A Necessary Struggle: Fall Semester

Part 54

      The first thing Lela did when she shut the door to Harmony's bedroom was unclasped the case to the record player and sat the needle on The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. She stripped out of her uniform leaving a trail to the bathroom. She lost track of time in the shower. The hot water poured down her back as she hummed along with the song streaming from the speakers. She didn't want to fall into old habits but lathering her body seven times seemed like the best bet. 

She was dirty and she couldn't get the stench of spoiled milk out of her pores. She twisted the knob turning off the water and stepped out the shower finally taking in Harmony's bathroom, which probably hadn't changed since she went off to college. The pedestal sink, yellow towels rolled in the closet that matched the walls and gold-framed mirror reminded her just how preppy her friend was. Lela tried to forget about her car troubles but she thought about it before she left the bathroom.

     Lela stopped at the sight of Trevor lying in Harmony's bed. She hadn't seen him for a couple of days. She'd been working double shifts at Jolt, gave campus tours instead of having lunch and baked cakes for Larry during the Thanksgiving rush. However, she noted that he still looked good in those blue jeans he always wore pairing them with a dark orange polo today, "What do you want?" She thought the first words she'd speak to him would be something less stern after the argument they had at the after Fall Festival.

    Lela threw an actual pie at him that night. She left the booth too anger to confront him so she went to the Russell's instead. Although it wasn't a session Sylvan locked her office door and they talked on the couch until day turned to night. Lela wanted to cut him out of her life like a cancerous tumor for betraying her trust but Sylvan persuaded her to talk to him before grabbing a knife. Lela was fully committed to talking as she walked to Trevor's house when she saw him in the kitchen stuffing his face with the blueberry pie she told him it needed to chill until the morning. She blew a fuse. She grabbed the pie and threw at him. He yelled, "What the fuck!" as the pie slid down his cable sweater leaving streaks of purple.

      Trevor sat up on the bed and stretched like he had fallen asleep, "That shower was long as hell."

       "And?" She twisted the towel around her chest and held the knot ensuring it didn't undo as she knelt next to her duffle bag. "Are you the water police?"

      He chuckled throwing his head back. Lela could feel his sapphire eyes on her and she tried to think of a word to describe how it made her feel. Special. Adorned. Warm. She smiled a little but stress still plagued her mind. Her bank account was over drafted since her tuition payment was two hundred dollars more than last months. The last twenty dollars she had went into the tank of her car—that now was busted and sitting on the side of the road.

     "You should've called me." He said.

       Lela stopped digging in her bag to look at him, "What were you going to do? Fix the engine or the motor or whatever the hell is wrong with it." She tossed her ankle boots out the bag so she could find her underwear. She knew she packed some. "I'm not your responsibility." She sighed with relief finding her bra and panties in a ball under the scarf.

     "Can you stop with the bullshit?" He pulled his body back smashing his back against the stack of pillows. "Are you still mad at me because I already told you I didn't tell Alyssa shit."

     "I believe you." She retreated behind the oriental dressing screen that came up to her neck. She dropped the towel wondering what possessed Harmony to buy the piece of furniture. She still had no idea how Alyssa knew she had a problem and she didn't ask. They didn't talk about it when she went home. Instead, they talked about Alyssa filing charges on Jacob and Lela made sure the conversation stayed there. "Hand me that." She pointed to the bottle of gingerbread-scented lotion.

     He hopped off the bed, grabbed the bottle from the bag, and peeked over the screen before placing the bottle in her hand.

     "Like what you see." She squeezed a glob of lotion in her hand. Trevor smiled crookedly letting his eyes slide over to the bed. "No." She shot him down.

     He frowned falling back on the bed, "What are you going to do about your car."

     "Get another job, I guess." She massaged the lotion into her pores knowing she hadn't thought that far. "But I gotta get the money somehow. Hooking is illegal." She laughed pulling her panties over her hips.

     He narrowed his eyes at her then pulled his phone out his back pocket, "Don't you think it's time you call your parents?"

     "The last thing they need is to get pulled into another one of my problems."

     "They're your parents your problems are their problems."

    "Is that so?" She pulled the black skater dress over her head and shimmied it down. He nodded staring idly ahead. "Then why don't you ever call your parents when you have a problem."

     "I don't have parents." He looked down at his feet and she instantly regretted what she said. "I had an au pair and two people that accidental had a child."

     Lela grabbed her boots before plopping next to him on the bed. She rested her head on Trevor's shoulder remember the first time he told her about his parents. Coincidently, it was after their first time. Naked bodies intertwined she asked him about his childhood. A childhood she assumed was milk and honey littered with expensive trips and lavish gifts. 

For a minute they laid in his bed in complete silence with nothing but the soundtrack of suburbia playing in the background: car wheels rolling over the street, kids screaming as they jumped in backyard pools, and barking dogs defending their territory. His voice was heavy with all the letdowns he endured over the years; shipped off the year-round boarding schools to only come home during holidays to an empty house with only at note stuck to the fridge informing him where they were.

   "I'm sorry." She kissed his cheek feeling the stress of her money woes shift to the back of her mind. The only thing that captivated her mind was the warmth of his skin and the notes of bergamot and vanilla he splashed on just before leaving his room. "You deserve better." She propped her head back on his shoulder.

     Trevor slipped his hand in hers and pulled it his lips. He kissed her hand setting her body on fire. "I 'm helping you." The gruff of his voice made her open her eyes. "End of discussion."