I held him while he sobbed in my arms, feeling heartsick that he had to stand up for me. Eventually his sobs died, away and he fell into an exhausted sleep. I pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and covered him. Heading toward the phone, I dialed Max’s number.
“Hey you,” Max said answering the phone.
His words made my mouth dry out as my heartache griped me.
“Katelyn, are you okay?” Max said anxiously.
“No,” I finally said.
“I’m on my way,” he said disconnecting, not needing an explanation.
I was already waiting for him outside when he screeched to a stop in front of the trailer.
“What happened?” he asked, making a move toward the trailer door.
“We’re leaving tomorrow,” I said, stopping him in his tracks.
“What?” he asked.
“Can we go for a drive?” I asked in a dead voice.
“Kevin?” he asked.
“He’ll be fine for now. He’s sleeping.” I said, climbing into the SUV.
“Tell me everything,” Max said, climbing into the driver’s seat.
“Lucinda met someone else. Some drug dealer I think, since she said he just finished parole.”
“Where does she plan on going?”
“Miami,” I said.
“We can fix this. My dad can have my uncle hustle on the fostering papers for the Graves first thing Monday morning.”
“It’ll be too late. We leave in the morning.”
“Stay with me. You’ll be eighteen in six months.”
“I can’t. I can’t abandon Kevin.”
“You could report her and take your chances. At least you’d still be in this state.”
“At what cost?” I asked. “Should I put Kevin’s happiness above my own? What if his foster parents turn out to be assholes? What if they never let me see him?” I demanded.
“I don’t know,” he said, pounding the steering wheel in frustration.
“I know,” I said quietly, and that was the truth. I would leave in the morning with Lucinda because Kevin had to come first. We only had to make it six months before I was an adult and able to finally make decisions. “I’ll come back,” I promised as a lone tear tracked down his cheek.
He pulled the vehicle down the same dirt path we had been on before and I unbuckled my seatbelt. I willingly let him pull me into his arms as he kissed me tenderly. I cupped his face and kissed the trail the lone tear had left behind. “I will come back,” I said again before capturing his lips with mine. I intended the kiss to be comforting, but somewhere in the midst of the passion we had been keeping at bay things heated up. His lips claimed mine more savagely as he drank from them like a man dying of thirst. I returned his need, equally and frantically pulling at his sweater so I could run my hands over the hard planes of his body. He ripped away the clothing that was obstructing me, allowing me easy access to his warm skin. My shirt and hoodie quickly followed as we allowed ourselves to get lost in each other’s bodies.
The only regret I had when we finished was that I had wasted so much time making us wait. We righted our clothing and Max slowly backed out of our hidden spot. “I will always love you,” he said, looking at me long and hard before pulling onto the main road.
“And I love you too,” I said sadly, clasping his hand tightly in mine.
We were almost back to the trailer park when several cop cars and an ambulance came zooming up behind us with sirens wailing. Max pulled off to the shoulder and I looked at him anxiously when the trio of emergency vehicles turned into Shady Lane. Max turned in after them and my heart dropped to my knees when I saw the vehicles screech to a stop in front of my trailer.
I didn’t allow Max to fully throw the vehicle into park before I propelled myself out of my seat. In a fog, I watched as two of the cops hauled Lucinda out of the trailer as she screamed at them. “It was an accident,” she screeched. “Do you really think I would hurt my little boy?”