Finding My Normal

Chapter 9

The next day moved fast. The guys had called Mr. T and told him I wouldn't be in for work for the next week. I knew Mr. T wanted to argue, but I felt that since I wasn't in the best state when he'd last seen me, he didn't complain. I was thankful for that. That morning, I woke up to the smell of food. My alarm clocked flashed the time as I focused my energy on forcing my sluggish body out of the bed. Five minutes later, I was trudging to the kitchen to see Trevor pulling food out of a brown bag.

"Coffee!" I squealed, instantly perking up when I saw Lee walk in with a Starbucks cup. He handed me an iced coffee, bringing the biggest smile to my face.

"Eat, I packed for you. All you gotta do is go change so we can leave." Trevor said. He handed me a sandwich. I watched him jog up the stairs. Lee and I looked at each other and busted out laughing. Trevor was definitely not a morning person.

I stuffed my face with as much as I could, suddenly excited to get on the road. A hand bopped me on the back of my head causing me to look back at Brent's disgusted face. He scolded me for trying to overfill my mouth. I flashed him a smile that had pieces of eggs and bacon threatening to spill over my chin.

"You're so disgusting, Kianna. Go change." He shooed me up the stairs.

I took the hint that they were anxious to get on the road, so I hustled up to my room to brush my teeth. When my teeth and face were all clean, I pulled out a comfortable outfit. I knew Jah would be driving, which meant that the trip wouldn't take too long, but the hotel was a good two hours away. I decided on a pair of grey shorts and a yellow tank top. I slipped on my Nike slides and grabbed a bag to throw my wallet, charger, and other stuff in. As I was pulling my hair into a ponytail, my phone started to vibrate wildly from the bedside table.

Dad... flashed on the screen making me hesitate to answer it. Part of me wanted to believe that I could just ignore the call but in the end, I picked up. His voice immediately reached my ears. He sounded like he had been talking to someone else and didn't even realize I was on the phone. I whispered a quiet hello, hoping he hadn't heard, but my hopes were killed when he stopped and focused his attention on me.

"Kianna?" My father addressed me.

"Hey dad. How are you? I haven't spoken to you in forever." I muttered, sitting on my bed.

"I know, things have been pretty hectic on my end. But the guys are taking care of you, right?" There was the sound of a closing door and the woman from yesterday's voice asked my father a question. I assumed he answered non-verbally because he didn't say anything.

"Yeah, they're taking me out of the city for a bit. I haven't really been doing all that well, honestly."

This caught his attention. "What do you mean? What's going on, Ki?"

I took a deep breath, deciding to just tell him everything that was bothering me. I could hear the guys moving around the house, but I figured that they'd come get me when they were ready. "Well, Jahmil's been trying to figure out if there's anything more to Grandma's death. And I had a panic attack yesterday." I picked at my fingers, feeling like a child being scrutinized by their angry parent. "I also don't think I can go to school. I haven't had time to devote to the paperwork and I honestly don't think I want to go anymore, Dad. I know you want me to and I know Grandma wanted me to, but I'm just not-"

"Ki, breathe mama. It's okay." My father's voice had softened. "You don't have to go to school right now. The past few months have been really hard, and if you need to take some time off, do that. It's okay. In terms of the other things you told me, I don't think you need to be looking into your Grandmother's death. That has nothing to do with you."