Page 58 of Shattered

Her blonde hair contains a few more grays around the temple than when I last saw her, and a few more creases line her forehead.

“You can call me Kate. Come in, come in.”

I follow her to their living room, where Jason and his dad, Keith, are sitting. Their expressions are strained, and the atmosphere feels slightly tense, as if they were just having a heated conversation. I greet them hesitantly, not wanting to interrupt, but Keith gets to his feet and shakes my hand. “Good to see you, Neil.”

“Likewise.”

Jason holds a fist up for me. “You made it. What’s up, man?”

“Hey. Not much.”

Once the greetings are over, I sit in one of the unfamiliar armchairs and then scan the living room, taking in the changes that have been made since I was last here. They’ve bought new furniture, the TV is definitely bigger, and the walls have also been repainted.

“So, Neil, what have you been doing with yourself? Working?” Keith asks.

I return my gaze to him. “I’ve been drywalling for the same construction company since I moved to the city four years ago.”

Keith hums, leaning back in his chair. “Must be a good worker if they’ve kept you there for that long. Sounds like you have your life together.”

He gives a pointed look in Jason’s direction, creating an awkwardness in the room. Jason didn’t tell me himself, but Sienna mentioned how he’s had a little trouble with work and keeping the same job for any extended period of time, and that the past six months are the longest he’s held down a job. It’s possible his parents know all about that, along with the partying and drug use, and perhaps it’s a cause of contention between them.

Jason jerks his eyes away from his dad, his jaw clenched.

“Can we see some pictures of your little boy?” Kate smiles at me, obviously trying to break some of the tension.

“Oh, sure.” I pull my phone out of my pocket, quickly swiping away the message from Sienna and hoping like hell she doesn’t text me again while her mom has my phone. Then I pull up a photo and hold it out for her. “This is from this weekend.”

“Where is Theresa?” Jason asks while his mom gushes over the photo of Adi.

“She’s at a friend’s place tonight,” Kate answers while still staring at my phone. “He looks just like you, Neil.” The corners of her eyes crinkle as she smiles back at me and hands over my phone before she turns to Jason. “But Sienna is going to drop by any minute now.”

My heart instantly speeds up, and I almost drop my phone while taking it from her. The prospect of seeing Sienna again causes both dread and excitement to strum through my veins, making my body feel buzzed.

Sure, we’ve texted every day, but seeing her in person is different. And seeing her around her family and practically having to pretend we don’t know each other is another thing entirely.

I glance at Jason and find him already watching me, a look of apology on his face. As far as he knows, I haven’t seen her since she slapped me across the face that morning. I give him a small shrug to let him know it doesn’t bother me, then pocket my phone.

We start chatting again, all while nervous energy flows through me. A few minutes later, the front door opens, and Sienna’s voice reaches us from the foyer. “Mom, you need to water the sunflowers out front, they’re going to die.”

“Yes, honey,” Kate replies with an affectionate roll of her eyes.

“I’m serious, they look . . . oh.” She comes to an abrupt halt when she sees me, her face flashing with surprise before she looks around the room.

She’s dressed in a bright sundress with sunflowers all over it, snug around the chest with the length ending mid-thigh to show off her smooth, tanned legs. I start imagining things like those legs being wrapped around me or pulling the top of her dress down so her breasts spill out, and suddenly, my mouth feels dry. Shit.

I quickly pull my attention away with a subtle clear of my throat, working hard to clear my thoughts. She wears a dress, and suddenly, my thoughts take a dive like I’ve never seen one before.

“You remember Neil, honey?”

Sienna gives her head a quick shake as if clearing away the shock of seeing me and moves further into the room to sit on the armrest of Jason’s chair. “Uh, I do. Hey.”

I lift my hand and wave, trying to give a smile that’s not too friendly but also doesn’t look like I have a problem with her. I know Jason’s eyes are on me, but I avoid eye contact with him.

“So, was Adi a good baby?” Kate asks, drawing my eyes from Sienna but not my attention.

I’m still tuned into what’s happening across the room as I answer her, and I can see out of the corner of my eye as Sienna turns and punches Jason in the shoulder.

“You didn’t tell me you had talked to him.” She says it quietly, but I still hear every word of it.

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