Chapter 1 #2
“Don’t give me that,” Maddy says with disappointment levels spiking. “You know I can’t pay the tuition. How could you risk your place at this school when you know how important it was to your mother?”
Bringing up my mother is like a blow to the heart. “I’m sorry.”
“I know you and Kai act like you don’t care about school,” Maddy says, gripping my shoulder, “but he’s in a different boat. His parents can pay for his schooling. We’ve had to be scrappy to make this happen. If you get kicked out, that’s it.”
“I don’t want to go to a different school. I want to stay with Kai.”
Aunt Maddy squeezes my shoulder tighter. “And you care Lily wanted you to go to Ashworth Academy?”
I roll my eyes. “Yes, I know it was Mom’s dream.”
Maddy’s eyes water. “Don’t roll your eyes. You don’t know how hard Lily worked to make sure we didn’t struggle.”
I lower my guard and wrap my arms around Aunt Maddy. “I do know. She worked too many jobs to take care of us and Grams. I promise I won’t let her down.”
Maddy holds me close, whispering, “I just don’t want it to be all for nothing. She can’t come back and fix it for us.”
“Maybe she can. They never found…” Why did I let that slip out?
Maddy pulls out of the hug and presses her hands against the sides of my face. Her eyes bore into mine as they shine with unbroken tears. “Baby,” she whispers. “You know she’s gone. She’d never disappear. She’d never leave you.”
I gulp and nod. For the past ten years, Maddy has always felt this way.
Mom’s file is still marked as a missing person with the Sheriff’s department, despite Maddy’s protests.
Maddy is adamant something deadly happened to Mom.
She told law enforcement countless times Mom is dead because, with every fiber of her being, she knew Mom would move heaven and earth to get back to me.
To be honest, I don’t think about Mom often. Aunt Maddy does a good job of keeping her memory alive. Lily West was an empowered woman. At sixteen, she took herself, her twelve-year-old sister, and her baby girl out of an abusive home in Logan’s Point.
We moved to Victoria Falls with nothing to our names.
We were so lucky Grams took us in. Not only was she the owner of Morton’s Cafe and gave Mom and Maddy jobs, but she also gave us room in her two-bedroom house.
Grams was a widower and didn’t have any kids of her own.
Mom said there was an instant connection the first day they met.
I miss Grams just as much as Mom. She died a few years after Mom was gone.
It was a lung disease, and in the end she needed machines to help her breathe.
She left the house and the cafe to Aunt Maddy and me in her will.
“I promise to study more,” I say as Aunt Maddy’s hands tremble against my cheeks. I have no idea how I’ll magically learn how to study, but I can’t let down these women who helped raise me.
Maddy releases my face and wipes under her eyes. “I know you will, baby.”
“Kylie and I have cleaned most of the workstation,” I say in a weak tone. “Any chance we can take off soon?”
Aunt Maddy nods, opening the office door. “We’d better get going. You’ve got a last-minute gift to buy.”
I groan as I walk out of the office. “What am I supposed to get him?”
“He’s your best friend’s twin brother,” Maddy says, following me out. “You have to know something he’s into.”
My mind shutters through memories of Milo. I barely acknowledge his existence. As I think about each of our encounters, he’s always a background character in my story with Kai. Lightbulb. In most of those instances, he’s in the background reading a book.
“Let’s just play it safe and go to the bookstore.”
Maddy claps. “Well done. You figured it out on your own.”
“Okay, genius,” I tease. “What book should we get him?”
Maddy’s face droops with puzzlement. “I dunno. He’s such a whiz kid. Just get a gift card.”
I wink. “My thoughts exactly.”
“Everything okay with you two?” David asks, approaching the counter.
“It will be once Jamie improves her grades,” Maddy says.
Kylie gives me subtle side-eye. Any classes we share, she always seems to coast through.
Maddy leans into the kitchen, calling out to Jake and Laura. “We’re heading off. Are you okay with cleaning and locking up?”
“No problem,” Jake calls back.
Aunt Maddy turns around and Laura emerges from the kitchen. She’ll give Kylie a hand, keeping an eye on the cafe floor.
“I’m driving Jamie to the bookstore, and then to the boys’ house,” Maddy says, grabbing her coat and rounding the counter. “I’ll meet up with you after?”
David meets her with a quick kiss on the lips. “Sounds perfect.”
After changing out of my work uniform and into my trademark ripped jeans, t-shirt, and tartan shirt, I pry Aunt Maddy away from David. We make a pit stop at the bookstore with the slowest store clerk in the world, and finally arrive at the Nelson household.
“Thanks, Aunt Maddy,” I say, racing toward the two-story, white house with four pillars decorating the front exterior.
“Wait up,” Aunt Maddy calls, jogging behind me. “I’m coming with, remember?”
Whatever. I leave her in my dust. I have FOMO about missing out on whatever the guys got up today.
Mostly, I just want to see Kai. I feel incomplete when I don’t see him.
