No Shame (Book 2 - No Regrets)

Chapter Thirty-Five - Escape to a Circus

KATIE'S POV

After sending my reply to Cason, I grab my phone to call Christopher but my finger freezes. My grip tightens around my phone, I think of Christopher's words from the hallway, I think about the gap that's formed between Zeke, Ella, even Evan, and I. He's Sawyer's cousin first, my friend second. He's not my safe place, not anymore.

I scroll from Christopher's contact and scroll down to the only one who I feel I have left. Jena. I wait, listening as the phone continues to ring. The call rolls over to voicemail, I am listening to the mailbox greeting when a text notification pops up. "Sorry babysitting, what's up?"

I hang up the call and type a reply, "Just wanted to talk. Sorry to interrupt."

A couple minutes pass before a reply comes in, "I will be done in about an hour. Do you want to hang out at my house?"

"Sure. I'll ask my parents." I reply.

"Okay! Let them know we can pick you up after I get done babysitting!"

  I walk upstairs and knock on my parents' bedroom door. "Come on in." Mom's voice replies from the other side of the door. "I'm picking up in here." She calls from the master bathroom as I enter the bedroom.

  I step into the open the doorway, Mom is working on decluttering the tops of the his-and-her vanity. Moving perfume bottles, deodorant, hair brushes and combs, hair ties, and makeup back into their respective places. "What can I help you with?" She asks as she places a stick of deodorant back into the medicine cabinet by her side of the vanity.

"My friend, Jena, from the basketball team invited me to hang out at her house." I say. "I wanted to know if I can go. You won't even have to drive me, they'll pick me up and drop me off."

"Jena." Mom says. "Jena." She repeats searching her mental rolodex. "Have I met her before?" She asks.

"A couple times, but only briefly." I answer. "She has the platnium-blonde hair." I offer hoping to jog her memory.

"I can't seem to picture her face." Mom says after further searching. "Who are her parents?"

"Mr. and Mrs. Jena's parents." I reply.

Mom lets out a chuckle, "Listen, Miss. Cheeky, you know how I feel about going over to someone's house whose parents I don't know and haven't met. She can come over, if she wants."

"I think her parents may say the same thing as her." I say. "I can send you the address and I will let you know the second I get there and the second I'm about to leave. Please Mom."

Mom sighs, "Katie, I'm sorry but I just don't know how comfortable I am with not really knowing these people."

"This is a great chance for you to get to know them, you all can talk when they pick me up and drop me off." I offer.

"You have school tomorrow."

"I finished my homework, my room is clean, the dishes are done, and I vacuumed yesterday." I say.

"How long do you think you would be there?"

"A couple hours, maybe. I'll be home before nine."

"Eight-thirty. I want you to get to bed at a good time and be rested for school." Mom says.

"Deal, thank you." I say.

"I want an address and the number for her parents before you go." Mom says. "I also want to walk you out to the car."

"Okay." I agree.

~~~~~~~~~

Jena's house is overwhelming, in both appearance and noise level. The exterior of the two-story green vinyl-sided house is covered by a thin-layer a algae. One of the upstairs windows is boarded up from the inside with plywood. A mix of holiday decorations made up of Christmas, Easter, and Halloween inflatables and figures occupies the toy-cluttered lawn. When stepping out of Garret's truck, I nearly tripped over a tipped over toddler's tricycle onto a bike. "I'll yell at the kids to pick that up." Jena commented as she lead me to the side of the house. "The front foyer is a mess of boxes right now, we'll go in through the game room." she explained.