𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐎𝐟 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐋𝐮𝐬𝐭

Stand Your Ground

Nia drove down the highway bumping her music through the speakers. She steered the wheel with her left hand as she snapped to the music with her right, reciting the lyrics bar for bar as if she wrote them herself. She glanced over to see if Cross had joined in on the jam session. What she saw was him sitting quietly, looking out the window. When he didn't pass the vibe check she grew concerned. Nia reached for the knob and turned the radio down.

" Alright, what's wrong?" She asked

" Nothing" He responded unenthused. She shot a quick glance at him again before focusing back on the road.

" You're nervous aren't you?"

" Not really. I just want to get this over with so I can get my life back." Nia chuckled at the comment. He hadn't been on punishment that long and he was already acting like he was serving life without payroll.

" I think what you're doing is very brave. It takes a lot of guts for a person to apologize when they've wronged someone. I know some adults who refuse to do the same," She said, referring to his father. Cross was so caught up in his own thoughts the slick comment went right over his head.

" Well I feel a lot of ways right now but bravery isn't one of them" He breathed. She could tell he was in a sour mood so she decided to give him time to think. He was sure going to need it for the task ahead.

They rode in silence the rest of the way until they came to a stop out front of Travis's home. Nia killed the engine and tossed the keys into her bag. She grabbed the plant that she had purchased earlier and exited the car. She waited outside of the passenger door for Cross, who was taking forever to get out. When he finally did, they walked the short distance up to the front door. She waited for him to ring the bell. After realizing he wasn't going to, she decided to do it herself but before she could, the door opened.

They were greeted by a woman with a welcoming smile and a cooking apron wrapped around her waist. She was pretty in a plain Jane type of way and had smooth vanilla colored skin. She resembled Travis and Nia began to wonder if the woman was his mother. If she was, this would be their first time meeting. Travis usually attended games and practices with his father and little sister due to his mothers demanding work schedule. Nia had later found out from one of the other parents that his mother was some type of doctor or something.

" Hello, I'm Emma, Travis's mom" She said, extending her hand.

" Hi, I'm Nia and this is my son, Cross." She replied as they shook hands.

" Hello, It's nice to meet you Mrs. Douglas" He said.

" You're such a handsome and well mannered young man. Keep that up and it'll take you very far in life" Emma said as she peeked over at Nia and winked, letting her know she was only being polite.

He gave a tight lipped smile after suddenly feeling uncomfortable in the spotlight. He wondered what happened to Emma's voice because the tone she was using with him was different from the one she used with his mother. It reminded him of the one people used when speaking to smaller children and babies. It was a high pitch, squeaky voice that he found to be very annoying. Besides that she seemed like a nice lady.

" Oh, speaking of manners, where are mine? Please come inside" Emma said, stepping back to allow them access.

Nia and Cross went inside and stood in the foyer area. They took the time to look around while they waited for Emma to lock up. From what they could see so far their home was pretty modest. There was nothing too spectacular about it. The first thing Cross noticed is that it wasn't as big as his home, but it wasn't very small either. It was clean however and smelled amazing. He was hoping whatever Emma was in the kitchen whipping up tasted as good as it smelled. When Emma came walking towards them Nia handed her the small Philodendron plant that she had been carrying as a gift for the hostess.