Page 12 of Loyalty, Lust, Love
“What about school?” Fateema pressed.
“I’ll probably keep him home for about a week.”
“Dang, I’ll have to be there without you for a whole week? What am I gonna do?”
“You’ll be fine, Bunny. A week will fly by,” Lynx assured her. “Thank you for not listening to me and getting help.”
“You don’t have to thank me. That’s what best friends are for.”
Fateema and her father stayed for about twenty more minutes. She promised her friend she’d be back the following day and made good on her promise. When he was released, she visited him daily, bringing him homework and updating him on what was happening at school.
Seventh grade was a life-changing year for Fateema and Lynx. Every experience, good or bad, strengthened their bond.
Chapter 5
Present Day
Afew days had passed, and the funeral arrangements were underway. Lynx had been calling the number he had for the woman who’d told him about his father. After leaving a few messages, he finally received a call back. The woman, whose voice Lynx thought sounded very young, didn’t want to discuss anything over the phone, so they agreed to meet at the house Lynx’s father lived in.
He’d been staying there at night because Fateema wanted to put some distance between them, considering they were both dating other people and couldn’t keep their hands off one another. Since waking up, he’d been looking through documents to ensure his father’s affairs were in order.
When the doorbell sounded, he suddenly became nervous, unsure of what to expect. When he opened the door, the woman had her back to him, and when she turned around, he saw a female version of his younger self.
“Wow,” he said without thinking.
“Lynx?”
“Yeah, come on in.” He stepped back to give her room to enter. Once she was inside, he closed and locked the door. “We can talk in the living room.”
She followed him into the room he’d just left. He returned to the couch, and she sat on the sofa chair across the room.
“Umm, this is kinda hard,” she began.
“Let me help you. You’re my sister.”
Her eyes widened with surprise, which surprised Lynx because looking at him should’ve been like looking in the mirror.
“How did you know?”
“You stole my whole face. What’s your name?”
“Kena.”
“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Kena. How old are you? Why are we just now meeting?”
“Eighteen and?—”
He knew she was young but never would’ve guessed eighteen. If his calculations were correct, she was born and conceived while…
“Eighteen?”
“Well, I’ll be nineteen in a few months.”
“Wow.”
Lynx put his elbows on his thighs and his head in his hands. A million thoughts ran through his mind, but the one on repeat was that Kena was conceived while Lynx’s mother was on her deathbed.
“I know this is shocking to you, and I hate you had to find out about me this way, but?—”
