Coming Home(124)

Leah had just finished curling her hair when she heard her phone beep with an incoming text, and she leaned over and swiped the screen.

We’re running a little late. Are you guys on your way?

Leah picked up the phone and texted her sister back.

Not yet. Danny should be here any minute. We’ll meet you guys there.

A minute later, Sarah’s response came through.

K. Get a table if u guys get there first.

Leah put her phone down on the sink before she checked her makeup in the mirror. She and Danny were meeting Sarah and Kyle at one of their old hangout spots to celebrate the promotion Kyle had just gotten at work.

She walked out of the bathroom and back to her bedroom to grab her purple platform heels, or as Robyn called them, her “happy shoes.” She felt happy. It was such a simple concept, but it had eluded her for so long that she was constantly aware of its presence in everything she did. Everything felt new, like she was looking at the world through a different pair of eyes, rediscovering and suddenly appreciating things that the old Leah had overlooked.

The two weeks since Danny’s birthday had been the best two weeks of her life—an incredible blur of laughing and talking and cuddling, of smiles and shared secrets and making love.

She never imagined, even in her most sanguine teenage dreams, that being in love could ever feel like this.

Leah heard a knock on her door, and she stuck her head out of the bedroom. “Come in!” she called. “I’ll be out in a sec!”

She heard the front door open and close as she pulled her shoes out of the closet and stepped into them, and then she walked over to the full-length mirror, taking one last look at herself before she made her way out to the living room, her heels clicking against the hardwood floor.

“So guess what?” she said, stopping short when she saw him in the dining room. He was sitting with his elbows on the table and his hands clasped in front of his mouth. As soon as he saw her, he lowered his hands and smiled, but she could see that it was forced.

That there was a struggle behind his eyes.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

He inhaled slowly, and Leah watched his throat convulse as he swallowed. “My lawyer called today.”

Her stomach lurched, and she a felt a cold prickle down her spine.

“What did he say?”

Danny wet his lips before he looked up at her. “We have a sentencing date.”

It felt like her throat was closing. She tried to take a breath, but it was as if her lungs were full of glue. “When?” she managed, her voice barely audible.

“May second.”

Leah stood there for a minute, trying to process what he had just said.

May second. The day before her birthday.

She crossed the room to him, and he sat up as she approached, allowing her to crawl into his lap. Danny dropped his head to her shoulder, and she curled her arms around him, trying to keep her breathing even.

She couldn’t react right now. She couldn’t fall apart. She needed to keep it together.

But what was the point of being strong? What difference would it make? If she cried or if she didn’t, if she screamed or if she remained stoic, if she bargained or denied or accepted or fought, none of it would change anything. None of it would prevent what was about to happen.

May second. Less than two months away.

They sat there in silence, their arms around each other as Leah’s thoughts ran rampant. One minute her mind was racing with what this meant for them, what it meant for him, and the next it was eerily devoid of anything whatsoever.