Broken, page 2
And then he dove in, sending droplets of water onto them.
“Hey!” Emily shook the iPhone in her hand. “Do you mind?”
“He hasn’t even come back up for air,” Judith said.
“So, he didn’t hear you,” Debra added.
“No shit.”
“Em,” Katrina said softly, “is he really that bad?”
“What I don’t want,” Emily replied, “is a bunch of friends over just to get a glimpse of him. He’s a jerk. An asshole. Doesn’t even respond when spoken to.”
Katrina’s eyes shifted to the pool where Lorenzo emerged and shook his head, sending more droplets of water spraying, though this time they were on the opposite side of the Olympic sized pool. Had she come over simply to see him? No... no, Emily was her best friend. She had come over for the annual bash, this time with rum snuck into her Pepsi. She took a sip and smiled as she watched Lorenzo emerge from the pool, water running down his legs as he grabbed his jeans and leather jacket and disappeared into the pool house.
“Really?” Emily scoffed. “He’s doing this just to piss me off.”
“Oh, honey,” Judith said with a laugh, “he can piss you off any time he pleases if we get a show like that.”
Katrina remained silent as she sipped her drink, thinking of how right Judith was.
***
“Ma’am,” a nurse said to Katrina as she entered the room. “Visiting hours are over. I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
Katrina’s lower lip began to tremble as she looked down at Lorenzo, so helpless as he battled to come back. “What if...” She couldn’t even finish the sentence without tears welling in her eyes.
“Then we’ll call you, I promise.”
“Pinky swear?” Katrina asked, her voice barely audible.
“Pardon?”
“It’s nothing,” she said as she stood. “I’ll be back first thing in the morning.” She’d have to call work, but she had vacation time saved up. Emily would simply have to understand that she wouldn’t be going to Cancun.
Not now.
Not when Lorenzo needed her.
“Are you going to take his belongings? Truth, they’d be safer with you than with him. Sad to say, but true. We’ve had a couple of orderlies we’ve had to let go because of—”
“Got them,” Katrina cut the nurse off. She lifted the bag with a sigh, then looked over her shoulder, pausing. She turned back around and leaned down next to Lorenzo’s ear. “I’ll be back, okay? You fight to come back to me.”
If that’s what he’d intended in the first place.
She’d been named his ‘emergency contact’ after all.
The drive to her beachfront condo was uneventful, and she soon found herself deep into a glass of wine with a bag containing bloody clothing, a demolished cellphone, and a notebook, rust stains on the cover and along the top edges of the paper. She lifted it carefully, stifling a sob as inside of the front cover in red ink had her name, her number. How had he gotten her number? Had he known it the whole time? Or had he gotten it from Emily’s parents? Did Emily’s parents even have her number?
Had he gotten it from Emily?
Katrina checked her cellphone again, sighing when she had no missed calls and no texts. Maybe Emily had slept her hangover away and was going to stand her up as she had done on more than one occasion. She shot a quick text, telling her it was an emergency and that she needed her to call.
There were more names, more numbers, lists that looked like someone getting ready to throw one hell of a party. Cases of rum? Who ordered rum by the case?
Inside of the bag was one more item.
Lorenzo’s wallet.
“Will looking through all of this make me the creepiest person ever?” Katrina asked herself aloud in the empty apartment that had been full of guests just the night before. She brushed away tears she hadn’t noticed were falling and swore under her breath before taking another sip of wine.
Then she opened his wallet.
His driver’s license was the first thing she noticed.
The second was that he lived only 40 minutes away.
Anger spread through her veins like wildfire. Only 40 minutes away and he hadn’t bothered to come see her until now? Now, when her life was fully under control, when she hadn’t thought about him every waking minute?
If that’s what he’d intended at all.
“Damn it.” She placed the wallet aside, feeling more like a voyeur into a stranger’s life than the ‘emergency contact’ he’d named her as. She knew exactly what she needed at that moment, and it wasn’t more wine. Without hesitation, she picked up her cellphone and called her brother’s phone number.
“Trina! What up with thee?”
“I need your help, Justin.”
“Whoa, whoa, this sounds serious.”
She sniffled slightly as she shifted in her chair. “It is.”
“What’s this about?”
Her resolve began to crumble as she thought of Lorenzo, his surgery, his internal bleeding.
His possible brain damage.
And the tears began to flow.
“Trina?”
“It’s Ren, Justin. It’s Ren.”
“Say no more. I’m on my way.”
CHAPTER 3
Katrina turned towards the door as Justin let himself in with the key that she’d given to him. “That was quick,” she said through her still-falling tears.
“Hey...” He was in front of her now, pulling her into a warm embrace, allowing her tears to fall instead of telling her she didn’t need to cry. Only just under 9 months younger than her, Justin was her confidante in all things regarding her life.
And he’d been close with Lorenzo as well.
“What... what is all of this?” Justin asked as he moved back and ran his fingers through his short sun-lightened hair, such a contrast to Katrina’s which was dark and long. Their eyes were similar, shaped the same, although Justin’s were a light blue and Katrina’s were gray. “Trina?”
“Sorry, just... mind. Elsewhere.”
