“Thank you,” I said. “My mom is the hardest worker I know. Always working to reach her full potential.”
His smile seemed to wane as he nodded. “I can see that.” He picked up two stainless-steel travel mugs filled with coffee made from the thousand-dollar espresso machine and turned to his son. “We better get going.”
Kai nodded and took his cup. “See you at school, Jordan.”
I was so stunned at the smooth way my name rolled off his lips that I barely managed a nod. I watched as they left the kitchen. Kai stood straight, tall, and I pictured his muscles working underneath the cover of his school uniform.
I tried to ignore how or why the image came to mind as I gave my mom a hug goodbye.
Six
I wanted to spend time with my friends after school, but we all had mid-terms to study for. Emerson Academy was designed to prepare us for the most rigorous colleges, and that meant cumulative exams on top of extracurriculars. I was barely keeping up with our school’s chapter of FMP—Future Medical Professionals. This quarter alone, we were supposed to have a blood drive, along with the major fall fundraiser to help raise money for a local health-related charity. As the vice president, I had a lot to do.
But now wasn’t the time to worry about that. When I reached our apartment, I got out my trig notes and textbook and started there, working through the practice problems at the end of the chapters we’d covered so far. Trig was simple in comparison to my other classes, like psychology. Anyone could remember an equation and plug in the numbers. Understanding why people did the things they did? That was an entirely different story.
My phone chimed with a new text message, and I reached to check it.
Mom: Picked up an extra job. Working late tonight. Don’t wait up.
I gave my phone a worried look my mom would never see. Cleaning was hard work on your body. For her sake, I hoped this Rush job was as big as she said it was. She needed to hire help before her back kept her from continuing at this breakneck pace.
Jordan: Sure. Leftovers are in the fridge. Ly
Mom: Ly
In an attempt to drown my worries, I dove into my studies headfirst. School was always the place I could lose myself when the feelings got too big. It was my exit strategy and my escape.
That was until my phone rang from a number I couldn’t ignore. Although the name wasn’t attached to it anymore, I’d recognize those digits for the rest of my life. A memory of my old contact photo of us flashed through my mind. I had been smiling, my teeth flashing exactly how happy I was. He never smiled with his full mouth, but his eyes were bright as they stared back at me.
I blinked to clear the image, realizing my phone was still going off. This was the first time he’d called since the breakup... Did I answer?
My head said no, but my heart had other plans. It guided my fingers to accept the call and hold the phone to my ear.
“Hello?”
“Mi cielo.” His voice was a balm and an acid, soothing and stinging my heart in ways I didn’t understand. All the healing I’d managed in the past two weeks was ripped away in that one greeting. In the way he called me his world.
The patchwork wall I’d put in place over my heart kept me from falling completely. “Why are you calling, Martín?”
“I miss you, baby.” Now I noticed something I hadn’t in his greeting: his words were slurred.
“Are you drinking?” I asked. I’d been to a few parties with him and his college friends before, and I never liked the way he got when he’d had more than one drink. He became handsy. Sloppy. I held on to those parts I didn’t like about him and steeled myself against the words that were sure to come next.
“Just had a few,” he slurred. “I miss you.”
“Where’s your new girlfriend?” I demanded.
“We’re done. I want you, mi cielo.”
The words were exactly what I’d hoped to hear two weeks ago when he’d first broken up with me, but now they hurt. They made me angry. “Don’t you ‘mi cielo’ me,” I said. “I want no part in your world.” And then I hung up and did what I hadn’t been brave enough to do before: I blocked his number.
The last words I’d spoken to him weren’t wholly true. I did want a part in his world. I missed him. But I had to make them true so this deep, persistent ache in my chest would ease.
Emotionally spent, I leaned over the counter and pressed the heels of my hands into my eyes. I didn’t want to cry any more tears over him than I already had.
A knock sounded on the door, giving me just the shock I needed. I took a deep breath and checked through the peephole. A man in a brown delivery uniform stood with a small package.
I opened the door, and he said, “Delivery for Jordan Junco.” He said it in the whitest way possible, like Junk-O.
“It’s Hoon-co,” I said reflexively.
“Sure.” He extended the signing pad, and I rolled my eyes. Of course he wouldn’t correct himself.
Without another word, I signed and took the package. After shutting and locking the door, I examined every inch of the box. There wasn’t a return address on it, and I had no idea who would have sent me something. I certainly hadn’t ordered anything online. Maybe an item for one of my classes or FMP had been delivered?
I took my keys off the counter and began ripping through the packing tape. But not before something began to ring inside the box.
“What?” I muttered.
Hurriedly, I ripped the rest of the paper off and took out the latest version of the iPhone with a flawless screen. It made my practically obsolete version with fractures across the screen look that much shabbier.
The flashing number seemed familiar, but I couldn’t place who it was. I swiped my thumb to answer and held it to my ear, waiting.
“Hello?” The smooth voice was impossible to mistake.
“Kai? Why are you calling me?”
His words poured over the speaker, soft as butterfly’s wings and as enticing as an adventure. “If you wouldn’t call me, I figured I’d call you.”
I folded my free arm across my chest. “Usually, if someone doesn’t initiate a call, the other person takes a hint.”
“I’m not a usual kind of person.”
I let out a snort. “I’ll say.”
The smile in his voice was impossible to miss. “Neither are you.”
I knew that already. “Okay, I’ll play along,” I said. “What’s it going to take for you to give up?”
This time, his tone was playful. “Me, give up?”
“Everyone has a price.” I winced, thinking what that figure might be for an actual billionaire.
“Go on a date with me.”
“I think you’ll have to find another girl.” I hung up and put the phone back in the box.
Just like I’d assumed, what Kai wanted would cost me too much.
Seven
I was bursting to talk about what had happened the night before, but if Mom knew Kai had sent me an iPhone and asked me out, she would have lost it. Heck, we got in an argument just because he gave me his number. It was easier this way, especially since nothing was going to happen. So, I kept it to myself as we got ready for the morning. She used makeup to cover the dark circles under her eyes from staying out and working the night before. It seemed like we both had parts of ourselves we wanted to hide.