Light in the Dark

Three

"Hi Aunt Connie!"

I can't help the tears in my eyes when I see Amelia, Jacobs's daughter, on the Skype screen. She's five now and looks like him more and more everyday. Her strawberry blonde hair and bright blue eyes is all him. I tune back in to hear her talk about her first day of kindergarten and how a kid in her class pushed her off the swings.

"Did you push him back like I tell you?"

"She sure enough did." A woman pops up next to Amelia, Jacobs's widow, Emily says. "If they were able to suspend kindergarteners, they've would've." She's stern but I could tell that she was proud of her daughter for sticking up for herself.

"Bye Aunt Connie, I love you!" Amelia shouts.

"Love you too sweet pea." She runs away to play with her toys.

"You look god awful." Is the first thing Emily says.

"Thanks Em, just what a girl wants to hear." I swear, I'm fluent in Spanish, English and sarcasm.

"No seriously Con, you look like complete shit."

"Do you wanna Skype me back when you have something good to say?" Emily sighs deeply.

"I'm just saying that you look like you haven't slept or eaten in days."

"I appreciate the concern but I'm fine." Truthfully I wasn't. I can barely finish a plate of food and I have insomnia but she doesn't need to know that. Otherwise she'd make me pack my bags and move across the country to live with her. Again.

"You can lie to Roxie, but you can never lie to me Constance." God, she sounded just like my mother.

"I promise, I'm working on myself."

"Get yourself some help Connie." She pleaded.

"Why? So that they can label me as another statistic of a crazy veteran with PTSD? No thank you."

"Just promise me that you won't slip again."

"I promise."

When Jacobs's was dying he told me to give Emily a letter. I requested to be the one that gave her the news of his death seeing as how she was my best friend. It was a dark day for all of us. I held her as she sobbed in my arms. When I had told her about how he died, she didn't resent me like I thought she would. Instead, she took me in and I stayed with her for about a year and a half. I'm forever grateful to Emily, if it wasn't for her then I wouldn't even be here right now.

6:36pm 1 new message from Roxie💃🏽🎀
Dude, Michael just asked me for your number

Wtf, what for?

Probably to talk to you, duh 🙄
Did you have sex with him?

No Roxie, I told you what happened last weekend already

So do I give him your number or not? He sounds desperate

Yeah I guess so

6:45pm 1 new message from Unknown
Hey Connie, it's Michael

So not only are you crashing my movie dates but you're harassing my roommate too?
Tsk tsk Michael. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're a stalker👀👀

First of all, it's not a date if you're by yourself
Second, don't be so full of yourself
I have plenty of women after me

Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night

😒😒

****

"I don't suppose you're going to tell me what's going on with you and Michael." Roxie finally spoke up.

I could tell that something was on her mind the minute she came home from work. I had an equally long day and decided to be a couch potato, as per usual.

"There's nothing to say Rox, we're just friends."

Her eyes narrowed and she pointed an accusatory finger at me. "Yeah, friends who text each other all the time."

"You text Maya all the time and you don't see me grilling you."

"That's hardly the same thing, she's not the opposite sex."

"So you're saying that two people of the opposite sex can't just be friends?"

"Finally, something we agree on!" I threw a piece of popcorn at her forehead.

***

"I'd like to ask 'what are you doing here?' but I think it'd be a little redundant."

"At least you don't have a gun this time." He says as he walks past me into the house. He plops on the couch and starts to channel surf.

"Please, make yourself at home."

"Thank you, but I already have." Cue the eye roll.

"So this the second Saturday that you've come over, unannounced I might add, and watched movies with me."

"Your point being?" He finally stopped at some early 2000s horror movie.

"That I'm sure you have better things to do than to sit on my couch on a Saturday night. Roxie told me that she sees you every weekend when she's out and that's why she brought you home."

"Well what if I say that I'm over the partying scene and would rather sit on your couch with you on Saturday nights?"

Was he flirting?

"I'd call your bluff." I cocked my hip to the side and crossed my arms.

"Okay you got me." Thank god. "I actually need your help."

ABORT MISSION!

"I need you to pretend to be my girlfriend."