“What are you doing with Lorenzo’s wallet? Is that blood? Shit, Trina, is he dead?”
Katrina shook her head as she brushed away tears. “He was in an accident. He’s at Montgomery General, critical condition.”
“But how...” Justin looked at the clothing, the notebook, the wallet.
“He named me as his emergency contact somehow.” Katrina shrugged as she willed unsuccessfully for her tears to stop. “He had my phone number and they called me.”
“Does anyone else know?”
Katrina shook her head. “I wasn’t able to get ahold of Emily. I’m sorry I didn’t call you sooner. I figured you’d be busy with work.”
“Yeah, my shift just ended. Judith knows I’m here.”
“I still can’t forgive you for marrying her,” Katrina joked, and Justin grinned.
“Hey, you said I couldn’t date anyone on the cheerleading squad. You said nothing about the drill team.”
“At least it wasn’t Emily.”
“It would never have been Emily.” Justin shuddered and Katrina nudged him. “I’m being nice,” he cut off her admonishment. “But there has to be someone in this mess for you to call, someone in his life now.”
Katrina hated the constriction in her heart at that thought, of someone else being with Lorenzo.
Someone else making love to him.
She didn’t have that right, though. There was Timothy.
And there was the fact that Lorenzo had left her.
“Trina, did you see this?” Justin pulled a business card from Lorenzo’s wallet and flipped it over several times. “The print is kinda small, but...”
“Cade’s,” she read from the front of the card.
“Cade’s what, though?” Justin asked as he squinted at the numbers below while he put them into his phone.
“Justin, what are you doing?”
“Seeing if there’s someone else who needs to know what happened. He obviously has a life. I mean, look at the notebook. Something tells me... ah, hi,” he said to whomever had answered the phone. Katrina leaned forward, hanging on Justin’s every word. “I’m looking for the manager. Nope, not a complaint, just very... yes. I mean no, I’m not looking to speak to Lorenzo Cade. Did he leave someone in charge? Okay, well when he gets a chance, please have him call Justin Carter.” Katrina’s eyes were locked with Justin’s as he gave his number, thanked the person on the other line, and hung up.
“No luck.”
“Well, I know it’s a bar.”
Katrina almost smiled.
“He followed his dream,” Justin added.
“Yeah. Yeah, he sure did.”
“And whenever this Martin person is free, he’s going to call.”
“Martin.” Katrina picked up the notebook, the one with her name and number inside, and flipped through the pages until she found what she was looking for. “This... it might be a home number, or it might be a cell. But you can try it.”
“You’re not in any shape to, that’s for damn sure.”
“You state the obvious.”
“As always.”
“Justin—”
“It’s okay, Trina. I’ve got this.” He held out the pinky of his free hand. “Pinky swear.”
She bit back another sob as she locked pinkies with him. “Thank you.”
“Anytime.” He sat back as he pushed the call button on his phone to try the other number. “Shit. Straight to voicemail.” He began pushing other buttons on his phone as he squinted at the poorly designed card.
“What are you doing?”
“It’s only 30 minutes or so from here.”
“And?”
“And this Martin needs to know his boss is out of commission.”
“Oh, no you don’t,” she said as she stood. “I need you.”
“That’s why you’re coming with me.”
***
Katrina and Justin locked up their bikes at the park near the beginning of the running trail. “Did you get them?” Katrina asked.
“Me? I thought you... I’m kidding.” He grinned after Katrina shot a glare in his direction. He pulled a pack of cigarettes out of the inside pocket of his jean jacket. “Why do you think I’m wearing this thing in the heat?”
“Don’t be an ass.”
“Aren’t I always? No, wait, don’t answer.”
Katrina laughed as she began first with a quick walk, then a steady jog on the path.
“We aren’t seriously running today, are we?” Justin kept pace with her, the cigarettes hidden in his jacket pocket again.
“Just until we’re in the woods.”
“This is a really creepy running path, by the way.”
“Which is why Mom insists I take you with me. As if you’ll keep me out of trouble.”
“Hey, the baseball training has me lifting weights.”
“Doesn’t make you a badass or anything.”
“Sure, it does. Speaking of badass, I hear our football team has one hell of a blocker. They’re even thinking of moving him to varsity.”
“Oh yeah? Who’s that?”
“Lorenzo Cade.”
A smile touched her lips.
He was on the football team.
And she was a cheerleader.
“Is he a freshman, too?”
“Yep, otherwise he’d already be varsity. I think he’s older, though.”
“Like he got held back?”
“Yeah, something like that. Is this our turn?”
“Hmm? Oh, right. Yes.” The siblings turned off the paved path onto a winding dirt trail that led into the woods until the trees surrounded them, a curtain to hide them from those who would run or walk by. Their usual perch was damp from the recent rain as were the fallen leaves beneath their feet.
“I’ve got the smokes. Did you grab a lighter?” Justin asked, and Katrina’s mouth fell open.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“You said grab the smokes. I did.”
“And what are we supposed to do, eat them?”
“Hey... hey!” A young man’s voice filled the space and they heard quick footsteps, the sound of someone running. Katrina’s eyes widened and Justin quickly hid the cigarettes again before they were busted. “Hey! Are you okay?”