His parents always make a big deal out of birthdays, so he didn’t hang out at the cafe, despite Maddy offering free breakfast to the whole family.
I was so peeved when Mrs. Nelson declined the offer, saying she wanted to do something special at home.
Kai is so lucky to have parents who can afford to spend time at home with him and his brother. They have time and money to make a whole day special. Most of my birthdays were spent behind the counter or in a booth at the cafe. Not that Grams, Maddy, and Mom didn’t try to make them special.
I knock on the front door and twist on the handle before anyone has a remote chance of answering. Maddy trails behind as I enter the brightly lit foyer with shiny, gray-marbled tiles.
“Is that James?” Kai’s voice calls out from the top of the stairs.
“Hi King Kai,” I call back, moving into the house with his gift.
“Hi Jamie, how was work?” Mrs. Nelson says, moving out of the kitchen and meeting me in the heavily furnished living room.
“It was fine.”
She looks beyond me with a happy smile. “Hi there, Maddy. Nice to see you.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Nelson. You too,” Maddy replies.
Mrs. Nelson’s cheeks plump as she giggles. “Maddy, dear. I told you; you don’t need to be so formal with me. You can call me Grace.”
“I don’t think I’m gonna break the habit anytime soon,” Maddy replies.
Mrs. Nelson grins, watching me cradle the awkwardly bulky gift. “I suppose you want to give that away.”
“It’s a little tough to carry,” I say, turning towards the staircase. “I’ll see you later, Maddy.”
“Don’t you want to say hello to Milo first?” Aunt Maddy asks.
I turn back and view Milo and his dad walking in from the rear of the house where the ground floor bedrooms are located. Milo’s long-haired ginger cat, Alfred, purrs and walks alongside Milo’s legs.
“Hi Jamie and Maddy,” Mr. Nelson says in his usual jovial tone. “Have a busy time at the cafe?”
“Sundays are always hectic,” Maddy replies. She moves in toward Milo and lifts her arms wide for a hug. “Happy birthday, Milo.”
“Thanks,” Milo says, leaning down to meet her in a hug.
Aunt Maddy giggles as Alfred rubs against her leg. “Wow, Alfie seems in a good mood today.”
“He’s happy now because I gave him some extra treats,” Milo says. “He was anxious because he couldn’t escape into my bedroom before Kai’s friends went upstairs.” He gives me an awkward wave. “Hi Jamie.”
I wave back. Ugh. Why did Maddy hug him? Now I have to hug him, or I’ll look like a massive jerk.
I move toward a side table, slide on Kai’s gift, and grab Milo’s card from on top. Okay, let’s just get this over with.
“Happy birthday, Milo,” I say, lifting the craft paper envelope housing the bookstore gift card. “It’s just a little something. We weren’t sure what to get you.”
“Thanks,” he says, taking the envelope with one hand as he pushes his glasses up his nose with the other. “But you didn’t have to get me anything.”
See, Maddy. “No, it’s fine. It is your birthday.” Here goes nothing. I lean in for a brief hug. “Hope you’ve had a good day.”
When Milo leans in, he trips over his own foot, lurching further forward than expected. I wince, bracing myself for his fall. When he awkwardly pulls himself up, we embrace.
“Sorry,” he mumbles. “And, yeah, it’s been good.”
Yuck. I hate this. Milo taps my back, which feels horribly awkward, and then pulls out of the hug.
I fake a smile. “That’s good. I’m glad.”
Milo scratches behind his head, looking down. “I was just on the phone with my grandparents. They usually come for our birthdays, but they’ve had to delay their trip.”
“Oh, that’s a shame,” I say with a pout. “I always like when they visit.”
“You’ll see them soon enough,” Mr. Nelson replies as he pats Milo’s shoulder.
“James!” Kai calls from the second-floor landing. “What’s taking so long?”
“Kai, you’d better stop yelling in this house!” Mrs. Nelson yells in the direction of the staircase. “I don’t care if it is your birthday or not.”
Mr. Nelson cups his hands around his mouth. “Why don’t you boys come down? We’ll do cake.”
“We’re in the middle of a mission,” Kai calls back. “Give us ten minutes.”
“No, fifteen!” Parker shouts.
Mrs. Nelson sighs, shaking her head. “Those boys.”
“I better head up,” I say, retrieving Kai’s gift from the side table. “Once I get the controller, I’ll finish the mission in under ten minutes.”
“Are you heading upstairs too?” Aunt Maddy asks Milo.
I focus hard so my eyes don’t roll.
“Uh, no,” Milo says, looking off to the side.
“You’ll stick around for cake?” Mrs. Nelson asks Aunt Maddy.
“I’d love to,” Aunt Maddy replies. “I actually have something I want to run by you.”
Before I get sucked into whatever Maddy’s conversation is about, I bound up the stairs two at a time. A grin stretches at my cheeks as I hear the boys yell and cheer against the sounds of video game lasers and blast explosions. Time to see the man of the hour.