Barefoot

Part Four

He parks the motorcycle in the driveway and gets off. She follows his lead, sliding off and pulling the helmet from her head. She set it back down and he guides her hands back to the handlebars, where he always puts the helmet.

She sets it down and smoothes her dress, all the while not noticing how he's watching her. With her hair messed up and a flush in her cheeks from the motorcycle, he can't help but think that she's gorgeous.

To anyone else, she might look ordinary, like nothing special. But to him, for some reason, his heart would leap at the sight of her, despite not even knowing her for more than a day.

She looks up and meets his eyes. "Come inside," he says. "My mom should have dinner waiting for us."

Her eyes widen slightly. "Your mom is only now making dinner?"

"No," he amends his words. "She normally leaves some out after she finishes because knows that I won't be home until late."

She furrows her eyebrows in confusion. "Why don't you have dinner with your mom?"

He can feel himself closing up, in spite of how his heart feels. The walls in his mind refuse to let him share anything about the past year- or any of his past, for that matter.

She can see the coldness seeping back into his eyes; the ocean freezing over.

"Don't," he warns.

"I'm sorry," she whispers. "It's just-"

"-nothing. It's nothing. You know why?" His voice raises as he speaks. "Because it's none of your business. I hardly know you and you hardly know me, so don't try to get me to spill my life's story to you."

He walks into a bedroom, she assumes his, and closes the door. "I'm sorry," she says again, though he won't hear her.

A woman walks out from an adjoining room. Upon seeing the young girl standing in the front room, she smiles at her. "Ah, I was wondering who he was talking to."

The girl startles, then calms down when she sees the obvious resemblance between the woman and Kaden. "Hi," she says, smiling warmly. "I'm so sorry to intrude, but Kaden said it would be okay if I stayed here tonight."

The woman's smile widens. "Of course it's okay! Have you eaten?"

Her stomach growls and the woman chuckles. "I guess not. Come with me into the kitchen and I'll fix something up. While you're eating, I'll make up the spare bed."

The girl smiles at her. "Thank you very much. I appreciate it very much."

"It's not a problem," the woman says. "I'm Ruthie, by the way. I'm Kaden's mother."

"I assumed so," she says, but rather than sounding snarky, she sounds kind and soft when she says it. "He looks just like you."

The woman smiles. "Thank you."

She smiles and eats what the woman has set out for her. His mother leaves to go set up the bed and she sits alone at the counter, wishing she could have kept her big mouth shut. She sighs and finishes eating, throwing away her napkin and rinsing off the plate.

She goes back into the front room and finds Kaden's mother making up the bed, which also doubles as the couch and extends out into a full-size bed. His mom tosses a pillow onto the bed, then smiles at the girl. "I didn't catch your name. What is it?"

She smiles warmly, and the woman can't help but notice how this young girl just radiates happiness and light. "I'm Poppy."

"That's a beautiful name," the woman compliments.

"Thank you," she says. Kaden opens his door so he can hear what they're saying, having heard Poppy's name, but doesn't come out. "They were my mother's favorite flowers, so she named me after them."

"That's beautiful," his mother says.

She smiles again and he notices a light pinkness on her cheeks. His mother wishes her sweet dreams and comes to stand by the door that's cracked open. "I know you're listening," she says quietly. "And if I were you, I wouldn't miss this chance."

"What chance?" He says, his voice rough.

"The chance to be happy again. That girl out there," she gestured to where Poppy is, already asleep, "radiates kindness and joy. If I were you, I wouldn't waste another second pretending not to care."

"I don't pretend-" A look from his mother cuts him off. He sighs. "How am I supposed to tell her what happened? Why I'm like this?"

His mother crouches down to where he's leaning against the doorframe. "Just tell her. Find an appropriate time and bring it up. I don't doubt for one second that that girl has had her fair share of hardships. She will understand."

With that, his mother walks away, leaving him alone with his thoughts.