Moving On Without You Read Free Page B

bathroom? I'm
dying."
    "Yeah, you know where it is."
    The house was empty other than a gray cat staring
around the corner. He was sitting right in front of the fan on the kitchen
table. Family photos lined the wall along the staircase. Bright sunlight shone
in through the curtains on the second floor. Keisha's mother was not really a
decorator, but she made sure the place felt like a home.
     
    "Okay, I'm good now."
    Tracy fell into the sofa across from Keisha.
    "I can't believe how hot it is."
    Keisha looked weary. She was positioned on the
couch right in front of the air conditioner. The machine wasn't doing much to
cool the open space, but it was better than being outside. Tracy began to think
she might have missed Terry while she was rummaging through her closet.
    "Yeah. It's crazy. You sure Terry didn't get
here yet?"
    "I haven't seen him."
    "Thank god. I was rushing, but I figured he
would be late."
    "My sister been out there so I'm sure she
would've told me if he came by."
    "Okay."
    Tracy felt uneasy. She couldn't stand to wait on
anybody. It was making her anxious to sit there. He might not remember which
house it was if he did not see her and he didn't have Keisha's phone number.
    "Maybe we should go outside. He might be
scared to stop because he doesn't see me out there," Tracy said.
    "Really? Fine, whatever. Let me take the
phone in case my mother calls."
    Tracy went out on the porch and sat on the lawn
chair. It was a little cooler in the shade and a nice breeze had started moving
through. The temperature was noticeably warmer than the house though.
    "It won't take long. I swear."
    Keisha's didn't look convinced. She flopped down
on another lawn chair and watched her sister peddle past.
    "I'm so tired. I've been sleeping all day
until you called," Keisha said.
    "Yeah, I didn't get up that long ago. I woke
up when he called me."
    "No, I've been sleeping nonstop all week. I'm
not really feeling like myself. . . .you know?"
    Tracy looked at her friend's face, but she couldn't
take her mind off of Terry. Where was he and why was he taking so long? Was he
even coming? If he did want to cancel he definitely couldn't call her and let
her know.
    "Okay. . . .you're probably just lazy from
all the heat. You haven't been going anywhere besides Brandon's house and he
doesn't exactly live far."
    Tracy motioned toward the house next door but
Keisha was silent. Her face was serious and she did look exhausted, but there
was something else in her eyes. It was a look Tracy didn't see often on her
friend's face. She looked worried.
    "What's wrong?"
    The silver Lexus pulled into the driveway
interrupting their conversation. Tracy looked back at her friend. Keisha's lips
were pursed together. Something was wrong. Keisha was looking down at her
fingertips.
    "Nothing."
    "You sure?"
    "Positive."
    Keisha peered into the car and watched as Terry
backed out and parked on the other side of the street. Tracy couldn't keep her
eyes off of her friend. Something had happened and Tracy wanted to know what she
had missed. She couldn't press the issue now though.
    "We can talk about later?"
    "Okay."
    "Hey!"
    Terry jumped onto the porch to hug Tracy.
    "Hi."
    Tracy was still very shy around Terry. It was hard
to get comfortable considering she did not know exactly what she meant to him.
They kept the conversation light most of the time. He didn't know much about
her past or her family and he didn't seem to care. Tracy had lowered her
standards a bit to date a guy like him.
    Terry seemed like the type to get into trouble. He
was always hanging around weird guys that didn't work but always had wads of
cash. His work hours were strange and she couldn't remember him ever saying where
he worked or what he did.
    The important thing was that he always showed up
when she asked to see him and he always had money to do whatever she wanted. Terry
didn't do anything to push her out of her comfort zone and she continued to
play it by ear.
    "I got you