Page 113 of Sparks & Slapshots
“She likes you,” she says matter-of-factly.
“Aunt Keisha,” I groan.
“I’m serious.”
I shrug. “She’s just being nice.”
Keisha studies my face with surprising intensity. Some days her mind wanders everywhere, but other days she could still look right through me like I’m a kid lying about finishing my homework.
“Well,” Keisha says finally, “you’ve always had that effect.”
I roll my eyes, but smile.
“So,” she continues, settling back into her pillows. “How is Alisha doing?”
My smile disappears before I can stop it. There it is. Every time.
I feel a twist in my stomach like someone pulled a thread I’d just finished tying back. “She uh…” I glance down at the table, fingers tapping on my knee. Keisha is watching me expectantly, but with everything that just happened, I struggle with how to answer this question.
Keisha won’t remember what I tell her, so it’s not worth upsetting her over the whole thing. I’ve told her before that we’re not together, and she didn’t take the news well, but I couldn’t tell her why or what happened. Now, with Alisha causing a scene here in Milan, Keisha would want to do something about it. Rip her hair from her scalp or pick off her fingernails one by one.
Not that she would, but she’d want to.
So, getting her upset over something she can’t do anything about isn’t worth the pain she’d feel. Mypain.
“Is she watching the games?” Keisha asks when I don’t say anything. “She must be proud of you.”
I swallow. Everything flashes through my mind all at once.
“We’re taking some time apart,” I finally say.
Keisha frowns. “What do you mean?”
I try to keep my voice still. “We broke up.”
The confusion settles slowly over Keisha’s face. I was hoping it would just roll over her like fog. Like Alisha was just another person who could be replaced. Hoping she’d say something more along the lines of “You’re young, Skye. There’s plenty of fish in the sea.” But instead, she looks hurt.
Exactly what I was trying to avoid.
“Oh,” she says quietly. And for a second, the look in her eyes tells me that it might actually stick this time. “But she seemed so nice.”
I exhale slowly through my nose. “Yeah. Sometimes people seem that way.”
Keisha looks down at her hands, thinking. Then, she brightens suddenly and smiles into the camera. “Well, maybe you’ll bring someone new next time you visit.”
I blink, unable to stop the smile that tugs at my mouth. “Maybe,” I tell her, feeling some of the tension leave my body at the idea of Keisha meeting Violet.
“Anyone special?”
I hesitate. Violet’s laugh flashes through my mind. The way she squeezes my hand when she holds it. The way she waves at security cameras. The way sheconstantly rubs that little stone in her jacket pocket. Or the calm she brings to me, like a fresh breath of oxygen.
Woah. Skye. Calm down with the ooey gooey analogies. Gross.
“Yeah. Actually, there is.”
Keisha beams as if she’d just solved a puzzle.
“Well, good. You deserve someone who treats you right.”
