HOW I LOST YOU

CHAPTER TWELVE

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Copyright © 2013 by Janet Gurtler

CHAPTER TWELVE

 “What do you mean?” I asked slowly.

She sniffled. “Another girl. Someone else. A girl called my house,” she said in an exaggerated whisper. “He goes to the same church as her. Mr. Born Again. But he raped her. Her lawyer dug up my name. He wasn’t supposed to do that, Gracie. But he did. People do bad shit all the time, but lawyers? The girl tracked down my number.” Her voice was slow.

“Oh, sweetie,” I said. “I’m sorry.”

Sorry that the girl called. Sorry he did it again. Sorry he existed.

I remembered his face clearly. The way his voice squeaked at the end of his sentences when he was in the witness stand. His phoniness when he praised God. As if that would change what he did to my best friend.

Kya sighed and wiped under her eyes, sniffling and trying to get herself under control. She shook her head back and forth. “God.” She dipped her chin to her chest. “What did I do, Skanklet? Last night? How did I end up at James’s?”

She closed her eyes and rolled her neck to one side. And then to the other. I waited. She seemed to be talking to herself.
Not me.

“I remember calling you from Lucas’s,” she continued. “Then the last thing I remember is leaving with him and his friends.” She made a face. And then nothing. “Ugh. Steve Blender was there. And I was being nice to him.”

I nodded. “I know. We came and picked you up. You were at Steve’s house.”

She coughed. “I was at Steve’s? I don’t remember. I don’t even remember you picking me up.”

“Not surprising. You were out of it. You passed out on the
way home.”

She groaned and covered her face with her hands.

“In your bikini,” I added.

She groaned again. “James must be so pissed at me.”

I stood up again, went to my dresser, pulled open a drawer, and perused my sock choices for the day. “He’s okay. I mean, he wasn’t happy, but I called him at home and his mom was on her meds and out, so he said it was okay.” I pulled out a pair of pink Angry Bunny socks, a gift from James.

Every year at Christmas, my family and I tried to outdo each other with outrageous socks. Another weird Black family tradition. James joined in the year after I bought him skeleton bone socks. Kya had rolled her eyes and stayed out of it.

“I didn’t want to bring you here.” I glanced toward my door. “You were out of it. Would have caused problems for both of us. Anyhow.” I sat down beside her again and pulled my socks all the way up to my knees. “James was totally there for you.” I punched her gently on the arm and she flinched. “Even though you were a sloppy mess.”

She closed her eyes, breathed heavily, and then opened them.

“So you and James picked me up? How’d you find me?”

“Uh.” I swallowed and pretended to be interested in the stubby length of my nails. “James didn’t pick you up. I was with Levi.”

“Lucas’s cousin, Levi?” She nibbled her thumbnail and tilted her head, thinking it over. She squinted at me. “I remember seeing him at Lucas’s house. He lives there, right?”