Darkness Before Dawn Read Free Page A

water flowing down a mountain—powerful and strong, but gentle—almost liquid. I glanced at him, not really interested, but he sure did look good. He flashed a smile at me which I guess was meant to charm me. Didn’t work. My mama taught me to be polite, so I smiled back. Now, I’m no fool—he was really fine—but he looked to be way over twenty-one, so he disappeared from my thoughts about as fast as his smile faded. I didn’t look back, but I was aware he was watching me as I headed over with Monty to speak to Mrs. Blackwell, my English teacher, who had brought her son Brandon.
    Brandon was eight, and he challenged Monty to a foot race right away. I laughed as I watched them run across the grass. Monty left Brandon in the dust and roared with delight as he took his victory lap around a tree. Brandon laughed and tried to trip him. Then both boys wandered down to watch the junior high girls play softball. I walked alone, remembering the places Andy and I had walked last year. The sun was warm, and I felt relaxed and at peace for the moment. I walked over to watch the game.
    Angel sat on the bench with Rob’s younger sister, Kiara, who now insisted on being called Joyelle. Neither of themshowed much excitement about the girls’ softball game. Kiara had called me a few days after Andy’s funeral.
    â€œCan I ask you something serious, Keisha?” she had asked. I could hear the tremor in her voice.
    â€œSure,” I replied. “Are you OK?”
    â€œNo, not really. I’ll probably never be OK again,” she said. “I miss my brother, I’m still shaking about Andy, and I’m scared death is just gonna jump in and grab me, too!”
    â€œI know it’s hard,” I told her, “but you gotta hold on to the good memories and step out into the future—even if it’s scary. That’s what I’m trying to do.”
    â€œI’m trying to grab hold of something,” Kiara replied. “And I decided I’m changing my name,” she said suddenly, breathing deeply into the phone. “What do you think?”
    â€œHuh? Can you do that?”
    â€œI have to do something, or I’ll go crazy,” Kiara explained. “My parents can’t get past Robbie’s death and I can’t either. And now with Andy being gone, too, I think I’m gonna explode! I have to change something so I can deal with tomorrow, like you said. Do you feel me on this?”
    â€œYeah, I feel you, I guess. What are you gonna change it to?”
    â€œI’ve been thinking about this a lot,” Kiara replied. “Robbie and Andy used to call me by my full name to tease me, but I kinda liked it. It made me feel like an actress or a movie star or somebody who gives autographs to other people.”
    â€œWhat is your full name?”
    â€œKiara Joyelle Leila Victoria Washington.”
    â€œThat’s a mouthful,” I commented.
    â€œI just want to be called Joyelle. Is that too much to ask?” She started to cry again. “I want some joy in my life—all the time,” she said angrily. “If anybody wants to talk to me, they have to call me with joy on their lips when they do,” she added almost defiantly.
    â€œI think that’s cool, Joyelle,” I told her. All she wanted was for someone to tell her it was OK. “I got your back on this.”
    â€œThanks, Keisha. This is important to me. I’m gonna tell my parents as soon as they get home from work.”
    â€œWhat will they say?”
    â€œIt will take them some time to get used to it, but they’ll do it. It’s cheaper than taking me to a shrink, which is probably what
they
need. Life is rough at my house.”
    As Joyelle had predicted, her parents let her do it. They called her what she wanted, because I think it was easier than dealing with the kid’s pain. I glanced at the two friends watching the game. They looked so bored