Delicate

Work In Progress

Serenity slid on her rose gold slide on plimsoles and walked into the living room where Dani was watching television. "Are you sure you're okay with me going out? I can tell Kyle to turn around," she said. Dani waved, dismissing her statement. "You haven't seen him since June. I'll be fine". Serenity shrugged and opened the envelope on the kitchen counter. She didn't open it when she arrived yesterday because Dani had the house and car keys in her envelope. Serenity dumped the contents of the large manila envelope on the counter. There was a set of house keys and her ID badge to access the hospital. She looked at the name.

Serenity Kaufman
Rehabilitation

She huffed as she put the keys in her bag. She put the ID badge in a zipper pocket in her purse so it would be ready for tomorrow morning. "They put the wrong last name on my badge," she said to Dani. "What did they put?" she asked as she began flipping through channels. "They only put Kaufman. Not Reed-Kaufman". Dani shrugged as she observed what was on the History Channel. "It's halfway there," she said. 

Kyle Kuzma
I'm outside

Serenity hugged Dani from behind. "I will be back in a little bit. Do you mind locking the door?" she asked. "Yeah, that's fine. I was about to get up anyway. Have fun!" Dani smiled. Serenity walked out of the house and Kyle's Ferrari was parked in front of the house. The woman who was on her lawn yesterday was back outside. She glared at the car and then at Serenity. Taking notice of this, Serenity waved at her. The woman narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips, but never waved back. Serenity raised her eyebrows and said, "Alrighty then," under her breath.

She got in the car with Kyle and a feeling of deep admiration poured over her. She grabbed his face and kissed him deeply, taking Kyle by surprise. She pulled away and took a deep breath as she buckled herself in. "Hello to you too," he said still in shock. "I just felt like I had to do that. It's been a long while". Kyle smiled as he drove off back towards his place. "It's been three months. That's fucking wild," he scoffs. "I didn't know if we could make it that long," he joked. "But we did!" Serenity enthused. "And we're awesome for that. With our relationship being so fresh, I wasn't really sure how it would pan out. I'll be honest, I kind of had my doubts".

Kyle continued to drive as he listened to Serenity ramble about their time apart and her feelings about it. One thing she kept mentioning was how she wasn't sure if they would still be together. He had no doubts in his mind that they would be fine, but to hear that this was a huge concern of his was, well, troubling. He was silent for the five minute drive back to his condo.

While Serenity sat on his couch and made herself comfortable, Kyle pulled a book from his bookshelf. He sat down next to Serenity and she looked at the copy of When Breath Becomes Air that she had left on his TV stand during her first visit. She had completely forgotten about the book but when she looked at it, she remember what she had written inside. He opened the book.

"Kyle. The time spent with you has been marvelous. Here's something for you to remember me by. Maybe our paths will cross again soon. Kind regards, Serenity Reed-Kaufman". Kyle closed the book and sat it on his coffee table. Serenity looked down and tapped her almond shaped acrylic nails on her thigh. She fucked up and she knew it. "I need to know what the hell is going on". Serenity didn't know how to explain herself so she just kept looking down. Kyle was beginning to grow impatient with her. "When did you find the book?" she asked, still looking down. "After I dropped you off the first time you came out. If you were trying to hide it, you didn't do a good job".

She was still tapping her nails on her thigh when Kyle placed his hand over hers and laid it flat to stop her. "Look at me". Serenity slowly lifted her head and looked at him nervously. "I need you to explain what's going on. There have been too many weird things happening and I just need an explanation so I know how to proceed". She licked her lips nervously, the taste of her lipstick lingering in her mouth.