Page 115 of Ink Me Three Times
“Do you… know much about… Penny’s mom?”
I tense.
“Trina?”
That’s a name I don’t enjoy saying out loud.
She nods.
“I know enough,” I say.
“What kind of woman just… leaves her kid?”
There’s something loaded in her voice. Not judgment. Not curiosity. A softness. Sadder.
“I don’t knowallthe details,” I tell her. “Freddie never really unpacked it. Just said she bailed. Took off one day and never came back.”
Her arms are still crossed over her chest. Chin tucked down, bracing for something.
“Do you think she will?” she asks. “Come back? Like, for real?”
I exhale slow. “I hope not.”
That gets her attention. She stops. Looks at me.
“Why?”
I meet her eyes. “Because Penny deserves better. And so does he.”
She swallows. Looks away.
Still, as we talk, I hate the look in her eyes.
The doubt.
The fear.
The damn walls I thought maybe I’d started to crack, rising again bracing for impact. Like she’s already expecting the worst and trying to get out before it hits.
I want to reach out to her.
Say something that matters.
Touch her hand.
Do anything but just stand here.
She turns as if she’s going to leave, but then stops.
Hovers.
Doesn’t look at me, just says, “You don’t think Trina loved her?”
The question catches me off guard.
It’s not the kind of thing Ivy usually says.
“She might’ve,” I admit. “At some point. But love doesn’t mean much if you walk away from a kid who needs you.”
