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“Todos os vais al infierno,” Lucia says, eavesdropping as she walks upstairs.
“What did she say?” Bass looks at me.
“That we’re all going to hell.”
violet
“I seasonedsome wings and threw them in the air fryer if you’re hungry. They should be ready soon. How was your time at Steven’s?” Kennedy asks sounding nicer than usual. She must have missed me.
“It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, if I had to describe the visit in one word, I would say it was helpful.”
“Helpful? Well, that sounds promising. How so?”
“My father had this old photo album and inside were all these pictures of my mom from the 90s. Tons of pictures that I’d never seen before. I even recognized some of the backgrounds of the photos as locations on campus like at her dorm. He said that he’d taken most of them.”
“Wow, that doesn’t sound like your mom was just some random girl he met on campus and got pregnant then.”
“I know, right? I think my father cared about her a lot more than I realized, which was nice to learn. And the pictures were just so cool. Instead of the mom I remember, it showed me that she used to be this younger version of that woman. The happiness in her eyes that I saw, I don’t know, it gave me some peace. It reminded me that she wasn’t always just a mom.”
“I love that.”
“Yeah, so I guess I’m saying the photo book was helpful because it gave me more of a connection to her and started a conversation between us about their time here at VCU, their relationship, and getting pregnant with me.”
“Did he talk about why he basically disappeared from her life?”
“He admitted he was immature and scared when she told him she was pregnant, and when she gave him an out, he took it.”
“Well, at least he was honest.”
“His truth doesn’t make me feel any better about it, but at least we’re having the conversations and not pretending that he’s super dad.”
“Would he be willing to make you copies of the pictures so you can replicate the book for yourself?”
“That’s the thing. He gave me the book. He said it was only right that I should have it, but I’ve left it at his house for safekeeping…I mean, our house.”
“Nice.”
“And how were things here?” I ask, bringing up the elephant in the room.
“Let me grab the wings and I’ll catch you up on things.”
Kennedy and I are sprawled on the couch in our apartment, with greasy chicken fingers, and the TV tuned to a local sports channel.
“There’s a news conference you need to watch,” she tells me.
“About what?”
“Neo is at the center of it.”
My heart races with a mix of excitement and anxiety. I haven’t seen Neo in weeks since I walked out on him, and I miss him so much it hurts, but do I really want to listen to him announce to the world that he’s going pro? The very thing that broke us apart.
“Here it comes,” Kennedy says, her eyes glued to the screen. “This is huge, Violet. Pay attention.”
Neo looks calm and composed as he steps up to the microphone.
“He looks good,” I whisper to myself, part of me secretly hoping that he’s lost sleep just like I have since we’ve been apart, but he looks just as perfect as always.
There’s a confident smile on his face, but I can see the nerves in his eyes. He clears his throat and begins.
