mind away from Charlie and whether he’d manage to persuade Mrs. B to go with him back to Whitevale.

Jax stayed with me for a couple of extra nights before his duties called him back to the clubhouse. I had showered once all week, then spent every day shuffling between Mrs. B’s place and mine. The grief seemed to worsen whenever I found myself alone. I found it easier to box things away, pulling all the framed photographs down off the walls and packing them carefully. I p