Page 105 of Kissed By the Trillest Thug 2

Four people had a key to my apartment. Me. My parents. And somehow… Penelope. I still wasn’t exactly sure how that happened. One minute she was coming over to study every now and then. The next, she was texting me that she was outside because she had left her charger. Or she was asking if I wanted something to eat because she was already picking up dinner for herself. Somewhere through this all, my apartment had quietly become our spot.

I pushed the door open after leaving the gym and immediately noticed her backpack sitting beside the couch.

“Penn?”

“In here.”

Her voice came from the kitchen. I rounded the corner to find her standing on a step stool, reaching into one of my upper cabinets. I leaned against the doorway.

“What exactly are you doing?”

Without looking back, she answered.

“Looking for the popcorn.”

“It’s in the pantry,” I directed her.

She stopped reaching and slowly turned to look at me over the top of her glasses.

“You just watched me struggle for a whole minute.”

“I was curious to see how committed you were.”

She climbed down from the stool and walked past me with a small huff before opening the pantry.

“There it is.”

She grabbed two bags before closing the pantry.

“I was going to make popcorn, and maybe we can watch a movie,” she said in an excited tone.

“So, you already made plans for my evening?” I asked with a smile.

“You can leave if you want,” she said with a smirk.

As if we were not standing in my damn kitchen. I chuckled a bit before dropping my gym bag by the front door.

“Nah. I’ll stay.”

She looked at me over the top of her glasses.

“I figured.”

She walked over to the microwave and tossed one of the bags inside before pressing a few buttons. I leaned against the counter as I watched her. She moved around my apartment like she’d lived there longer than I had. She knew where I kept the bowls. Which cabinet had the cups. Even which blanket was the softest whenever we watched movies.

“Ima go jump in the shower, get everything set up.”

She nodded as she grabbed this big bowl we used for popcorn and put the first bag in it before popping the second bag into the microwave. Quickly, I washed because I didn’t want to keep her waiting. The crazy part was none of this felt strange anymore. It felt normal. I’d gotten used to her being here. I wasn’t sure when that happened. I just knew that I didn’t mind her company one bit. Although I was dressed in pajamas, I was still using my towel to dry my head. She smiled in my direction and then turned her attention back to the television.

I plopped down beside her and then tossed my towel in the chair that was in the corner. She handed me some of the blanket she was using and then placed the big bowl of popcorn in between us. She was so into the Christmas movie that she had put on. We had about two more holidays until Christmas, and still she put this on. Her eyes were glued to the screen, and I tried to do the same, but my mind had already wandered somewhere else. I really hate Christmas. Most people heard that word and thought about lights, gifts, and family traditions. I thought about flashing blue lights, shattered glass, and the smell of gasoline. The week before Christmas was the worst time of my life. I was still young, but there were some things you never forgot.

The scar resting just beneath my hairline had faded over the years, but it was still there. It was a constant reminder of the worst night of my life. Every time I looked in the mirror, I saw it. And every Christmas season, I think about it. I reached up without thinking and brushed my fingers across the scar on my forehead. It wasn’t much to look at anymore, it was just a thin line, but it carried a lifetime of memories.

“Are you okay?”

Penelope’s voice pulled me back. I dropped my hand from my forehead and then looked over at her.

“Yeah.”