Page 52 of One Last Chance

Scared to talk to a little girl. Damn.

Sighing, I take it and head into the living room. Mina sits cross-legged on the couch with Momo by her side. She’s wrapped waist-down in that insanely soft, fluffy blanket Mom seldom even lets anyone use—because it’s ‘too soft and nice for just everyday use’. Her hair is pulled back, a cooling pack sitting over her shoulders, and she generally looks much better.

The suppressants must already be kicking in. Her cheeks aren’t bright red anymore and her forehead doesn’t glisten with droplets of sweat, either.

“Feeling better I take it?”

Mina jerks her head up from petting Momo. A slightly flustered emotion passes over her face before she nods, the corners of her lips curling up just a little. I present the bowl and she takes it from me, putting it in her lap.

“Down. Not for you, Bubba,” I say to the dog, gently tapping his back so he knows to jump off. “It’s my Ma’s ‘comfort special’. Trust me, it’ll make you feel peachy.”

She looks down bashfully, nodding. After taking a few spoonfuls of her dessert, Mina glances at me in a way that clearly says she wants to talk about something but isn’t sure.

I shift nervously on the couch, joining my hands over my knees.

“So…I don’t want to rush you, but it honestly kind of freaks me out that neither of your parents knows where you really are. As overwhelming as this is, you can’t stay here forever.” I pray she understands where I’m coming from.

“I know,” she whispers, absentmindedly poking the spoon around in the ice cream. “He’s not home.”

I blink in surprise. “He’s working? Saturday afternoon?”

Before, we would spend almost all the weekends together. Out and about, or spending the whole day doing nothing but lounging in bed.

Mina narrows her eyes, staring into the bowl. “He’s been working a lot ever since…” When she pauses, I see her lip quiver. She tightens her grip around the bowl and hangs her head even lower to hide her face from me.

I hate the thought of Rowland drowning himself in work because of what happened. I suppose I’ve done the same thing, but I also pushed myself to spend time with people. Isolation has always led me to make stupid decisions. Pushed me into foolish situations and relationships. A part of me wished Rowland had gotten over me and moved on. A part of me hoped he hurt as much as I did. I don’t know what’s worse.

“Ever since you left, Dad hasn’t been himself,” Mina continues, no longer able to hide the tremble in her voice as she fights tears. “He tries t-to act like nothing’s changed but he…I know he hates me. He hates me for what happened. He acts like he doesn’t, but he does. I know it. And he will hate me even more now.”

“Mina.” I reach out to comfort her, but she’s already sobbing. With a painful sigh, I pull the bowl out of her hands and set it on the table. “You don’t believe that.”

“Ihate myself. I wish I had never been born. Everyone…everyone would’ve been so much happier,” she blurts out hysterically, so I pull her toward me, pressing her glistening face against my chest and softly caressing her head. I can hardly believe she lets me. Ever since I first met her, this girl has been like a wild cobra. Now, she melts into me, letting out her pain and allowing me to hold her.

“I’m so sorry your mom led you to believe all this. There’s nothing wrong with you. The only things you can fix are the things you can change. The things you have control over,” I say softly, hoping I’m actually saying something helpful. I hardly ever feel like a proper adult, no matter how old I get. Can I evenpass on any sort of wisdom if I’ve spent most of my life being so insecure about my own pheromones?

She sobs. “I’ve…I’ve been horrible, t-t-to everyone.”

Brushing her hair, I smile crookedly. “You’re young, and pretty headstrong. I won’t act like you haven’t been on a bad path, but like I just told you, that’s something you can change. You can turn around and fix the things you messed up.”

She pulls away from me with such force I get scared that I might’ve made her uncomfortable. Instead, she looks at me with tortured, wet eyes. “I’m sorry I lied. I’m sorry I…I said you hit me,” she whispers, lips trembling. It’s almost like she expects me to go off at her. “I was s-so s-scared.” Closing her eyes tightly, she rubs her face. “I didn’t know what to do, and I was so scared of what you were saying so I— I don’t know what’s wrong with me! I don’t know why I did it!”

It’s true. What she did caused me the most pain I’ve experienced in a good while. At moments, it felt like she ruined my life. But now I know, I see, that I could never be in as much pain as she’s been, possibly for quite some time.

What she needs right now is comfort. That’s the only way she might start heading the right way.

“I’m not angry at you,” I say. She doesn’t look like she believes me. “All I ask for as a compensation is for you to talk to your dad. Abouteverything. All he wants is for you to open up to him, Mina. He loves you more than you could ever understand.”

Lowering her brows, she licks her lips pensively. When she mindlessly cleans her nose into Mom’s special blanket, a part of me wants to scream. Another threatens to burst into laughter.

“Daddy loves you too. I-I know he does. And…and I don’t want him to be miserable anymore.”

A jolt of pain passes through my chest.

Could there really be a chance for us still?

“I’m going to take you home and we’ll try to make a sense of everything. Okay?” I say, clasping my hands tightly together.

Mina, even with tears still running down her cheeks, gives me a firm nod.

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