Katrina turned towards the voice then, and there Lorenzo stood, panting, hands clenched.
He’d thought she was in trouble.
“No... no, we’re good here.” She smiled at him, thanking the gods or whomever had intervened to give her another chance to talk to him. “This is my brother, Justin.”
Lorenzo and Justin were sizing one another up, though at the mention of the word ‘brother’ Lorenzo’s hands had unclenched. Lorenzo nodded to Justin, who nodded in return.
“You ran in here thinking I was going to hurt her, didn’t you?” Justin asked, and after a moment’s hesitation, Lorenzo answered.
“Yes.”
A slight smile tugged at Katrina’s lips. “I’m good, thank you. I’d be better if my bonehead brother had remembered a lighter. You wouldn’t happen to have one?”
Again, Lorenzo hesitated. “Yeah,” he finally said. “You wouldn’t happen to have a cigarette I could bum off you?” He pulled a zippo out of his jeans pocket, flipping it open with ease.
“Fuck yeah we do,” Justin replied, pulling the nearly full pack out of his pocket.
“Gracias.” Lorenzo lit the cigarette that Justin had given him, and Katrina watched in fascination as he took a long drag and exhaled, making a perfect ring before blowing out the rest of the smoke.
“Earth to Trina,” Justin said, holding out a cigarette and the Zippo lighter.
“Yeah, yeah,” she said, playing it cool. She lit her own cigarette and held the Zippo in her hand, flipping it over as she exhaled. Plain silver, no markings but plenty of scuffs on it.
“It’s almost out of fluid,” Lorenzo said to her before she could strike it and bring up another flame.
“Our father has one,” she said, still flipping it in her hand, though closed now. “We could get it filled for you.”
“Why?”
His question confused her, and she glanced at him again before returning her attention to the Zippo. “Because that’s what friends do.” She looked him in the eye then, challenging him to deny a friendship.
His gaze was intense, his dark eyes locked with her grey ones, and she watched as he swallowed, his Adams apple moving slowly.
“Yeah,” was all he said.
It was enough.
It was more than enough.
It was everything.
***
“I know it was hard on you,” Justin broke the silence between them causing Katrina to turn her head in his direction. They’d only been on the road for 15 minutes and she already could feel the tension rising as they rode towards their destination.
“Hard?” she asked. “It devastated me. You know that.”
“Yeah, well it devastated me, too. He was my best friend. I know it’s not the same, but...” His voice trailed off and he shifted in his seat, picking up speed as the limit raised.
“No, it isn’t. And he was my best friend, too. Aside from you.”
Justin reached over with his right hand and took her left in his, giving it a light squeeze. “We’ll get to the bottom of this, okay? We’ll find out why he left, why he came back. Whatever it was that made him leave, it had to be huge. I know how much he loved you.”
“You don’t hurt someone like that when you love them.”
“Trina, we don’t know much of what he went through before we met him. Just that he’d been in foster care since he was, what, eight?”
“Six,” she corrected him.
“Maybe he’d had enough of Emily,” Justin joked, never fond of Katrina’s closest current friend. “And maybe that’s Judith’s problem, too. You never seem to go anywhere without her.”
“Judith is friends with Emily, too.”
Justin squeezed Katrina’s hand. “Maybe just come over without her sometime. Or without Timothy.”
“Why do you never like my boyfriends?”
“I liked Lorenzo.”
Katrina stifled a sob as tears threatened yet again. “This is a bad idea.”
“This is the best idea we’ve got until he wakes up and starts talking.” He locked their pinkies without ever taking his eyes off the road. “Pinky swear.”
With another sniffle, she nodded. “Pinky swear.”
CHAPTER 4
Justin pulled his car into the almost empty lot just before 11 that evening. Katrina looked up at the broken sign above the bar and sighed, wondering to herself if it had been damaged in the recent storms.
Wondering why it hadn’t been replaced yet.
“Do you want to stay here?” Justin asked her, and she shook her head.
“No, I...” She wanted to see the inside, see if it fit the vision Lorenzo had gone over so many times during their high school years.
“Okay, then.” Justin unbuckled his seatbelt. “Let’s do this.”
Katrina followed him up to the building, her stomach churning at the thought of the people behind that door. Who in there cared for him? Did anyone, or had he held them all at arm’s length?
Would there be another woman, one who would cry the way that she had?
Justin was full of confidence as he opened the door, the sound of the jukebox loud within, drowning out most of the conversation amongst the customers. There weren’t many left. Some sat at tables finishing up food, and there were a couple of older men at the bar nursing their drinks. The floor was sticky beneath her feet as she surveyed the room around her, the one that seemed to hold secrets.
The one place where no one would ask them of you.
But to her, as she fought against the anxiety building up in her, the side who could see Lorenzo standing behind the bar, it was the one place that could divulge them.
Katrina followed Justin up to the bartender, who was using a rag to clean the inside of a glass..
“What can I get for you?” he asked without looking up.
“We’re looking for Martin,” Justin replied.
The man set the glass down and eyed them suspiciously. “You found him. What can I do for you?”
