Getting It Right (BOOK THREE)

Chapter 78

Keenan's day went better than he thought. He was actually dreading the first day of school the more he thought of it. Walking into school without any friends, having people stare at him sympathetically because of the news of Aubrey. He didn't feel like having all eyes on him at all, he would much rather stay home with Neveah all day. Much to his surprise, very few people brought up the Aubrey situation. They were more interested in his music career, questions were just blurted out to him, asking what it's like to be doing so many interviews and hearing himself on the radio. Along with some condolences, a lot of people told Keenan that they loved his song. Girls threw themselves at him but he already knew what they were after and kindly avoided them. Guys he never even spoke to offered him to sit with them at lunch but he could see right through there act and declined their offers.


Khelani came up to him and gave him a nice a hug while telling him that she's glad Aubrey was found. He thanked her and she smiled at him before walking away. He ended up having two classes with Sevyn and she willingly sat beside him and engaged in conversation. That was the highlight of his day, to see that they're slowly but surely becoming friends again is a good sign. He hopes they stay on good terms this school year. For lunch, he sat with Janine and Carson. They asked if Aubrey had contacted him and he told them no. It's been a few weeks since Aubrey was found but no word from her. Detective Crawford said that she was cooperating and making progress, but Keenan would much rather see it for himself.

When he gets home he greets his father who's vacuuming the living room. "Hey, how was school?"

"Better than I expected," Keenan replies and looks around the room which looks extra neat. "You're cleaning? Is mom having guest over?"

"Nope, I asked her what she was making for dinner and she went off on a tangent about how I never make dinner and she does all the work around the house." He purses his lips, "I suggest you tidy up your room before she gets back or you'll be the next victim."

Keenan chuckles, "Thanks for the heads up. How was Neveah?"

"She was good, a bit fussy until lunch time but she calmed down. She's upstairs, she should be waking up from a nap soon." His father says.

"Thanks for watching her until I figure out another plan," Keenan says.

"You're welcome," His father nods. "Oh and don't throw your bookbag on the bed like you usually do when you get up there."

Keenan bobs his eyebrows, figuring it's one of his dad's ways of keeping him from his mother's wrath when she gets home. He jogs up the stairs to his room and walks inside, setting his bookbag neatly in the corner before walking over to his bed where he can see Neveah resting. A smile grows on his face as he approaches, he's always happy to come home to her. But his smile quickly falls when he notices the arm cradling her. As he gets closer to the bed he's almost positive that his heart stopped beating. Laying in his bed sleeping peacefully is Aubrey, looking perfectly normal like she hasn't been MIA for weeks. He stumbles away from the bed and knocks over the bottle on his nightstand. He rubs his eyes frantically, maybe he's really lost his mind and this is all a figment of his imagination.

When he opens his eyes again, he still sees Aubrey laying in his bed, but now her eyes are locked on him. He isn't sure what to do except stare as she sits up and smooths down her hair. "I didn't mean for you to find me like this. I was playing with Neveah and we both just fell asleep," she says.

Keenan licks his lips, still dazed that this is really happening. Now he sees why his father told him not to throw his back, it would have clocked her right in the head. But why didn't his father warn him that she was here? "What are you doing here?"

Aubrey gets out of the bed and walks over to him. She's dressed in jeans and an over-sized shirt, her hair is in a messy ponytail and her face looks skinnier than before. "I wanted to come back."

"After how many weeks of you being MIA?" He snaps, a burst of anger shooting out of him.

"You don't understand Keenan," Aubrey looks at the floor and rubs her arms. "It's a long story."

Watching her stand there with her head hung low and her face showing nothing but shame, gives Keenan flashbacks of the night she tried to kill herself. A chill runs down his spine and he swallows before walking over to her and wrapping his arms around her. His embrace shocks Aubrey and she stands there stiffly for a moment, not sure what to do with her arms. "I'm just surprised to see you. I haven't heard from you in a long time...I didn't expect you to show up here. I've been stressed out since you've been gone and I was really losing it, but I'm glad you're back."