I Eat Oreos

15

Gavin

I felt sick to my stomach. How many relationships was I gonna ruin in just one day? Layton didn't deserve to be treated like that. He was my best friend and sure he got on my nerves more times than I could count, but that didn't mean that I didn't want him around.

He was too vulnerable to be by himself.

"Are you gonna go find him?" Kayla asked concern written all over her face. "Yeah, I have to."

I got up to go back in the house and get my keys. Kayla followed. She just stood watching me and I knew she wanted to help in some way. But she wasn't saying anything because of me. She wanted to respect my wishes. But I didn't want that now.

"Will you come with me?" I asked. "Gavin, I'm not sure. Wouldn't you want-"

"You to be with me? Yes, I do. I'm freaking out right now and I feel like I might pass out. I could use the support."

She smiled at me and grabbed my hand. As soon as we got to the foyer, Aunt Tammy came over with crossed arms.

"You ain't bein' fair to your mother, boy. She feels just awful that you won't come and talk to her."

"Aunt Tammy this just ain't the time," I warned. They really knew how to test my patience. "You never have time for family, huh?" I breathed in a big breath.

"Miss Tammy, we really need to be going. This is really important." Kayla widened her huge, brown begging eyes staring straight at Aunt Tammy.

"Yes, of course. Y'all gone on ahead." Relief washed over me.

"You are amazing," I said to her once we got outside. We hopped in my Jeep quickly and was on the highway toward South Carolina in ten minutes.

My hands were shaking nervous of what could've occurred because of my anger. I could see my knuckles getting whiter by the second.

"Deep breath," Kayla whispered softly beside me with a hand on my arm. I did as she said and again I was very thankful she was there. I knew she'd keep my head screwed on.

"Gavin," she spoke again about thirty minutes later. "I know how it feels to lose someone."

I looked at her confused. What did she mean? Why was she talking about it now?

"There was this guy who came to our house one time. He was looking for somewhere to stay. We'd heard a lot about him. He had been in a gang." As I drove, a little above the speed limit, I stole glances at her to show I was paying attention.

"We didn't trust him. He needed somewhere to hide, but Mama said she couldn't have that kind of trouble coming our way. He begged and pleaded, saying that we could keep a camera on him at all times if need be. But she said no.

"There was this feeling I had. I knew we needed to bring him in. The Holy Spirit had been telling me it was the right thing. I stayed silent, though." She stopped talking for a second and closed her eyes. On instinct, my hand reached out to squeeze hers in reassurance. It was time I was there for her too.

"He had no choice but to go back to his area. His old gang caught up with him real quick and killed him. When we heard about it, Mama felt so terrible. She confessed that she had felt God tell her it was the right thing to let him in, but she was too worried about his background." I thought back to Willy. How I had judged him because he was homeless. Being around Kayla the past week made me want to do things differently. I needed to do things differently with Willy.

"But you know what, Gavin? God forgave us. He never ditched us. He wasn't burning angry with us. He understood that we are but humans who sometimes don't always make the best decisions. Which is why He sent Jesus to die because He knew we'd need to be forgiven." That's when she squeezed my hand back.