Hidden Burdens (working title)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Kayla took Mary and Miguel to church that morning while Ben stayed home with Claudia and Kimmy. He was watching the service from the computer when Kimmy came downstairs that morning. Ben reclined in the computer chair with his foot propped on his knee and a book open in his lap. He twirled a pen between his fingers of the hand.

Curiosity got the best of her and stopped to watch herself on her way to the kitchen.

A middle-aged guy paced around the small stage, excitedly talking about generosity. He made a small comment about how they're nothing without that Jesus guy she had been hearing about, and about giving to God before anywhere else. Giving what, Kimmy wasn't sure.

Ben noticed Kimmy standing there. "Hey, good morning, kiddo. You sleep well?"

Kimmy stared back at him. Ever since Kayla got her the headphones, noises of the night didn't really bother her. In fact, not only did they help drown out Claudia's alarm clock in the morning, but they also drowned out the rest of the world as well. Not that she was afraid of the dark or anything. It was more of what was in the dark and not monsters. Kimmy knew there were no such things as monsters. But she knew from Stella, the news on TV, and even YouTube, some people were the monsters. Even their neighbors back at the apartment, there would be people fighting, causing the police to be called. That's what scared Kimmy the most.

Though she hadn't heard anything like that in Ben and Kayla's neighborhood, having the headphones to drown out the possibility helped Kimmy sleep better than she had in a long time.

Leaving Ben alone to watch his church thing, Kimmy headed to the kitchen where he told her there was a breakfast burrito for her in the fridge, wrapped in clear wrap. She opened the fridge gently, not wanting to make noise even though Ben already knew she was in there.

On the top shelf, there were two plates, both wrapped. Claudia was the last one still sleeping in. Kimmy grabbed one of them and ripped the clear wrap off before placing the burrito in the microwave and pressed the thirty-second button. Afterwards, she took it over to sit at her spot before grabbing her tablet to watch something while she ate.

Kayla and the siblings got back to the house about an hour later, coming to find Kimmy on the back patio where she had moved to after she finished eating.

Kimmy held her chin on her folded arms on the table, watching clips of The Golden Girls on YouTube. It was something she had recently discovered since she couldn't watch full episodes of her shows on the other apps.

As soon as she heard the door open, she hurriedly turned off the video and causally pretended to scroll through the home page of YouTube.

 Thankfully, Kayla was talking to someone before she stuck her head out. "Hey, sweetheart. I just wanted to let you know I will be taking you to your visit later this afternoon. We will be leaving around two-thirty. Okay?"

Kimmy twisted around to look back and nodded, her heart racing. 

Kayla then left her alone and Kimmy was able to calm her heart. 

-- & --

For lunch, Kayla made grilled cheese and tomato soup, something Grandma Joy made a lot on the weekends when she was a kid.

Kimmy took hers outside to continue watching videos on her tablet alone. That is until Miguel saw her slipping through the back door and also thought that was the best idea ever. To top things off, of course, he wanted to talk while they were eating, even while the video was playing. Kimmy eventually gave up and turned off the screen for now until Miguel finished eating, which he eventually headed back inside to put his dishes in the sink.