Page 13 of Sleeper

Kenzi shrugged. “The picture was in the locket when I got it. It’s probably the one the factory put in there, but I thought she was pretty, so I didn’t take it out.”

“Thank you, Kenzi.” Now wasn’t the time to give it back to he or have a heartfelt conversation about the many reasons I wouldn’t be keeping the necklace. It was the time to keep my mouth sealed. When she came down, I planned to return it. This wasn’t the first gift she’d given me, but it was the first that made me sick to accept. I didn’t want to think of how she’d paid Willie for it or what the repayment would be if she wasn’t considered paid in full yet. She wasn’t broke by any means, but couldn’t afford something this big. Not many people either of us knew could.

“I know what you’re thinking, Vera. It isn’t stolen. It was shoved between two of these couch cushions, setting around collecting dust. Willie said I could have it and I asked if I could give it to you instead.”

“Of course, I said yes.” He kissed the tip of her nose and just like that, the urge to vomit returned. Maybe I was wrong about him. Albeit it wasn’t very often that I misjudged someone, but there was a first time for everything. Given the sensitivity of the situation, it was best to keep my opinions of him to myself right now. I didn’t want to be the asshole, but at some point, I would have to be the voice of reason. “It’s also a symbol.”

Finally, the real reason for the gift. I chewed on the inside of my cheek, the anticipation threatening to kill me. I hated silence most of the time. For me, it didn’t add dramatic effect, but gave me more time to freak out.

“It’s a promise,” Kenzi explained. “We’re getting clean.” My eyes peered at her through my eyebrows. This wasn’t the first time she said this. Hell, she said the same thing two weeks ago, although I highly doubted she remembered. I took her for her word then, but I couldn’t this time. The last time nearly destroyed me. Ever since I’d been picking up pieces of myself, trying to put them back into their proper place. Only I wasn’t the same person that I was two weeks ago, and they didn’t seem to quite fit anymore. I wanted to trust my best friend, but my trust had been broken repeatedly. I hated it and would never utter the words out loud, but I didn’t know if I would ever be able to trust her again.

“I’m being serious, Vera. We’re going to Nashville, there’s a club I could make double, maybe even triple what I do at Cat Call and it’s honest money. Well, as honest as shaking your ass for paper is.”

“So, not only are you getting clean, but you’re also going to Nashville to do it? C’mon Kenz, that doesn’t make sense. You have to see that. Nashville has more temptation than Cleveland.” I sighed as her mouth settled into a frown.

“This time is different. I have a plan and you’ll be there to make sure I stick to it.”

“I will?”

“Oh, shit. Yeah, I forgot to mention that part. We want you to come with us.”

“Kenzi, I can’t just pack up and leave. We have a…”

“A what? A life here? No, we don’t. We don’t have shit tying us to here. You can write anywhere, you said it yourself when we moved here. Come on. I already have our stuff packed and in the van.”

“What van?” The sour taste of bile climbed up my throat and I forced it back down.

“The one Willie got us.”

“What about the girl that was here when we got here?” A younger girl had stormed through the house when we arrived but was now fast asleep in a room down the hallway. She had mumbled something about me being a homewrecking Jezebel then stormed off. “Is she coming too?”

“She’s going to stay with my son while I get clean. I told her earlier tonight, so she’s extra pissed at me right now. Hence the reason she’s been locked in her room. Kids these days,” he huffed.

“Is he going to pick her up before we leave?” I asked, wanting as much information as possible. There was absolutely something off about all of this, but I went along with it as if I didn’t notice.

“Nah, he’s coming here after work. He works at the hospital. He’s a nurse,” he expressed with a kind tone a father would only use when talking about his children.

“Will she be okay by herself?” I asked, hating myself for taking this lunatic scheme into consideration.

Did I want to go to Nashville?

Hell to the no, but I wasn’t letting Willie take Kenzi without me either. If I did, I knew she’d never come back. She wasn’t too far gone yet, but reasoning with her while she was high was out of the question. After we got where we were going, and she slept it off I would force her to see how fucking dumb this plan was in the grand scheme of things. I wasn’t sure when the last time either of them got some sleep, but the bags under their eyes were dark.

A loud bang traveled through the house from down the hallway and my eyes widened. “What was that?”

“The kid,” Willie announced before he grinned, getting up to go check on her. “I’ll meet you all out in the vehicle. This won’t be pretty, but it’s necessary. My kids deserve their dad back.”

“Come on, Vera,” Kenzi tugged at my shirt. My head screamed this was wrong, but my heart wasn’t anywhere near ready to let her go. I would regret this, there was no questioning that.

“Umm. Kenz?”

“Yeah?” She climbed in the backseat beside me, her eyes traveling to what mine were focused on; the multiple industrial sized cardboard boxes of toilet paper taking up most of the van’s room.

“Why on earth would we need that much toilet paper? Is there a TP shortage in Nashville?”

“Ha. No. It has our stuff in it.” She laughed and shrugged. “They were free and free is a whole lot cheaper than buying that many suitcases.” It was the first statement that sounded like the real Kenzi that I heard come out of her mouth in a long time. Perhaps this wouldn’t be as bad as I thought.

9

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